Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Recognized as a “Rising Star” and “Next Generation Lawyer” in antitrust litigation, Abram Ellis is a Partner in the Firm’s Washington, D.C. office. His practice comprises all aspects of competition law, from defending clients against complex class action antitrust litigation to helping clients obtain regulatory clearance from domestic and international competition authorities for significant transactions. An integral member of the “Antitrust Team of the Year” (Chambers USA 2016), Abram is particularly experienced in antitrust litigation involving complex financial instruments, the healthcare industry and employment issues. In addition to his robust antitrust practice, Abram advises leading private equity funds, financial institutions and major corporations on regulatory and compliance matters relating to cross-border activities, including with respect to OFAC, FCPA and export matters. Recent representations include: representing Change Healthcare in the DOJ’s challenge of UnitedHealthGroup’s acquisition of Change Healthcare; RPM/Euclid in connection with claims that it fixed prices with respect to concrete additives and admixtures; Marinette Marine in a claim that it participated in a no-poach agreement with firms that employee naval engineers; Sun Communities in defense of claims that it fixed prices on manufactured home lots; the OWGR in ongoing litigation involving LIV; HCA in the FTC’s review of the sale of certain hospitals in Louisiana by HCA; HCA in pending antitrust litigation in North Carolina state and federal court alleging HCA engaged in monopolistic conduct in violation of state and federal antitrust laws; Covestro in antitrust class actions involving MDI and TDI; Tyson Foods in a wage fixing antitrust class action alleging a decades-long conspiracy to fix wages; a major pharmaceutical and medical supply company in dismissal of antitrust class action concerning alleged price-fixing conspiracy among manufacturers of generic pharmaceuticals; Micron in dismissal of a proposed antitrust class action alleging a conspiracy involving DRAM; HCA in the FTC’s challenge of HCA’s proposed acquisition of certain hospital assets from Steward Healthcare; and JPMorgan in antitrust and CEA class actions concerning the alleged manipulation of LIBOR; ISDA in antitrust class actions and government investigations concerning credit default swaps.

Alan Klein

Alan is a Partner in the Firm's M&A Practice and until recently served as Co-Head of the Practice. Represented the board of Twitter in the company’s sale to Elon Musk. Advised Microsoft on many transactions, including its acquisition of Activision as well as LinkedIn, Skype, and many others; ChemChina in its acquisition of Syngenta, the largest acquisition ever by a Chinese company; Tyco in its merger with Johnson Controls, Inc.; and numerous other companies in cutting-edge transactions including Cisco, ADT, Best Buy, Wendy’s and Royal Ahold. He has also advised the boards of public companies including Aetna, Xerox, Yahoo and Baker Hughes, among others, on corporate governance matters.

Andrew Frankel

Andy Frankel is Head of Simpson Thacher’s Insurance and Reinsurance Practice. He has more than 30 years of experience successfully representing clients in a wide variety of complex disputes, including insurance, securities, product liability and other commercial litigation and investigations. Andy has successfully litigated cases in state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout the United States and in domestic and international arbitrations. Representative insurance-related experience includes defending insurers in complex coverage disputes and bankruptcy proceedings involving a variety of mass tort litigations, representing insurers in direct actions, claims alleging bad faith, environmental coverage disputes, claims involving dissolved or defunct policyholders and court-appointed receivers, claims involving alleged disparate impact liability, representing insurers in market conduct examinations and other government investigations, and a wide range of other matters on behalf of insurers.

Andrew Purcell

A Partner in the Firm’s Tax Practice, Drew Purcell advises clients on an array of tax matters, including financing, credit, M&A, spin off, private equity transactions and fund formations. Drew’s clients have included Blackstone, DigitalBridge, New Mountain and Ingersoll Rand.

Andrew Blau

A Partner in the Firm’s Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Practice, Andrew Blau focuses his practice on compensation and benefit-related issues that arise in connection with mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, new and joint ventures and other corporate transactions. He has extensive experience in structuring employment agreements, equity compensation, performance incentives, deferred compensation, change in control protections, and management participation in buyouts and new ventures. His experience includes domestic and international M&A across a variety of sectors. Andrew also advises on the applicability of securities and tax laws to executives and employers, disclosure obligations in respect of employee benefits and executive compensation arrangements, corporate governance issues and general employment-related matters.

Anthony Vernace

Anthony Vernace represents private equity firms and public companies in mergers and acquisitions, investments, joint ventures and other corporate transactions. He also regularly counsels clients on corporate governance, shareholder activism and securities law matters. His clients span a wide range of industries and include leading technology, transportation, healthcare, industrial, financial services and consumer products companies. Anthony consistently receives recognition for his work on numerous marquee M&A transactions for both public companies and private equity firms. Anthony’s experience includes representing Microsoft in its $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard and Cisco Systems in its $28 billion acquisition of Splunk. In addition to his legal practice, Anthony regularly serves as a panelist and guest lecturer on corporate and M&A-related topics, including at Harvard, Duke and University of Pennsylvania law schools. Anthony currently serves as a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee, and he was formerly Co-Chair of the Finance Committee and a member of the Recruiting Committee.

