Attorney Intel is pleased to announce The Top 25 Private Equity Attorneys of 2024. These attorneys are essential players in the private equity sector, guiding clients through the complexities of fund formation, mergers and acquisitions, and regulatory frameworks. Their work involves not only structuring high-stakes transactions but also advising on compliance matters and strategic investments that drive growth and innovation across various industries. With expertise ranging from negotiating joint ventures to navigating cross-border deals, they enable clients to capitalize on opportunities while effectively managing risks.
This year’s awardees exemplify a commitment to excellence, drawing from diverse experiences in top law firms and corporate legal departments. As strategic partners in the investment lifecycle, these attorneys serve as trusted advisors to private equity firms, portfolio companies, and institutional investors while leveraging their deep industry knowledge to optimize outcomes.
Among this year’s awardees, Adam Fleisher, Partner at Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton, is recognized for his work in governance and succession matters for major private equity and hedge funds. Ron Geffner, Partner at Sadis and Goldberg, stands out for his extensive SEC background and expertise in structuring private investment vehicles for hedge funds. Spencer Moats, Partner at Foley and Lardner, excels in private equity transactions, having advised on over 150 deals valued in the billions, showcasing his commitment to maximizing financial returns for diverse clients.
This year’s awardees were chosen through a methodical nomination process and careful consideration of each candidate’s career track record and industry contributions. Please join us in celebrating The Top 25 Private Equity Attorneys of 2024.
1. Len Jacoby
Partner, Cooley
Len Jacoby is a Partner at Cooley, where he works on a range of legal matters including significant transactions involving, complex intellectual property considerations. Cooley has over 1,300 lawyers across 19 offices in the United States, Asia, and Europe, and a total workforce exceeding 3,000. Jacoby has extensive experience providing clients with advice in transactions where IP, technology, data, brands or content are an important part of the value proposition.
Jacoby advises private equity funds, public and private companies and investment banks on such issues in the context of mergers and acquisitions, spinoffs and divestitures, joint ventures, investments, public offerings and other corporate matters. He also represents clients on business deals and strategic considerations involving the commercialization of intangible rights and related products and services, including licenses, R&D agreements, services agreements, and other commercial arrangements. Jacoby has experience across many industries and sectors, and regularly advises clients on cross-border deals.
Before joining Cooley, Jacoby built and served in a global leadership role for the transactional IP practice at Cleary Gottlieb , where he was a Partner for 13 years. Prior to that, he was a Partner at Wilson Sonsini. Jacoby graduated from Harvard Law School with a JD and from Yale University with an undergraduate degree in political science.
Len Jacoby's Insight
“Private equity deals are a team sport. Having advised some of the world’s top private equity firms on the intellectual property and technology aspects of complicated, global transactions, I am always struck by the importance of thoughtful coordination and alignment across multiple work streams, practice groups and client teams to deliver best-in-class service and results.”
2. Russell Franklin
Partner, Morgan Lewis and Bockius
Russell Franklin is a Partner at Morgan Lewis and Bockius, a law firm providing litigation, merger and acquisition, finance and restructuring, regulatory, intellectual property, and employment and benefits legal services to corporate clients in many industries and markets.
Franklin counsels private and publicly held companies in connection with complex strategic transactions, including structuring and negotiating mergers and acquisitions, minority investments, and joint venture transactions for strategic and financial clients. His practice also includes general stock and asset transactions, and purchases and sales resulting from bankruptcy and out-of-court restructurings.
Franklin routinely partners with life sciences transactions lawyers on life sciences M&A and matters that include one or more equity components. Franklin is a member of the firm’s SPAC Task Force and has counseled clients contemplating SPAC and de-SPAC transactions.
Previously, Franklin was a counsel at Paul Hastings. Earlier in his career he worked with Boies, Schiller, and Flexner LLP as an associate. Franklin earned a JD in law from Harvard Law School and an undergraduate degree in economics and government from Cornell University.
