Jeffrey Poss > Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP > New York, United States > Lawyer Profile

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP enjoys a formidable reputation for its capacity to handle both high-end and middle market deals, remaining one of the most active firms for PE-backed buyout deals. The scope of the firm’s reach is a considerable strength, with offices in key domestic and international business hubs such as New York, the Bay Area, LA, Chicago, Paris, Frankfurt and London. Additionally, the depth of practice is another particular asset, with a broad range of sector expertise spanning the likes of tech, healthcare, insurance and retail. Co-head Jeffrey Poss is vastly experienced in high-value PE and M&A transactions, with a particular industry focus on financial services, fintech and TMT. Neil Townsend also heads the team from New York, adept at handling complex leveraged buyouts, PIPE and distressed transactions. Morgan Elwyn played a lead role representing Insight Partners in its acquisition of Inovalon, in a deal valued at around $7.3bn Another lawyer with a reputation for high-value M&A is Rosalind Fahey Kruse , who also regularly advises PE sponsors on strategic and governance matters. Matthew Rizzo has noteworthy knowledge of the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors, while Los Angeles-based Ray LaSoya joined from Cooley LLP in February 2022. All other lawyers mentioned are located in New York.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP provides its fintech clients with ‘deep domain expertise‘ and ‘highly pragmatic deal skills‘. The multi-faceted team’s ‘effective and efficient‘ service levels also attract praise, with lawyers always delivering in ‘a very timely manner, and their level of response time to any and all communication is unmatched‘. The firm has invested heavily into the practice in recent years, and in 2022 it enhanced its crypto offering through the recruitment from Perkins Coie LLP of Kari Larsen who now co-heads the digital works team with regulatory expert Christopher Giancarlo, a former chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as well as Washington DC-based regulatory partner Justin Browder and DC-based litigation partner A. Kristina Littman, another arrival who previously served as Chief of the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit at the SEC. Other key individuals include Georgia Bullitt (‘the best of the best‘), who co-chairs the firm’s financial institutions and regulatory practice group. Private equity co-chair Jeffrey Poss is also noted for his ‘fantastic and knowledgeable team‘. All lawyers are based in New York unless otherwise stated.