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.
  • August 25, 2026

    Rising Star: Hogan Lovells' Warren Kessler

    Warren Kessler of Hogan Lovells Cadwalader guided satellite giant SES' $3.1 billion deal to buy Intelsat SA through federal regulatory approval, making him one of the telecommunications law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 14, 2026

    Rising Star: Wachtell Lipton's Meng Lu

    Meng Lu of Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz has advised industry giants like Salesforce Inc. and eBay Inc. on novel and complex multibillion-dollar transactions during her career, earning her a spot among the practitioners of mergers and acquisition law under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 13, 2026

    Rising Star: Cleary's Kelsey Nussenfeld

    Kelsey Nussenfeld of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP advised Synopsys Inc. on its $35 billion acquisition of Ansys Inc. and Paramount Skydance's special committee on its pending $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, helping to earn her a spot among the mergers and acquisitions practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 12, 2026

    Rising Star: Davis Polk's Michael Senders

    Michael Senders of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP has helped ink billion-dollar deals across industries such as pharmaceuticals, sports and banking, including a private equity firm's acquisition of Walgreens, a billionaire-led purchase of the Washington Commanders and Morgan Stanley's acquisition of E-Trade — earning Senders a spot among the mergers and acquisitions attorneys under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 11, 2026

    Rising Star: Sullivan & Cromwell's Miaoting Wu

    Sullivan & Cromwell LLP partner Miaoting "Mimi" Wu has advised on a range of billion-dollar deals, including Amgen's $27 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics and Sempra's simultaneous multibillion-dollar transactions in September, earning her a spot among the mergers and acquisitions practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 10, 2026

    Rising Star: Latham's Leah Sauter

    Leah Sauter of Latham & Watkins LLP helped lead a team advising FIS in its sale of Worldpay to Global Payments and advised FIS in its purchase of Global Payments' issuer solutions business, earning her a spot as one of the mergers and acquisitions attorneys under 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 31, 2026

    Law360 Names 2026's Top Attorneys Under 40

    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.

  • July 25, 2025

    Rising Star: Davis Polk's Michael Gilson

    Michael Gilson of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP advised Altair Engineering Inc. through its $10 billion acquisition by Siemens, guided AssetMark Inc. through its $2.7 billion acquisition by private equity firm GTCR and also helped steer Elliott Management through its €1.2 billion ($1.4 billion) sale of the soccer team AC Milan to RedBird Capital Partners, earning him a spot among the mergers and acquisitions practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 24, 2025

    Rising Star: McGuireWoods' Dan Howell

    Dan Howell of McGuireWoods LLP represented Dominion Energy Inc. in its $14 billion sale of three local natural gas distribution companies and Apogee Engineering in its acquisition by private equity firm Bernhard Capital Partners, earning him a spot among the mergers and acquisitions practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 23, 2025

    Rising Star: Wachtell's Mark Stagliano

    Mark Stagliano of Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz led the team representing T-Mobile in large joint venture transactions with EQT and KKR, and companies as diverse as Azek and Capri Holdings, in deals involving billions of dollars in payments and investments, earning him a spot among the mergers and acquisitions practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 22, 2025

    Rising Star: Simpson Thacher's Fred De Albuquerque

    Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP partner Fred de Albuquerque has shepherded several billion-dollar deals, including Cisco Systems' $28 billion purchase of software platform Splunk and KSL's $1.4 billion take-private acquisition of Hersha Hospitality, earning him a spot among the mergers and acquisitions practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 21, 2025

    Rising Star: Weil's Michelle Sargent

    Michelle Sargent of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP has advised on a range of multimillion- and billion-dollar deals across multiple continents and industries, including a $5 billion purchase by Canada's largest communications company of the U.S. Pacific Northwest's leading fiber internet provider, earning her a spot among the mergers and acquisitions law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 18, 2025

    Law360 Names 2025's Top Attorneys Under 40

    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.