3. Javier Fierro
Partner, Mayer Brown
Javier Fierro is a Partner in Mayer Brown's New York office and a member of the Corporate and Securities practice. His practice primarily focuses on the structuring, formation and operation of domestic and offshore private investment funds, which invest in a variety of asset classes and industries, including infrastructure, private debt, agribusiness, insurance, mining, and early- and late-stage companies. Mayer Brown is an international law firm that represents major corporations, funds, and financial institutions in significant transactions and disputes.
Fierro has significant experience working with leading local Latin American private equity fund managers in advising and structuring offshore investment vehicles investing in parallel with local vehicles across the Americas. Through these engagements, Fierro has gained deep experience advising sponsors with respect to investments made by development finance institutions and other social impact investors, including on matters related to environmental, social and corporate governance.
Previously, Fierro was a counsel at Sidley Austin LLP and before that a director of corporate development at Cosemi Technologies Inc. Earlier in his career he worked with Goodwin as a corporate associate. Fierro holds a JD from Northwestern University, an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from University of California, Los Angeles.
4. Carl Bradshaw
Partner, Goodwin Procter
Carl Bradshaw is a Partner at Goodwin Procter, a global law firm founded in 1912 that represents investors and entrepreneurs, particularly in sectors driven by technological advancements. Bradshaw is a strategic legal adviser and transactional counsel to growth companies, their investors, founders, and management teams, with a particular focus on private equity investments and mergers and acquisitions.
Bradshaw has structured and negotiated a broad range of complex business transactions within the UK and cross-border throughout Europe in various industries, including the technology, healthcare and life sciences, financial and business services, and consumer sectors. He has led the Goodwin team on large cap and mid-market buyouts, carve-outs, add-ons, public-to-privates, joint ventures and consortium deals, minority stake deals, structured and growth equity arrangements, special situations, and restructurings. He also counsels clients on corporate and senior executive matters and management incentive plans.
Prior to joining Goodwin in 2019, Bradshaw was a Partner at Kirkland and Ellis in London where he spent nearly a decade in the European Private Equity team advising a wide range of global sponsors. He began his career at Clifford Chance in London and Hong Kong. Earlier in his career, Bradshaw was seconded to Bain Capital, counseling deal teams on European private equity investments. Bradshaw graduated from the University of Cambridge Judge Business School with a master of philosophy in innovation, strategy, and organization and from Loughborough University with an undergraduate degree.
5. Spencer Moats
Partner, Foley and Lardner
Spencer Moats is a Partner in Foley and Lardner’s Transactions Practice and is a leader in the firm’s Private Equity and Venture Capital practice. Moats practices primarily in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, securities law, capital markets, and corporate governance.
Moats’ practice is largely industry agnostic, although he has significant experience representing clients in the business services, food and beverage, health care, leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, oil and gas, and technology industries. Foley and Lardner LLP is a preeminent law firm that focuses on the energy, healthcare and life sciences, innovative technology, and manufacturing sectors.
In his nearly 20 years of experience, Moats has advised clients on more than 150 public and private mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and other business combination transactions with an aggregate deal value exceeding $20 billion. His experience includes representing clients in connection with transactions valued at less than $10 million to greater than $1 billion. Moats graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law with a JD and from the University of Northern Iowa with an undergraduate degree in public administration.
Spencer Moats's Insight
“Spencer is a leader in the Private Equity practice at Foley and Lardner LLP. Spencer represents a number of middle market and lower middle market private equity sponsors, as well as numerous portfolio companies of large private equity sponsors, including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co.”
6. Kipp Cohen
Partner, Blank Rome
Kipp Cohen is a Partner in the Corporate, M&A and Securities group at Blank Rome, an AM Law 100 firm with 16 offices and more than 750 attorneys and principals. Blank Rome provides a full range of legal and advocacy services to clients operating in the United States and around the world.
