Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

debevoise.com

Client satisfaction

Jonathan Adler is a corporate partner based in Debevoise's New York office and a member of the firm’s Investment Management Group. His practice focuses on advising sponsors of private investment funds, including buyout, growth capital, energy, infrastructure and credit funds. In addition to his work with U.S. and European funds, Mr. Adler has also advised clients in establishing private equity funds, offices and joint ventures in various emerging markets, including Africa, India and South America. Mr. Adler’s recent experience includes acting for clients such as The Carlyle Group, Carmel Partners, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Crescent Capital Group, Global Infrastructure Partners, JP Morgan, KKR, Prudential Capital Group, Trimaran Capital Partners and Vinci Partners. Mr. Adler is ranked as a leading lawyer for private equity funds by Chambers Global (2023) and Chambers USA (2023), where clients note that he is “a very smart practitioner who has a strong knowledge of the market” and he has “an incredible ability to synthesize complex information.” Sources have also said that “he cuts to the heart of a problem quickly and he’s quick thinker.” They have described him as “a supremely talented fund formation lawyer providing thoughtful and commercial advice; he is very creative.” Clients have also noted that he has a “fine combination of really good technical skills and a really good sense of the commercial and practical realities” and that he is “an extraordinary lawyer; he's very thoughtful and brings a commercial, get-things-resolved attitude.” He was named to Private Funds Management’s “30 Under 40”, which recognizes the top private equity funds lawyers under the age of 40. He was also named a Rising Star by Law360 (2017) and is recommended by IFLR1000 (2022). Mr. Adler joined the firm in 2005. He received a J.D. magna cum laude from New York University in 2005, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif, and a B.S. from Cornell University in 2002. Mr. Adler is admitted to the bar in New York.

Catherine Amirfar

Christopher Anthony

Christopher Anthony is Co-Chair of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions Group and a member of the Private Equity Group. He has worked extensively on acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures for both private equity and corporate clients.

Jason Auerbach is a partner based in the New York office and a member of the firm’s Investment Management Group. His practice focuses on advising sponsors of private investment funds, co-investment vehicles and separately managed accounts covering numerous sectors and strategies including buyout, fund of funds, secondaries and growth capital funds. Mr. Auerbach’s recent experience includes acting for clients such as Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and HarbourVest Partners. Mr. Auerbach is recommended by Chambers Global (2024) and Chambers USA (2024), where clients note he is “thoughtful, responsive, smart and commercial,” with “deep institutional knowledge and broader market views.” He has also been described as “experienced, super sharp and an incredibly aggressive advocate but in a nice way.” He is recognized by The Legal 500 US (2024), where sources have noted that he is “extremely smart, commercial, and focused on getting the deal done.” Mr. Auerbach was also named to The American Lawyer’s “Dealmakers of the Year” list (2024). Mr. Auerbach joined the firm in 2008. He received a J.D. cum laude from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 2008, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and a Dean’s Distinguished Scholar. He also served as an articles editor for the Cardozo Law Review. He received a B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004. Mr. Auerbach is a member of the Bars of New York and New Jersey. He served on the Board of Trustees for the Moriah School of Englewood.

Andrew Bab is a corporate partner, member of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity Groups and Co-Chair of the Healthcare & Life Sciences Group. Mr. Bab has worked extensively on public and private acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures, including cross-border transactions for both private equity and corporate clients, as well as licensing arrangements and other corporate transactions. He has experience across many industries but is particularly active in the healthcare and life sciences sectors. In addition, he frequently advises Deutsche Bank, Guggenheim Securities, J.P. Morgan Securities, Morgan Stanley and other investment banks on major M&A transactions.

Jasmine Ball is a corporate partner and member of the firm’s Restructuring Group. Ms. Ball regularly represents debtors, investors, creditors and other parties in distressed mergers & acquisitions, workouts, debt and equity financing and refinancing, complex restructurings and Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Ms. Ball is recognized by The Legal 500 US (2014–2023), where she is praised for her “extensive knowledge of the bankruptcy code, combined with in-depth knowledge on how to leverage and negotiate matters with a broad range of often competing stakeholders,” and her “strong management skills and critical thinking.” She is also noted as “calm, focused,” and “thoughtful and smart.” She is listed as a Notable Practitioner for Restructuring and Insolvency by IFLR1000 (2022) Ms. Ball is among the winners of The M&A Advisor’s 2022 Restructuring Community Impact Award and Restructuring Deal of the Year Award (Over $5B), as well as AirFinance Journal’s Asia-Pacific Deal of the Year Award and Airline Economics’ Asia Pacific Restructuring Deal of the Year Award, each for her role as restructuring counsel to Philippine Airlines. She was previously among the winners of The M&A Advisor’s 2021 Chapter 11 Reorganization of the Year (over $1B) for her role as counsel to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board as co-sponsor of Neiman Marcus in its Chapter 11 restructuring. Ms. Ball was among the winners of Turnaround Management Association’s 2018 International Restructuring of the Year, Global M&A Network’s Turnaround Atlas Awards 2018 Corporate Turnaround of the Year and M&A Advisor’s 2017 Restructuring Deal of the Year ($1B to $5B) for her role as aircraft counsel to CHC Group in its successful Chapter 11 proceedings, as well as Turnaround Management Association’s 2016 Transaction of the Year: Large Company Award for her role in advising Altegrity in its Chapter 11 proceedings and successful restructuring of more than $1.8 billion in funded indebtedness. She was also a recipient of Turnaround Management Association’s 2014 Transaction of the Year: Mega Company Award for her role in advising American Airlines and AMR, as special aircraft counsel, in their highly successful Chapter 11 proceedings. Ms. Ball has been named a 2015 recipient of the Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business awards and recognized as an Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyer (2013) by Turnarounds & Workouts. Ms. Ball is an author of the Collier Business Workout Guide (Matthew Bender, 2022) and a contributing author to the Collier Guide to Chapter 11: Key Topics and Selected Industries (Matthew Bender, 2016). Other publications include: “Recent Court Decisions Add Potential Risks in Workout Transactions,” Journal of Corporate Renewal (2016); “Restructuring Aircraft Leases in Bankruptcy,” Jetrader (2014); “Rules of the Road: Buying Distressed Assets,” Bankruptcy Law360 and Corporate Finance Law360 (2010); “In the Zone,” The Deal (2009); “Duties of Directors of Distressed Companies: Avoiding an Intrinsic Fairness Review,” Debevoise & Plimpton Private Equity Report (2009); “The Duties of Private Equity Directors of Distressed Companies,” Directors & Boards Boardroom Briefing (2009); “Caution Ahead: Rules of the Road for Buying Assets from Distressed Companies,” Debevoise & Plimpton Private Equity Report (2009); “Alert: Duties of Directors of Distressed Companies: An Update and Refresher,” Debevoise & Plimpton Private Equity Report (2008); “Section 363 Sales: How to Play the Game,” Debevoise & Plimpton Private Equity Report (2007); “Distressed Deals: Section 363 M&A: How to Play the Game,” The Deal (2007); and “The Globopar Financial Restructuring: A New Model for International Workouts,” International Corporate Rescue (2006). Ms. Ball has presented at the International Air Transport Association, Airline Economics’ Aviation and Finance Leasing School, the American Bankruptcy Institute, the American Bar Association, the Practising Law Institute, the American College of Investment Counsel, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation, among others. Ms. Ball is a member of the Bar of the State of New York and is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Ms. Ball is Board Advisor of the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC) New York Chapter and serves on the Board of Directors of the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY). She is also a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Turnaround Management Association, the TMA New York Academic Relations Committee, the International Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the Advisory Board of Practical Law Bankruptcy. She is also a member of the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Council and is active in various Asian legal associations, including Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund and Asian American Bar Association activities. Ms. Ball received her B.S. from Princeton University and her J.D. from the University of Michigan, where she was an executive editor of the Journal of International Law.

Megan Bannigan

Megan K. Bannigan

Her practice focuses on trademarks, trade dress, copyrights, false advertising, design patents, rights of publicity, licensing and other contractual disputes. She represents clients across a range of industries, including consumer products, cosmetics, entertainment, fashion and luxury goods, financial services, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, professional sports and technology. Ms. Bannigan has extensive trial experience, helping to secure an over $20 million jury verdict for client Learning Annex in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, among other matters. She also has experience representing clients before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and the International Trade Commission.