Aron Zuckerman

Aron’s practice focuses on domestic and international commercial real estate finance. He represents credit funds, banks, asset management firms and insurance companies on a broad range of real estate financing transactions, including mortgage and mezzanine loans, preferred equity structures, A/B notes, participation interests and note-on-note and repo financing facilities. His experience spans CMBS, balance sheet, bridge and construction loans, and includes the negotiation of complex co-lender, intercreditor and participation arrangements and multi-tranche workouts, restructurings, deed-in-lieu transactions and foreclosures.

Arthur Robinson

Partner representing clients in initial public offerings, high yield issuances, restructurings and corporate governance issues. Transactions include IPOs of Sotera Health, CommScope, Duck Creek, Paycor, ADT, U.S. Xpress, Anywhere Real Estate, InnovAge, Bioventus, Nuvalent, Press Ganey and Frequency Therapeutics; offerings to finance the acquisitions of NBC Universal, Cablevision, Burger King and Anywhere Real Estate; financing transactions in Olin’s acquisition of Dow Chemical’s Chlor-Alkali business; Reverse Morris Trust transaction to spin-off and combine WarnerMedia with Discovery, Inc.; offerings for Carnival, U.S. Steel, Sprint, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Del Monte, Zai Labs, Bombardier Recreation, Apache, Northrop Grumman, Venator, Gartner, Wolverine, Block (formerly Square), Cimpress and PTC; and offerings to finance Mirant Corporation's and LatAm Airlines’ emergences from bankruptcy.

Atif Azher

Atif Azher is a Corporate Partner in Simpson Thacher’s Palo Alto office, where he has led some of the most successful and market-defining M&A transactions in recent years. He provides sophisticated transactional counsel to public and private companies, investment funds and financial institutions, in a variety of domestic and cross-border transactions. He regularly advises on multi-billion dollar mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and JVs, drawing on his substantial experience across a broad range of industries, including technology, technology-enabled services, software, internet, sports, entertainment and media, healthcare, financial services, fintech, retail and consumer products, and real estate. Additionally, he has experience working on SPAC transactions, including advising target companies, SPACs and PIPE investors.

Barrie Covit

Focuses on alternative asset management. Has represented some of the largest and best known sponsors of private equity funds including Carlyle, KKR, BlackRock, J.C. Flowers, Lexington Partners and Corsair Capital. He has represented sponsors of funds that focus on investments in specific asset classes—including energy, financial services and the secondary market—throughout the world, including in Western Europe, South Africa and Brazil. Mr. Covit represented the United States Treasury Department in connection with the establishment of its $30 billion Public-Private Investment Program to purchase legacy assets from financial institutions.

Brian Chisling

With a corporate and regulatory practice focused on the energy and infrastructure industry, Brian Chisling advises infrastructure investors, including electric and gas utilities, independent power producers, pipeline companies, fiber-optic and other telecommunications tower companies, private equity funds and financing parties with respect to mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures, securities issuances, financings and related federal and state regulatory issues. In the power industry, Brian has regularly advised American Electric Power, NextEra Energy, Ohio Valley Electric Corp., and various private equity clients. He has represented utility and private equity clients in numerous high-profile mergers, including ITC Holdings’ sale to Fortis, JPMorgan's sale of its physical commodities trading businesses, American Electric Power’s acquisition of Central and South West Corp., and the acquisition of TXU by a group of private equity firms. Brian is recognized as a leading regulatory lawyer in the energy and infrastructure sectors by Chambers and Legal 500.

Brian Robbins

Partner, former Head of the Firm's Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Practice Group and current leader of the Firm’s Title I ERISA practice. Practice includes participation in complex mergers and acquisitions, private equity fund formation and structuring, securities and commercial banking transactions involving issues arising under ERISA and related provisions of the Internal Revenue Code; the structuring and implementation of management equity arrangements, and other executive compensation, employment and severance programs; and advice with respect to tax, accounting and securities law issues related thereto.

Brian Stadler

Brian specializes in mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance. He represents private equity firms and public and private companies in a wide variety of M&A matters, including leveraged buyouts, strategic mergers, minority investments, joint ventures, carve-outs and takeover defense. While he has counseled clients in a broad range of industries, Brian has extensive experience in M&A transactions involving REITs and other real estate companies. He has advised Blackstone on more than 30 take private transactions, including eight in a recent 13-month period and the landmark Equity Office Properties and Hilton acquisitions.

Bryce Friedman

Co-Head of Simpson Thacher’s Business Litigation Practice with focus on complex commercial disputes and trials. Represents the insurance and reinsurance industries in trials and arbitrations of coverage, trade practice and business disputes. Defends insurers against fraud allegations, including alleged False Claims Act violations and government investigations. Representative clients include Beazley, Travelers, Chubb, FM Global, AIG, Utica National and members of the Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group.

Craig Waldman

Litigation Partner with extensive trial experience who frequently represents issuers, individuals, and underwriters in high-profile securities litigation, including class and derivative actions, in courts throughout the country. Also has considerable experience representing corporate clients, including public companies and leading private equity firms, in transaction-related litigation, corporate governance matters, and corporate control litigations.

David Teh

David Teh leads the Alternative Capital and Private Credit team and has deep and versatile experience advising direct lenders, investment banks and corporate borrowers across many sectors on a broad range of direct loans and syndicated credit facilities. His work includes both U.S. and cross-border leveraged acquisition financings, unitranche facilities, ‘recurring revenue’ loans, ‘stretch senior’ loans, first and second lien credit facilities and leveraged and investment grade corporate credit facilities. David also advises on financings for workout and restructuring situations, recapitalizations and other customized loan financings.

