Elite New York firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP delivers first-rate expertise in M&A, divestitures, joint ventures, PIPE deals, SPAC transactions, spin-offs and strategic investments. Presiding partner Faiza Saeed is an expert in corporate governance, crisis management and takeover defense – she handles a wealth of major transactions, and is particularly formidable within the technology, biotech and media sectors. Robert Townsend III has a track record in the telecoms and broadcasting industries, and Mark Greene‘s core strengths encompass M&A, securities matters, cross-border deals, proxy fights and private equity transactions. Richard Hall fronts the EMEA transactional offering, while George Schoen is a go-to for hostile and contested transactions. At the more junior end of the partnership spectrum, Ting Chen, Aaron Gruber and Keith Hallam serve as eminent examples of the team’s bench strength, having already amassed track records in overseeing significant, multibillion-dollar transactions.

Equipped to support on market-defining, multijurisdictional deals across all major industries, Kirkland & Ellis LLP caters to a wide-ranging client roster of public and private companies, financial advisors and boards of directors. David Fox has transacted a colossal $500bn worth of deals throughout his illustrious career, while Daniel Wolf is a standout for cross-border and contested transactions, activism defense and governance matters. The practice, which predominantly consists of New York-based lawyers, is also home to Jonathan Davis, one of the market’s foremost names for SPAC-related transactions.

‘One of the largest practices in the multi-billion transaction market’, Latham & Watkins LLP is a go-to for deals of international significance. Key distinguishers for the practice include its fortitude for SPAC and de-SPAC transactions, as well as its ability to call upon the firm’s reputed antitrust and capital markets departments when required. San Francisco-based Luke Bergstrom fronts the practice which has noted a considerable uptick in its activity in the technology, healthcare and life sciences sectors throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and is likewise active in the media and entertainment, hospitality and real estate sectors, among others. In New York, Charles Ruck is a star name for public company mergers, tender offers, divestitures and strategic acquisitions, while in Silicon Valley, Tad Freese caters to numerous technology players on M&A, IPO, corporate governance and public company disclosure affairs. The team was strengthened in early 2022 with the hire of Teri O’Brien from Paul Hastings LLP, where she was co-chair of the securities and capital markets practice group.

Hailed as ‘an extraordinary practice of top individuals’, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is a top-of-the-market resource for M&A, corporate governance issues, activist campaigns, proxy fights, tender offers and unsolicited transactions. Corporate chair Scott Barshay has played a central role on some of the largest transactions in sectors including aerospace and defense, consumer and retail, TMT, industrials and healthcare; his team includes Robert Schumer, a lawyer with over 30 years’ of experience in M&A, joint ventures, LBOs and joint ventures, as well as Jeffrey Marell, who possesses extensive expertise in negotiation and contested deals, minority investments and carve-outs transactions. Named lawyers are based in New York, as is Steven Williams, whose broad expertise includes mergers-of-equals, carve-outs, spin-outs and sales of asset management firms.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP's team of 'first-rate M&A practitioners' has a long-established reputation for expertise across a broad variety of corporate transactions including joint ventures, negotiated and unsolicited mergers and takeovers, minority investments and buyouts. Kathryn King Sudol is also an expert in respect of LBOs, going-private transactions, securities law and strategic investments, serving as practice co-head alongside Eric Swedenburg, who complements his transactional prowess with shareholder activism, corporate governance and general corporate knowhow. Lee Meyerson fronts the firm's financial institutions practice, handling a plethora of sector-specific deals, while Alan Klein is significantly well-versed in fintech, technology and healthcare-related transactions. Mario Ponce is another integral name to the practice, leveraging three decades worth of experience. Referenced lawyers are based in New York.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP caters to a range of both corporate and private equity players on major deals, leveraging a track record of deals which intersect the national, European, Asian and Latin American markets. The practice of ‘user-friendly attorneys who are both book-smart and street-smart’ is co-led by Michael Diz, a San Francisco lawyer accomplished in the TMT sector, alongside New York-based Kevin Rinker, a healthcare sector expert. The New York office is likewise home to the considerable experience of Jeffrey Rosen, a veteran of countless high-profile deals, as well as Sue Meng, a well-regarded up-and-coming transactional lawyer who co-chairs the firm’s pro bono committee.

At Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, key distinguishers include the team’s well-established proficiency in SPAC and de-SPAC transactions, as well as its expertise in shareholder activism, defense tactics and hostile takeovers. The practice, which is an active player in the Silicon Valley and Texas markets, is led from New York by corporate chair Michael Aiello, a major figure in the market for bet-the-company transactions. Michael Lubowitz heads the M&A practice and thrives on strategic investment, hostile tender offer and spin-off deals, among others, while Matthew Gilroy is reputed for both domestic and cross-border transactions.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is home to a national team of 300 corporate lawyers, bolstered by a global offering of 1,500 practitioners spread across the Americas, Europe, East Asia and the Middle East. Its team demonstrates prowess in the full spectrum of domestic and international transactions, handling negotiated and contested mergers, tender and exchange offers, spin-offs, stock and asset purchases, LBOs and joint ventures, among other matters. Saee Muzumdar  co-heads the practice alongside Robert Little  who operates from Dallas; their team includes firm chair and managing partner, Barbara Becker, whose track record encompasses headline deals in the industrial, consumer, retail, healthcare and technology sectors. Named lawyers are based in New York unless otherwise stated.

Hogan Lovells US LLP is able to call upon 2,500 corporate lawyers spread across 45 global offices. The practice, which is naturally engaged on both the cross-border and domestic fronts, and is active in an variety of different sectors including automotive, aerospace, government services, education, healthcare, media and telecoms. William Curtin leads the global practice from Washington DC, having transacted close to $100bn worth of deals throughout his illustrious career. Elsewhere in Silicon Valley, Richard Climan fronts the tech-related offering, meanwhile Keith Flaum leverages deep experience in public and private M&A, multijurisdictional deals and joint ventures. In February 2022, the firm welcomed two major arrivals in New York, with experienced public M&A and corporate governance advisors Peter Cohen-Millstein and Adrienne Ellman joining from Linklaters LLP and Foley Hoag LLP respectively.

Ropes & Gray LLP has an integrated global practice which is routinely involved in high-end SPAC transactions, and is particularly well-regaded for its specialism in the life sciences sector. In Boston, Christopher Comeau has expertise in the consumer and medical technology sectors; he co-heads the practice alongside Jane Goldstein, who splits her time between New York and Boston, and is acclaimed for her ‘excellent grasp of market conditions and significant transactions.’

Shearman & Sterling LLP is acclaimed for its ‘excellent expertise in complex, multi-jurisdictional transactions’. George Casey, a ‘truly outstanding attorney’, oversees an array of public company acquisitions, strategic investments, joint ventures and carve-out transactions; he co-leads the practice jointly with Scott Petepiece, whose fields of expertise encompass contested transactions, proxy contests and topping bids. The duo operate from New York which is also the home office of Clare O’Brien, whos practice has a particular emphasis on the healthcare, industrials and financial services sectors.

White & Case LLP’s M&A practice handles a broad mixture of domestic and global deals, demonstrating a particular tenacity for SPAC-related transactions. The practice, which often works in close tangent with the wider firm’s financial restructuring and insolvency teams, is co-led by John Reiss and Chang-Do Gong and caters to a balanced combination of corporate and private equity clients. Standout practitioner Michael Deyong operates across public and private M&A, sale, going-private and spin-off deals, with a strong focus on the telecoms and healthcare sectors.

Baker Botts L.L.P. caters to an array of corporate players, from major multinational companies through to high-net-worth individuals involved in family business sales, with a particular emphasis on the TMT, energy and natural resources sectors. In Dallas, Samantha Crispin handles significant deals on behalf of media, telecoms, digital infrastructure, software and services companies, while over in New York, Jonathan Gordon has overseen a significant number of cross-border deals throughout his 25-year career. Other key names operate from the Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Francisco offices.

At Dechert LLP, cross-border transactions form approximately two-thirds of the workload – the team is able to draw on support from a substantial global platform spread across more than 20 offices across the US, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. In New York, Mark Thierfelder, a veteran of over 200 transactions, leads the corporate and securities practice and also serves as global chair of the firm’s private equity department. Key sectors include life sciences, healthcare, industrials and financial services.

Jones Day fields an international team of 400 M&A lawyers spread across 17 countries; its domestic offering is centered in New York, alongside lawyers in Atlanta, Chicago, California, Detroit and Miami, among other locations. James Dougherty is adept in a broad breadth of transactional affairs including LBOs, M&A, takeover defense, proxy contests, corporate governance and shareholder activism; he fronts the global offering while Randi Lesnick serves as chair for the Americas, advising on mergers, divestitures, takeovers, capital raising and restructuring mandates.