Cohen concentrates his practice on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, and other financing transactions, strategic alliances, joint ventures, corporate reorganizations and restructurings, and general corporate counseling. He represents a wide range of companies (public and private), private equity funds (and their portfolio companies), family offices and other investment vehicles, entrepreneurs, and family businesses in all phases of complex business transactions, including management and board discussions, deal strategy, planning and structure, document drafting and negotiations, and closings. He has extensive experience on M&A transactions of all types. including sale transactions, carveouts, divestitures, add-ons, mergers, roll ups, lift-outs, management buyouts, ESOP sales, takeovers, take-privates, exchange offers and tender offers. During his 30+ year career, Cohen has advised on hundreds of transactions with an aggregate transaction value in the billions of dollars in a wide variety of industries, including software and technology, digital media, manufacturing and distribution, retail, consumer products, food industry, service industry, transportation and logistics, e-commerce, staffing and placement, chemicals, and aerospace, defense and government services (ADG). He is co-chair of the firm’s ADG M&A practice. Cohen received his JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and his undergraduate degree from UCLA, majoring in Economics.
Kipp Cohen's Insight
"I always strive to move deals forward as efficiently as possible by being practical and creative and not losing sight of my client’s business interests. It is important to carefully listen to the concerns raised by all parties and not get caught up in the heat of battle with the other side on issues that are not important to my client."
7. Adam Fleisher
Partner, Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton
Adam Fleisher is a Partner at Cleary. He works on complex governance and succession matters for some of the largest global private equity and hedge funds, representing both founders and firms. These matters involve orchestrating multi-party agreement across a wide range of specialties, including corporate, securities, employment, tax, and other areas of law.
Adam also maintains a traditional capital markets transactional and advisory practice, leveraging his experience working on securities offerings and investments, disclosure, governance, and trading considerations to inform his alternative asset manager work. He holds a JD from Yale Law School and bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.
8. Ira Kustin
Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld
Ira Kustin is a Partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld. Akin is an international law firm with more than 900 lawyers in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Kustin focuses his practice on representing sponsors and investors in complex hedge, credit and private equity funds. He provides counsel to private fund advisers on international investment platforms, including in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Kustin’s clients include market-leading global asset managers, start-ups, and mid-sized and larger managers. He has extensive experience counseling established global investment advisers as well as start-up managers on most aspects of their operations and regulatory compliance matters. He advises investment fund managers faced with complex restructurings, succession planning, crisis and conflict resolution, and consent solicitations.
Kustin also has experience as an expert witness in court proceedings involving private fund matters and has been certified by a federal court as an expert in the operation of private investment funds/advisers and private fund legal practice. Prior to rejoining Akin, Kustin was a partner in the New York office of another leading global law firm. Kustin graduated from New York University School of Law with a JD and from the University of Cincinnati with an undergraduate degree.
9. Dan Malone
Partner, Haynes and Boone
Dan Malone is a Partner at Haynes and Boone, an international corporate law firm with 19 offices, spanning Texas, New York, California, Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Virginia, Washington, D.C., London, Mexico City and Shanghai, providing legal services in energy, technology, financial services, and private equity.
Malone advises strategic and financial dealmakers on significant transactions. His practice focuses on complex business transactions for both private and public companies, with a particular focus on mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures and strategic investments. During his career, Malone has advised on hundreds of transactions worth in excess of $25 billion and spanning a broad range of industries, including financial services, food and beverage, consumer products, technology and healthcare.
Malone began his career at a large global firm in its Chicago office before transitioning in-house on the business side, sourcing, valuing and integrating acquisitions within a large public company and ultimately guiding that company through a significant-take private transaction. Previously, Malone was a senior counsel on mergers and acquisitions at The WhiteWave Foods Company. Earlier in his career he worked with Jones Day as an associate. Malone earned a JD in law from Boston College Law School and an undergraduate degree from Fordham University.
Dan Malone's Insight
“My professional life for almost twenty years has been dedicated to advising sophisticated financial sponsors as they pursue complex, high profile business transactions. This award is a true testament to the deals that these clients have accomplished over the years along with the team of skilled lawyers at Haynes Boone that support our incredible private equity practice firmwide”
10. Shari Krouner
Partner, Kramer Levin Naftalis and Frankel
Shari Krouner is a Partner at Kramer Levin Naftalis and Frankel, a law firm headquartered in New York with offices in Silicon Valley, Washington, D.C., and Paris. The firm offers clients creative and practical solutions to complex legal issues and maintains a strong commitment to public and community service. Krouner represents funds and investors in private equity, co-investment, and merger and acquisition transactions, as well as issuers in public and private debt and equity offerings.
