Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is a premier law firm with market-leading practices, a global perspective and strong New York roots. The firm brings a distinctively high degree of quality, intensity and creativity to resolve legal challenges selectively and cost-efficiently for its clients. Deep partner commitment, industry expertise and a strategic approach enable the firm to bring clear commercial judgment to every matter. Drawing on the strength of its culture and structure Debevoise & Plimpton delivers the best of the firm to every client through true collaboration.

Main areas of practice
Corporate: Consistently ranked among the leading M&A firms, Debevoise’s M&A group is one of a handful of advisors of choice to the world’s leading corporations, financial institutions and private equity firms. The practice offers clients sophisticated, market-wise teams in both public and private M&A. They regularly develop innovative structures and approaches, deal smoothly and effectively with associated shareholder and governance issues, activist challenges, ESG considerations, national security and antitrust reviews, and related litigation.

The firm’s private equity group is one of the most respected in the field. The practice includes specialized groups that are experts in fund formation and investment management, buyouts and other equity and debt investments, finance, securities and capital markets, tax, and executive compensation and employee benefits. The group approaches its work with a deep level of industry expertise, drawing on the firm’s myriad specialists to deliver efficient, commercial, cutting-edge results.

The funds/investment management group is one of the largest, most diverse and most successful practices of its kind in the world. With a global regulatory network and deep international experience, the practice counsels across the entire life cycle of these complex products and vehicles—covering organization and economic arrangements for sponsors, fund formation, downstream transactions, exits, firm and fund restructurings, buy-side work, secondaries and wind downs.

The corporate department also includes highly active practices in capital markets, leveraged finance, business restructuring and workouts, real estate, project finance, equipment finance, structured finance, intellectual property and environmental law.

Litigation: Debevoise’s top-ranked white-collar and regulatory defense group’s expertise includes defending against criminal prosecutions and civil enforcement actions, handling securities-related litigation, conducting internal investigations, negotiating complex global settlements, and facilitating cooperation with government regulators. The group boasts numerous former senior government lawyers from the SEC, DOJ and other government agencies, including former SEC chair Mary Jo White, former director of the Division of Enforcement at the SEC Andrew Ceresney, and former federal district court judge John Gleeson.

The firm’s strategic crisis response and solutions group brings together rapid response crisis teams from a range of disciplines, aligning experience and expertise to be matched to a specific challenge.

Debevoise’s international dispute resolution group is a leader in its field. Lawyers in the practice handle a broad range of matters, including international commercial and treaty arbitration, public international law and complex commercial litigation.

The highly regarded Intellectual property litigation group handles a wide variety of cases, including trademark, trade dress and advertising disputes; copyright matters in media and entertainment; right of publicity issues; and unfair competition, trade secret and patent cases. Many of its cases have cross-border components, and it has deep experience across a wide range of industries.

The commercial litigation group is one of the strongest in the industry, consistently delivering outstanding results for its clients. The group is stacked with broad-gauged litigators known for their judgment, business savvy and strategic advice. The team handles cross-border and domestic disputes of every kind across a diverse range of industries.

The data strategy and security group, which includes lawyers specializing in cybersecurity, data privacy and AI, has special expertise in helping clients navigate the forensic and legal aftermath of data breaches. The firm’s cross-border, interdisciplinary team also offers regulatory counseling, defends clients in government enforcement actions, litigates privacy-related class actions and other matters, and advises on AI regulatory and legal considerations and on transactions involving data protection and security issues.

Other areas of litigation concentration include trial practice, securities litigation, antitrust, bankruptcy, insurance industry disputes, business integrity, products liability, professional services liability, M&A litigation, employment litigation, environmental litigation, contract disputes, and sensitive litigation and advice.

Tax and employee benefits: The tax department works closely with the firm’s corporate lawyers in structuring complex transactions. The department also focuses on tax planning and advice for business entities, high-net-worth individuals and exempt organizations, and includes an active executive compensation and employee benefits practice.

Industries: Debevoise handles complex transactions and litigation for clients in a wide range of industries.

The insurance group brings more than 35 years of experience to the most complex insurance industry transactions, the highest-stakes disputes and the most challenging regulatory engagements.

The banking group advises banks and other financial institutions on the gamut of regulatory, litigation and transactional matters.

The healthcare group employs an integrated, cross practice approach covering healthcare and life sciences matters.

The technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) group advises both companies and investors in these sectors on their most significant and complex transactional and litigation matters.

Other industries in which the firm is prominent include aviation; consumer and retail; consumer finance; energy and natural resources; industrials and manufacturing; and mining.