Young Lawyers Private Equity Forum

Alex is a Corporate M&A partner and head of Private Equity at Macfarlanes. He specialises in advising Private Equity clients on buyouts, special situations, growth investments, management incentivisation and exits. He also has extensive experience of advising on asset manager M&A, private company M&A and general advisory matters. Alex has sector expertise in several areas, including in particular the technology sector and co-heads the firm’s cross-departmental technology practice group, advising companies, founders and investors. Alex is ranked as a Leading Individual for High Value Private Equity Transactions by the Legal 500 directory.

Filippo co-heads the Private Equity practice at Slaughter and May. He has a broad international practice advising financial sponsors and corporate clients on public and private M&A, particularly on buy-outs, complex joint ventures, carve out transactions, minority investments, management incentive plans, preferred equity and special situations work. Filippo is also responsible for the firm's Spanish and Italian desks.

I have a broad international practice advising financial sponsors, strategic investors and portfolio companies on public and private acquisitions, minority investments, disposals (particularly complex carve-out transactions), fundraisings (including equity, debt and hybrid capital such as structured preference shares) and GP-led secondaries transactions. I regularly act for clients including Arrow Credit Opportunities, Blackstone, Davidson Kempner, Fortress, GHO Capital, HPS, InvestIndustrial, Pollen Street and Trill Impact.

Alex is a Corporate M&A partner and head of Private Equity at Macfarlanes. He specialises in advising Private Equity clients on buyouts, special situations, growth investments, management incentivisation and exits. He also has extensive experience of advising on asset manager M&A, private company M&A and general advisory matters. Alex has sector expertise in several areas, including in particular the technology sector and co-heads the firm’s cross-departmental technology practice group, advising companies, founders and investors. Alex is ranked as a Leading Individual for High Value Private Equity Transactions by the Legal 500 directory.

Mike advises clients on a wide range of corporate, commercial and financing matters in the sports, entertainment and betting sectors. He has a particular focus on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, investment transactions and receivables financing. Mike also acts for clients in the sports industry on corporate governance issues and sponsorship arrangements. Recent work highlights include advising: Chelsea FC on its acquisition for £4.25 billion by the Boehly/Clearlake consortium; Elliott Advisors on the sale of AC Milan to Redbird Capital Partners; Michele Kang/YMK Holdings on the creation of the world’s first women’s football multi-club ownership structure; portfolio companies of Bruin Capital (Two Circles and TGI Sport) on their respective acquisitions of TRM Partners and ISG; the RFL on the restructure of the Super League; and The FA on governance matters.

Alberto Mata Rodríguez a Partner at CMS Albiñana Suárez de Lezo - Banking & Finance Department - He has also worked as an extern of the Financial and Fiscal Law Unit of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and has collaborated with the World Bank as a contributor of the Doing Business Report from 2015 to 2020. His areas of expertise are real estate finance, acquisition finance, asset finance (including tax leases), project finance and restructuring and corporate finance matters. Mr. Mata Rodríguez has a degree in Law (J.D. equivalent) and a B.B.A. from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. He has taken part in various educational programs in different universities around the world, such as Harvard Law School (Massachusetts, USA); European Business School (Oestrich- Winkel, Germany); University of Florida (Florida, USA); Bled School of Management (Bled, Slovenia); and Lehigh University (Pennsylvania, USA). Furthermore, in 2013 he pursued a LL.M. in Securities & Financial Regulation at Georgetown University, where he was a member of this university’s Committee on Investments and Social Responsibility. In 2013 the International Bar Association (IBA) awarded Mr. Mata Rodríguez with the IBA Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year in Recognition of William Reece Jr. award. In addition, in 2018 Alberto was included by Legal 500 in the GC Power List Spain, – which highlights the most influential senior in-house counsels in the Spanish legal market –. Also, Mr. Mata Rodríguez has been selected as one of the top Economic Leaders for Tomorrow in Spain for years 2018 and 2019 by Choiseul Institute. In addition, Alberto serves as a Vice-President of the Board of Trustees (Patronato) of Fundación HogarSí; as Secretary of the Board of Trustees of UNICEF Madrid Committee (Junta Directiva de Madrid); and as member of the Board of Trustees of the International Institute. He also teaches at IE University and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.

Mr Francesco Florio specializes in M&A and Private Equity deals, advising on acquisitions of majority and minority stakes, mergers, demergers, JV agreements, real estate deals and other extraordinary transactions. He has assisted major national and international private equity funds and corporation in some of the largest deals concluded in Italy and Europe in the last few years, being recognized for his knowledgeable and hands on approach. Thanks also to extensive working experience abroad, both in London and in Madrid, Francesco has gained outstanding experience in dealing with complex multi-jurisdictional transactions. His clients’ portfolio includes Italian and foreign private equity firms, listed and unlisted corporations, financial institutions, and family-owned businesses (including some family offices). Francesco is also in charge in strengthening Legance’s relationships with firms and clients based in UK, Spain and India and has authored several legal publications on corporate law, private equity, and M&A.

Erica S. Weisgerber is a partner in the Litigation Department of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP in New York, where her practice focuses on antitrust matters. Her practice includes representing plaintiffs and defendants in civil litigation, representing clients before antitrust agencies in government reviews of proposed transactions and counseling clients with respect to antitrust issues associated with mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and competitor’s exchange of information. Ms. Weisgerber is recommended for her antitrust litigation and merger control practice in The Legal 500 US (2022), and ranked as a leading antitrust lawyer by Chambers USA (2022).

Lennard is head of De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek's private equity practice. Lennard focuses on private equity work (sell-side, buy-side, governance advice and management participation) for international and Benelux PE firms. In addition, Lennard regularly acts for founders who partner with PE. He is often consulted for his expertise in governance arrangements between PE funds and founders and/or co-investors, and in the field of warranty and indemnity insurance and management participation plans. Lennard was nominated as one of six lawyers for the Dutch M&A Lawyer of the Year award in 2020 and 2022 and won the award in 2021.

John L. Robinson is a partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. He focuses on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and general corporate and securities matters. John’s practice has included a wide range of matters, including cross-border and domestic acquisitions and divestitures, joint ventures, carve-outs and private equity transactions. He also advises companies on takeover defense and in responding to shareholder activism and proxy contests. John received his A.B. in economics summa cum laude from Dartmouth College, where he was a Rufus Choate Scholar. He received his J.D. with distinction from Stanford Law School.

Edurne Navarro is the partner in charge of the Brussels office of Uría Menéndez. She joined the firm in 1992 and became a partner in 2002. Her practice focuses on EU and Spanish competition law (principally merger control, state aids and cartels), foreign direct investment control as well as trade law (mainly antidumping and rules of origin). She acts for Spanish, European, North American and Asian undertakings in sectors such as telecommunications, energy, transport, pharmaceuticals, defence and banking. Edurne is regarded as a leading lawyer by the main international legal directories, such as, Chambers & Partners, PLC and International Who's Who of Lawyers, among others.

Natasha Gopaul oversees legal coverage for Private Equity at Blackstone managing legal transactional matters and risk management for the PE portfolio. Prior to joining Blackstone in 2016 she worked at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in the Private Equity and Mergers and Acquisitions group in New York. Ms. Gopaul received a BA, summa cum laude, from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, and was elected Phi Beta Kappa, and a JD from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a member of the Georgetown Journal of International Law. She is also a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Laurenz Tholen is co-head of Noerr’s M&A practice group. He is an expert for complex M&A transactions and private equity investments. Laurenz Tholen regularly takes a leading role in advising national and international clients on the structuring and implementation of cross-border projects. He also has extensive experience of advising on corporate reorganisations, carve-outs and joint ventures.