Kirkland & Ellis LLP

M&A: Large Deals ($1bn+); Shareholder Activism: Advice to Boards

With over 30 years of experience, Daniel Wolf focuses on mergers and acquisitions where he represents public and private companies, as well as private equity firms, in a variety of domestic and international transactions. His transactional experience spans the range of M&A activity including many significant cross-border and contested transactions. He also counsels public company clients on governance, activism defense, finance, securities and other general corporate matters. Over the past eight years alone, Daniel has advised on announced M&A transactions with an aggregate value of well over $500 billion.

In 2021, Daniel was recognized by International Financial Law Review (IFLR) as the U.S. Lawyer of the Year for M&A. He was named “Dealmaker of the Year” by The American Lawyer in 2020 and by the annual Deal Awards in 2019. His work in 2023 earned him the distinction of being ranked #1 on MergerLinks’ list of the “Top Private Equity Lawyers in North America”, and his work in 2019 also earned him the distinction of being named #1 on MergerLinks’ list of the “Top M&A Lawyers in North America.” In the last 12 consecutive years, Chambers and Partners has listed Daniel as a top M&A attorney in Chambers USA, and he is currently ranked in Band 1 for M&A. According to Chambers, one source noted him as an “exceptional lawyer” and “one of the smartest guys I have ever met.” In addition to his M&A ranking, Chambers also lists Daniel as one of the leading shareholder activism and takeover defense attorneys in the U.S. In 2020, Daniel was inducted into the “Hall of Fame” by The Legal 500 U.S. for M&A – Large Deals ($1 billion+). Daniel has been recognized by Legal Benchmarking from 2021–2024 as one of the top life sciences M&A lawyers in the U.S. and was honored as a Leading Life Sciences Lawyer (Mergers & Acquisitions) by Legal Media Group, Life Sciences for 2021–2023. He is also recognized in Who’s Who Legal: M&A and Governance, was named an MVP by Law360, has been listed as a New York Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers magazine in 2013–2023 and is endorsed by PLC’s Mergers and Acquisitions multi-jurisdictional guide.

London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom, LLB, 1995, first class honours.