Overview
CHICAGO AND NEW YORK (February 3, 2014) — McDermott Will & Emery LLP today announced that it is continuing the expansion of its international financing practice with the addition of two distinguished finance partners. Stephanie McCann, who will be based in Chicago, and Leonard Klingbaum, who will be based in New York, both previously were partners at Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
Peter J. Sacripanti, Co-Chair of McDermott, commented that “these two hires, taken together, reflect our absolute commitment to continue to grow our global Private Equity and Restructuring practices. We are proud to have constructed a world-class team of lawyers who are serving our world-class clients.”
McDermott today is among the very few law firms capable of blending in-depth private equity experience with highly focused industry knowledge—all on a global basis with a best-in-class financing team. McDermott’s Private Equity practice includes more than 70 corporate lawyers worldwide; as well as specialists in tax, executive compensation, antitrust and other areas that are instrumental to a private equity offering. The appointments of Ms. McCann and Mr. Klingbaum expand the Firm’s existing ability to service the financing needs of the most sophisticated clients.
Over the years, Ms. McCann has represented many of the country’s leading and most sophisticated private equity firms and their portfolio companies and other borrowers in connection with their financing activities. With McDermott, Ms. McCann will continue her focus on counseling private equity sponsors and private and public companies in their leveraged buyouts and acquisitions, secured and unsecured financing transactions and in-court and out-of-court restructurings of credit facilities.
Mr. Klingbaum brings his extensive experience representing clients in sophisticated financing matters, including in distressed and insolvency matters. He has represented companies and lenders in many of the country’s most significant chapter 11 and restructuring situations, and he routinely represents participants in all aspects of distressed investing, strategic lending, loan-to-own and restructuring matters. He also acts on behalf of private equity firms and strategics as general finance counsel. Together, Mr. Klingbaum and Ms. McCann will deliver key financing and strategic advice to private equity firms, companies and distressed market participants.
“It is a great pleasure to welcome Stephanie and Leonard to McDermott,” said Brooks Gruemmer, partner and head of McDermott’s Chicago Corporate Advisory practice. “Together, they strengthen our growing private equity practice by adding to our capacity to service our clients’ most sophisticated finance needs.”
“We are very pleased that Stephanie and Leonard are joining McDermott at the same time,” added Harris Siskind, partner and co-head of McDermott’s Private Equity practice. “Their in-depth experience and knowledge of the PE marketplace will prove very valuable as we are called upon to act on behalf of private equity sponsors in their acquisition finance and distressed debt needs.”
As a further reflection of McDermott’s growth in private equity, McDermott announced in December that Dr. Nikolaus von Jacobs, based in Munich, was joining the firm from Ashurst, one of Europe’s leading private equity law firms. This followed a large expansion in 2012 of McDermott’s Private Equity practice in London.
About McDermott Will & Emery
McDermott Will & Emery is a premier international law firm with a diversified business practice. Numbering more than 1,100 lawyers, we have offices in Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Milan, Munich, New York, Orange County, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. Further extending our reach into Asia, we have a strategic alliance with MWE China Law Offices in Shanghai.
