Rankings: MVPs of the Year

Law360’s MVPs of the Year recognizes the five attorneys who had extraordinary wins and contributed most to their practice area in the past year. The series showcases standout attorneys across the practice areas and industries covered by Law360.
  • October 25, 2024

    MVP: Davis Polk & Wardwell's Oliver Smith

    Oliver Smith of Davis Polk & Wardwell's mergers and acquisitions practice was a leader on the team that advised ExxonMobil Corp. on its blockbuster $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources and Truist Financial Corp. on the sale of its remaining stake in Truist Insurance Holdings at a $15.5 billion enterprise value, earning him a spot as one of the 2024 Law360 M&A MVPs.

  • October 24, 2024

    MVP: Sullivan & Cromwell's Melissa Sawyer

    Melissa Sawyer of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP's mergers and acquisitions practice led cancer therapy company Seagen through its $43 billion sale to Pfizer and facilitated the sale of privately held sandwich giant Subway to private equity firm Roark Capital, earning her a spot as one of the 2024 Law360 Mergers & Acquisitions MVPs.

  • October 23, 2024

    MVP: Wachtell's Karessa L. Cain

    Karessa Cain of Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz successfully led Hess Corp. through federal antitrust scrutiny amid Chevron's ongoing $53 billion acquisition and represented eBay Inc. in a complex, cross-border transaction to take a Norwegian classifieds business private, earning her a spot as one of the 2024 Law360 Mergers & Acquisitions MVPs.

  • October 22, 2024

    MVP: Latham's Justin Hamill

    Justin Hamill leads the Latham & Watkins LLP team representing Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. in its $13 billion take-private acquisition by private equity firm Silver Lake, and is also advising Skydance Media in its multibillion-dollar merger with Paramount Global, putting him among the 2024 Law360 Mergers & Acquisitions MVPs.

  • October 21, 2024

    MVP: Goodwin's Joshua Zachariah

    Joshua Zachariah of Goodwin Procter LLP's mergers and acquisitions practice led the team that advised Qualtrics in its $12.5 billion sale to private equity giant Silver Lake and is guiding Novo Holdings on its $16.5 billion merger agreement with Catalent, earning him a spot as one of the 2024 Law360 M&A MVPs.

  • October 18, 2024

    Law360 MVP Awards Go To Top Attys From 74 Firms

    The attorneys chosen as Law360's 2024 MVPs have distinguished themselves from their peers by securing hard-earned successes in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters and record-breaking deals.

  • October 27, 2023

    MVP: Wachtell's Jake Kling

    Jacob Kling led the Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz team that represented software company Adobe Inc. in its $20 billion acquisition of interface design application Figma, as well as Global Payments' $4 billion buy of EVO Payments and divestiture of its Netspend consumer and gaming business, earning him a place among Law360's 2023 M&A MVPs.

  • October 26, 2023

    MVP: Sullivan & Cromwell's Melissa Sawyer

    Melissa Sawyer of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP's M&A practice advised global cancer biotechnology company Seagen in its $43 billion pending acquisition by Pfizer in what marked the largest all-cash pharmaceutical takeover in history, earning her a spot as one of Law360's 2023 M&A MVPs.

  • October 25, 2023

    MVP: Shearman's Daniel Litowitz

    Daniel Litowitz of Shearman & Sterling LLP's mergers and acquisitions practice guided CVS Health Corp. in a $10.6 billion acquisition that helped it enter the primary care industry and fought for JetBlue Airways Corp. in its $3.8 billion hostile takeover of Spirit Airlines, earning him a spot as one of Law360's 2023 Mergers and Acquisitions MVPs.

  • October 23, 2023

    MVP: Paul Weiss' Laura Turano

    Laura Turano of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP was lead adviser on tens of billions of dollars' worth of transactions over the last year, including megadeals for clients as diverse as Estée Lauder, Carrier Global Corp. and Merck & Co., easily securing her a spot as one of Law360's 2023 M&A MVPs.

  • October 20, 2023

    MVP: Gibson Dunn's Saee Muzumdar

    Saee Muzumdar, co-chair of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP's mergers and acquisitions practice group, steered VMware as it embarked on its $61 billion sale to Broadcom, a transaction that required the parties to quickly navigate a challenging regulatory environment, earning her a spot as one of Law360's 2023 Mergers & Acquisitions MVPs.

  • October 01, 2023

    Law360 MVP Awards Go To 171 Attys At 76 Firms

    The attorneys chosen as Law360's 2023 MVPs have distinguished themselves from their peers by securing hard-earned successes in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters and record-breaking deals.

  • September 13, 2022

    MVP: Sullivan & Cromwell's Andrew Gerlach

    Andrew Gerlach of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP guided Goldman Sachs through its largest acquisition of a fintech company when it purchased GreenSky for $2.24 billion, and he helped Canadian Pacific overcome a $2 billion higher bid to buy Kansas City Southern for $31 billion, earning him a spot as one of Law360's 2022 Mergers & Acquisitions MVPs.

  • September 12, 2022

    MVP: Skadden's Sonia K. Nijjar

    Sonia K. Nijjar of Skadden Slate Arps Meagher & Flom LLP led the team representing video game giant Activision Blizzard when it was purchased by Microsoft for $68.7 billion, the largest all-cash deal in U.S. history, earning her a spot among Law360's 2022 Mergers & Acquisitions MVPs.

  • September 09, 2022

    MVP: Simpson Thacher's Anthony Vernace

    Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP partner Anthony Vernace has helped close major acquisitions this year while working in the firm's corporate team, bringing home deals like Microsoft's $68 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard and its $19 billion purchase of Nuance Communications last April, earning him a spot as one of Law360's 2022 Mergers & Acquisitions MVPs.

  • September 08, 2022

    MVP: Paul Weiss' Krishna Veeraraghavan

    Krishna Veeraraghavan of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP's corporate practice has overseen billion-dollar deals in the tech, biotech and life sciences sectors as well as the consumer, media, real estate sectors and more, earning him a spot as one of Law360's 2022 Mergers & Acquisitions MVPs.

  • September 07, 2022

    MVP: Munger Tolles' Jennifer Broder

    Jennifer Broder led the Munger Tolles & Olson LLP team that worked on Berkshire Hathaway's "warp speed" $11.6 billion acquisition of insurer Alleghany Corp. and advised Peter Jackson's special effects company Weta Digital in selling its technology assets for $1.6 billion, earning her a spot among Law360's 2022 Mergers & Acquisitions MVPs.

  • September 06, 2022

    MVP: Kirkland & Ellis' Edward Lee

    Edward Lee of Kirkland & Ellis LLP has advised on many of the most significant transactions of the past year, including his representation of NortonLifeLock Inc. in the cybersecurity giant's $9.2 billion acquisition of Avast PLC, one of the largest cybersecurity transactions on record, making him one of Law360s 2022 Mergers and Acquisitions MVPs.

  • September 02, 2022

    Law360 MVP Awards Go To 188 Attys From 78 Firms

    The attorneys chosen as Law360's 2022 MVPs have distinguished themselves from their peers by securing hard-earned successes in high-stakes litigation, complex global matters and record-breaking deals.

  • September 14, 2021

    MVP: Debevoise's Sue Meng

    Debevoise & Plimpton LLP's Sue Meng led a team advising Discovery Inc. on its $130 billion dollar acquisition of Warner Media while simultaneously navigating the complexities posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, earning her a spot as one of Law360's 2021 Mergers & Acquisitions MVPs.

  • September 13, 2021

    MVP: Skadden's Mike Ringler

    Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP partner Mike Ringler guided groundbreaking transactions including Livongo and Teladoc's $18.5 billion digital health care tie-up and Intuit's $7.1 billion purchase of personal finance tech firm Credit Karma, earning him a place among Law360's 2021 Mergers & Acquisitions MVPs.

  • September 10, 2021

    MVP: Sullivan & Cromwell's Melissa Sawyer

    Sullivan & Cromwell LLP's Melissa Sawyer helped steer what the firm touts as the largest ever luxury retail deal, securing an extraordinarily favorable contract for Tiffany in its merger with Louis Vuitton, a feat that has earned her a spot among Law360's 2021 Mergers & Acquisitions MVPs.

  • September 09, 2021

    MVP: Cravath's Mark I. Greene

    Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP's Mark I. Greene helped guide Mylan NV in its $50 billion combination with Pfizer's Upjohn to form Viatris Inc., which is now one of the largest generic pharmaceuticals companies in the world, earning him a spot among Law360's 2021 Mergers & Acquisitions MVPs.

  • September 08, 2021

    MVP: Cahill Gordon's Kimberly C. Petillo-Décossard

    Kimberly Petillo-Décossard of Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP helped represent 1-800-Flowers for a contested acquisition early in the pandemic and advised pharmaceutical services company ICON for its largest-ever deal, earning her a spot as one of Law360's 2021 Mergers & Acquisitions MVPs.

  • September 07, 2021

    MVP: Wachtell's Andy Nussbaum

    Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz partner Andy Nussbaum has counseled clients through numerous complex matters over the past 12 months, from a uniquely structured $43 billion spinoff involving AT&T, WarnerMedia and Discovery to the $27.7 billion acquisition of workplace messaging company Slack by Salesforce, landing him among Law360's 2021 Mergers & Acquisitions MVPs.

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