Charles Ruck > Latham & Watkins LLP > Orange County, United States > Lawyer Profile

The ‘incredibly responsive, collaborative’ practice at Latham & Watkins LLP is able to offer clients deep knowledge of activist funds and institutional investors. The group acts in a variety of matters, from proxy fights and board representation to engagement strategies and preventing unsolicited takeovers. Team members also demonstrate knowhow in navigating activist engagement while complying with legal and regulatory obligations. Josh Dubofsky in Silicon Valley is one of the leaders of the firm’s activism task force and provides activism and takeover planning and defense to dozens of public companies. He co-heads the team alongside Chicago-based Chris Drewry, who also advises public companies from small to large market cap on activism defense. The pair are well supported by Tiffany Campion in Chicago, who counts board members of public corporations among her client base, and Charles Ruck , who divides his time between New York and Orange County, who clients turn to for complex transactions and board-level advice within shareholder activism. Mark Gerstein retired in December 2022.

Global powerhouse Latham & Watkins LLP houses an elite M&A practice in the US that attracts instructions from several Fortune 500 companies in relation to their largest and most critical domestic and cross-border transactions. With extensive experience in the full spectrum of corporate and transactional matters, the team is often engaged in big-ticket public and private M&A, either negotiated or contested, representing both principal entities and financial advisors. Global chair of the firm’s M&A practice Justin Hamill focuses on large-scale transactions, including mergers, acquisitions and divestitures in the media, technology, financial services, healthcare and consumer products sectors; Hamill, who sits in New York, is also experienced in governance and emerging companies matters. Charles Ruck, who splits his time between Orange County and New York, serves as primary outside counsel to top public and privately-held companies in the context of hostile takeovers, strategic acquisitions, take-private deals and mergers. Global vice chair Mark Bekheit, who works out of Silicon Valley, has a thriving transactional practice in the Bay Area advising on transformative, multibillion-dollar technology deals. This is also a notable area of strength for Tad Freese. In the same office, Josh Dubofsky stands out for his experience in tech and healthcare-related transactions on behalf of corporate clients and private equity firms. Andrew Elken joined the New York office in August 2023.