Rankings: Rising Stars

Law360’s Rising Stars profiles the top legal talent under 40. The winners are comprised of top litigators and dealmakers practicing at a level usually seen from veteran attorneys. Submissions highlight the winner’s age and reasons why his or her record deserves attention.
  • June 22, 2022

    Rising Star: Steptoe & Johnson's Elizabeth Cassady

    Elizabeth Cassady of Steptoe & Johnson LLP started her career litigating high-profile residential mortgage-backed securities cases in the wake of the financial crisis and recently represented JPMorgan in litigation contending a billion-dollar syndicated loan was a security, earning her a spot among the banking attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • June 21, 2022

    Rising Star: Latham's Nicole Fanjul

    Nicole Fanjul of Latham & Watkins LLP co-led a team that represented JPMorgan in a nearly $5 billion term loan and revolving credit facility for pharmaceutical company Organon, earning her a spot among the banking law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • June 17, 2022

    Rising Star: Davis Polk's Vanessa Jackson

    Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP's Vanessa Jackson advised Mexico's largest airline in landing critical financing for its recently completed reorganization and represented Philip Morris on a $17 billion bridge facility to fund a planned Swedish acquisition, just two of the achievements that scored her a place among the banking law attorneys under 40 honored as Law360 Rising Stars.

  • May 30, 2022

    Law360 Names 2022's Top Attorneys Under 40

    Law360 is pleased to announce the Rising Stars of 2022, our list of 176 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.

  • June 10, 2021

    Rising Star: Jones Day's Vinay Kurien

    Vinay Kurien of Jones Day led a $650 million, sustainability-linked loan facility for Louis Dreyfus Co., the first sustainability-linked financing for the company and a bulwark deal for sustainable financing in Asia, earning him a spot among the banking lawyers under age 40 honored as a Law360 Rising Star.

  • June 09, 2021

    Rising Star: Latham's Nicola Higgs

    Latham & Watkins LLP's Nicola Higgs was part of a legal team that advised on the drafting of Egypt's landmark new banking law and played a lead role in counseling banks on Aston Martin's £1.3 billion refinancing last year, earning her a spot among the banking law practitioners under age 40 honored as Law360 Rising Stars.

  • June 08, 2021

    Rising Star: Bracewell's Jeris Diana Brunette

    Jeris Diana Brunette of Bracewell LLP has served as lead counsel to Credit Agricole in connection with billions of dollars in complex financing it provided for energy industry giant McDermott International Inc. over the past few years. She's also a leader in Bracewell's New York office, where she mentors and trains early-career finance attorneys and runs the firm's quarterly sustainability bulletin. These accomplishments and others have earned her a spot among the top banking attorneys under age 40 honored as Law360 Rising Stars.

  • June 07, 2021

    Rising Star: Simpson Thacher's Daniel Kay

    Daniel Kay of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP has advised JPMorgan Chase on various acquisition financings throughout the pandemic, including a $2.1 billion bridge financing that paved the way for one of 2021's largest medical technology acquisitions yet, earning him a spot among the banking law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • June 04, 2021

    Rising Star: Kirkland's Bob Allen

    Kirkland & Ellis LLP's Bob Allen represented Goldman Sachs in its blockbuster $2.9 billion foreign bribery settlement and JPMorgan in its nearly $1 billion settlement of a criminal spoofing-related investigation, two landmark resolutions that helped him land a place among the banking law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • May 28, 2021

    Law360 Names 2021's Top Attorneys Under 40

    We're pleased to announce Law360's Rising Stars for 2021, our list of 180 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments transcend their age.

