WilmerHale

Capital Markets ; Corporate Governance and Disclosure ; Cross-Border Transactions ; Emerging Company and Venture Capital ; Life Sciences ; Mergers and Acquisitions ; Private Equity ; SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) Transactions ; Technology

Vice Chair, Corporate Practice
Co-Chair, Mergers and Acquisitions Practice

Chris Barnstable-Brown, vice chair of WilmerHale’s Corporate Practice and co-chair of the M&A Practice, focuses his nationally recognized practice on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and financing transactions, with particular emphasis on the technology and life sciences industries. Client sources in Chambers USA (Corporate/M&A) said, “Chris gives practical, actionable advice. He has a great disposition and is a great business person,” adding that “he has excellent awareness of client priorities and is very effective at negotiating constructively to find solutions to difficult issues,” and that “it’s a pleasure to work with him.”

Chris advises a diverse array of clients, including public and private companies, venture capital funds and private equity sponsors, and financial institutions. He regularly advises on bet-the-company M&A and strategic transactions across industries, as well as a range of corporate governance, financing, public company and emerging company matters. Chris has particular expertise working with technology, life sciences, fintech and AI-focused companies, investors and sponsors.

Chris has been repeatedly recognized as a leading lawyer for Corporate/M&A by, among others, Chambers USA (New York), The Legal 500, The M&A Advisor and New York Super Lawyers. Chris is a frequent speaker and author on corporate and M&A matters, and he has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Law and Law360. Chris has recently led transactions for Medtronic, Google Ventures, Biogen, Blue Apron, RA Capital, Telix Pharmaceuticals, Climb Bio, Solid Biosciences, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Revvity (f/k/a PerkinElmer), EquityZen, Mersana, Marley Spoon, Bluestone Equity Partners, IVERIC Bio, Leerink Partners and Goldman Sachs.

Before joining WilmerHale, Chris was a corporate associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Boyce F. Martin, Jr. of the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Chris was born in Louisville, Kentucky.

Bar Admissions: New York

JD, Boston University School of Law, 2008

BS, Management, Purdue University, 2005