David Shevlin

Head of Simpson Thacher’s Exempt Organizations Practice, David Shevlin counsels a variety of international and domestic exempt organizations, including all forms of private foundations and public charities. He also advises donors to, and the governing bodies of, exempt organizations. In particular, David advises universities, foundations, hospitals and cultural institutions on the investment of their endowments. David has particular expertise in working with charitable organizations in connection with social enterprise and program-related investments. David also has been involved in assisting governing bodies on internal investigations. Long active in the bar, David is a past Chair of the ABA’s Section of Taxation – Committee on Exempt Organizations. He has also served on the Board of Doctors Without Borders USA.

David Lieberman

Member of the Firm’s Corporate Department and Managing Partner of the Firm’s Houston office. Representative clients include Blackstone, EQT Infrastructure, Digital Bridge, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, Global Infrastructure Partners and NextEra Energy.

Edgar Lewandowski

Edgar Lewandowski is a Partner in Simpson Thacher’s Corporate Department, focusing his practice on capital markets and corporate governance matters. Edgar has wide-ranging experience advising a variety of REIT and other issuers, private equity sponsors and investment banks. The transactions he has handled include IPOs and other equity offerings, spin-offs, high yield and investment-grade debt offerings, convertible debt offerings, exchange offers and liability management transactions. Edgar also regularly advises boards of directors on general corporate and compliance matters.

Elizabeth Cooper

Co-Head of the Simpson Thacher’s Private Equity Mergers and Acquisitions Practice, member of the Executive Committee and Co-Administrative Partner of Simpson Thacher, Elizabeth regularly represents private equity sponsors, alternative asset managers, financial institutions and public and private companies in a broad range of mergers and acquisitions, investments, joint ventures and other business combination transactions. Her M&A clients have included Blackstone, New Mountain, Oaktree, Silver Lake and Stone Point Capital.

Eric Swedenburg

Head of Simpson Thacher’s Mergers and Acquisitions Practice and a member of the Executive Committee, Eric Swedenburg represents companies in a wide range of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, spin-offs, joint ventures and other significant corporate transactions. He also regularly counsels clients on shareholder activism, corporate governance and general corporate and securities law matters. In addition to his significant amount of work with public companies, Eric has extensive experience in advising special committees of boards of directors, private equity firms and financial advisors in both U.S. domestic and cross-border M&A transactions across a number of industry verticals. Some of his transactions have included representing AGCO, Change Healthcare, Dover, Genesee & Wyoming, Ingersoll Rand, K2M, Karuna Therapeutics, La Quinta, Mars, McKesson, SiriusXM, The Mosaic Company, Vodafone Group, Wendy’s and Wyeth. Eric has published various articles on M&A subjects and frequently speaks on M&A, shareholder activism and corporate matters, including as a regular panel participant in the annual Tulane Corporate Law Institute, which is recognized as one of the premier M&A, corporate and securities law conferences in the country.

Erland Modesto

Erland is a corporate finance Partner in the Firm’s Houston office. Erland represents both lenders and borrowers in a wide variety of debt financing and general corporate matters and has represented clients multiple industries, including in the oil and gas exploration and production, midstream and oilfield services sectors. Representative transactions that he has worked on include “holdco” level financings, back leverage facilities, reserve and other asset based facilities and acquisition and project financings. He has extensive experience in distressed financings and general leveraged lending. His clients have included JPMorgan, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, First Reserve Corporation, KKR, Wells Fargo, Bank of Montreal, Sunpower and other leading financial institutions. Erland was named by Law360 as a 2023 Top Attorney Under 40 “Energy Rising Star”. He has also been ranked by Chambers USA and was named a “Lawyer on the Rise” by Texas Lawyer earlier in his career. Erland is Co-Hiring Partner for the Firm’s Houston office and serves on the Firm’s Opinion and Recruiting committees.

Gillian Emmett Moldowan

Partner

Gregory Ressa

Greg Ressa is partner in the firm’s Real Estate Department and a former member of the firm’s Executive Committee. His practice involves all aspects of the real estate industry with emphasis on representation of real estate opportunity funds, real estate mergers and acquisitions and real estate finance. He has handled transactions involving Blackstone, Northwood Investors, Centerbridge Partners, Hilton Worldwide, Great Wolf Resorts, Invitation Homes, Sterling Investors and Suntex Marinas on a wide variety of both domestic and international transactions.

Gregory Grogan

Head of Simpson Thacher’s Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Practice specializing in executive retention and motivation in M&A transactions and IPOs with a private equity focus. Significant engagements include 150+ Blackstone acquisitions, divestitures and IPOs (Hilton, Bumble, Ancestry, Refinitiv, SeaWorld, Vivint, Invitation Homes, Equity Office, Motel 6); LBOs of PetSmart, ADT and Nortek; and multiple transactions for AIG, Centerbridge, Cisco, Mars, Microsoft (Activision Blizzard, LinkedIn, Skype, GitHub, ZeniMax, Nuance), New Mountain, Silver Lake Partners, SiriusXM, PPL and Johnson Controls/Tyco, as well as the Board of Directors of Twitter, Inc. in its sale to Elon Musk. Greg regularly advises boards regarding C-level succession matters. Experienced in PBGC negotiations.