Morrison Foerster's team is well-regarded for ‘bringing a lot of experience to the deal table’. The practice - which has notable strength on cross-border deals, as well as in-depth knowledge of the technology sector - is co-chaired from New York by Spencer Klein; his track record includes more than 150 mergers, tender and exchange offers, stock and asset acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures. Over in San Francisco, Brandon Parris  is the second co-chair and caters to a number of gaming, technology, energy, media, consumer goods and life science players.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP handles a range of deals across a wealth of different sectors, catering to major players in the financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, insurance, real estate and technology industries, among others. The team is well-suited to support on the full spectrum of transaction types, including more specialized deals such as LBOS, SPACs, de-SPACs and minority investments. The ‘extremely talented’ David Boston has been particularly active in terms of asset management-related M&A of late and co-heads the practice alongside Steven Seidman, a specialist in both transactional and corporate governance affairs; the pair are based in New York alongside Laura Delanoy, an expert in both public and private M&A.

As well as substantial international capabilities, Mayer Brown has an expansive national footprint, with M&A lawyers in Los Angeles, Houston, New York, Palo Alto, Washington DC and Chicago. The latter office is home to practice co-chairs William Kucera  and Jodi Simala, whose broad practice spans M&A, stock and asset deals, divestitures, tender and exchange offers and joint ventures in addition to corporate governance and defensive measures.

Hailed as ‘excellent, business-focused counsel’, Paul Hastings LLP can draw on resources in New York, California, Washington DC, Texas and Illinois, among other locations; its offices are proficient in a wealth of matters from joint ventures, strategic development and early-stage growth through to complex, multi-billion dollar cross-border M&A. Thad Mailk leads the practice from Chicago, overseeing a team with particular expertise in media, entertainment, defense and aerospace, technology and life sciences.

Praised for its ‘understanding of business objectives’, Proskauer Rose LLP is known for its broad industry knowledge, which includes life sciences, media, technology, hospitality, gaming and leisure. Lauren Boglivi handles significant deals on behalf of private and public companies, investment banks, family offices and private equity sponsors, garnering particular acclaim within the sports and entertainment industries; she co-heads the practice from New York alongside Daniel Ganitsky.

The corporate team at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP supports clients on major M&A deals, buyouts, private debt investment, distressed transactions, SPAC deals and shareholder activist affairs. New York-based Zachary Wittenberg co-leads the practice alongside John Goodgame, a Houston lawyer who is especially well-accomplished within the energy sector; their team serves as general counsel to a number of companies, boards and executives and is also reputed for its investment fund representation.

A team which ‘runs like clockwork’, magic circle firm Allen & Overy LLP is a go-to for cross-border deals and has been particularly busy within the asset management, renewable energy and financial services sectors of late. New York-based practice heads Eric Shube and William Schwitter each possess over 35 years of respective experience within the transactional space; their team is formidable within the technology, healthcare and consumer brands fields. Dario de Martino joined the group in September 2021 and arrives with distinct expertise in blockchain-enabled technologies.

At Bracewell LLP, the client roster encompasses major corporates, financial institutions and private equity firms in addition to expanding small and mid-cap businesses. The Houston-based team includes William Anderson, a veteran of numerous M&A and capital markets transactions in addition to SEC compliance and disclose affairs; he co-leads the offering alongside Charles Still, a specialist in energy-related deals.

Magic circle firm Clifford Chance is extremely active on the cross-border front, leveraging its global footprint of 32 offices spread across 22 countries. Sarah Jones, qualified in both New York and English law, demonstrates a track record of representing household names within the consumer goods sector. Elsewhere, Benjamin Sibbett, who leads the team alongside Jones, is a key contact for transaction within the healthcare, media, information services, industrials and pharmaceuticals industries.

The New York-based Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP is extremely active in terms of SPAC transactions and also handles an array of deals in the technology, electronic vehicle, leisure, financial services and entertainment sectors. Practice chair Charles Samuelson  is well-versed in public and private M&A, going-private deals and joint ventures in addition to debt and equity financings; he operates from New York and oversees a team which a particular tenacity for cross-border deals, having been particularly active in the Asia-Pacific region of late.

Vinson & Elkins LLP is a long-established player in the field of energy-related M&A and is also an active name in the technology, consumer goods, life sciences, real estate and finance sectors. Based in Houston, Keith Fullenweider handles private equity and public company merger deals, boasting specialist expertise in transactions with conflict, specialist committee process and regulated business components. Other key names are based in Dallas and New York, among other locations.