DLA Piper LLP (US)‘s ‘robust team of subject matter experts‘ serves a diverse roster of private equity sponsors that ranges from middle-market funds, including Stellex and 5th Century, to blue-chip funds such as Accel-KKR and Carlyle. A deep bench of experts across the country enables the practice to handle a large caseload of transactions, ranging from platform deals, strategic partnerships and high-profile exits to advice on mergers and add-ons for growth and portfolio companies concentrated especially in the tech, healthcare, and industrial sectors. The team is also increasingly active in advising investors on buyouts in the energy space, owing particularly to the sector expertise of New York-based lawyer Ilya Bubel. Atlanta lawyer Joseph Silver  leads the firm and has extensive experience handling a wide range of transactions for venture capital and private equity funds as well as for target and portfolio companies. Further key contacts include New York-based leveraged buyout expert James Kelly, Chicago lawyer Harris Eisenberg, who handles acquisitions and exits as well as recapitalizations, and broad transactional expert Gerry Williams, who practices from Atlanta. In Chicago, Benjamin Galea joined the team from Winston & Strawn LLP in September 2023.

Goodwin fields a large team of private equity specialists across the country who handle a prolific volume of growth investments, take-private acquisitions, and carve-outs for middle-market private equity sponsors, though the team is also capable of guiding blue-chip clients through the full investment lifecycle. The team places a particular focus on venture capital investments and buyouts in the tech space and maintains close relationships with a number of tech-focused sponsor clients, including TA Associates and JMI Equity. Life sciences form another area of emphasis for the practice, which is co-led by Boston-based healthcare transactions expert John LeClaire alongside San Francisco-based tech M&A specialist Brian McPeake and New York lawyer Chris Nugent, who handles transactional and governance matters for a wide range of sponsor clients. Washington DC lawyer Joshua Klatzkin, who advises both funds and target companies on leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, and growth investments, and Santa Monica-based Katherine Baudistel , whose expertise spans public and private M&A as well as VC-backed financings, are further key contacts.

Energy and infrastructure transactions form a standout area of focus for the team at King & Spalding LLP, which is active in transactions that span the middle- and upper-market and encompass portfolio company mergers, joint ventures, platform and add-on acquisitions, and exits for private equity funds seeking to dispose of oil and gas assets and invest in renewable assets. Practice co-head Jonathan Melmed acts as a key contact for energy-related matters and is a key contact for SPAC mergers and strategic investments, while Atlanta-based co-head Rahul Patel extends the team’s area of expertise to encompass deals in the tech and logistics sectors. Enrico Granata is a key contact for cross-border public and private M&A as well as for joint ventures and restructuring matters, while Adam Hankiss handles growth investments and buyouts in the infrastructure space. Unless otherwise stated, all lawyers mentioned are based in New York.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP‘s diverse private equity caseload spans bulge-bracket and middle-market transactions, with the team particularly active on sports buyouts and joint investments in the former market segment while guiding its core middle-market clients through a large volume of growth investments, strategic partnerships, and leveraged buyouts. The team frequently collaborates with the firm’s global network to handle cross-border deals in sectors such as life sciences, financial services, and tech, and it is also increasingly active in handling add-on acquisitions for portfolio companies active in the energy and industrials sectors. Todd Hentges, an expert on carve-out and SPAC transactions, co-leads the team from Orange County together with New York lawyer Christina Melendi, who maintains close relationships with key sponsor clients such as Freeman Spogli, and Philadelphia-based Kevin Shmelzer, who is experienced with both platform and add-on deals. In New York, Allison Gargano is noted for her advice on transactions in the sports and entertainment sectors, and Alec Dawson handles a wide range of domestic and international M&A.s

Morrison Foerster excels at advising middle-market funds as well as a large roster of target and portfolio companies on growth investments and leveraged buyouts in the TMT sector, especially in connection with agritech, digital infrastructure, and healthcare tech transactions. The team is also noted for its deep-seated expertise in SPAC mergers, PIPE deals, and take-private transactions, and it frequently leverages its global firm network to guide its clients through cross-border investments. New York lawyer Mitchell Presser is an expert on public and private transactions in the food and agriculture sector and co-leads the team with San Francisco-based Patrick Huard, who maintains close relationships with clients such as Alpine Investors and handles a very broad range of buyouts and exits. San Francisco lawyer Susan Mac Cormac primarily handles investments in the energy space, while Omar Pringle, who is based in New York, is well-regarded for his expertise in the tech and life sciences sectors. Also in New York, Aly El Hamamsy is a key contact for restructurings and joint ventures.

