Hamed Meshki to Lead Private Equity Practice
NEW YORK / LOS ANGELES Sullivan & Cromwell LLP today announced a major step forward in our global strategic plan to enhance and expand our U.S. and global private equity practice, with the appointment of four leading private equity M&A partners. Hamed Meshki, Luke Guerra, Guirgis Nasief and Y. Michael Chung, will join our Firm as partners in the Los Angeles and New York offices, adding exceptional expertise and experience advising private equity sponsors, asset managers and their portfolio companies on their most significant and complex transactions.
This group of partners has collectively dedicated nearly six decades to advising private equity clients globally and led hundreds of high-stakes transactions for the world’s premier private equity and asset management firms.
Mr. Meshki, who is one of the U.S.’s top private equity lawyers, will lead the Firm’s global Private Equity Practice. He will also co-lead the Los Angeles office alongside Patrick Brown.
“This outstanding group of attorneys, led by Hamed and Luke, accelerates the growth of our U.S. and global private equity practice following our recent build-out in London, and we are thrilled to welcome them to S&C. Hamed and Luke have each built market-leading private equity practices and longstanding relationships with leading financial sponsors,” said Sullivan & Cromwell Co-Chairs Robert Giuffra and Scott Miller. “Guirgis and Michael are incredibly strong lawyers and represent the next generation of leaders in the field. The group’s commercial judgment, collaborative approach and deep market knowledge will strengthen our private equity and M&A capabilities in the U.S. and globally.”
Mr. Meshki advises private equity firms, asset managers and public and private companies on highly structured and complex business transactions. His practice encompasses mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, restructurings, recapitalizations and financings across industries including consumer products, energy, healthcare, industrials, media and entertainment, software and technology, and transportation. He also advises boards of directors and senior private equity executives on strategic and corporate governance matters. Mr. Meshki has been recognized by Chambers USA for more than a decade and is ranked Band 1 for Private Equity: Buyouts in California. He has also been recognized by The Legal 500 U.S. for large private equity buyouts and by IFLR1000 for mergers and acquisitions. He earned his J.D., with honors, from the University of Chicago Law School and his B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Mr. Guerra advises private equity sponsors, strategic buyers and sellers, and portfolio companies on domestic and cross-border leveraged buyouts, public and private mergers and acquisitions, equity investments, joint ventures, restructurings and recapitalizations. His experience spans a broad range of industries, including technology, financial services, media and entertainment, consumer products, healthcare, energy and industrials. He has represented leading investment firms in transactions throughout the life cycle of their investments. Mr. Guerra has been recognized by Chambers USA for his work in California private equity and M&A and has repeatedly been named among the leading private equity advisers in Los Angeles. He earned his J.D. from Stanford Law School and his B.A. in Politics from Princeton University.
“Sullivan & Cromwell’s reputation for excellence, its collaborative culture and its commitment to the growth of a world-class platform for the representation of private equity and alternative asset management clients globally make this a compelling opportunity,” said Mr. Meshki. “I look forward to working with the Firm’s exceptional lawyers and to helping power the further growth of its private equity practice.”
Mr. Guerra added: “S&C combines a premier global M&A practice with extraordinary strength across financing, capital markets, tax, compensation, restructuring, regulatory and litigation matters. That integrated platform will allow us to provide private equity clients with seamless, sophisticated advice across the full range of complex issues affecting their investments.”
Mr. Nasief and Mr. Chung are experienced corporate lawyers whose practices focus on private equity and complex mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Nasief advises leading private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in acquisitions, dispositions and other significant investments. Mr. Chung, who will be resident in S&C’s New York office, represents private equity firms and public and private companies on a broad range of strategic transactions. Mr. Nasief, who will work from S&C’s Los Angeles office, received his J.D. from Columbia Law School and his B.A. from UCLA. Mr. Chung received his J.D. from Yale Law School and his A.B., summa cum laude, from Princeton University.
The additions of Messrs. Meshki, Guerra and Nasief will continue the growth of our Los Angeles office, most recently with the appointment of Viet D. Dinh as a partner who will advise boards of directors, senior executives and other key decision-makers on complex situations requiring coordinated legal and business judgment.
“Hamed, Luke and Guirgis are exceptional additions to our Los Angeles office,” said L.A. Managing Partner Mr. Brown. “Adding these three market leaders reflects both the strength of S&C’s platform and our commitment to providing clients with integrated, market-leading advice on their most important transactions. I am delighted to work with Hamed and our partners as we lead our Los Angeles office in the next phase of S&C’s success in California.”
About Sullivan & Cromwell’s Private Equity Practice
Sullivan & Cromwell’s Private Equity Practice advises leading private equity firms and private capital investors, including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and family offices, as well as portfolio companies and counterparties. Drawing on the Firm’s multidisciplinary global capabilities, S&C counsels clients across industries on investments, acquisitions, dispositions and exits through M&A, financing and capital markets transactions.
About Sullivan & Cromwell’s Los Angeles Office
S&C’s Los Angeles office advises leading companies, boards, financial institutions and investors on major transactions, investigations, litigation, regulatory matters and other complex business challenges. The office works seamlessly with colleagues across S&C’s global platform to serve clients in California and around the world.
About Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is a leading global law firm that advises on major domestic and cross-border M&A, significant litigation and corporate investigations, finance and corporate transactions, and complex antitrust, regulatory, tax and estate planning matters. The Firm’s hallmarks are our focus on providing the highest-quality independent advice and our intense dedication to solving client problems. Founded in 1879, S&C has approximately 1,000 lawyers located in offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Palo Alto, London, Frankfurt, Paris, Brussels, Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo, Melbourne, Sydney and Abu Dhabi.