Jeannine McSweeney

Partner in the Firm’s Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Practice. Jeannine advises clients on executive compensation and employee benefit arrangements, including equity-based incentives, cash-based incentives, deferred compensation, retirement plans and employment, retention and severance agreements. Jeannine works closely with the Firm’s corporate clients on compensation and benefits matters related to mergers and acquisitions and a variety of capital markets and securities transactions. She has experience representing clients in a wide range of industries including financial services, energy, industrials and manufacturing, technology and healthcare.

Jeffrey Knox

Jeff Knox, former head of the U.S. DOJ Fraud Section, is Co-Managing Partner of Simpson Thacher’s Washington, D.C. office and Global Co-Head of the Firm’s Government and Internal Investigations Practice. He represents multinational corporations and independent board committees in high-stakes investigations by the DOJ, SEC, CFTC, CFPB and other federal and state enforcement regulators. He has advised some of the world’s leading financial institutions, energy companies, life sciences companies, technology firms and government contractors in navigating criminal and civil investigations relating to the FCPA, securities and accounting fraud, market manipulation, False Claims Act, antitrust, international money laundering, economic sanctions, and environmental crimes. Jeff also represents senior executives—in their individual capacity—who are subjects of enforcement investigations. Jeff has served as a government-appointed independent compliance consultant, and represents companies in government and court-mandated monitorships. Prior to joining the Firm, Jeff was an accomplished federal prosecutor, serving as the Chief of the DOJ’s Fraud Section in Washington, D.C., and the Chief of the National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

John Terzaken

Global Co-Chair of the Firm’s Antitrust and Trade Regulation Practice, John represents clients involved in government enforcement of antitrust, fraud and other white collar violations, as well as related follow-on civil litigation. His experience spans market sector investigations and litigation in all major industries. John previously served as the Director of Criminal Enforcement for the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he oversaw the Division’s criminal enforcement and litigation nationwide. He has earned awards of distinction from the Attorney General of the United States and the Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division. In addition to authoring an annual Global Cartel Enforcement Report published by Simpson Thacher, he regularly writes and speaks on antitrust matters for industry publications and events, including serving as the Co-Editor of The Cartels and Leniency Review.

Jonathan Youngwood

Global Co-Chair of the Firm’s Litigation Department and leads the Civil Securities Litigation Practice. He has represented boards of directors and corporations in a wide range of significant and complex commercial litigation and arbitration matters, including securities, corporate control, antitrust and ERISA disputes. He also has extensive experience representing clients in matters before state and federal regulators.

Jonathan Goldstein

Tax partner concentrating on private investment fund formation, tax aspects of mergers and acquisitions (including tax-free spin-offs), tax matters regarding restructurings and bankruptcies, renewable energy, cross-border tax matters and partnerships and other joint ventures. In addition, he was named one of Mergerlinks’ Top Tax Lawyers in North America in each of the past five years, with a #1 ranking in 2021.

Jonathan Karen

Corporate Partner that has led recent efforts in some of the industry’s most successful and market-defining private equity fund formations and numerous other separate accounts, funds-of-one and similar custom arrangements across multiple asset classes, including buyout, real estate, infrastructure, secondaries and distressed and mezzanine debt. Notable formations include Blackstone’s recent flagship corporate, energy and real estate private equity funds, and Silver Lake, Stonepeak Infrastructure, Rockpoint Real Estate and Centerbridge Partners in each of their flagship and ancillary funds. Jonathan also counsels investment firms on a mix of matters involving private investment funds, including internal economic arrangements for private fund sponsors, regulatory compliance, M&A transactions and strategic investments involving private fund sponsors, joint ventures and spin-outs.

Joseph Kaufman

Corporate Partner advising clients on public and private offerings of debt and equity securities, corporate governance, business combinations and general corporate and securities law matters. Represented each of Academy Sports, Aramark, Avantor, Dollar General, First Data, HCA, KKR, Masonite, National Vision and Nielsen in connection with their respective U.S. IPO’s and numerous debt financings.

Joshua Polster

Josh Polster represents and counsels insurers in coverage disputes and tries high-stakes cases in court and before arbitral tribunals. He is experienced in handling complex actuarial matters that arise in insurance disputes. He also regularly represents clients in securities and M&A disputes and advises family offices on litigation issues. Josh is recognized by Euromoney’s Benchmark Litigation as a “Future Star” and is a repeat honoree on its “40 & Under List,” which honors the achievements of the nation’s most accomplished law firm partners under the age of 40. He also maintains an active pro bono practice. He has defeated an emergency motion in a Florida voting action and, along with the ACLU and AIC, secured a preliminary injunction blocking a fast-track deportation rule.

Joshua Ford Bonnie

Co-Head of the Firm’s Global Capital Markets Practice, Co-Managing Partner of the Firm’s Washington, D.C. office and member of the Executive Committee, Josh Bonnie is one of the nation’s preeminent IPO lawyers and regularly advises clients on significant strategic events. Josh advised Blackstone, Bumble, Carlyle, Flutter, Hilton Worldwide, Invitation Homes and MasterCard on their landmark listings. Josh also counseled Blackstone on its spinoff of its financial advisory businesses, Dover Corporation on its spinoff of its upstream energy business, Hilton Worldwide on its spinoffs of its real estate and timeshare businesses and Ingersoll Rand on its spinoff of its commercial and residential security businesses. Josh routinely advises asset management firms on situations of strategic importance.

