Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

Chairmen: Thomas M Cerabino, Matthew A Feldman

Total number of lawyers: Approximately 1,000

Languages: English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish

Firm Overview:  

Willkie is an elite international law firm that delivers superior client service across a broad spectrum of practice areas. In addition to the primary areas of corporate/M&A; private equity; business reorganisation and restructuring; complex litigation; compliance, investigations and enforcement; antitrust and competition; asset management; and insurance, the firm’s approximately 1,000 attorneys collaborate to provide multidisciplinary advice across the areas of arbitration; capital markets; communications and media; corporate governance; crisis management; cybersecurity and privacy; digital works; employment; environment, health and safety; environmental, social and governance (ESG); ERISA litigation; executive compensation and employee benefits; finance; global trade and investment; intellectual property; private clients; real estate; securities litigation and enforcement; special committee; structured finance and derivatives; tax; white-collar defense; and a wide range of industries.

Willkie brings together multidisciplinary capabilities to deliver comprehensive advice in an integrated manner, leveraging the firm’s resources to create value for clients.

Main Areas of Practice:  

Corporate/M&A:  

Working in close cooperation across offices in the US and Europe, Willkie attorneys provide advice on significant domestic M&A matters as well as complex cross-border transactions. The team represents buyers, sellers, special committees of boards, debt and equity investors and financial advisors in matters ranging from contested takeovers and management buyouts to strategic alliances, leveraged recaps and acquisitions from reorganisation proceedings. Advising both public and private companies in a broad range of industries, the team finds solutions to meet client objectives and helps clients early on in the process to identify and assess risks in a transaction. The group also regularly advises clients on relevant regulatory and judicial developments in areas such as antitrust, tax, ERISA, corporate governance and securities laws as they affect the M&A environment.

Contact: David K Boston Tel: +1 212 728 8625

Email: [email protected]

Contact: Steven A Seidman Tel: +1 212 728 8763

Email: [email protected]

Private Equity:  

Willkie represents more than 300 US and international private equity sponsors as well as portfolio companies, management teams, issuers, debt providers and financial advisors. Willkie’s 360° private equity platform provides ‘lifecycle’ legal counsel to clients: from pre-IPO consideration, planning and launch to other activities including follow-on offerings, M&A and investments. Willkie is committed to building strong relationships with clients, with many retaining the firm’s services beyond the first engagement and through their growth cycle. Willkie is one of the few major law firms to offer deep transactional, fund formation and regulatory compliance experience, combined with sector-specific knowledge and a commercial approach.

Contact: Jeffrey R Poss Tel: +1 212 728 8536

Email: [email protected]

Contact: Neil W Townsend Tel: +1 212 728 8272

Email: [email protected]

Business Reorganisation & Restructuring: 

Willkie’s business reorganisation and restructuring department is an international practice with experience in all aspects of business and financial restructurings and insolvency matters. Integrated US and European restructuring professionals offer the hands-on, results-driven experience that today’s distressed situations demand. Our professionals are held in high regard for their responsiveness and proven experience in complex multilateral cross-border restructurings (both in and out of court). Willkie represents a broad spectrum of clients in the US, UK, France, Germany and other key European jurisdictions.

Contact: Matthew A Feldman Tel: +1 212 728 8651

Email: [email protected]

Contact: Rachel C Strickland Tel: +1 212 728 8544

Email: [email protected]

Complex Litigation:  

Willkie litigators have won several precedent-setting victories across a wide spectrum of legal issues in courts around the US and abroad involving all substantive areas, including securities, M&A litigation, contract, patent, antitrust, trade secrets, ERISA, False Claims Act, employment, RICO, and malpractice, among others. Willkie’s litigators are known for their creativity and practical approach in handling complex matters, tactical acumen, team focus, and for their deep appreciation of clients’ business needs. Willkie's is a sophisticated and diverse national and international practice representing major corporations, financial services companies, accounting firms, insurance and reinsurance companies and brokers, and individuals such as corporate officers and directors and accountants, in complex commercial and class-action litigation.

Contact: Tariq Mundiya Tel: +1 212 728 8565

Email: [email protected]

Compliance, Investigations & Enforcement: 

Willkie’s diverse international practice is synonymous with high-profile investigations, complex enforcement actions and high-stakes white collar cases. Our highly experienced team works on many of the largest and closely watched matters across the US, UK and Continental Europe. We represent market-leading companies, institutions and their executives across a wide range of business areas and industries in all aspects of compliance, investigations and enforcement.

Contact: Martin J Weinstein Tel: +1 202 303 1122

Email: [email protected]

Contact: Peter Burrell Tel: +44 20 3580 4702

Email: [email protected]

Antitrust & Competition: 

Willkie has a long-standing history of handling high-profile antitrust litigation, mergers and investigations. The team has represented a global client base in national and international merger filings, US and European investigations of all forms of anticompetitive activity, class action and private litigation, and business ventures in multiple jurisdictions. The team includes partners and associates in the US, UK and EU and is known for its collaboration and seamless cross-border work on behalf of clients with international and national needs across a wide spectrum of industries.

Contact: Jeffrey B Korn Tel: +1 212 728 8842

Email: [email protected]

Contact: William H Rooney Tel: +1 212 728 8259

Email: [email protected]

Asset Management: 

The firm is recognised as preeminent in the asset management space and advises a wide array of clients in the asset management industry, including privately owned sponsors and investment managers, publicly traded asset management firms, broker dealers, insurance companies and banks. The team regularly advises on fund formations, investments, restructurings, financings, merger and acquisition transactions, and compliance and regulation. With deep insight into the legal needs of sponsors of public and private funds alike, the team brings a practical, efficient approach to analysing issues and solving problems. The team has extensive regulatory experience and includes a former Director of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management as well as other former senior SEC staff members.

Contact: Margery K Neale Tel: +1 212 728 8297

Email: [email protected]

Contact: Lior J Ohayon Tel: +1 212 728 8278

Email: [email protected]

* Studio Legale Delfino e Associati, operating in Italy, is affiliated with Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.