  • July 16, 2020

    Rising Star: Weil's Justin D. Lee

    Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP's Justin Lee has advised the arrangers on Fox's proposed acquisition of Sky Broadcasting, guided Goldman Sachs on a multibillion-dollar acquisition financing deal during market turmoil in the early days of the pandemic and carved out a niche working with European borrowers accessing U.S. markets, earning a spot among the banking law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 15, 2020

    Rising Star: Simpson Thacher's Julia Kohen

    Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP's Julia Kohen has supplied valuable financing counsel on a blockbuster €9.8 billion ($10.7 billion) European real estate fund for Blackstone and dozens of other funds with values totaling more than $20 billion, landing a spot as one of the banking law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 14, 2020

    Rising Star: Latham's Alfred Xue

    Alfred Xue of Latham & Watkins LLP has represented major financial institutions in high-profile transactions, including J.P. Morgan, Credit Suisse and other banks as they financed Brookfield Business Partners' $13.2 billion acquisition of a battery business in 2019, earning him a spot among the banking law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 13, 2020

    Rising Star: Fried Frank's Ezra Schneck

    Ezra Schneck of Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP advised on several transactions worth about $1 billion or more in the last year, including guiding Sinclair Broadcast Group's $9.6 billion acquisition of Disney's sports networks, earning him a spot among the banking law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 10, 2020

    Rising Star: Covington's Ashley Simonsen

    Covington & Burling LLP's Ashley Simonsen has defended financial services firms like Celtic Bank, Navient and Chase against borrower litigation with often millions of dollars on the line, securing a spot as one of the banking law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 02, 2020

    Law360 Names Top Attorneys Under 40

    We're pleased to announce Law360's Rising Stars for 2020, our list of 176 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments transcend their age.

  • September 20, 2019

    Rising Star: Jones Day's Courtney Lyons Snyder

    Jones Day partner Courtney Lyons Snyder has been a key part of the firm’s representation of Wells Fargo in litigation over residential mortgage-backed securities and maintains a non-traditional practice working with state attorneys general and government investigations, earning her a spot among five banking attorneys under 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • September 19, 2019

    Rising Star: Paul Hastings' Marisa Sotomayor

    While Marisa A. Sotomayor of Paul Hastings LLP says that any deal she works on, no matter the value, is of equal importance to her, she’s represented some big fish like Bank of America and Wells Fargo as arrangers in $5.1 billion credit facilities to support Bass Pro Shops’ purchase of Cabela’s, earning her a spot as one of five banking law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • September 18, 2019

    Rising Star: Fried Frank's Adam Summers

    Fried Frank partner Adam Summers counseled Goldman Sachs Lending Partners on its nine-figure funding of a blank-check company’s tie-up with Ranpak Corp. and helped guide Bank of America and Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith in a $1.15 billion financing for Alliance Laundry Systems, earning a spot among the five banking attorneys under age 40 honored as Law360 Rising Stars.

  • September 17, 2019

    Rising Star: Cravath's Sasha Rosenthal-Larrea

    Sasha Rosenthal-Larrea of Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP has helped Alliance Laundry Systems LLC secure $1.15 billion in credit facilities and represented Morgan Stanley in arranging $765 million of credit facilities for a private equity firm’s acquisition of The Bay Club, all while leading diversity and inclusion efforts at her firm, earning her a spot as one of five banking attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • September 16, 2019

    Rising Star: Arnold & Porter's Amber Hay

    Arnold & Porter’s Amber Hay has advised on bank mergers like Stifel Financial’s purchase of The Business Bank of St. Louis and provided sharp regulatory and compliance counsel to companies like First Republic Bank, landing her a spot as one of five banking law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • September 06, 2019

    Law360 Names Top Attorneys Under 40

    We're pleased to announce Law360's Rising Stars for 2019, our list of 175 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments transcend their age.

  • August 03, 2018

    Rising Star: Sullivan & Cromwell's Stephen Salley

    Stephen Salley of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP has advised NorthStar Asset Management in a three-way merger that created one of the largest real estate investment trusts in the country and guided American Express in major co-branded credit card portfolio deals, earning him a spot as one of five banking attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 02, 2018

    Rising Star: Morgan Lewis' Elizabeth Khoury Ali

    Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP’s Elizabeth “Liz” R. Khoury Ali has taken the reins on delicate, hurried and massive transactions far surpassing the $1 billion mark on behalf of some of the world’s largest lenders, including Wells Fargo Bank NA, landing her among the top five banking practitioners under age 40 recognized by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 01, 2018

    Rising Star: Boies Schiller's Leigh Nathanson

    Boies Schiller Flexner LLP's Leigh Nathanson has spent the better part of her eight years with the firm defending Barclays in dozens of lawsuits over the bank’s alleged manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate, earning her a spot as one of five banking law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.