Sally Bergmann is a corporate partner and a member of Debevoise's Investment Management Group. Her practice focuses on advising sponsors of private equity funds, including buyout, venture, real estate and credit opportunities funds. Ms. Bergmann’s recent experience includes acting for clients such as Blackstone Alternative Asset Management, Breakthrough Properties, Burford Capital, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, EQT, Kelso & Company, KKR, Morgan Stanley, Odyssey Investment Partners, Pine Island Capital Partners, Sequoia Capital, Tishman Speyer and WeWork. Ms. Bergmann is recommended by Chambers Global (2023) and Chambers USA (2023), where clients note that she is “very sharp, practical” and “a tremendous legal adviser” who is “thoughtful, commercial and solution-oriented.” She has also received praise for her “unparalleled” client service, with sources saying that she is “very quick and knowledgeable” and “she always has her finger on the pulse.” She has also been named a Rising Star by Law360 (2023) and listed as a Rising Star for Investment Funds by IFLR1000 (2022). Ms. Bergmann is a co-author of “Expect Fundraising Market To Grow More Competitive,” Law360 (August, 2022). She is also the author of “The Application of Conduit Theory in Interest Rate Swap Transactions: Schering-Plough Corporation v. United States,” 63 Tax. L. 437 (2010). Ms. Bergmann is a member of the 2022 Associate Leadership Institute Planning Committee for the NY City Bar Association’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion and was Debevoise’s 2019 Fellow for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. From 2009 to 2011, she served as a member of The Tax Lawyer. Ms. Bergmann joined Debevoise in 2011. She received a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in 2011, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis in 2008.

David H. Bernstein

David H. Bernstein is one of the world’s most prominent trademark lawyers. Many of the world’s most recognizable brands have relied on him to help them navigate high-stakes IP claims. Mr. Bernstein is also one of the world’s leading domain name arbitrators, an active mediator in trademark cases, an adjunct professor of law at New York University and George Washington University, a faculty member at the Federal Judicial Center and the World Intellectual Property Organization, the author of amicus briefs in many of the leading trademark cases in the United States, and an active leader of the International Trademark Association, where he has served as Counsel, a member of the Board of Directors, Co-Chair of the Annual Meeting, and Chair of the International Amicus, Emerging Issues and Meetings Committees. He is described by various legal directories as a “rockstar,” “the dean of the IP litigation bar,” and “indisputably one of the very best trademark lawyers in the country.”

Joe Binder is a corporate partner and a member of Debevoise's Investment Management Group. His practice focuses on advising established and emerging sponsors on all aspects of private investment funds, including fund formation and ongoing fund and management company operations. Mr. Binder’s experience includes acting for clients such as Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, HarbourVest Partners, Crescent Capital Group, Stone Point Capital, Morgan Stanley, and One Rock Capital. Mr. Binder first joined Debevoise as an associate in the tax and investment management groups in 2013, and later spent time as Associate General Counsel at Debevoise client, Sequoia Capital. He rejoined the firm as a counsel in 2022. He earned his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School summa cum laude in 2013. Mr. Binder is the co-author of “A Model for Measuring the Expected Value of Assuming Tax-Partnership Liability,” an article published by the Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law in 2013. He received a B.A. magna cum laude from Northeastern Illinois University in 2008. Prior to law school, Mr. Binder worked as a communications consultant to nonprofit organizations in New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago.

Paul Bird is Head of the firm’s European Corporate Practice and a senior M&A partner. His practice focuses on advising private equity firms, public companies, boards of directors and special committees in connection with mergers & acquisitions and other significant corporate matters, including cross-border transactions, leveraged buyouts, spin-offs and takeover defense. He also regularly counsels corporations and their directors on corporate governance and fiduciary duty matters. A former member of the firm’s Management Committee, Mr. Bird was Co-Chair of the firm’s Corporate Department from 2010 to 2016 and Co-Head of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions Practice from 2001 to 2010.

Michael Bolotin

Michael Bolotin is a partner and a member of the firm’s Tax Department and Special Situations team. His practice focuses on public and private M&A transactions across many industries, including asset managers, business services, healthcare, industrials and technology, private equity fund formation and real estate. Mr. Bolotin’s recent experience includes acting for clients such as Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Kelso & Company, Prudential Capital Partners, Stone Point Capital and TPG. Mr. Bolotin advised on Chrysaor Holdings’ acquisition of a diversified North Sea oil and gas portfolio from Shell. This deal was named by the European Tax Awards as the “European Energy Tax Deal of the Year” (2018). Mr. Bolotin joined Debevoise in 2004. He received his B.A. from Columbia University in 2001 and his J.D. magna cum laude from New York University in 2004, where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association.

Lorna Bowen, Chair of the U.S. Investment Management Group, is a corporate partner based in Debevoise's New York office. Her practice focuses on advising international asset managers on the establishment and operation of private fund products across the alternative fund spectrum, including private credit, distressed debt, infrastructure, private equity and other products in the illiquid closed-end fund space, funds of funds and alternative open-end fund products. Ms. Bowen’s practice also has an emphasis on the development of tailored investment platforms and structured solutions for strategic institutional investors. She has experience in a wide range of corporate transactions in the sector, seeding/start-up financing deals, joint ventures and co-investments. Ms. Bowen is recommended by Chambers Global (2023) and Chambers USA (2023), where sources highlight her “depth and breadth” in the private equity funds space, noting that she has “great checks on emerging issues.” She has also been described as “technically savvy” with “a great mind for complexity.” She receives further praise from clients who have said that she is “very commercial and solution-oriented,” and “a terrific and responsive lawyer” who is “very astute at getting to the nub of the issue.” The guides have described her as “smart, practical, expeditious and well respected” and “an excellent lawyer, on top of her brief and very focused on getting the result her client wants.” Ms. Bowen is also recognized by IFLR1000 (2022). Ms. Bowen joined the firm in 2019. She received a Bachelor of Civil Law (Euro Legal Studies) from University College Dublin (Université de Rouen) and is admitted to the New York Bar. She is also admitted as a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales.

Kara Brockmeyer

Paul Brusiloff is a retired partner/of counsel in the firm’s New York office. He is/was corporate partner and a member of the firm’s Finance and Private Equity Groups. Mr. Brusiloff’s practice focuses/focused on representations of borrowers and LBO sponsors and of mezzanine and other private capital investors in complex debt and equity financings and refinancing, recapitalization and restructuring transactions. He co-led HD Supply’s multibillion-dollar refinancing of its entire debt capital structure from 2012 to 2013 after earlier co-leading the 2007 financing of the acquisition of HD Supply, Private Equity International’s LBO Deal of the Year. He also played key roles in American Airlines’ multibillion-dollar acquisition of the TWA aircraft fleet and Delta Air Lines’ 2004–2006 aircraft restructurings. Mr. Brusiloff is a member of the American Bar Association. He is/was also a contributing author of The Private Equity Primer: The Best of the Debevoise & Plimpton Private Equity Report and the Debevoise & Plimpton Private Equity Report. He received his B.A. from Harvard University in 1986 and his J.D. summa cum laude from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 1991, where he was editor-in-chief of the Law Review. He subsequently served as a law clerk to the Hon. Carol Los Mansmann, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (1991–1993) before joining the firm in 1993.

Helen V. Cantwell is Co-Chair of the White Collar & Regulatory Defense Group and a litigation partner with extensive trial experience. Her practice focuses on white collar criminal defense, regulatory enforcement actions and internal investigations for a wide variety of corporations, financial institutions and non-profits. In addition to advising clients on their responses to state and federal investigations, she also advises these clients on their compliance obligations.

Andrew Ceresney

Erin Cleary is a tax partner and a member of the firm’s Tax Department and Investment Management Group. Her practice focuses on advising private equity and corporate clients on a broad range of M&A transactions, as well as advising sponsors on the formation of U.S. and international private equity funds. Ms. Cleary is a member of the Executive Committee of the Tax Section of the New York State Bar Association. Ms. Cleary joined Debevoise in 2008. She received a J.D. magna cum laude from Rutgers School of Law-Newark in 2008, where she was a member of Order of the Coif, editor-in-chief of the Law Review and a recipient of the Alumni Senior Prize. Ms. Cleary received her undergraduate degree with high honors from Douglass College, Rutgers University in 2002. Ms. Cleary is a member of the Bars of New York and New Jersey.