Juan Francisco Mendez

Juan Francisco is a Corporate Partner based in Simpson Thacher’s New York headquarters. He advises clients on international corporate finance transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and other strategic matters. Juan represents many of Latin America’s most renowned corporations, as well as global companies, investment banks and private equity firms acting in the region. Juan Francisco has significant experience in equity offerings (including IPOs and follow-on offerings); debt offerings (including investment grade, high-yield, hybrid, structured, project and sovereign bond offerings); merger and acquisitions (sell-side and buy-side, auction and bilateral negotiations) and joint ventures; liability management and restructurings; and other complex transactions and crisis management and investigation matters. Juan has worked with such companies as Pan American Energy and YPF (Argentina); Intercorp group and Breca group (Peru); Grupo Sura, Avianca and Ecopetrol (Colombia); Quinenco and Embotelladora Andina (Chile); Grupo Mexico, FIBRA Macquarie and America Movil (Mexico); plus global banks such as JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. His practice focuses on Latin America and the Caribbean. Juan Francisco is fluent in English and Spanish.

Kenneth Wallach

Co-Head of the Firm’s Global Capital Markets Practice, Ken Wallach represents clients including Weight Watchers, Dell Technologies, Mars/Wrigley, Cooper-Standard, Thrive Market, Xerox, CAVA, Drummond, Candela Medical, Cole Haan, First Advantage, Zero Motorcycles, Frontdoor, Garda World Security, CSG Systems and Global Blue. He regularly advises private equity sponsors, including Silver Lake, Apax and Invus, in connection with high yield and bridge financings and restructurings. His equity experience includes Issuer’s Counsel for the IPOs of CAVA, First Advantage, Blue Buffalo and K2M. Ken also represents investment banks in IPOs, follow-on equity offerings and high yield and investment grade debt offerings, including as designated underwriters’ counsel for Cinemark and MEG Energy. Ken is also widely recognized as a leading expert on corporate governance issues, including ESG matters. Ken currently serves as a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee.

Kevin Roe

Kevin Roe is Counsel in the Firm’s Exempt Organizations Practice. He advises public charities and private foundations on structural and operating issues, including formation, governance, reorganizations, commercial transactions, domestic and international grantmaking, and taxation. He also provides advice to public and private companies on corporate social responsibility programs and to not-for-profit institutions and their donors on charitable giving. In addition, Kevin represents universities, foundations, hospitals, and cultural institutions in connection with the investment of their endowments, including in the review and negotiation of documentation relating to investments in private funds and similar investment vehicles and in connection with impact investments and mission- and program-related investments. Kevin is the author of Understanding Private Foundations for Thomson Reuters Practical Law. He is a member of the Government Relations Council of Nonprofit New York and chair of its Federal Taxation subcommittee, and he previously served as Secretary of the Non-Profit Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. In addition to regular CLE instruction and professional presentations, Kevin teaches Nonprofit Law at Fordham University School of Law.

Krista Miniutti

Partner in the firm’s Real Estate Department and Co-Chair of the firm’s Women’s Committee. Krista represents private equity firms and portfolio companies in commercial real estate acquisitions and dispositions, joint ventures and financings. Named as “Real Estate Lawyer of the Year” for Euromoney’s Women in Business Law Americas Awards 2022 and a Law360 2022 “MVP” in Real Estate, Krista has represented clients on a broad range of domestic and international real estate transactions, including public-to-private transactions, securitized and mezzanine financings, and portfolio acquisitions. She regularly advises clients on all aspects of their transactions, including coordinating advice from internal and external tax advisors and ERISA and Fund counsel. Krista’s clients include the real estate funds of The Blackstone Group, KSL Capital Partners and Westbrook Partners.

Lauren King

Co-Head of the Fund Transactions practice, Lauren King has extensive experience advising prominent sponsors on cutting-edge transactions designed to provide liquidity to both GPs and investors. She advises on the full range of secondaries transactions, including traditional and synthetic secondaries acquisitions and dispositions, and GP-led restructurings. Lauren also counsels sponsors on the organization, structuring and operation of secondaries funds, as well as minority stakes deals. She has wide-ranging experience advising on the development and fundraising of vehicles across numerous strategies, and in connection with fund governance matters, upper-tier structuring and succession planning, marketing and limited-partner transfers. Lauren has represented a diverse group of asset managers and secondary investors, including, among others, Neuberger Berman, Blackstone Strategic Partners, Pantheon Ventures, Portfolio Advisors, HarbourVest, Serena Ventures, WeWork Capital Advisors, Hamilton Lane, Graham Partners, Coller Capital and FirstMark Ventures.

Lee Meyerson

Chair of global Financial Institutions Practice and previous head of global M&A practice. Representations include Toronto-Dominion Bank’s First Horizon acquisition ($13.4 billion) and TD Ameritrade/The Charles Schwab sale ($26 billion); U.S. Bancorp/Union Bank acquisition ($8 billion); TCF Financial/Chemical merger ($3.5 billion) and TCF/Huntington merger ($6 billion); ADS/Bread acquisition ($450 million); People’s United’s sale to M&T ($7.4 billion) and multiple regional bank acquisitions ($2 billion total); IBERIABANK/First Horizon merger ($3.9 billion); WMH/Nationstar Mortgage merger ($3.8 billion); Fifth Third/MB Financial merger ($4.7 billion); Synovus/FCB Financial acquisition ($2.9 billion); KeyCorp/First Niagara acquisition ($4.1 billion); Petrohawk/BHP sale ($15.1 billion); JPMorgan/Bank One merger ($58 billion) and commodities business sale ($3.5 billion); Mellon/BONY merger ($16.8 billion); Toronto-Dominion in $33 billion of U.S. acquisitions; U.S. Treasury $250 billion TARP; Schwab/optionsXpress acquisition ($1 billion). Practice includes financial institutions IPOs, securities offerings.

