Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz > New York, United States > Firm Profile

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz > The Legal 500 Rankings

Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense Tier 1

Often retained for exceptionally complex M&A-related disputes, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is adept at defending clients facing both shareholder-led and regulatory lawsuits tied to pre- and post-merger issues, including alleged breaches of fiduciary duties by directors and officers and busted deals. William Savitt is tasked by both corporations and individual directors with representing them in class actions, governance-related suits and proxy contests. 2024 saw him represent Alex Rodriguez and others in arbitration proceedings relating to their purchase of the Minnesota Timberwolves and negotiated a settlement for Banco Santander following the sale of its US auto loans subsidiary, where minority shareholders alleged they were unfairly squeezed out. Ryan McLeod also assisted on the Santander matter, and has considerable experience in litigating transaction-based disputes in addition to those stemming from disagreements between boards and shareholders on governance and related proxy contests. Leading the practice alongside Savitt is Jonathan Moses, whose practice spans securities and financial services regulatory litigation. Further trial expertise comes in the form of Randall Jackson, who represented Omni in pushing Forward Air to complete its acquisition of the former; a settlement was reached in January 2024.

Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional Tier 1

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz advises a prominent client base on executive compensation and employee benefits matters, regularly acting on complex domestic and cross-border transactions, as well as high-profile corporate restructurings. The firm recently led compensation and benefits structuring for Capital One’s $35.3bn acquisition of Discover and Diamondback Energy’s $26bn acquisition of Endeavor, focusing on leadership retention, equity structuring, and compliance with Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code. The practice also played a key role in the $20bn merger between Smurfit Kappa and WestRock, providing strategic counsel on executive retention, incentive planning, and benefits integration across multiple jurisdictions. Headed by Jeannemarie O’Brien , the team frequently collaborates with the firm’s mergers and acquisitions and tax departments, ensuring comprehensive coverage of regulatory and strategic considerations during deal execution. Adam Shapiro and David Kahan , both based in New York, who are recognized for their expertise in high-value compensation structuring and regulatory compliance. While Michael Schobel focuses on matters advice on designing and implementing compensation arrangements, negotiating executive employment agreements, and handling corporate governance and disclosure issues.

M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+) Tier 1

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is a popular choice to advise a host of global and domestic clients, where the M&A team adopts a multidisciplinary approach and leverages cross-jurisdictional support. The department is jointly led by the experienced Steven Rosenblum who is skilled in high value M&A, takeover defense, and joint ventures, and the renowned Adam Emmerich, who routinely assists public and private companies in divestitures, securities law matters, and finance transactions. Industry veteran Edward Herlihy is regularly involved in complex bank and financial institutions M&A, while corporate and securities attorney Daniel Neff advises board committees. Benjamin Roth assists financial sponsors and management teams with complex international M&A, Victor Goldfeld focuses on mergers in the TMT and energy sectors, and Jenna Levine and Zachary Podolsky are regarded for their expertise in advising special committees of directors. All named lawyers are based in New York.

M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism Tier 1

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz‘s New York practice is a leading defender of shareholder activism, providing service to clients across a broad range of industries, with many of the firm’s deals having billions of dollars at stake. The firm’s approach to the shareholder activist defense stakes out a unique position, maintaining a ratio of associates to partners significantly below that of other firms, focusing on matters that require the attention, extensive experience and sophistication of their partners, emphasizing quality over quantity. Practice leader Elina Tetelbaum takes charge of the practice, with her expertise covering both proxy fights and counselling on corporate governance issues and crisis management, with experience against the largest and most prominent activist investor funds. The highly experienced David Katz is involved in both domestic and international M&A, buyout transactions, and complex public and private offerings, integrating shareholder activism into a broader transactional service, and Adam Emmerich specializes in hostile takeover defense and contested acquisition matters.

Tax > US taxes: non-contentious Tier 1

The New York-based non-contentious tax group at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz handles complex and high-value financings and restructurings, M&A, spin-offs, and joint ventures, advising a vast range of major industries.Jodi Schwartz and Deborah Paul have vast experience advising on cross-border corporate transactions such as strategic acquisitions and private equity buyouts, representing a wide range of industries. T Eiko Stange advises on transactions spanning a range of industries including tech, pharma, media and entertainment, real estate, and telecoms. Joshua Holmes, Tijana Dvornic, and Rachel Reisberg advise on tax aspects of spin-offs, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, and financial instruments.

Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense Tier 2

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is extremely visible in relation to derivative shareholder litigation and has a long history in the practice area. William Savitt is at the forefront of many of the highest-profile mandates handled by the team, achieving a myriad successes for clients in high-stakes M&A and shareholder derivative litigation, including before the Delaware Court of Chancery. Savitt’s work also touches on securities litigation matters, including those with consequential and potentially precedent-setting implications. Ryan McLeod is very adept at handling M&A litigation, while Jonathan Moses, who co-heads the overarching litigation team alongside Savitt, has a broad-based offering that includes a significant amount of M&A and securities litigation.

Finance > Commercial lending Tier 2

Reputed for its strength in liability management matters, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz often advises corporate borrowers on leveraged recapitalizations. The practice’s key strengths also lie in acquisition financing, capital financing, as well as distressed M&A. Operating out of New York, Gregory Pessin is highly proficient in debt and financing matters, while Emily Johnson is well-regarded for her capabilities in investment grade and leveraged transactions. Johnson is also informed in capital market transactions, while Michael Benn is skilled at liability management transactions. John Sobolewski is versed in leveraged M&A, syndicated and direct loans, and NAV loans, while Benjamin Arfa handles restructuring issues.  Rod Ghods is another key team member.

Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate Tier 2

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz‘s prestigious reputation and depth of expertise across its partner and associate ranks, brings it a wealth of domestic and cross-border bankruptcy and restructuring engagements. Its expertise ranges from addressing liquidity shortfalls to full-scale creditor disputes, with an established record in representing creditors and debtors in chapter 11 cases and out-of-court restructurings, along with bankruptcy litigation and other debt-related matters. The firm has also worked on a series of major liability management transactions over recent years, including advising Lumen Technologies on its liability management exercise involving nine separate debt exchanges (totalling over $15bn), $1.32bn of new money financing and $1bn of new revolver commitments. Joshua Feltman now leads the restructuring and finance team, having succeeded the immensely experienced Richard Mason . Emil Kleinhaus is rated for bankruptcy and creditors’ rights litigation, while Michael Benn is noted for bankruptcy, restructuring and liability management transactions. The hugely experienced Scott Charles  and John Sobolewski are also key members of the team. The firm is based solely in New York.

Tax > International tax Tier 2

Based in New York, the team at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is well-regarded for advising clients across a vast range of sectors including technology, energy and finance, on the tax aspects of corporate transactions. The firm’s international taxation portfolio includes mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs and other divestitures, joint ventures, financings and financial instruments, and restructurings. Jodi Schwartz focuses her practice on cross-border transactions including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, spin-offs and financial instruments, in a wide range of sectors, particularly technology. Deborah Paul advises on tax aspects of cross-border transactions, including strategic acquisitions and private equity buyouts in a wide array of industries. Eiko Stange  routinely advises on cross-border transactions in a diverse spectrum of industries, including telecoms, tech, and pharma.

Antitrust > Merger control Tier 3

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz fields an experienced team in its New York-based antitrust practice, regularly representing clients in merger clearance matters before the Department of Justice, the FTC, and state attorneys general. Ilene Gotts has longstanding experience of antitrust matters relating to mergers and acquisitions, while Nelson Fitts has wide ranging expertise in handling competition matters across the energy, industrial, chemical, medical, and technology sectors. Damian Didden is often sought out for analysis regarding the antitrust risk of mergers and acquisitions, and Christina Ma regularly supports clients through merger investigations, trials, and compliance matters.

Real estate > Real estate investment trusts (REITs) Tier 3

Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz‘s REIT practice is devoted to REIT M&A, advising on marquee matters like Kimco Realty Corporation’s acquisition of RPT Realty. Co-chair of the firm’s corporate department, New York-based Adam Emmerich heads up the team and expertly handles REIT mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs and joint ventures. Emmerich is also well-equipped to advise REITs on a range of matters related to corporate governance. Also in New York, co-chair Robin Panovka is a leading authority on REIT M&A transactions, serving as co-chair of the NYU REIT Center.

Worldwide > M&A Tier 1