Alexander Cochran

Alexander Cochran is a corporate partner and a member of the firm’s Financial Institutions Group. He focuses on corporate transactions in the insurance industry, including mergers and acquisitions, financings and pension risk transfer transactions. Mr. Cochran is a frequent author and speaker on legal developments affecting the insurance industry. He is a member of the team that authored the 2025 update of “Insurance and Investment Management M&A Deskbook,” published by Practising Law Institute, which provides attorneys with an essential reference to keep up with emerging trends in insurance and investment management M&A. He is the co-author of numerous publications, including “Federal Reserve Publishes Advance Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking On Capital Requirements For Insurers,” FC&S Legal (July, 2016); “Federal Reserve Proposes Enhanced Prudential Standards For Insurance SIFIs,” FC&S Legal (July, 2016); “Developments At The NAIC Spring Meeting,” Law360 (April, 2016); “Financial Buyer Participation In The Insurance Industry: An Update For 2015,” FC&S Legal (July, 2015); and the Insurance and Investment Management M&A Deskbook (Practising Law Institute, 2023). His recent speaking engagements include “Insurance M&A: Evolution or Revolution?,” S&P Global Webinar 2017 and “Financial Reinsurance as Alternative Capital” at the Hanover Re Experience 2015. Mr. Cochran received his J.D. cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2005, where he was a senior editor of the Law Review, and his B.A. magna cum laude from Bucknell University in 2002. Prior to joining Debevoise in 2006, Mr. Cochran was a law clerk to the Hon. Mary McLaughlin of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Tim Cornell is a partner and head of Clifford Chance’s U.S. Antitrust practice, based in Washington, DC. Building on two decades of antitrust experience, he leads the U.S. team on advising global clients on complex antitrust matters including government, civil and criminal antitrust investigations, merger clearances, the regulatory review of mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property and technology licensing, supply and distribution agreements, joint venture formation, and the adoption of antitrust best practices. Tim has advocated on behalf of dozens of clients before the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the federal courts and is also a thought leader in the antitrust community on a variety of issues. Tim leads the Clifford Chance veterans affinity group, CliffVets, in the United States.

Guilherme Recena Costa

Mr. Recena Costa has a particular focus on disputes arising in the mining, energy and financial sectors, as well as broad experience of matters involving Latin America in general and, in particular, Brazil. He has represented clients in matters under the ICC, ICSID, LCIA, NIA and UNCITRAL Rules and under various substantive laws and has also advised on ancillary court proceedings in a number of jurisdictions. Mr. Recena Costa has recently represented clients in disputes concerning the expropriation of mining rights, breaches of mining investment agreements and various M&A, commercial and tax-related agreements. He has worked closely with mining industry experts to deal with complex technical issues, with valuation experts to assess damages and with tax experts to address tax claims and structures.

Luke Dembosky co-chairs Debevoise & Plimpton’s global Data Strategy and Security practice. He advises companies on managing cyber risks, responding to cyber incidents and handling related internal investigations and regulatory defense.

Eric Dinallo is Chair of the firm’s insurance regulatory practice and a member of its Financial Institutions and White Collar & Regulatory Defense Groups in New York. Mr. Dinallo is a broad-gauged financial services lawyer who focuses on developing and executing regulatory strategies for clients involved in transactions in the insurance sector. He also counsels financial institutions, including banks and insurers, facing investigations or enforcement actions from insurance regulators, state attorneys general and prosecutors. Mr. Dinallo received his B.A. in Philosophy in 1985 from Vassar College and his M.A. in 1987 from Duke University School of Public Policy. Mr. Dinallo earned his J.D. from New York University in 1990, where he was Review and Essay Editor of the New York University Law Review. He clerked with the Hon. David M. Ebel of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit in Denver (1990–1991). Mr. Dinallo is Chair of the American Institute for Stuttering.

Donald F. Donovan

He serves as Co-Chair of Debevoise’s Public International Law Group and for some 20 years also served as Co-Chair of its International Disputes Group. He serves as counsel in international disputes before international courts, international arbitration tribunals, and courts in the United States.

Drew Dutton is Co-Head of the firm’s UK/European insurance practice. He is a London-based corporate insurance partner who regularly represents financial institutions, private equity sponsors, pension funds and multinational corporations in a broad range of cross-border transactions, including mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Dutton is also a leader of the firm’s Private Fund Transactions Group, where he regularly advises investors and general partners on a wide range of anchor investments, co-investments, acquisition and investment platforms, bespoke joint ventures and secondaries transactions.

Jane Engelhardt

Jane Engelhardt is the head of the primary investor-side practice. She is a partner and a member of the Investment Management and Private Equity Groups, as well as a leader of the Private Fund Transactions Group. Her practice involves a wide variety of private equity and venture funds and focuses on representations of clients in connection with primary investments and secondary transactions, including traditional sales and purchases of fund interests, and “stapled” primary and secondary transactions, fund structured co-investments, anchor/seed investments and platform arrangements. Her clients include Citigroup, HarbourVest Partners, The Ford Foundation, J.P. Morgan, Liberty Mutual Insurance, The Nature Conservancy, PSP Investments, Prudential Insurance Company, Sequoia Capital, Silk Road Fund, Pantheon Ventures, OMERS and Zurich Alternative Asset Management as well as sovereign wealth funds and family offices. Ms. Engelhardt is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers Global (2023) and Chambers USA (2023), where clients note that she is “analytical and practical while providing a great market perspective.” Sources say she is “a total superstar,” “one of the best in the industry,” “amazing” and “her depth of knowledge is very thorough, she’s very practical and her customer service is great.” She has also been described as a “very experienced campaigner who makes points with vigor and makes a very sound legal argument.” Ms. Engelhardt joined the firm in 1996. She received a J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1996, where she was a Stone Scholar all three years, and an M.A. and an M.Phil. from Columbia University in English and Comparative Literature. Ms. Engelhardt received her A.B. from Bryn Mawr College.

ndrew Ford is a corporate partner based in Debevoise's New York office and a member of the firm’s Investment Management Group. Mr. Ford represents U.S. alternative asset managers on the structuring and establishment of a variety of global and geographically specific private alternative investment products, including the organization of traditional private investment funds and co-investment structures and the establishment of bespoke separately managed accounts and platforms. He has experience in raising private alternative investment funds, targeting investments in the private equity, infrastructure and natural resources sectors, as well as investment products sourcing distressed investment opportunities and engaging in loan origination activities. Mr. Ford is recognized by both Chambers Global (2023) and Chambers USA (2023), with the guides describing him as “an extremely strong advisor,” who is “really detail-oriented” and “hyper-focused on delivering the best client service.” He is also said to be “extraordinarily business-focused,” “an excellent lawyer,” a “very effective negotiator” who is “technically superb” and a “very clever and astute operator” with a “burgeoning reputation” in the funds arena. He is praised for his “encyclopedic knowledge” of the structuring and establishment of private equity funds, with clients noting that he is “a very smart negotiator. He is able to craft convincing arguments to advance his client’s interests.” Mr. Ford joined the firm in 2019. He received his LL.B., with honors, from the University of Nottingham in 2003 and a Diploma in Legal Practice from Nottingham Law School in 2004. Mr. Ford is admitted as a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales and is also admitted to the bar in New York.

Christopher Ford

Christopher S. Ford is a counsel in the Litigation Department who is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Group and Data Strategy & Security practice. Mr. Ford has litigated trademark, trade dress, and false advertising cases in federal court and before the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board, and regularly advises clients on issues relating to their trademark and brand management. He is a member of the International Trademark Association’s Non-Traditional Marks committee and has been the chair of its U.S. Litigation task force since 2020. He has guest lectured on trademark and trade dress issues at New York University School of Law and Rutgers School of Law.

His practice concentrates on international arbitration and litigation, and he also has broad experience in civil and criminal matters. Mr. Friedman has represented clients in a wide variety of complex commercial and Investor-State disputes across many industry sectors, including energy, mining, finance, insurance, construction, shareholder relationships, joint ventures, media, telecommunications and manufacturing. He has acted as counsel or arbitrator in disputes under the rules of the ICC, LCIA, AAA, ICDR, CPR, UNCITRAL and ICSID.

Mark W. Friedman

Peter Furci is the firm’s Presiding Partner and a partner in the global tax practice. Previously, Mr. Furci served as Co-Chair of the Tax Department. In addition to his role as the firm’s senior leader, Mr. Furci advises clients on a range of complex tax matters involving M&A, investment fund formation and general corporate transactions, and works closely with the firm’s Private Equity, M&A and Latin America Groups. A frequent writer and speaker on tax and private equity, Mr. Furci is an adjunct professor of tax law at New York University Law School and serves on the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association Tax Section. He is also a fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel. His practice has a heavy international dimension, often helped by the fact that he is proficient in Portuguese, Spanish and Italian. Mr. Furci joined Debevoise in 1995 and became a partner in 2003. He has a B.A. cum laude from Dartmouth College and a J.D. magna cum laude from New York University, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and the Tax Law Review. He received his LL.M. in Taxation from New York University in 1999.

Mr. Gesser is Co-Chair of the firm’s Data Strategy & Security Group. His practice focuses on advising major companies on a wide range of cybersecurity, privacy and artificial intelligence matters.

Spencer Gilbert

Spencer K. Gilbert is a corporate partner and a member of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity and Healthcare Groups. Mr. Gilbert’s practice regularly advises private equity firms, their portfolio companies and corporate clients on a broad range of transactions, including take-privates, leveraged buyouts, partnership and joint venture arrangements, carveouts and cross-border transactions, as well as corporate governance matters. His experience ranges across industries, including healthcare and adjacent businesses, software, industrials, media and technology, and financial services. In 2023, Mr. Gilbert was named a Law360 MVP for his work successfully negotiating complex and diverse transactions for private equity clients.