Linton Mann III

Linton Mann III is a Partner in Simpson Thacher’s Litigation Practice. Linton represents clients in a broad range of high-stakes litigation and investigation matters including securities, shareholder derivative disputes, class actions, antitrust and complex commercial disputes. Linton is Co-Chair of the Firm’s Recruiting and United for Justice Committees. Linton is consistently named a “Next Generation Partner” by The Legal 500, where sources say he “stands out from his peers for his securities work.” Recognized among Crain’s “40 Under 40,” Linton has also been named a “Rising Star” by the New York Law Journal, Law360 and Euromoney, and is a repeat honoree on Benchmark Litigation’s “40 & Under List.” He was also recognized among the “Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40” for 2022 by the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association. Linton is the Chair of the Board of Trustees for Uncommon Charter Schools New York City, which oversees twenty-four public charter schools in Brooklyn, New York. He is also the Chair of the Board of Directors of Manhattan Legal Services, a program of Legal Services NYC, the largest provider of pro bono civil legal services in the country. In 2023, Linton was one of four recipients of the Pro Bono Service Award from the Legal Services Corporation.

Lori Lesser

Intellectual Property, Privacy and Litigation Partner. Heads the Firm’s IP Practice and Co-Chairs the Privacy/Cybersecurity Practice. Advises on all aspects of intellectual property, technology and privacy/cybersecurity law, including corporate transactions, licensing, counseling and litigation, in fields including media and entertainment, computer software and technology, financial information, apparel, consumer products, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, online, mobile and social media, and nonprofits. Served as lead IP and privacy lawyer in hundreds of public and private transactions.

Lynn Neuner

An experienced trial lawyer specializing in securities, shareholder, insurance and false advertising disputes. Representations include: TD Bank in historic litigation related to Allen Stanford Ponzi scheme; Pfizer in Viatris securities litigation and numerous indemnity disputes; Lloyd’s and RSA in successful resolution during the third week of jury trial in connection with a business interruption and physical damage claim; Olon S.p.A. in breach of contract and fraud dispute against Perfect Day; Chubb, Axa XL, and Swiss Re in aviation insurance litigation related to airplanes allegedly grounded in Russia; TD Bank in Ponzi scheme cases involving TelexFree in Massachusetts and National Realty Investment Advisors in New Jersey; Jabil in contract manufacturing dispute with Beckman Coulter and Danaher Corporation; Frontdoor in acquisition litigation with Serviz; co-executors of estate of former CEO of Scholastic Inc. in various trust and probate matters; Hovnanian in landmark securities case regarding credit default swaps; Phoenix Insurance Company in asbestos-related coverage litigation; Travelers in centi-million-dollar pollution coverage action; Bayer in emergency court proceeding that ended competitor’s advertising campaign in two weeks; Weight Watchers in large securities class action and related derivative suits; Bayer in advertising challenges regarding Claritin, Aleve and Maty’s Healthy Products; Ziegler Family businesses in shareholder disputes; Footlocker Board members in derivative suits; and multiple confidential international and U.S. arbitrations. Devotes significant pro bono counsel to U.S. veterans, including work on historic ruling allowing veterans to bring class actions in Veterans Court and winning a 20-year dispute to secure disability benefits for a veteran following a VA appeal.

Malcolm (Mick) Tuesley

Head of Simpson Thacher’s National Security Regulatory Practice. Represents clients in national security reviews before CFIUS and assists with related issues, including mitigation of foreign ownership, control or influence (FOCI) under industrial security regulations, export control compliance and government contracting. Helps clients navigate worldwide foreign direct investment reviews. Negotiates national security agreements with the U.S. government for some of the largest and most complex transactions in the defense, energy, financial services, telecommunications and technology sectors.

Marcy Geller

Co-Head of Simpson Thacher’s Tax Practice concentrating on a wide range complex tax structuring, including private investment fund formation, mergers and acquisitions, REITs and real estate transactions, and joint ventures. Advises private equity clients on tax matters related to formation of funds, including real estate opportunity and credit funds, and the structuring of investments by those funds.

Mario Ponce

Partner in the Corporate Department. Focuses on negotiated and hostile merger and acquisition transactions, proxy contests, restructurings, joint ventures, corporate governance and shareholder activism. Represents both public and private companies in a variety of industries and advises private equity clients. Counsel to boards of directors and special committees concerning corporate governance, fiduciary duties and other matters. Has significant experience in the energy, industrials, retail and healthcare industries.

Mark Skerry

A Partner in Simpson Thacher’s National Security Regulatory Practice, Mark advises on significant cross-border transactions undergoing national security reviews before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and coordinates analogous foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals globally. He advises some of the world’s most well-known private equity firms, multinational corporations, and institutional investors across a variety of industries considered sensitive to national security such as aerospace and defense, semiconductors, telecommunications, sea and airports, energy generation, financial services, technology and social media, and life sciences, among others. Mark has significant experience negotiating commercially acceptable mitigation and responding to non-notified inquiries.