Krouner also works closely with the Bankruptcy and Restructuring practice on complex cases. She provides advice to help clients efficiently and effectively solve legal, structural, and transactional issues. Previously, she was an associate at Proskauer Rose LLP. Krouner earned a JD in law from Emory University School of Law and an undergraduate degree from Colgate University.
11. Amie Singer
Partner, Morris Manning and Martin
Amie Singer is a Partner in the Morris Manning and Martin’s Corporate Securities, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Financial Technology practices. Morris, Manning and Martin is an Am Law 200 law firm with national and international reach.
Singer has experience in a broad range of transactional matters, including venture capital and private equity fund formation and portfolio company investment, public and private offerings of equity and debt securities, cross-border transactions, mergers and acquisitions, leveraged recapitalizations, and buyouts.
Additionally, Singer advises on business formation, corporate governance and compliance, general business counseling, strategic planning, joint ventures and other strategic collaborations, structured finance transactions, and raising capital for emerging growth companies. She also manages commercial transactions, such as bank credit lines, lease lines, and off-balance sheet spin-offs.
Previously, Singer was a counsel at Jones Day. Earlier in her career she worked with Foley and Lardner LLP as a partner. Singer earned a JD in law from Emory University School of Law and an undergraduate degree in political science and government from the University of Florida.
Amie Singer's Insight
“I have spent over 24 years living in the M&A market. Market terms are ever evolving based on several factors, including macroeconomic and geopolitical pressures. The depressed M&A market in recent past stabilized valuations but increased interest rates chilled leveraged transactions. With the recent drop in rates and an election on horizon, we are seeing an uptick in M&A activity. While we see less “sweetheart” deals trying to preempt the market and funds being more selective with their platform investments, strategic M&A and bolt-on and tuck-ins investments have significantly increased. Funds remain active in portfolio growth, both in enterprise value and market expansion, and founders are more open to exits with uncertainty in the future, all of which drives M&A activity. Recently, we have seen a preference for funds to grow portfolios by acquisition as opposed to internal growth. That gives deal lawyers lots of opportunities and, personally, makes me feel involved in the growth of platform investments and that’s exciting.”
12. Ani Hovanessian
Partner, Willkie Farr and Gallagher
Ani Hovanessian is a Partner in the Private Wealth group at Willkie Farr and Gallagher, focusing on estate planning, business succession planning and charitable gifting. She serves as personal general counsel to high-net-worth families and individuals, including private equity, hedge fund, and venture capital principals, executives of privately and publicly held businesses, family business owners, entrepreneurs, real estate investors, and art collectors.
Hovanessian advises her clients on the complexities of strategic wealth transference, business succession, and asset protection planning, which includes premarital and post-marital planning. Willkie Farr and Gallagher LLP provides legal solutions on complex, business critical issues spanning markets and industries. Their approximately 1,200 attorneys across 15 offices worldwide deliver sophisticated legal services across approximately 45 practice areas.
Previously, Hovanessian was a Partner and chair of NY tax and wealth planning at Venable LLP and before that a Partner at Holland and Knight LLP. Earlier in her career she worked with Clifford Chance LLP as an associate. Hovanessian earned a JD from New York University School of Law and an undergraduate degree from Stanford University.
13. Frank Zonars
Partner, Vorys Sater Seymour and Pease
Frank Zonars is a Partner in the Vorys Columbus office and a member of the Corporate and Business Organizations group. Vorys was established in 1909 with just four attorneys and has grown to nearly 375 attorneys in 10 offices in Ohio, Washington, D.C., Texas, Pennsylvania, California, London, and Berlin.
Zonars’ practice focuses on advising privately owned companies in merger and acquisition and joint venture transactions. Zonars represents private equity firms and their portfolio companies, family offices, startup companies, and other growth-oriented companies and entrepreneurs in numerous industries including manufacturing, technology and fintech, professional services, retail and consumer brands, consumer services, industrial services, esports and gaming, and others.