Michael Gillespie

Over three decades, Mr. Gillespie has served as trusted advisor to some of the largest companies and groups globally. His work has covered a broad span, from M&A and other strategic transactions to critical governance, compliance and risk management issues. He has served on Debevoise’s Management Committee and is a senior member of the M&A, TMT and Latin America groups, among others. Mr. Gillespie is also Co-Head of Diversity & Inclusion at the firm.

Judge John Gleeson is a trial and appellate lawyer and company advisor who, before joining the firm in 2016, was a federal judge for 22 years and, prior to that, a federal prosecutor for ten years. He is a litigation partner in the White Collar & Regulatory Defense and Commercial Litigation Groups. A fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Judge Gleeson’s practice focuses on white collar defense, complex civil litigation, internal investigations, and dispute resolution.

Elliot Greenfield

Mr. Greenfield is a highly regarded civil litigator who focuses his practice on securities and shareholder disputes, FinTech and digital asset litigation, consumer class actions, mergers and acquisitions litigation and complex commercial disputes.

His practice focuses on domestic and cross-border corporate transactions in the financial services and insurance industries, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, reinsurance and bancassurance transactions in the U.S., Latin America and Asia.

Joe Hamid is the Co-Chair of the firm’s Litigation Department, Co-Chair of the Employment Litigation Practice and co-leader of the People Solutions Group. He has previously served as the firm’s Chief Financial Officer and a member of its Management Committee.

Morgan Hayes is a corporate partner based in New York. Mr. Hayes is a member of the firm’s Finance, Capital Markets and Private Equity Groups. His practice covers a broad range of financings, including fund finance transactions. Mr. Hayes regularly represents private equity firms, issuers and underwriters in public and private offerings of debt and equity securities and counsels public and private companies on disclosure, corporate governance and general corporate matters. Mr. Hayes is recommended by The Legal 500 US (2025) for his capital markets practice. His recent experience includes acting for clients such as Providence Equity Partners, KKR, Morgan Stanley, Carlyle, Kelso & Company, DoubleVerify, Verizon and Cornerstone Building Brands. Prior to joining Debevoise in 2010, Mr. Hayes was an associate at an international law firm in Palo Alto, California from 2007 through 2010. Mr. Hayes received his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law in 2007 and a B.A. from Cornell University in 2002. He was admitted to the bar in California in 2008 and New York in 2012. Mr. Hayes’ articles include “SEC's Crypto Statement Offers Clarity On Disclosures,” Law360 (May, 2025); “Debt Finance 2025,” Chambers & Partners Practice Guides (April, 2025); “How Cos. Can Prepare Now For SEC E-Filing System Changes,” Law360 (February, 2025); “Equity Finance in the USA 2024 – Trends and Developments,” Chambers and Partners (October, 2024); “SEC Charges Now Suspended Auditor BF Borgers with Massive Fraud Affecting More Than 1,500 SEC Filings,” Insights - The Corporate & Securities Law Advisor (July, 2024); “BF Borgers Clients Should Review Compliance, Liability,” Law360 (May, 2024); “Debevoise Discusses Fifth Circuit Decision on Fixing Share Repurchase Rules,” CLS Blue Sky Blog (November, 2023); “Debevoise & Plimpton Discusses SEC’s Proposed SPAC Rules and Investment Banks,” CLS Blue Sky Blog (May, 2022); “Rumblings of Unicorn Stampede to Market Start to Appear,” The Deal (February, 2019) and “Debevoise & Plimpton Discusses Developments in the Enforcement of Token Sales,” CLS Blue Sky Blog (November, 2017).

Uri Herzberg is a partner and a member of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity and Special Situations Groups. Mr. Herzberg has a broad-based transactional practice with extensive experience advising private equity firms and multinational corporations in structuring and negotiating mergers, acquisitions, investments, divestitures, joint ventures and other corporate transactions.

Simone Hicks is a partner in Debevoise & Plimpton LLP’s Washington D.C. office and a member of the firm’s Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits Group. Her practice focuses on a broad range of executive compensation and employee benefits matters, including benefits and tax issues that arise in public and private mergers and acquisitions and other corporate transactions and on the design, negotiation and implementation of employee agreements, equity and cash-based incentive and other compensation programs for public and private companies, management groups and individual executives. Ms. Hicks advises clients on compensation-related corporate and securities law matters, including corporate governance and analyzing and complying with applicable SEC registration, reporting and disclosure requirements. Ms. Hicks is co-author of “Potential Impacts Of IRS' $1M Affiliate Pay Deduction Cap,” Law360 (March, 2025); “2025 Executive Compensation Reminders for Public Companies,” Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance (January, 2025); “Key Considerations for the 2025 Proxy Season,” Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance (January, 2025); “2024 Proxy Roundup: ESG Metrics in Incentive Compensation Plans,” Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance (August, 2024); “Key Considerations for the 2024 Proxy Season,” Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance (January, 2024) and “Retaining employees below the c-suite during a merger,” Thomson Reuters/Westlaw Today (January, 2024).

Mary Beth Hogan

Emily Huang is a corporate partner and a member of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions Group. Her practice focuses on advising private equity firms and corporate clients in connection with mergers and acquisitions and other corporate transactions across a broad range of industries, including sports, media and telecommunications, technology, consumer and industrials, among others.

Peter Irwin is a corporate partner, Chair of the firm’s Real Estate Group and a member of the Special Situations team. He regularly advises clients on real estate acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, financings and restructurings. Mr. Irwin is Chair of the firm’s Space Committee. In that capacity, he was responsible for the negotiation of the firm’s new 20-year lease to relocate its global headquarters to The Spiral, a newly-constructed, state-of-the-art 65-story commercial tower at 66 Hudson Boulevard on the far west side of Manhattan in the Hudson Yards district, as well as the design and build-out of the interior space. Mr. Irwin frequently writes and speaks on a variety of real estate topics. He recently authored a chapter entitled “Real Property” in the Health Care Mergers and Acquisitions Answer Book (Practising Law Institute, 2024) and is a regular contributing author to the Debevoise Private Equity Report. Mr. Irwin is a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers. He serves on the Board of The Lawyers Committee of Inner-City Scholarship Fund and on the Advisory Board for the Mattone Family Institute for Real Estate Law at St. John’s University School of Law. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association’s Real Property Law Section and a member of the Real Estate Board of New York. He was selected as a David Rockefeller Fellow for the class of 2012 by the Partnership for New York City. Mr. Irwin joined Debevoise in 1999 and became a partner in 2004. He received his B.S. from Cornell University in 1993 and his J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law in 1996.

Andrew Jamieson

Andrew G. Jamieson is a corporate partner in the firm’s Financial Institutions and Insurance Groups. His practice focuses on advising private equity firms and corporate clients in connection with mergers and acquisitions, reinsurance transactions and other complex transactions in the insurance industry.

Stephen Jordan, a partner in the firm’s Tax Group, represents private equity and investment management firms on a full range of transactional and advisory matters. Mr. Jordan is based in the firm’s New York office. Mr. Jordan’s practice focuses on the tax aspects of complex fundraising and M&A transactions, including cross-border and public company restructuring deals. Additionally, Mr. Jordan has a strong background in tax policy analysis and in advising complex organizations on the potential business impact of proposed tax legislation. He is a frequent panelist on tax issues and has advocated for the private equity and investment management industries tax priorities before various governmental authorities in the United States and abroad.

Eric Juergens

Jared Kagan is a counsel in the firm’s Intellectual Property group. His practice includes litigation and counselling on trademark, false advertising, copyright, and defamation matters, and has litigated cases in both state and federal court, before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board and before the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau.

Matthew Kaplan

Rafael Kariyev is a tax partner and a member of the firm’s Tax Department who focuses his practice on tax planning in connection with private equity fund formation and M&A transactions. He regularly advises private equity funds on tax issues at all levels of the fund structure, including for Ara Partners Group, Elliott, Morgan Stanley, Prosperity Life Insurance Company, Providence Equity Partners, PSG, KKR, Odyssey, Rithm Capital, TPG, Tikehau Capital and Wafra. In addition, Mr. Kariyev regularly advises clients on tax structuring the acquisition, holding and disposition of portfolio companies, both pass-throughs and corporations, as well as transactions involving the restructuring and sale of existing funds and sales of asset managers. Mr. Kariyev also leads the tax aspects in the firm’s Private Fund Transactions Group, where he regularly provides tax advice to general partners, secondaries fund sponsors, sovereign wealth funds and other investors on secondary transactions, GP-led restructurings and tender offers, co-investments and GP staking transactions. Mr. Kariyev joined Debevoise and was admitted to the bar in New York in 2000. He received his B.A. from Queens College magna cum laude in 1995 in Accounting and his J.D. from Columbia University in 1999, where he was a Kent Scholar and a member of the Journal of Environmental Law. Mr. Kariyev received his LLM in Taxation from New York University in 2002.