Proskauer Rose LLP‘s team benefits from firmwide strengths in fund formation, growth investment, and venture capital matters, allowing the practice to handle a wide variety of private equity-linked transactions. Key areas of focus for the team include fund mergers and de-mergers, such as abrdn’s recent sale of its US private equity and venture capital business to HighVista Strategies, sponsor-backed joint ventures and strategic partnerships in growth areas such as the sports and media sectors, and high-profile exits across a diverse range of industries. Practice heads Daniel Ganitsky, Lauren Boglivi, and Michael Ellis jointly lead the team from New York, with Ganitsky and Ellis handling a wide variety of public and private M&A, restructuring, and corporate governance matters, while Boglivi focuses on private equity-backed transactions in the sports and entertainment sectors. In Los Angeles, leveraged buyout experts Kristian Herrmann  and Christopher Ahn are highly recommended, while structured private capital expert Steven Peck is a key contact in the Boston office.

Reed Smith LLP continues to maintain an active presence in middle-market private equity transactions, with a roster of blue-chip domestic and international investors, regional sponsors, and sovereign funds relying on the team to guide them through a consistently high volume of platform and add-on acquisitions as well as through impactful sales and divestitures. The team maintains offices across the country benefits from the firm’s integrated sector expertise in entertainment and media matters, which allows it to handle a large number of growth investments in this space. Consumer goods are another area of focus for the team, owing particularly to the expertise of New York lawyer Christopher Sheaffer, who co-leads the team with M&A and recapitalization expert Bradley Schmarak, who is based in Chicago, and New York-based contact Mark Pedretti, who is noted for his cross-border transactions and financing expertise. In Pittsburgh, private equity and venture capital expert Matthew Mohn is a further name to note.

Leading middle-market private equity funds such as The Jordan Company, Wind Point, and Vistria retain longstanding relationships with the team at Winston & Strawn LLP, which has a penchant for handling leveraged buyouts and growth investments in sectors such as software, food, healthcare, and defense. Integrated antitrust, real estate, tax, and IP expertise further allows the team to guide funds through the entire transactional lifecycle and handle a diverse range of portfolio company-related matters, including cross-border mergers, add-on acquisitions, and take-private deals. The team is active across the country and is jointly led by New York-based public and private M&A and corporate governance expert Brad Vaiana, Dallas lawyer Matthew Stockstill, who focuses on cross-border PE acquisitions and exits alongside fund formation matters, and transactional and debt finance specialist Eva Davis, who practices from Los Angeles. Further key contacts include private equity and capital markets expert Matthew Bergmann in Chicago and de-SPAC specialist Dom DeChiara in New York.

Akin combines integrated regulatory, financial, and transactional expertise to offer clients comprehensive advice in connection with buyouts, growth investments, and strategic partnerships in regulated sectors such as energy, tech, and industrials. In addition to working with established middle-market funds and investment managers, the team regularly represents portfolio and target companies in their sales to major private equity sponsors such as Apollo and EQT. Bespoke platform deals in emerging spaces of the market represent a key specialism of the team, which has advised on the buy- and sell-side of fund mergers, IP transactions, and sports team buyouts. Sergio Urias is a key contact for these bespoke transactions and practices from the New York office, which is also home to leveraged buyout and take-private expert Amy Wollensack and practice head Zachary Wittenberg, who specialises in corporate transactions. Dallas-based Thomas Yang handles energy M&A, among other matters.

Choate, Hall & Stewart‘s Boston-based practice counts middle-market private equity and venture capital funds as well as public and private target companies in its client roster and is noted for its ability to act on both sides of growth investment transactions. Integrated expertise in healthcare and tech allows the team to guide sector-focused sponsors through all stages of their investments, while the ability to draw on internal tax and employment capabilities enables it to also handle complex mergers and joint acquisitions. Growth equity investment and leveraged buyout expert T.J. Murphy co-heads the practice together with Lee Feldman and venture capital specialist Sarah Camougis. Brian Lenihan’s private equity expertise encompasses both M&A and financing transactions, while Daniel Riley’s workload spans buyouts, growth equity deals, and capital markets matters.

Holland & Knight recently expanded its capabilities in life sciences transactions through a merger with Tennessee-based healthcare boutique Waller Landsen Dortch & Davis in March 2023, adding to a team of private equity specialists with a strong presence in the South that maintains close relationships with established regional sponsors such as Falfurrias Capital and Warren Equity. In addition to its healthcare work, the team handles a prolific volume of middle-market buyouts, recapitalizations, growth investments, and exits in sectors such as energy, defense, and tech. Healthcare and financial services expert David Barkus and cross-border M&A specialist George Mencio are based in Miami and jointly head up the team together with Tampa-based lawyer Robert Grammig, who focuses on public M&A. Charlotte lawyer Rick Bange is a key contact for leveraged buyouts and growth equity matters, while Chattanooga partner Roddy Bailey, who joined the team as part of the March 2023 merger, handles both venture capital and private equity work. In Boston, Rebecca Wilsker is especially recommended for matters in the tech sector.

Kramer Levin maintains a robust presence in middle-market transactional work driven both by its relationships with middle-market sponsors such as Atlantic Street as well as by its work for leading funds including BlackRock. The team is active on a large volume of add-on acquisitions and portfolio company mergers, especially in the tech and financial services sectors, and it is also capable of advising clients on fund mergers and strategic partnerships owing to the expertise of practice head Ernest Wechsler, who is noted both for his transactional and his governance expertise. Further key contacts in the team include Adi Herman, who is noted for his experience handling take-private acquisitions and carve-outs, Jonathan Goodman, who maintains close relationships with key client Stone Point and its portfolio companies, and Howard Spilko, who handles M&A and joint ventures. All listed contacts are based in New York.

McGuireWoods LLP is noted for its high-level expertise in healthcare transactions, representing a series of middle-market sponsors in their platform acquisitions, add-on transactions, and exits in addition to handling recapitalization and joint venture work. The team, which is headed up by experienced Pittsburgh-based M&A expert Thomas Zahn, is also very active in the growth equity space and places a focus on advising independent sponsors and growth companies on the launch of investment and fundraising rounds. Dallas lawyer Jon Finger is a key contact for this line of work and handles transactions across a diverse range of sectors, including manufacturing, tech, and energy. Further key contacts in the team include Geoffrey Cockrell, who primarily handles middle-market healthcare deals from the Chicago office, and Gregory Hawver, who is also based in Chicago and focuses on public and private M&A as well as governance matters.

Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP‘s New York-based team combines shareholder activism and private equity expertise and is particularly noted for its ability to handle PIPE transactions and preferred equity investments, guiding a series of LPs as well as middle-market sponsors such as Lovell Minnick and Mill Point through deals in the tech, financial services, and insurance sectors, among others. The team is also very active in traditional buyouts, handling buy- and sell-side deals for both sponsors and portfolio companies, and it maintains an active practice in connection with venture and growth investment transactions. PIPE and shareholder activism expert Eleazer Klein co-heads the team with public and private M&A expert Brian Miner. Benjamin Kozinn is a key contact for take-private acquisitions and growth investments, while Adriana Schwartz is noted especially for her preferred equity work. M&A expert Damian Petrovic joined the team from Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in October 2023.

The team at Arnold & Porter has longstanding experience guiding both domestic as well as Canadian and European private equity funds through their entire transactional life cycles, with an integrated team capable of handling the financing and M&A aspects of platform acquisitions, add-on transactions, and exits. In New York, capital markets and M&A expert Stephen Koval and life sciences specialist Lowell Dashefsky jointly head up a practice which particularly in handling PE-backed transactions in regulated industries, including national security and financial services. Washington DC contacts include Andrew Varner, who is noted for his cross-border expertise, and Matthew Owens, who primarily advises sponsors on investments in the tech and government contracting spaces. San Francisco lawyer Edward Deibert handles both private equity and venture capital transactions.

K&L Gates‘ private equity team comprehensively guides middle-market private equity funds such as Incline Equity and Falfurrias Capital through their investment lifecycles by offering transactional, finance, and regulatory advice in connection with growth investments, PIPE transactions, and leveraged buyouts as well as with high-value exits. The practice also specialises in handling mergers and add-on transactions for private equity-backed portfolio companies. The team is led by Rick Giovannelli, an authority in cross-border private equity and debt finance transactions, from the Charlotte office, which is also home to cross-border M&A expert Kevin Stichter. Curt Anderson and Christopher Thel, who joined the Pittsburgh office from Dentons Cohen & Grigsby in January 2023, bolster the team’s strengths in private equity transactions within the manufacturing, consumer, and healthcare sectors.

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP‘s ‘extremely hands-on, responsive, and attentive‘ private equity team benefits from a firmwide focus on M&A in regulated industries such as government contracting, aerospace, infrastructure, and tech, which enables it to advise both innovative target companies and specialist funds on growth equity transactions, venture capital-backed financing rounds, and leveraged buyouts. New York lawyers Stephen Amdur and Jarrod Murphy both serve as key contacts for public and private M&A in sectors such as infrastructure, sports, and life sciences and jointly co-head the group together with Allison Leopold Tilley, who handles tech transactions from the San Francisco office. Matthew Swartz and Nicole Islinger are based in Northern Virgnia and are well-disposed to advise on defense and government contracting matters, frequently guiding middle-market funds through platform transactions in this space. Also in Northern Virginia, Steven Kaplan is a key contact for early-stage capital raises and growth investments.

Troutman Pepper‘s practice handles both fund formation and transactional matters on an integrated basis for a client roster of middle-market private equity and venture capital funds and is particularly well-situated to advise on investments and buyouts in the tech, financial services, and healthcare sectors. The team also works with a series of target and portfolio companies on sell-side transactions and is well-regarded in advising start-ups and scale-ups on inbound investments and series financings. Philadelphia-based lawyer Bruce Fenton, an expert on leveraged buyouts, mergers, and recapitalizations, heads up the practice, which maintains offices across the country and is also home to Wilmington-based private and growth equity expert Matthew Greenberg, Charlotte lawyer Alec Watson, who has experience handling a wide range of private equity deals, as well as public and private M&A expert Nicholas Stawasz, who practices from Boston.