Zonars holds a JD from Boston College Law School and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago. Prior to joining Vorys, Zonars served as a law clerk to the Honorable Roslynn R. Mauskopf in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and a summer associate lawyer at Ropes and Gray LLP in Boston.
14. Catherine Carney-Richman
Partner, Cummings and Lockwood
Catherine Carney-Richman is a Partner at Cummings and Lockwood’s Corporate and Finance group and is based in the firm's Naples office. Founded in 1909, Cummings and Lockwood provides legal counsel to individuals and families, family offices, closely held businesses, and other commercial enterprises and charitable entities. Its core services include trusts and estates, corporate and finance, litigation and arbitration, and commercial and residential real estate.
Prior to joining Cummings and Lockwood in 2006, Carney-Richman began her career at Shearman and Sterling in its New York office in 1998 and then joined the New York office of Hughes, Hubbard and Reed in 2002. Carney-Richman graduated from New York University School of Law with a JD and from New York University with an undergraduate degree in finance.
15. Ron Geffner
Partner, Sadis and Goldberg
Ron Geffner is a Partner at Sadis and Goldberg. He began his legal career with the SEC, where he investigated and prosecuted violations of the federal securities laws with an emphasis on enforcement in connection with violations of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Geffner also assisted federal and state criminal agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Attorney General’s Office, in their investigations of possible criminal violations of federal and state securities laws.
Prior to co-founding Sadis and Goldberg, Ron was associated with two other New York City-based law firms, where he represented domestic and offshore private investment vehicles, as well as broker-dealers, registered investment advisers and registered investment companies.
He began his corporate legal career as in-house counsel in the Investment Management Industry Services group of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he provided legal advice regarding investment advisers, registered investment companies, and broker-dealers.
Ron Geffner's Insights
"I started my career as an attorney with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission focusing on violations of the Investment Advisors Act and the Investment Company Act. Subsequent to my role with the SEC, I spent time at two New York City based law firms focusing on the formation and ongoing representation of private funds. Subsequent to forming Sadis, my colleagues and I organize in excess of 60 private funds each year taking into consideration commercial, tax and regulatory implications." Ron S. Geffner is a founding member of Sadis, he participates on the Executive Committee and also oversees the Financial Services group. He regularly structures, organizes and counsels private investment vehicles, investment advisory organizations, broker-dealers, commodity pool operators and other investment fiduciaries. Ron also routinely counsels clients in connection with regulatory investigations and actions. His broad background with Federal and State securities laws, and the rules, regulations and customary practices of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Commodities Futures Trading Commission and various other regulatory bodies, enables him to provide strategic guidance to a diverse clientele. He provides legal services to hundreds of hedge funds, private equity funds and venture capital funds organized in the United States and offshore.”
16. Meredith Haviland
Partner, Foley Hoag
Meredith Haviland is Partner at Foley Hoag. Foley Hoag is an international law firm that focuses on innovative industries and high-stakes litigation. Haviland concentrates her corporate practice on representing private investment funds and investment advisers in all matters, including formation, structuring, investments, acquisitions, divestitures and regulatory matters. Haviland has significant expertise advising private investment funds and corporates in respect of cross-border transactions, with a particular focus on international forestry transactions.
On the transaction side, Haviland regularly advises both private equity investors and corporates in connection with strategic business transactions, including acquisitions and divestitures in the real asset space. In addition to her extensive experience with M&A transactions, Haviland has significant expertise with cross-border structuring matters. Haviland graduated from Boston College Law School with a JD and from Bates College with an undergraduate degree in sociology and music.
17. Michael Mozes
Partner, Benesch Law
Michael Mozes is a Partner at Benesch Law, an Am Law 200 business law firm with more than 400 attorneys and offices in Cleveland, Chicago, Columbus, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai and Wilmington. The firm provides legal services to national and international clients that include public and private, middle market and emerging companies, as well as private equity funds, entrepreneurs and not-for-profit organizations. Mozes focuses his practice on private funds, investment management, and corporate transactions.