Matt Kelly is a litigation counsel based in the firm’s New York office and a member of the Data Strategy & Security Group. His practice focuses on advising the firm’s growing number of clients on matters related to AI governance, as well as on matters involving regulatory compliance and risk management, cybersecurity and data privacy.

Mr. Kini advises on a wide range of regulatory and transactional issues. For example, he has: represented large financial services firms in transactional matters, including to secure regulatory approvals for transactions from U.S. federal and state bank regulatory agencies and to develop compliance frameworks for various business combinations; counseled banks, securities firms, insurers and asset managers in a broad range of regulatory and compliance issues, ranging from the Volcker Rule to affiliate transactions, anti-money laundering, economic sanctions and data privacy/security; represented clients in adversarial proceedings before the federal bank regulatory agencies and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), including in investigations, enforcement proceedings and adverse examination contexts; and advised clients on regulatory and compliance issues arising out of cross-border transactions and outsourcing arrangements, including with respect to sanctions and money laundering issues. In the context of these matters, Mr. Kini has led internal fact investigations of clients (involving allegations of data breaches/fraud, money laundering and sanctions compliance issues) and advised clients on compliance governance and structuring. He also has briefed senior business decision-makers and boards of directors, based in the United States and abroad, on important regulatory, enforcement and investigations matters. Mr. Kini has represented a wide range of firms (including banks, securities broker-dealers, insurers and asset managers) and leading industry trade associations on regulatory reform issues, including those arising out of the Dodd-Frank Act, and has assisted clients to participate in the policymaking process before federal regulators. He has helped to create industry coalitions to advocate for regulatory positions and to arrive at consensus interpretations on difficult issues. He also has testified on Dodd-Frank issues before Congress and has represented clients on Dodd-Frank and other matters before the federal banking agencies, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Stability Oversight Council and the U.S. Treasury Department and its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

His practice focuses on leading the IP and technology aspects of mergers and acquisitions, financings, capital markets and other corporate transactions. Mr. Lebowitz has advised companies on complex transactions, litigation, portfolio development and other IP matters in an array of industries. He also regularly assists clients in evaluating patents, trademarks and other intellectual property, developing effective IP portfolios, assessing the merits of IP-related litigation and other disputes and implementing strategies to avoid or favorably resolve such disputes.

Maurizio Levi-Minzi

He has nearly 30 years of experience advising clients in complex joint ventures and cross-border acquisitions of a broad variety of assets in sectors such as energy, technology, asset management infrastructure and consumer products. Mr. Levi-Minzi has led transactions in Latin America, the United States, Europe and Asia for private equity groups and strategic investors including Ambev, Barrick, Brookfield, BTG Pactual, Carlyle, Clessidra, CPPIB, CSN, GP Investments, H.I.G. Capital Management and Mitsui.

He is well recognized in the region and elsewhere for defending companies and individuals in criminal, civil and regulatory enforcement matters and for conducting internal investigations. Mr. Levine serves as the go-to anti-corruption adviser to numerous leading global companies and represents many clients on corruption-related matters in Latin America, including the Lava Jato, Zelotes, Carne Fraca and FIFA scandals. He has led important representations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, among other countries.

Jonathan Levitsky

Jonathan Levitsky is a corporate partner and member of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity, Corporate Governance and Technology, Media & Telecommunications Groups. Mr. Levitsky has a broad-based transactional practice advising public and private companies and private equity sponsors on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and corporate governance matters. He has led transactions across many industries, including media and telecommunications, healthcare, technology, consumer and industrials, among others.

Jonathan F. Lewis is the Chair of the firm’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group and co-leads the People Solutions Group in New York. His practice encompasses all aspects of executive compensation and the deployment of human capital. The scope of his practice includes: Public and private mergers and acquisitions, with an emphasis on the special issues raised in the private equity, healthcare and insurance sectors. The design and operation of compensation plans and programs for both public and private companies, including related tax, accounting, governance and disclosure concerns. The investment of the assets of ERISA pension plans in funds and separately managed vehicles, with significant experience of these issues in the private equity, insurance and real estate sectors. Counselling public and private companies on sensitive matters relating to senior executives and their compensation, including hirings, departures and compensatory arrangements. For a summary of the considerations raised by these matters, please click here. Representation of individual executives and management teams.

Erez Liebermann

Erez Liebermann is a litigation partner and a member of the firm’s Data Strategy & Security Group. His practice focuses on advising major businesses on a wide range of complex, high-impact cyber-incident response matters and on data-related regulatory requirements. With decades of experience in data issues as a litigator, federal prosecutor and senior in-house counsel at a global insurance company, Mr. Liebermann regularly advises clients at the C-suite and board level on building strategies to reduce their data-related regulatory and reputational risks, and on navigating high-profile government investigations following data incidents.

Marilyn A. Lion, is a corporate partner, Co-Chair of the firm’s Financial Institutions Group, and a member of the firm’s Corporate Department. Ms. Lion focuses on corporate transactions in the insurance industry, including mergers and acquisitions and financing transactions, as well as insurance and reinsurance regulatory matters.

Brian E. Liu is a corporate partner and a member of the firm’s Aviation Practice Group. His practice focuses on all aspects of aviation and equipment finance, and he regularly represents airlines, leasing companies and financial institutions. Mr. Liu’s extensive experience includes advising clients on enhanced equipment trust certificate and secured notes issuances, securitizations, syndicated credit facilities, second lien facilities, warehouse facilities, sale/leasebacks and restructurings. A number of transactions on which he has worked have been selected for “Deal of the Year” industry honors; these complex structured financings, encompassing portfolio securitizations and U.S. and foreign carrier EETCs, have been recognized within the aviation finance industry for their innovation and significance. Mr. Liu joined the firm in 2017. Prior to joining Debevoise, he served as partner at an international law firm, focusing on equipment finance matters. Mr. Liu earned his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2006 and received his B.A. from Northwestern University in 2003.

Peter J. Loughran is a corporate partner and member of the firm’s Capital Markets Group. He concentrates his practice in capital markets transactions and securities law, regularly advising on U.S. and international securities offerings and a broad range of corporate governance matters. . Mr. Loughran is a member of the TriBar Opinion Committee, the Working Group on Legal Opinions and the American Bar Association Legal Opinions Committee. Mr. Loughran has served on the Association of the Bar of the City of New York’s Committee on Financial Reporting and the Securities Regulation Committee. Mr. Loughran joined Debevoise in 1989. He received his B.A. from Georgetown University in 1986 and his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law in 1989.

His practice focuses on serving the needs of financial institutions, as well as private equity and other entities that invest in financial institutions, with a particular emphasis on domestic and cross-border bank regulatory, transactional and examination matters. His practice includes U.S. and foreign bank regulatory, formation, merger, conversion, structuring securities and securities finance work, risk capital and trust matters and corporate and securities law matters. Mr. Lyons has represented banking and other financial institutions before the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and state banking and securities regulatory agencies. He has extensive experience counseling clients in the securities, securities finance, insurance and other non-banking financial service sectors regarding acquiring, leveraging and ongoing ownership of banking institutions, as well as advising banking organizations with non-traditional banking activities and assisting clients in the analysis of associated business and regulatory risks.

Kristen Matthews

Kristen Matthews is a corporate partner and a member of the firm’s Insurance and Financial Institutions Groups, where she advises clients on a broad range of transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, reinsurance and regulatory.

Franklin Mitchell

Frank Mitchell is a tax partner and a member of the firm’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group. Mr. Mitchell’s practice covers a broad range of executive compensation and employee benefits matters. He advises clients on disclosure, governance, taxation, design and negotiation of executive compensation agreements and arrangements as well as the executive compensation and employee benefits aspects of mergers and acquisitions; pension investment and ERISA fiduciary matters (with significant experience on these issues in the private equity, asset management, insurance and real estate sectors); private equity compensation and governance matters at both the upper tier and portfolio company levels; and employment law and related issues.

Gordon Moodie is a partner in the firm’s New York office and member of the Mergers & Acquisitions Group, Private Equity Group and the Technology, Media and Telecommunications Group, as well as the Public Company Advisory Group and Corporate Governance practice. Mr. Moodie focuses on representing public and private companies across a variety of industries and transactions, including domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs, initial public offerings, securities law matters and corporate governance. His practice also includes serving the needs of financial institutions and entities that invest in those institutions.