  • July 18, 2024

    Rising Star: Davis Polk's Shanu Bajaj

    The same year she made partner, Shanu Bajaj was on Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP's lead M&A team advising Exxon Mobil Corp. in the largest merger announced in 2023, earning her a spot among the mergers and acquisitions practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 17, 2024

    Rising Star: Gibson Dunn's Andrew Kaplan

    Andrew Kaplan of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP handles high-stakes mergers and acquisitions such as advising VMware when it was bought by Broadcom Inc., earning him a spot among the mergers and acquisitions practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 16, 2024

    Rising Star: Wachtell's Eric M. Feinstein

    Eric Feinstein of Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz has advised various companies on highly complex M&A transactions, including Fidelity National Information Service's $18.5 billion carve-out sale of its Worldpay merchant solutions business to private equity giant GTCR, earning him a spot among the mergers and acquisitions law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 15, 2024

    Rising Star: Covington's Andrew Fischer

    Covington & Burling LLP M&A partner Andrew Fischer has spent a large chunk of his career fostering relationships with his clients to help lead them through complex deals, including Merck's $11.5 billion acquisition of Acceleron and Bristol Myers Squibb's $14 billion purchase of Karuna Therapeutics, making him one of the law practitioners under 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 12, 2024

    Rising Star: Fenwick's Victoria Lupu

    Victoria Lupu of Fenwick & West LLP has worked on several billion-dollar deals across industries related to artificial intelligence and life sciences, including a number of acquisitions made by Databricks since last year, earning her a spot among the mergers and acquisition practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 12, 2024

    Law360 Names 2024's Top Attorneys Under 40

    Law360 is pleased to announce the Rising Stars of 2024, our list of 158 attorneys under 40 whose legal accomplishments belie their age.

  • August 01, 2023

    Rising Star: Cravath's G.J. Ligelis Jr.

    G.J. Ligelis Jr. of Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP advised National Grid PLC in a pair of deals designed as an asset swap with PPL Corp., and steered AerCap Holdings NV's record $30 billion acquisition of GE Capital Aviation Services, earning him a spot among the mergers and acquisitions practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 Rising Stars.

  • July 31, 2023

    Rising Star: Goodwin's Tevia Pollard

    Tevia Pollard, named partner at Goodwin Procter LLP in October, was the lead associate advising Citrix Systems Inc. on its $16.5 billion acquisition and steering Forma Therapeutics' $1.1 billion acquisition by Novo Nordisk, earning her a spot among the mergers and acquisitions law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 Rising Stars.

  • July 28, 2023

    Rising Star: Cleary's Kim Spoerri

    Kim Spoerri of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP has advised on multiple multibillion-dollar acquisitions, including representing pharmaceutical company Takeda in its $6 billion acquisition of autoimmune disease treatment developer Nimbus Lakshmi Inc., earning her a spot among the mergers and acquisitions practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 Rising Stars.

  • July 27, 2023

    Rising Star: Wilson Sonsini's Remi Korenblit

    Remi Korenblit of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC steered Twitter in Elon Musk's headline-grabbing takeover of the social media company, drafting the terms of a contract for the $44 billion deal following several dramatic twists and landing Korenblit a spot among the mergers and acquisitions practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 Rising Stars.

  • July 26, 2023

    Rising Star: Paul Weiss' Andrew Krause

    Andrew Krause of Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP has represented General Electric on every step of its long unwinding, Amazon on its $1.7 billion iRobot and $3.9 billion One Medical acquisitions, and Qualcomm on its $4.5 billion purchase of Veoneer with SSW Partners, earning him a spot among the mergers and acquisitions practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 Rising Stars.

  • July 25, 2023

    Rising Star: Shearman's Derrick Lott

    Derrick Lott of Shearman & Sterling LLP served as lead counsel for the deal team representing CVS Health Corp. in its $10.6 billion acquisition of Oak Street Health Inc., and advised JetBlue in its $3.8 billion hostile takeover of Spirit Airlines, earning him a spot among the mergers and acquisitions practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 Rising Stars.