Latham & Watkins LLP

Lisa Watts, Vice Chair of Latham & Watkins and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, focuses on the development of the firm’s strategic direction and manages its global presence. In addition, she advises clients on corporate and partnership taxation. Lisa brings more than two decades of experience with complex transactional tax issues to her work advising clients.

Lisa regularly serves private equity firms, US-based and foreign public and private companies, REITs and UPREITs, partnerships and limited liability companies, as well as investment banks.

Specifically, Lisa helps clients navigate the tax aspects of significant US and cross-border transactions, including:

• • Mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures
  • Joint ventures
  • Recapitalizations
  • Public financings, including initial public offerings
  • Corporate restructurings

Lisa handles a broad range of transactional tax matters, with experience advising clients on all matter of M&A transactions, through the dual-track process, offering enhanced flexibility when planning an exit transaction, as well as clients contemplating an up-C structure. Lisa also has considerable experience advising on sophisticated transactions involving special purpose acquisition companies (SPAC).

Select private equity clients include:

• • ArcLight Capital
  • Consonance Capital Partners
  • One Equity Partners
  • Onex Partners
  • Platinum Equity
  • Riverstone Holdings
  • Shamrock Capital Advisors
  • Silver Lake Partners
  • The Blackstone Group

Select public companies and privately owned corporation clients include:

• • CoreSite Realty Corporation
  • Cotiviti Holdings, Inc.
  • Endeavor
  • Landmark Health
  • Moran Foods, LLC
  • Siemens AG
  • Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc.
  • Toys “R” Us, Inc.

Accolades

• • Named a Dealmaker of the Year by New York Law Journal 2021
  • Named to the Notable Women in Law list by Crain’s New York Business 2020 and 2022
  • Recommended for US Taxes: Non-contentious by The Legal 500 US 2020
  • Recommended for M&A/Corporate and Commercial – PE Buyouts by The Legal 500 US 2020
  • Ranked for New York: Tax by Chambers USA 2018-2022
  • Named a Law360 2019 Tax MVP
  • “One of the most intelligent attorneys with an encyclopedic knowledge of tax law and a unique ability to express complex issues and structure in digestible terms. She is an invaluable resource in working through and suggesting solutions for often complicated, problematic tax and structural issues.” The Legal 500 US 2020
  • “She advocates well for her clients, she’s commercial in addressing issues and she’s a pleasure to work with.” Chambers USA 2020

http://www.lw.com/people/lisa-watts