Marni Lerner

Co-Head of Simpson Thacher's Private Equity M&A Group. Represents a mix of private equity and corporate clients, including family and founder-owned companies, in mergers and acquisitions, public and private divestitures, strategic investments and securities law matters. Representations include KKR and its portfolio companies on transactions including Ensono, Neighborly, Teaching Strategies, OverDrive Holdings, Envision Healthcare, BMC, Nature's Bounty, Del Monte Foods, and Internet Brands. Has also advised AEA Investors, Gardner Denver, and Global Payments. Has significant experience in retail, consumer, healthcare and TMT industries.

Michael Wolitzer

Head of Investment Funds Practice, focusing on private investing and other facets of "alternative asset management." Has represented some of the largest and most well-known sponsors of private investment funds, including Apax Partners, Blackstone, Centerbridge, Lexington, Patria, Silver Lake and Sixth Street. In addition to private equity funds, has represented sponsors in other alternative asset classes, including real estate, energy/infrastructure, secondaries and credit/distressed debt. Also has represented global financial institutions in the establishment of their employee investment programs; been involved in acquisitions of, and investments in, private investment firms (including minority stakes transactions); and advised buyers, sellers and sponsors with respect to disposition of private fund interests, GP-led Secondaries and other secondary private equity transactions.

Nancy Mehlman

Co-Head of Simpson Thacher’s Tax Practice, Nancy Mehlman concentrates on fund formation, mergers and acquisitions, real estate transactions (including the use of REITs), energy and infrastructure investments, partnerships, joint ventures and related financing transactions in the credit and capital markets. She advises on tax matters for, among others, Blackstone, KKR, Carlyle and Morgan Stanley.

Naveed Anwar

Naveed Anwar is a Partner based in the Firm’s Corporate Department. Naveed’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, where he represents private equity firms and public and private companies in a variety of domestic and cross-border transactions. He has experience in a broad range of transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, carve-outs, leveraged buyouts, de-SPAC transactions, recapitalizations, venture financings, joint ventures and other complex transactions across a wide variety of sectors. Naveed’s private equity representations have included Hellman & Friedman, EQT, KKR, Silver Lake, Blackstone, Francisco Partners, Centerbridge, True Wind, TCV, Carlyle, Riverwood Capital, among others. His corporate representations have included Airbnb, Applied Systems, Dell, PPD, McKesson and UKG, among others.

Patrick Ryan

Patrick Ryan regularly represents leading financial institutions, investment banks and other lenders in connection with the arrangement and syndication of senior credit facilities, including acquisition, bridge and other corporate financings. Previously serving as Head of the Firm’s Global Banking and Credit Practice, he has significant experience in complicated financings in the leveraged finance, investment-grade, private credit and asset-based markets, often working with clients to develop innovative structures or to find solutions to difficult issues. He has also advised on special situations and the restructuring of existing credit facilities and other related financings, including DIP and exit financings. Patrick’s institutional clients include JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Citibank, Bank of America, Royal Bank of Canada, HSBC and Barclays. Patrick also represents companies in connection with their financing activities, and his clients have included AOL, American Media, Bard, Cengage Learning, Evercore, Hulu, iHeartMedia, MasterCard, News Corporation, Radioshack, Sky Deutschland, Travelers Companies, 21st Century Fox, CentralSquare Technologies, Vantage Airport Group and Universal Studios. Patrick has also been active in representing clients in sports and entertainment ventures, including Forest City Ratner Companies and other investors in connection with the acquisition and relocation of the Nets NBA franchise to Brooklyn. Recently, Patrick has been representing clients in partnerships between banks and credit funds in connection with the continued growth of the private credit and alternative capital market.

Peter Kazanoff

Partner focusing on M&A, securities, and derivative litigations. M&A representations include private equity transactions involving KKR, such as Del Monte, Gardner Denver, and HCA, as well as strategic transactions involving Change Healthcare, First Data, GGP, Microsoft, Convey Health, Tyco, CorpBanca, Eaton, Xerox, and Mars. Securities and derivative representations including Dollar General, Fairfield Greenwich in Madoff-related matters, TD Bank in Stanford-related matters, Envision, Ubiquiti Networks, and PAAMCO Prisma in Kentucky pension litigation.

Preston Miller

Preston Miller, a Partner in the Firm’s Washington, D.C. office, focuses his practice on antitrust and competition law. With a particular emphasis on merger review, he has extensive experience obtaining regulatory clearances from domestic and international competition authorities for high-profile, often cross-border, transactions across a wide variety of industries. In addition to securing regulatory approvals, Preston also has experience defending transactions in court, including successfully litigating against the Department of Justice in their challenge to the UnitedHealth Group / Change Healthcare transaction, as well as acting as a key member of the trial team in the FTC’s challenge to the Staples / Office Depot transaction. Preston represents a mix of both private equity and corporate clients, including in a wide range of sectors such as industrial, automotive, life sciences/healthcare, defense, retail, semiconductors, and more.