Iryna Nikolaieva

Iryna V. Nikolaieva is a counsel based in the New York office and is a member of the firm’s Corporate Department and Aviation Practice Group. She concentrates her practice on a wide variety of domestic and international financing projects, including corporate financing and aircraft financing. She recently co-authored “How the EETC Structure Has Changed,” Airfinance Journal (May, 2010). Ms. Nikolaieva joined the firm in 2000. She received a J.D. with honors in 1996 from Zaporozhye State University (Ukraine). She is fluent in English, Russian and Ukrainian. Ms. Nikolaieva is a member of the New York Bar.

Brett M. Novick is a partner in the firm’s Finance and Private Equity Groups. His practice focuses on complex acquisition finance, leveraged finance and structured finance transactions. Mr. Novick represents private equity firms, their portfolio companies, corporate clients and debt investors in a broad range of complex financing transactions across various industries. Mr. Novick is a regular contributor to the Debevoise & Plimpton Private Equity Report. Mr. Novick joined Debevoise in 2014. Mr. Novick received a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School magna cum laude in 2014 and a B.S. summa cum laude from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 2011.

His practice focuses on white collar criminal defense, internal investigations, anti-corruption and FCPA defense and congressional investigations.

Maeve O’Connor

Maeve O’Connor is Co-Chair of the Firm’s Securities Litigation Practice and Chair of the Firm’s Insurance Litigation Practice and spent six years as a member of the firm’s Management Committee. She has significant experience in defending securities litigation and in representing financial services companies in a range of litigation and regulatory matters.

David O’Neil is Co-Chair of the White Collar & Regulatory Defense Group and a partner in the Washington, D.C. office.

Winston M. Paes is a litigation partner and a member of the White Collar & Regulatory Defense Group. He is a seasoned trial lawyer and advises clients on complex matters concerning white collar criminal defense, regulatory enforcement, internal investigations and civil litigation.

Jim Pastore is a litigation partner and a member of the firm’s Data Strategy & Security practice and Intellectual Property Litigation Group. From 2009 to 2014, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the Southern District of New York, where he was assigned to the Complex Frauds Unit and Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Section. He successfully litigated eight jury trials to verdict and was the lead prosecutor in United States v. Monsegur, a/k/a “Sabu” and Operation Cardshop, both of which were named to the FBI’s top 10 cases of 2012. Mr. Pastore also led Operation Dirty R.A.T., which targeted the creators and users of Blackshades ransom and malware, resulting in the largest ever worldwide law enforcement action against cybercriminals. In connection with the so-called “doomsday virus,” Mr. Pastore obtained a unique order to prevent catastrophic Internet outage.

He is a recognized leader in the field, is regularly quoted in the press, and has extensive experience responding to, investigating and litigating data breaches, both in private practice and during his tenure as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York. He holds a dual degree in English and computer applications, and served as an adjunct professor of cybersecurity at Cardozo Law School. Clients across a range of industries have called on Mr. Pastore to assist with cybersecurity and data privacy advice, with a particular focus on breach response.

Benjamin Pedersen

Ben Pedersen is a partner in the firm’s Capital Markets Group and member of the Special Situations and Public Company Advisory teams. His practice focuses on a broad range of capital markets transactions, regularly representing issuers, private equity firms and underwriters in public and private offerings of debt and equity securities, and advising public and private companies on securities laws, disclosure, corporate governance and general corporate matters. He has led transactions across many industries, including insurance, media and telecommunications, healthcare, technology and industrials, among others.

Marc Ponchione, a partner in Debevoise's Investment Management Group, focuses on advising financial services firms on various regulatory, compliance and transactional issues arising in the asset management industry. Mr. Ponchione is based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. Mr. Ponchione represents asset managers, funds, sponsors and issuers of financial products on a broad range of regulatory and transactional issues inside and outside the United States. He regularly advises clients on issues under the federal securities laws, including the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 as well as various other regulations affecting investment managers, funds and financial product sponsors. Mr. Ponchione is ranked as a leading lawyer for Investment Funds: Regulatory & Compliance by Chambers Global (2023) and Chambers USA (2023), where clients note that he is “dependable ... very responsive and [he] delivers excellent work product.” He has also been described as “intelligent, thoughtful, diligent and practical.” Mr. Ponchione is further recognized by IFLR1000 (2022) as a Notable Practitioner for Investment Funds and Financial Services Regulatory. From 2001 to 2006, he served as senior counsel at the Securities and Exchange Commission (Division of Investment Management). Mr. Ponchione serves on the American Bar Association Subcommittee on Hedge Funds, the American Bar Association Subcommittee on Investment Companies and Investment Advisers and the New York City Bar Committee on Investment Management Regulation. He frequently writes on investment management best practices and issues for various legal and business publications, and is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center. Mr. Ponchione received his B.A. from Marietta College in 1996 and his J.D. from Duquesne University in 1999. He serves on the Board of Trustees at Marietta College.

Ina C. Popova

Nicholas Potter

Nicholas Potter is a corporate partner, Co-Chair of the firm’s Financial Institutions Group and a member of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions and Capital Markets Groups. He is also a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Mr. Potter’s practice focuses on corporate transactions in the insurance industry; advising insurers and reinsurers, private equity firms, investment banks and other industry participants on public and private mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, corporate governance, regulatory issues, capital markets transactions and financings. Mr. Potter is a member of the team that authored the 2025 update of “Insurance and Investment Management M&A Deskbook,” published by Practising Law Institute. Other recent articles include “What To Know About NAIC's Risk-Based Capital Task Force,” Law360 (March, 2025); “Top Considerations For Insurance Companies In 2025,” Law360 (January, 2025); “The Legal 500: Insurance & Reinsurance Country Comparative Guide,” The In-House Lawyer (April, 2017); “Developments At The NAIC Spring Meeting,” Parts 1–3, Law360 (April, 2016); “Financial Buyer Participation In the Insurance Industry: An Update for 2015,” FC&S Legal (July, 2015); “NAIC 2015 Spring National Meeting,” Insurance Coverage Law Report (May/June, 2015); and “Up To 49 Percent Foreign Ownership Of Indian Insurers Is Now Law,” FC&S Legal (May, 2015). Mr. Potter received his A.B. magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1985 and his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1988. He is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the American Bar Association and regularly writes and speaks on insurance industry M&A and finance topics. Mr. Potter serves as President of the Board of Directors of Poets House, Inc. He also served as the Co-Chair of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee from 2001–2012.

Nicholas F. Potter

Nicholas Potter is a corporate partner, Co-Chair of the firm’s Financial Institutions Group and a member of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions and Capital Markets Groups. He is also a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Mr. Potter’s practice focuses on corporate transactions in the insurance industry; advising insurers and reinsurers, private equity firms, investment banks and other industry participants on public and private mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, corporate governance, regulatory issues, capital markets transactions and financings.

Dietmar Prager

Daniel Priest is a tax partner in our New York office. His practice concentrates on advising clients on a broad range of M&A and financing transactions, with a focus on corporate transactions in the insurance industry, as well as advising sponsors on the formation of U.S. and international private equity funds.

yan Rafferty is a corporate partner based in the New York office. He is a member of the firm’s Finance and Special Situations practices and a Co-Coordinator of the Private Equity Group. Mr. Rafferty focuses his practice on representing private equity firms, their portfolio companies, corporate clients and debt investors in a broad range of complex financing transactions. Mr. Rafferty is recognized as a Next Generation Partner by The Legal 500 US (2024), where sources describe him as a “stand-out” partner and are impressed with his “innovation, communication, helpfulness and fast response times.” The guide has previously described him as an “ultimate professional.” Mr. Rafferty is a frequent author and speaker on legal developments affecting financing transactions and a regular contributor to the Debevoise & Plimpton Private Equity Report. Mr. Rafferty joined the firm in 2014. Prior to joining the firm, he was an associate at an international law firm where he represented financing sources in numerous transactions. He graduated cum laude from The George Washington University Law School in 2012 and received a B.S. from Merrimack College in 2009. Mr. Rafferty is a member of the Bar of the State of New York.

William Regner is a member of Debevoise’s Mergers & Acquisitions, Technology, Media & Telecommunications, Financial Institutions, Corporate Governance and Public Company Advisory Groups. He is a member of the firm’s Management Committee and previously served as Deputy Chair of the firm’s Corporate Department. He focuses on public company transactions and corporate governance matters and advises boards, special committees and senior management on governance issues, including activist challenges and risk management. He has experience across many industries but is particularly active in the TMT and asset management sectors. He also regularly represents investment banking firms in their roles as financial advisors in major transactions.

