Ms Melissa Hutson > Kirkland & Ellis LLP > New York, United States > Lawyer Profile
Kirkland & Ellis LLP Offices
601 LEXINGTON AVENUE
NEW YORK, NY 10022
NEW YORK
United States
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Ms Melissa Hutson
Position
Melissa is a finance partner in Kirkland’s New York office and a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee. Melissa’s practice focuses on syndicated debt facilities, bank/bridge commitments and other structured financings for leveraged acquisitions by private equity firms, their portfolio companies, and public and private companies. She also advises clients on a broad range of other secured and unsecured lending and financing transactions, including first and second lien financings, mezzanine financings, subordinated loans and asset-based loans.
Melissa also has substantial experience in liability management transactions and other debt restructurings.
Representative clients include American Securities, Bain, Blackstone, New Mountain Capital and Olympus Partners, among others.
Education
University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 2001; University of Virginia, B.A., with high honors, 1998.
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Finance > Commercial lending
(Leading lawyers)The debt finance practice at Kirkland & Ellis LLP has an impressive reputation for advising borrowers in a range of complex leveraged buyouts, stand-alone financings and complicated restructurings, covering senior, subordinated, mezzanine, bridge and preferred equity transactions. The firm’s offering is primarily tailored towards private equity sponsors and their affiliates, with a client portfolio featuring the likes of Ares and Carlyle Group. Key figures at the widespread practice include Melissa Hutson and Jay Ptashek
in New York, and Michelle Kilkenney and Maureen Dixon in Chicago. Fredrich Lim joined the firm from Goodwin in January 2022, followed by the arrival of Austin Witt from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in July 2022; Linda Myers retired from practice in February 2022. Eric Wedel left the firm in August 2023.
Lawyer Rankings
- Leading lawyers United States > Finance > Commercial lending
- Commercial lending United States > Finance
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Media, technology and telecoms > Advertising and marketing: litigation
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- International Trade > CFIUS
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Government > Government relations
- Intellectual property > Copyright
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Energy > Energy litigation: oil and gas
- Energy > Energy transactions: electric power
- Energy > Energy transactions: oil and gas
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Tax > International tax
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Investment fund formation and management > Mutual/registered/exchange-traded funds
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Real estate > Real estate
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Intellectual property > Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: litigation
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
Firm Rankings
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Antitrust > Cartel
- Energy > Energy regulation: electric power
- Environment > Environment: litigation
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: litigation
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Media, technology and telecoms > Outsourcing
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (International Trade Commission)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: automotive/transport
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort
- Finance > Project finance
- Real estate > Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
- Government > State attorneys general
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- Tax > US taxes: contentious
- Dispute resolution > E-discovery
- Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation
- Insurance > Insurance: non-contentious
- Energy > Renewable/alternative power
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: non-contentious (including prosecution, portfolio management and licensing)
- Energy > Energy regulation: oil and gas
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional
- Real estate > Construction (including construction litigation)
- International Trade > Customs, export controls and economic sanctions
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)
- Finance > Commercial lending
- Investment fund formation and management > Mutual/registered/exchange-traded funds