Rajib Chanda

Hailed as a “Trailblazer” by the American Lawyer for his legal contributions to the democratization of access by ordinary investors to private markets investments, Rajib helps asset management firms design, develop and structure investment products. Rajib heads Simpson Thacher’s Registered Funds practice, which has over 75 lawyers globally. Rajib regularly represents the leading asset management firms in the world., including recent representations of Apollo, Artisan Partners, BC Partners, Benefit Street, Blackstone, Blue Owl, Carlyle, Cohen & Steers, Coller Capital, Diameter Capital, First Eagle, Golub, HarbourVest, Irradiant Partners, JPMorgan Asset Management, KKR, Lexington Partners, Morgan Stanley, New Mountain, Onex Credit, Sixth Street Partners, SkyBridge Capital, Starwood Capital Group and TPG Angelo Gordon, among many others.

Sara Razi

Sara Razi is Global Co-Chair of the Firm’s Antitrust and Trade Regulation Practice. She is a leading antitrust attorney, focusing on merger reviews, government antitrust investigations, antitrust litigation, and counseling on a variety of competition issues. Sara regularly represents clients in antitrust investigations by the DOJ, FTC and States, and has secured successful outcomes in several complex and closely-watched mergers and high-profile antitrust litigations. Her extensive private-sector and government antitrust experience spans a multitude of industries including media, telecommunications, technology, supermarkets and other retail, oil and gas, consumer products, healthcare providers, pharmaceuticals, and financial services. Representative clients have included: Ahold N.V., Apax Funds, Best Buy, BMC Stock Holdings, BorgWarner Inc., Change Healthcare, CSL Ltd., Cypress Semiconductor, Dell Technologies, DIRECTV, Dollar General, EQT, HCA Healthcare, Hellman & Friedman and its portfolio companies, K2M, KKR and its portfolio companies, Lorillard, Mars, McKesson, PPD and Siltronic. Sara is an authority on antitrust issues and speaks frequently at conferences sponsored by the ABA, law schools, and private organizations. She also serves as Co-Chair of the Firm’s Pro Bono Committee.

Scott Kobak

Real Estate Partner primarily representing institutional investors in complex commercial real estate transactions, real estate company acquisitions and developments, joint ventures and financings, including active involvement with many of the most prominent real estate private equity funds. Frequent clients include the real estate fund business of Carlyle, KKR, Blackstone and Crown Acquisitions. Recent transactions include Blackstone in a $7 billion joint venture with Digital Realty to develop four hyperscale data center campuses, Blackstone’s purchase and financing of QTS Data Centers in an $11 billion take private transaction, KKR’s acquisition of the Edge Observation Deck at 30 Hudson Yards and several multifamily development joint ventures for The Carlyle Group in New York.

Sophie Staples

A Partner in the Firm’s Tax Practice, Sophie Staples advises clients on tax matters in a variety of transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, financing transactions and securities offerings. She has advised private equity sponsors, as well as their portfolio companies and other strategic clients, on the tax aspects of numerous investments, acquisitions and divestitures. Her clients have included, among others, Blackstone, Apax Partners, KKR, Centerbridge and BC Partners.

Stephen Blake

Steve Blake is a Litigation Partner in our Palo Alto office. Steve has extensive experience resolving high-stakes shareholder litigation and securities regulatory matters. Steve regularly advises corporations, financial institutions, funds and their advisors in connection with mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, legal compliance and commercial disputes. Steve also regularly represents entities and individuals before the SEC, FINRA and stock exchanges. Steve frequently writes and lectures on shareholder litigation, fiduciary duties and issues under the Securities Act, Exchange Act, Investment Company Act and Investment Advisors Act. Steve is the author of the quarterly “Stock Block” column in The Recorder. His recent columns “Along Came SPACs, and Then SPAC Litigation,” “Challenges to Corporate Decision-Making in the Face of Increasingly Polarized Responses to ESG Initiatives,” and “Burgeoning ‘Caremark’ Claims Likely to Drive Stockholder Demands” have been widely read. Steve is Co-Head of the Firm’s Asia Litigation Practice and is also Co-Chair of the Firm’s Knowledge & Innovation Committee. Recognized as a 2021 Law360 “Rising Star” in Securities, Steve is also recognized by Euromoney’s Benchmark Litigation as a “Future Star,” and was a repeat honoree on their “40 & Under List.” Steve was named among the Daily Journal’s “Leading Commercial Litigators” for 2024. He was selected as part of Bloomberg Law’s “40 Under 40” in 2022, and by the Daily Journal as one of the “Top 40 Under 40” lawyers in California in 2018. Steve is consistently recognized by The Legal 500 in both M&A Litigation and Shareholder Litigation, and as a “Rising Star” in Northern California securities litigation by Super Lawyers.

Whitney Salinas

Whitney Salinas is a Partner in the Firm’s Real Estate Department focusing on real estate finance. She regularly represents private equity firms and portfolio companies on some of the most significant real estate matters in the market. This includes a broad range of commercial real estate financing transactions including CMBS, balance sheet, mezzanine, agency and construction financings as well as market-leading, complex transactions involving a variety of asset classes, such as data centers, industrial, hospitality, office, studio, life-science, retail, self-storage and manufactured homes, among others.

William Sheehan

Corporate Partner William Sheehan regularly represents financial institutions and companies in connection with syndicated leveraged finance, direct lending, and other credit transactions. His practice covers a wide range of bank finance—including acquisition-related credit facilities, bridge financings, private credit transactions, general corporate and investment grade transactions, asset-based loans, restructurings and debtor-in-possession financings. He has handled transactions for JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citibank, Royal Bank of Canada, UBS/Credit Suisse and Antares, as well as for other lenders and companies.

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