Keith Halverstam > Latham & Watkins LLP > New York, United States > Lawyer Profile

Latham & Watkins LLP is one of few firms operating at the top of the capital markets arena in both issuer and underwriter engagements, including in the high-yield space. Beyond its core team of high-yield experts in New York, it has specialists in multiple offices across the country, including in Houston, Washington DC, Chicago and various California offices. The firm has deep connections to private equity houses and sponsor-backed issuers, public companies and various banks, and its steady pipeline of deals include numerous M&A and buyout-related debt offerings. It continues to expand and invest in its capital markets practice, bringing in prominent leveraged finance and high-yield debt expert Corey Wright and rising talent Lisa Collier from Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP in January 2023. They join a sizeable team which includes New York office managing partner Marc Jaffe, global chair of the capital markets group Ian Schuman, Keith Halverstam, vice chair Stelios Saffos, Senet Bischoff, Erika Weinberg and Washington DC’s Rachel Sheridan. All named partners are based in New York unless stated otherwise.

The nationwide group at Latham & Watkins LLP includes former SEC senior officials and experienced corporate practitioners, who focus on highly specialized SEC matters involving complex disclosure and compliance issues under the US federal securities laws. Co-chairs Ian Schuman, Keith Halverstam, and Jenna Cooper in New York are key figures in the team and are well supported by Julia Thompson in Washington DC, who focuses on securities regulation. ESG issues are a key area of work for the team, which takes a multidisciplinary approach to a wide range of matters, including responsible investment, sustainability, and corporate integrity issues. Vice-chairs Stelios Saffos  and Jeffrey Lawlis are also key names.