Mozes counsels private equity and venture capital funds in connection with their investments in portfolio companies, advises investment managers in relation to fund formation and federal and state regulatory compliance, and assists pension plans, endowments, and high net worth clients with investments in all types of alternative investment vehicles. In addition, Mozes assists companies in all stages of growth in a variety of transactional matters, including entity structure, formation, corporate governance, financing transactions, and mergers and acquisitions.
Mozes graduated from Harvard Law School with a JD and from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business with a master’s degree in accounting and an undergraduate degree in business administration.
18. Malcolm Nicholls
Partner, Gunderson Dettmer
Malcolm Nicholls is a leader in Gunderson Dettmer’s Boston office and is a Partner in the Private Funds group, focusing on the formation, structuring, operations and governance of private investment funds. Gunderson Dettmer is an international law firm with a focus on the innovation economy. The firm serves venture capital and growth equity investors and pioneering private companies through inception, growth, and maturity, as well as the public companies that result from the global venture capital ecosystem.
Nicholls brings more than 25 years of experience representing private fund sponsors and investment advisors globally on a wide range of issues, including fund formations, secondary transactions, internal governance, and divestments and distributions. Prior to joining Gunderson Dettmer, Nicholls was the Co-Head of the Private Investment Funds group at Proskauer Rose LLP. He also served as a Sergeant/Russian Linguist in the U.S. Army. Nicholls graduated from Boston University School of Law with a JD in law and from the University of New Hampshire with an undergraduate degree.
19. John McTyeire
Partner, Parker Poe Adams and Bernstein
John McTyeire is a Partner at Parker Poe Adams and Bernstein. For over a century, Parker Poe has represented some of the Southeast’s largest companies and local governments in transactions, regulatory matters, and complex litigation, with a focus on industries such as education, energy, financial services, government, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, and real estate.
McTyeire has helped clients close approximately $2 billion worth of acquisitions over the past two years. He concentrates on private equity platform and add-on transactions and strategic buyer serial acquisitions in the U.S. and Canada.
Prior to joining Parker Poe, McTyeire clerked for two years for the Honorable Robert H. Edmunds Jr., who was then a North Carolina Supreme Court justice. McTyeire graduated from Wake Forest University with a JD in law and from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with an undergraduate degree.
20. Catherine Rossouw
Partner, Chapman and Cutler
Catherine Rossouw is a Partner at Chapman and Cutler, a law firm focused on finance. The firm provides practical and strategic legal advice to financial companies and institutional investors. Rossouw is a transactional private equity and corporate attorney and a Partner in Chapman's Special Situations and Restructuring group.
Rossouw’s diverse practice covers traditional mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions, as well as early-stage equity financings, lender equity kickers, secondary market transactions, and general corporate advice. Her approach to advising clients is practical, collaborative, and results oriented.
Rossouw regularly represents hedge funds, private equity funds, alternative lenders, banks, and other financial institutions in complex equity transactions and portfolio company acquisitions and works closely with corporate clients and start up companies on everyday corporate matters, including commercial contracts, stockholder agreements, LLC operating agreements, equity incentive programs, and strategic investments.
Previously, Rossouw was an attorney at Richards Kibbe and Orbe LLP and before that an attorney at Ropes and Gray LLP. Earlier in her career she worked with Minter Ellison as a lawyer. Rossouw earned an LLB and an undergraduate degree from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.
21. Suzanne Hamel
Partner, Nutter
Suzanne Hamel is a Partner in Nutter’s Corporate and Transactions department. Nutter is a nationally-ranked law firm that advises industry leaders, entrepreneurs, institutions, and families globally. Hamel focuses her practice on private equity, venture capital, emerging company representation, mergers and acquisitions, venture debt, and general corporate law.
Prior to joining Nutter, Hamel was an attorney at a Boston-based corporate boutique law firm. Before that, she was an associate at two international law firms. She has also served as outside general counsel to BioSystem Solutions, Inc. and Ticket Technology Holding Company, L.L.C. Hamel graduated from George Washington University School of Law with a JD in law and from Lesley College with an undergraduate degree.