Natalie Reid

Kevin Rinker is the global Co-Chair of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions Group and a leader in the private equity and healthcare practices of the firm. Mr. Rinker has a broad-based transactional practice with extensive experience advising multinational corporations and private equity firms in structuring and negotiating mergers, acquisitions, investments, divestitures, licensing arrangements and other corporate transactions. He has handled matters across many industries, with experience in the business services, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrials, media and technology sectors, among others. Mr. Rinker has represented a number of leading corporate and private equity clients, including American Express, The Blackstone Group, Carlyle, Cerberus Capital Management, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, General Electric, Hospital Corporation of America, Johnson & Johnson, Morgan Stanley Private Equity, Nestlé S.A., Shiseido and Providence Equity Partners.

His practice focuses on representing broker-dealers, swap dealers, banks, securities exchanges, industry associations and buy-side institutions in regulatory and transactional matters. Throughout his career, Mr. Robins has carved out a reputation as a leading broker-dealer and derivatives lawyer with a sophisticated practice. He has substantial experience helping clients navigate registration, margin, capital, custody, and sales and trading issues, cross-border transactions, structuring transactions using multiple regulated entities, the development of compliance and supervisory policies and procedures, the regulatory characterization of securities and derivatives transactions and a number of other regulatory issues. He also has extensive transactional experience in bilateral financing and derivatives transactions, particularly those that are heavily regulated.

Paul Rodel

Jeffrey Rosen, Senior Chair of the firm’s Corporate Department, is one of the leading M&A lawyers in New York. Mr. Rosen is a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity and Capital Markets Groups. In addition to mergers and acquisitions, his practice has focused on complex joint ventures, restructurings and securities offerings, and corporate governance matters. He also counsels boards and senior management on critical governance issues, including risk management, activist challenges and restructurings.

Jeffrey Ross is Chair of the firm’s Finance Group and a member of its Private Equity Group and Special Situations team. His practice focuses on complex acquisition and leveraged financings, such as the $15 billion merger of Envision Healthcare with AMSURG; Discovery, Inc. in the financing aspects of the acquisition of WarnerMedia from AT&T in a Reverse Morris Trust transaction that values the combined entity at approximately $130 billion; the $5.9 billion acquisition of King Digital by Activision Blizzard; the $5.5 billion merger of Ply Gem, a Clayton, Dubilier & Rice portfolio company, with NCI Building Systems; and the $4.1 billion acquisition of Kindred Healthcare by TPG and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe. Mr. Ross publishes frequently on legal matters related to finance topics, including “Debevoise & Plimpton Discusses the State of the LIBOR Transition,” Columbia Blue Sky Blog (August, 2021); “What’s Market: 2020 Mid-Year Trends in Large Cap and Middle Market Loans,” Practical Law (July, 2020); “Alternative Leveraged Lending Structures And Limitations,” Law360 (June, 2015); “SunGard 2.0,” The M&A Lawyer (2014); “Del Monte: Staple Remover?,” The Deal Pipeline (2012); and “Some Pitfalls In Financing Carve-Outs,” The Deal (2012). He is also a contributing author to the annual Health Care Mergers and Acquisitions Answer Book (Practising Law Institute, 2019) and a former editor of the Debevoise & Plimpton Private Equity Report. Mr. Ross is a guest lecturer on leveraged finance in a course entitled Private Equity Playbook at Cornell Law School and is co-chair for PLI’s Leveraged Financing and Private Equity Acquisition Financing Summit programs. Mr. Ross joined the firm in 2005 and became a partner in 2010. He received a J.D. cum laude from Cornell Law School in 1999, an M.A., first class honors, in International Relations from University of Melbourne, Australia in 1997 and a B.A. from Columbia University in 1995.

Kevin Schmidt is a corporate partner in the M&A Group and is Co-Chair of the firm’s Private Equity Group. For three decades, he has counseled private equity sponsors and investors in deals spanning the full range of private equity investing, including public company take privates, carve-outs, joint control transactions, and sponsor-led liquidity solutions.

Peter Schuur is Chair of Debevoise’s global tax practice. He advises on a broad range of U.S. and cross-border M&A transactions, with a focus on public and private M&A and corporate transactions in the insurance industry. He also has extensive experience advising clients on the structuring and formation of investment platforms. He works closely with Debevoise’s M&A, Private Equity, Insurance and Investment Management Groups. Mr. Schuur is known for his market knowledge and insights on cross-border transactions, drawing on his eight years in Debevoise’s London office. Mr. Schuur is a member of the Executive Committee of the Tax Section of the New York State Bar Association. He is a frequent speaker on tax issues relating to M&A, insurance and investment funds, including at the Insurance Tax Conference, the University of Chicago Federal Tax Conference and the NYSBA Annual Meeting. Mr. Schuur has a B.S. from the University of Michigan and a J.D. with honors from the University of Chicago Law School.

David Schwartz is a corporate partner in the Investment Management Group and a leader in the firm’s Alternative Assets Transactions and Liquidity Solutions Group. He is also a member of the Private Equity Group. Mr. Schwartz represents sponsors of, and institutional investors in, private investment funds, including buyout, emerging markets, funds of funds, infrastructure, real estate and venture capital funds, as well as separate and other managed accounts. He also advises sponsors and investors in connection with complex secondary transactions, including traditional sales and purchases of fund interests, listed fund transactions, secondary direct transactions, “manager for hire” arrangements, synthetic secondaries, “stapled” primary and secondary transactions and fund recapitalizations and restructurings. Mr. Schwartz represents numerous private equity clients, including Capital International, Ford Foundation, HarbourVest Partners, Morgan Stanley and major sovereign wealth funds.

Scott Selinger is a corporate partner based in the New York office. Mr. Selinger is a member of the firm’s Finance, Private Equity, Restructuring and Special Situations Groups, and focuses his practice on complex acquisition and leveraged finance transactions. He has extensive experience in syndicated bank loan and high-yield bond transactions. Mr. Selinger regularly advises the firm’s private equity and corporate clients in connection with the financing of acquisitions, investments and restructurings, including the $5 billion merger of Brand Energy and Infrastructure Services and Safway Group by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Brand Energy, the $2.5 billion acquisition of HD Supply’s Waterworks Division by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, the $2.73 billion acquisition of Local TV Holdings by Tribune Company, the $1.835 billion acquisition of Fidelity & Guaranty Life by The CF Corporation and The Blackstone Group, and the $3.2 billion acquisition of Emergency Medical Services Corporation by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. Mr. Selinger joined the firm in 2010. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Selinger was an associate at a New York-based international law firm where he represented financing sources in numerous transactions, including the leveraged buyouts of TXU, First Data and U.S. Foodservice and the acquisition of Procter and Gamble’s prescription drug business by Warner Chilcott. Mr. Selinger is an editor and a contributing author of the Debevoise & Plimpton Private Equity Report and is the co-author of “International Comparative Legal Guide to Lending & Secured Finance 2020: Liability Management,” International Comparative Legal Guide to Lending & Secured Finance 2020 (April, 2020); “Debt Retirement in Leveraged Financings,” The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Lending & Secured Finance (April, 2017); “Alternative Leveraged Lending Structures And Limitations,” Law360 (June, 2015); “United States: Everything Old Is New Again: PIK Notes,” Mondaq (February, 2015); “SunGard 2.0,” The M&A Lawyer (May, 2014); “Del Monte: Staple Remover?,” The Deal Pipeline (2012) and “Some Pitfalls In Financial Carve-Outs,” The Deal (2012). Mr. Selinger graduated cum laude from Brooklyn Law School in 2006. While at Brooklyn Law School, he was a member of the Journal of Law and Policy and served on the planning board for the Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law. Mr. Selinger is currently a member of the Brooklyn Law School Alumni Association’s Board of Trustees and has previously served as a Recent Graduate Trustee on the Brooklyn Law School’s Board of Trustees. He received a B.A. from Brandeis University in 2003. Mr. Selinger is a member of the Bar of the State of New York.

David G. Sewell

Rebecca Silberstein

Ms. Silberstein, Global Chair of Debevoise’s Investment Management Group, oversees the firm’s funds practice in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Ms. Silberstein was previously Co-Chair of the firm’s Private Equity Group for over a decade, and has built a leading fund formation practice over her nearly 30 years at the firm. She focuses on advising private equity firms and financial sponsors of private investment funds, including global private equity, leveraged buyout, energy and infrastructure, banking and financial services, mezzanine, credit and distressed debt funds, as well as bespoke funds and separate accounts. She also advises on regulatory matters, carry plans, employee investment programs and acquisitions and dispositions of interests in private equity firms, as well as joint ventures and strategic partnerships, management team spin-outs and the establishment of new private equity firms. Ms. Silberstein’s clients include Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Credit Suisse, Global Infrastructure Partners, Investcorp, Kelso & Company, Morgan Stanley, One Rock Capital and Stone Point Capital. Ms. Silberstein was named to The American Lawyer’s “45 Under 45” list of the top women lawyers, where she is applauded for building a high-profile practice with “a unique mix of tenacity and grace.” Ms. Silberstein is ranked in the top band for private equity fund formation by Chambers USA (2023), where she is said to be a “a fierce advocate for her clients,” “proactive, smart, and commercial” and “technically skilled.” The guide has described her as “an impressive lawyer [who] has her pulse on what’s happening in the field” and a “fantastic” lawyer who is “very practical, very smart and really knows the industry.” Sources say she is “a luminary,” with clients praising her for her understanding of “the nuances of our business and the market.” The guides have also described her as “a fount of knowledge,” and “a market leader.” She has received extensive praise from clients, who laud her “great advocacy and great representation in the context of a very commercial backdrop” and endorse her “incredibly thoughtful and business-minded approach,” noting that “she has a tremendous understanding of the issues that are unique to this industry and is a standout negotiator.” She is recognized as a top-tier lawyer in Chambers Global (2023), and in previous editions of the guide, sources say she “always understands the issues, is very commercial in her approach and understands our business and sensitivities well.” Ms. Silberstein has also been named a Notable Woman in Law by Crain’s New York Business (2019), listed as a Most Highly Regarded Individual in New York for private funds by Who’s Who Legal Private Funds: Formation (2017), and she is noted as a highly regarded lawyer for Investment Funds Private Funds in the United States by IFLR1000 (2022). In 2016, she was named “Best in Investment Funds” at the fifth annual Americas Women in Business Law Awards presented by Euromoney Legal Media Group. Ms. Silberstein served as the New York City Bar Association’s 2018-2021 Chair of the Private Investment Funds Committee and has been a leader of the International Bar Association’s Investment Funds Committee for over a decade, serving as 2017–2018 Co-Chair of the Committee. She was the 2014 Chair and is a leading member of the Private Investment Funds Forum and is a frequent speaker at seminars and conferences. She is Chair of the Organizing Committee of the IBA’s Private Investment Funds Conference and was Chair of the 2019 IBA Annual Conference on the Globalisation of Investment Funds. Ms. Silberstein joined Debevoise in 1993 and became a partner in 2001. She received her B.A. magna cum laude from Yeshiva University in 1990 and her J.D. summa cum laude from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 1993, where she was a supervising editor of the Law Review.

Laura Sinisterra

Steven Slutzky

Lena E. Smith is a tax partner. Her practice focuses on advising clients on complex public and private M&A transactions, joint ventures and cross-border transactions, including corporate transactions in the insurance industry. She also advises clients on the structuring and formation of private investment funds and investment fund manager platforms.

Paulina Stanfel

Paulina Stanfel is a corporate partner based in the New York office and a member of the firm’s Financial Institutions Group. Her practice focuses on advising clients in connection with mergers and acquisitions, reinsurance transactions and other complex transactions in the insurance industry.

Justin Storms is a corporate partner based in Debevoise's New York office and a member of the firm’s Investment Management Group. Mr. Storms represents clients in a wide range of activities in the private alternative investment space, including the organization of traditional private investment funds and co-investment structures, the establishment of bespoke separately managed accounts and platforms, the development of “house” governance and compensation structures, and select representations of institutional investors. Mr. Storms’ recent experience includes acting for clients such as Carlyle, HarbourVest Partners and KKR, among others. Recognized as a leading individual for private equity funds by Chambers Global (2023) and Chambers USA (2023), sources highlight Mr. Storms’ ability to provide “practical and insightful advice for challenging issues.” They say “he understands his clients’ needs and cuts through issues to find a solution.” He is also said to be “a thoughtful adviser,” “a resourceful and hands-on partner,” and “a sophisticated, savvy, commercial lawyer who works tirelessly to deliver high-quality work.” The guides have also described him as “detail-orientated,” “a premier negotiator,” “technically very strong,” “incredibly insightful” and as a “fount of knowledge in fund formation matters.” He receives further praise from clients for his “incredibly deep understanding of the issues at hand” and for being “an extremely commercial and practical lawyer” who is “able to come up with smart and creative solutions.” Mr. Storms joined the firm in 2019. He received his B.A. summa cum laude from The University of Texas in 2000 and a J.D. magna cum laude from New York University School of Law in 2003. He is admitted to practice in New York.

Caroline Swett is a partner and member of the firm’s Financial Institutions Banking, Special Situations and ESG Groups. She advises domestic and foreign banks and other financial institutions on a wide range of regulatory, enforcement and transactional matters. Ms. Swett has particular experience advising financial institutions on complex Regulation W issues, governance mechanisms and practices, supervisory examinations and downgrades, regulatory permissibility, charter formations and Fintech acquisitions.

William H. Taft V

William H. Taft V, based in the New York office, is a partner in the Litigation Department, and is the firm's Chief Financial Officer and a member of the firm's Management Committee. His practice focuses on commercial and corporate governance litigation and international arbitration. Mr. Taft has experience leading complex commercial matters for clients across a range of industries, including private equity, sports & entertainment, energy, commercial real estate, project finance and insurance. He is admitted to practice before the New York State Courts, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and several U.S. Courts of Appeals, and he has appeared in arbitrations under the rules of the major U.S. and international institutions.

Katherine Taylor

Katherine Durnan Taylor is a partner in the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions and Public Company Advisory Groups. Her practice focuses on advising public and private companies, including private equity firms, in connection with mergers and acquisitions and other significant corporate matters across a broad range of industries.

Ramya S. Tiller is a corporate partner based in the New York office. Ms. Tiller is a member of the firm’s Finance and Special Situations Groups, and leads the firm’s Fund Finance Group in New York. Her practice covers a broad range of financings, including complex acquisition and leveraged transactions, fund finance transactions and other alternative capital transactions. She has extensive experience in borrower and lender-side fund finance and structured finance transactions, regularly representing clients in PE NAV facilities, secondaries and credit fund NAV facilities, subscription credit facilities, GP financings and collateralized fund obligations (CFOs). She also regularly represents insurance companies in multiple financings, including those related to reinsurance sidecars, and other transactions. Ms. Tiller is a frequent speaker on finance-related topics for the Practising Law Institute and routinely writes on fund finance topics. Ms. Tiller joined Debevoise in 2007. She holds a B.A. LLB (Hons.) from the National Law School of India University in Bangalore, where she graduated third in her class in 2002. She received an LL.M. (Corporate Law) from New York University in 2005, where she was a Hauser scholar. Ms. Tiller is fluent in German. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Tiller worked for a leading Indian law firm in Mumbai, India. Between 2010 and 2012, she served as a member of the Finance group at an international law firm in Munich, Germany.

His practice focuses on domestic and cross-border acquisitions, divestitures, complex joint ventures, venture capital and private equity investments and corporate governance matters for private equity sponsors, financial institutions and other corporate clients. His experience includes advising clients such as Kelso & Company, Carlyle, Blackstone, Gympass, Naviera Ultranav, Ambev, CPPIB, BTG, H.I.G, Southern Cross and Globo Ventures.

Alisa Waxman is a corporate partner and a member of the firm’s Investment Management Group. Her practice focuses on advising sponsors of private equity funds, including buyout, growth, venture, energy, infrastructure and credit opportunities funds. Ms. Waxman’s recent experience includes acting for clients such as Ara Partners, Bain Capital, Brookfield Asset Management, Clearwater Capital Partners, EIG Global Energy Partners, Fortress Investment Group, Global Atlantic, Global Infrastructure Partners, KKR, Newport Global Advisors, Leeds Equity Partners, Oak HC/FT, Providence Equity Partners, PSG and Vinci Partners. Ms. Waxman is recommended by Chambers Global (2023) and Chambers USA (2023), where clients note she is “technically strong and super smart.” In previous editions of the guide, she has been described as “smart, business-savvy and extremely responsive.” She has also been named a Rising Star by Law360 (2022). Ms. Waxman joined Debevoise in 2011. Ms. Waxman received a J.D. from University of Pennsylvania Law School cum laude in 2011, where she was a comments editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. She received a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish Literature summa cum laude from Temple University in 2006, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Partner, Senior Chair

He focuses on white collar criminal defense, regulatory enforcement and internal investigations. He represents a broad range of companies, financial institutions and their executives in matters involving securities fraud, accounting fraud, foreign bribery, cybersecurity, insider trading, and money laundering.

Bruce Yannett

Harry Zirlin is a member of the firm’s Corporate Department and Environmental Practice Group. His practice concentrates on environmental matters with special emphasis on CERCLA liability, environmental insurance coverage and environmental issues in corporate and real estate transactions. Recommended by The Legal 500 US (2024) for his environmental practice, clients have noted that he is “an accomplished lawyer in all respects.” Mr. Zirlin is admitted to appear before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of New York. Mr. Zirlin received his B.F.A. and M.F.A from Pratt Institute and his J.D. summa cum laude from New York Law School in 1989 where he was an executive articles editor of the Law Review.