Sarah Downie > Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP > New York, United States > Lawyer Profile
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Offices
767 5TH AVENUE
NEW YORK, NY 10153
NEW YORK
United States
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Sarah Downie
Position
Partner
Career
Sarah Downie is an Executive Compensation & Benefits partner in Weil’s Tax Department and is based in New York. Sarah advises clients on all aspects of compensation and employee benefits. Sarah has extensive experience in the executive compensation and employee benefits aspects of mergers, acquisitions and financings. She represents senior executives and companies in the negotiation and drafting of employment and severance agreements. She also advises as to the design and operation of executive and employee benefit arrangements including equity compensation and cash incentive plans, change in control and retention arrangements and nonqualified deferred compensation plans. Sarah advises clients on pension plan investment and compliance with ERISA’s fiduciary obligations and prohibited transaction rules. She regularly counsels private fund sponsors in connection with ERISA’s “plan asset” regulations and with VCOC, REOC and similar issues.
Education
Osgoode Hall Law School (J.D., 1995).
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
Counting domestic and international corporations among its key list of clients, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP specializes in handling the executive compensation and employee benefits aspects of complex M&A, IPOs and private equity transactions. The firm represents a broad range of clients spanning across industries such as real estate, food, and nuclear energy, with the team members advising on all elements of equity and incentive compensation plans. Paul Wessel
leads the team from the New York office, focusing on executive compensation matters arising from M&A and financial restructurings. Michael Nissan routinely assists private equity funds and their portfolio companies in structuring management compensation arrangements, while Amy Rubin offers extensive experience of counselling public and private entities on issues surrounding employee benefits. Sarah Downie regularly supports senior executives and companies in the negotiation and drafting of employment and severance agreements. All mentioned attorneys are based in New York. Regina Readling joine from Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in July 2022.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Corporate governance
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
Firm Rankings
- Media, technology and telecoms > Advertising and marketing: litigation
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Intellectual property > Copyright
- Tax > Financial products
- Tax > International tax
- Labor and employment > Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions)
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: litigation
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort
- Real estate > Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- Intellectual property > Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)
- Labor and employment > Workplace and employment counseling
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Energy > Energy transactions: oil and gas
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices
- Real estate > Real estate
- Industry focus > Sport
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: transactions
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: litigation
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- Finance > Commercial lending
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense