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August 21, 2026
Lee Blum of Kirkland & Ellis LLP advised the buying group on the $55 billion take-private of video game developer Electronic Arts Inc., which the firm calls the largest take-private investment in history, earning him a spot among the private equity practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 20, 2026
In recent years, Sidley Austin LLP partner Mark Castiglia has co-led teams advising Clearlake Capital Group LP's take-private acquisition of data and analytics company Dun & Bradstreet Holdings Inc., Clearlake's take-private acquisition of data analytics platform Alteryx Inc. and Clearlake's majority growth investment in medical practice software as a service provider ModMed, earning him a spot among the private equity practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 19, 2026
Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP partner Austin Pollet co-led the team advising General Atlantic and Chess.com on a CVC Capital Partners IX investment and co-led the team advising General Atlantic on an investment in Vuori, earning him a spot among the private equity lawyers under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 18, 2026
Katherine Durnan Taylor of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP has advised on multiple multibillion-dollar transactions, helping private equity firm CD&R in a nearly $9 billion acquisition of healthcare technology company R1, and Warner Bros. Discovery in its $110 billion sale to Paramount Skydance — earning her a spot among the private equity law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 17, 2026
Amy Dreisiger of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP has advised financial giants on multibillion-dollar deals and fundraisings, including Apollo on its partnership with Citi to launch a $25 billion private credit direct lending program and Goldman Sachs Asset Management on the formation of its $3.5 billion real estate equity fund, earning her a spot among the private equity law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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July 31, 2026
Law360 is pleased to announce the Rising Stars of 2026, our list of more than 160 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.
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August 21, 2025
Clifford Chance LLP partner Neil Barlow has helped lead the growth of the firm's U.S. private equity practice while advising on high-profile cross-border deals, including KKR and Carlyle's $10.1 billion acquisition of a student loan portfolio and the sale of global fund administrator Alter Domus, earning him a spot among the private equity law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 20, 2025
Latham & Watkins LLP partner Daniel Williams has steered several multibillion-dollar deals, including SRS' $18.25 billion acquisition by Home Depot and Cogentrix Energy's $3 billion sale to Quantum Capital Group, earning him a spot among the private equity law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 19, 2025
Nikolaus Caro of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is advising Sycamore Partners in its take-private acquisition of Walgreens Boots Alliance, earning him a spot among the private equity practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 18, 2025
Eva Mak of Freshfields LLP has several multibillion-dollar deals under her belt, including a $16.5 billion take-private acquisition of cloud computing company Citrix Systems Inc., earning her a spot among the private equity law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 15, 2025
Timothy Burns of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP led the team representing Glencore, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and British Columbia Investment Management Corp. on their exit from Viterra through its $18 billion sale to Bunge, earning him a spot among the private equity practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 08, 2025
Sheena Paul is a Debevoise & Plimpton LLP partner in the firm's investment management group, where she focuses on regulatory and compliance matters and counsels private fund advisers — including leading Clayton Dubilier & Rice through a $26 billion fundraise — earning a spot among the fund formation law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 07, 2025
Rachel O'Brien of Ropes & Gray LLP advised Hamilton Lane on its largest fundraise ever, closing with $5.6 billion in tow, and helped The Vistria Group LP clinch $3 billion in investor commitments for its largest-ever private equity fund — earning O'Brien a spot among the fund formation lawyers under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 06, 2025
Suzannah Hacking led the Kirkland & Ellis LLP team that advised private equity shop Berkshire Partners as it secured its largest fund ever, with $7.8 billion in investor commitments, earning her a spot among the fund formation attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 05, 2025
Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP's Sarah Borden has helped a Genstar Capital fund secure $12.6 billion and guided Crow Holdings with one of the biggest real estate private equity funds in recent years, landing her a spot among the fund formation law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 04, 2025
Jordan Cross, a partner in Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP's funds formation practice group, has quickly made a name for himself by advising on significant transactions for some of the biggest players in the private equity world, including advising Blackstone and Silver Lake on their recent fund raises, earning him a spot among the fund formation law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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July 18, 2025
Law360 is pleased to announce the Rising Stars of 2025, our list of more than 150 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.
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August 12, 2024
Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP partner Brian Parness has earned the trust of private equity firms that required advice on huge transactions — as shown by TPG Inc.'s acquisition of Angelo Gordon, as well as TPG's own initial public offering — landing him a spot among private equity attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 09, 2024
Jack Orford of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP regularly acts as finance counsel to various private equity firms, including Brookfield Business Partners on its $13.2 billion acquisition of Johnson Controls' power solutions business, earning him a spot among the private equity law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 08, 2024
Keri Schick Norton of Kirkland & Ellis LLP regularly acts as lead counsel to some of the top private equity firms in the industry, such as Blackstone and Warburg Pincus, in their deal transactions, including helping Warburg Pincus in its $1.86 billion sale of Procare Solutions, earning her a spot among the private equity law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 07, 2024
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP partner Ryan T. Rafferty navigated $9 billion in debt financing for a private equity firm in the acquisition of Truist Insurance, and he steered Evergreen Coast Capital through a $16.5 billion take-private deal of a cloud computing company, earning him a spot among the private equity law practitioners under 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 06, 2024
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP partner George Gray has used his expertise to navigate Markerstudy Group's $1.6 billion merger with an insurance brokering giant and to help private equity firm HgCapital LLP exit its investment in Argus Media, earning him a spot among private equity practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 05, 2024
Sam Whittaker of Dechert's work helping Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte. Ltd. coinvest in deals like the $17 billion acquisition of Athenahealth and the more than $15 billion take-private of media data giant Nielsen has kept a "cornerstone client" happy and made him one of the Law360 Rising Stars in private equity under age 40.
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July 25, 2024
Matt Smith of Cooley LLP advised Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz as it raised $7.2 billion across five funds with differering strategies, including one focusing on companies supporting "American dynamism," earning him a spot among the fund formation attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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July 24, 2024
Mark Boyagi is a partner in Kirkland & Ellis LLP's investment funds practice group and is a leader in the firm's liquidity solutions team, where he has advised on several transactions in global secondaries market volume, including advising Alpine Investors last year on a $3.4 billion single-asset continuation fund transaction, earning him a spot among the fund formation law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.