22. Mikhail Usubyan
Partner, Rimon Law
Mikhail Usubyan is a Partner at Rimon Law, where he advises private and public companies as well as investment funds on a wide variety of cross-border transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, strategic investments, and joint ventures.
Over his 20-year legal career, Usubyan has advised clients on numerous transactions in the technology, financial services, infrastructure, real estate, construction, and other industries. Usubyan advises his private equity and venture capital clients on fund formation matters and represents them in their investments in the U.S. and Europe.
Usubyan also assists startup companies in their U.S. and global expansion. In addition to legal guidance, Usubyan helps clients build management teams and boards, identify acquisition and divestment opportunities, and develop strategic relationships.
Usubyan regularly deals with U.S. controls of foreign investments as well as the U.S. economic sanctions. He also advises U.S., European, and Russian companies on cross-border data protection, intellectual property, e-commerce, encryption, state secrets, export control, and other regulatory issues.
Usubyan earned a JD from Rostov State University. He had his post-graduate studies in law at London School of Economics and Political Science. Usubyan graduated from Duke Law School with an LLM.
23. Karim Momin
Partner, Morrison Cohen
Karim Momin is a Partner at Morrison Cohen, a law firm that offers a wide range of legal services, including corporate and capital markets, business litigation, real estate, bankruptcy and reorganization, compensation, benefits and employment, and individual client services, primarily for the middle market.
Momin's practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, including roll-ups, spin-offs, divestitures, cross-border acquisitions and asset purchases and sales out of bankruptcy, private equity financings, joint ventures, startup company formation and financing, commercial contract negotiation and general corporate matters.
Momin joined Morrison Cohen in 2005. He began his career at Reboul, MacMurray, Hewitt, Maynard and Kristol, now Ropes and Gray, and Morgan, Lewis and Bockius. Momin holds a JD in law from Columbia University School of Law, an MBA from Columbia University, and an undergraduate degree from Princeton University.
24. Geoffrey Parnass
Partner, Ellenoff Grossman and Schole
Geoffrey Parnass is a Partner at Ellenoff Grossman and Schole, a New York City-based law firm with over 125 professionals, offering its clients legal services in a broad range of business related matters. Founded in 1992, the firm specializes in many areas of commercial law including corporate, securities, real estate, broker-dealer regulation, private investment funds, intellectual property, litigation, labor, employment, ERISA, executive compensation, tax, and estate planning.
Parnass specializes in complex corporate transactions including private equity and venture capital matters. He also provides general counsel to public and private companies. Parnass’ experience spans mergers and acquisitions, private equity and leveraged buyout transactions, venture capital investments, joint ventures and technology licensing arrangements, bank financings including asset based lending, trademark selection, registration and enforcement, and recapitalization and work-out transactions.
Previously, Parnass spent eight years as Vice President and General Counsel of Hunter Douglas Inc., a billion-dollar manufacturer of home furnishing products. Before that, he was associated with the corporate law departments of Fried Frank Harris Shriver and Jacobson LLP and Dewey Ballantine LLP in New York. Parnass graduated from Brooklyn Law School with a JD, from Yale Law School with an LLM in corporate and securities law, and from Vassar College with an undergraduate degree in philosophy.
25. Gianluigi Esposito
Partner, Raines Feldman
Gianluigi Esposito is a Partner at Raines Feldman, a law firm that specializes in bankruptcy, corporate, finance, securities, mergers and acquisitions, entertainment and media litigation, fiduciary representation services, intellectual property, labor and employment, private client services, and dispute resolution.
Esposito’s practice concentrates in mid-market mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and other corporate matters. Gianluigi serves as outside general counsel to U.S. subsidiaries of Italian and European companies or U.S. portfolio companies of foreign private equity firms.
Previously, Esposito was a Managing Partner at AEM Carnelutti i PLLC and before that a Partner at Altieri and Esposito, LLC. Earlier in his career he worked with Baker McKenzie as an associate. Esposito earned a LLM in common law studies from Georgetown University Law Center.
