Avocats – United States

Michael Weisser

Michael Weisser is a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee and a partner in the M&A/Private Equity Practice Group. Michael represents private equity sponsors, pension plans and their portfolio companies in connection with acquisitions, dispositions, financings, restructurings and general corporate matters. He has extensive experience with leveraged buyouts, going-private transactions and minority investments, and frequently counsels clients on a variety of securities law, corporate governance and strategic matters. Michael regularly represents Altas Partners, American Securities, BPEA EQT, Brightstar Capital, CDPQ, Claure Capital, The Jordan Company, Kohlberg, Monomoy, Partners Group, Patient Square, Providence Equity Partners, Raine, TPG and Wendel and their portfolio companies. Michael has been consistently recognized by Chambers USA and Chambers Global in the field of private equity and was ranked Band 1 for Private Equity: Buyouts in the 2020–2022 and 2024–2025 editions of Chambers USA. According to Chambers Global, “‘he is noted for his astute advice to private equity firms and their portfolio companies on significant acquisitions. Clients comment that ‘he is an exceptionally talented lawyer and he has very commercial judgement,’ appreciating that ‘he's able to explain whatever's going on in the legal, technical side in very plain business terms.’" Interviewees in Chambers USA describe him as an “exceptional lawyer, and our experience working with him has been overwhelmingly positive. We’ve appreciated his expertise, guidance and partnership, and he is differentiated from other lawyers we work with by his strong commercial judgment and business-mindedness." He has also been recognized by Legal 500 U.S., IFLR1000, New York Super Lawyers and Practical Law Company. Michael was named “Dealmaker of the Week” by The Am Law Daily in June 2010 and was selected in 2011 by Investment Dealers’ Digest for its annual “40 Under 40” list of the top up-and-coming professionals in the finance industry. In addition, Michael has served on Law360's Private Equity Editorial Board, has taught at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and New York University School of Law, and frequently writes articles for various publications on cutting-edge legal developments, including an article in The New York Times on private equity deal terms.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Michael Werner

Mr. Werner represents clients in the acquisition, disposition and development of office, retail, residential, hotel and mixed-use properties; high-profile commercial leasing; structured and construction financing; ground leases; joint ventures; and debt restructurings. He routinely counsels prominent owners, developers, financial institutions, institutional investors, REITs, and corporations in all aspects of commercial real estate transactions, and has worked on many of the industry's highest profile transactions for clients that include Google, Amazon, Tishman Speyer, Global Holdings, Taconic Partners, Brookfield, Vornado, RXR and Gotham, among others.

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP

Michael Wexler

Partner

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Michael Wible

Mike is the partner in charge of our Columbus office and a partner in our Corporate Transactions & Securities practice group. His practice includes counseling investment companies, investment advisers and broker-dealers on issues related to the creation and offering of investment products and services. Mike concentrates on regulatory matters, including the organization, registration and operation of investment companies and investment advisers. He has experience in the development of new products and services, the development and implementation of compliance programs, the organization of domestic and offshore investment vehicles, the operation of municipal fund securities, and the merger and acquisition of investment companies and investment advisers. Prior to joining Thompson Hine, Mike served as counsel for Bank One Corporation where he was responsible for advising the bank's asset management line of business. Before Bank One, Mike served as special counsel in the Office of Insurance Products, Division of Investment Management at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, focusing on variable annuity and variable life insurance products.

Thompson Hine LLP

Michael Wilder

McDermott Will & Schulte

Michael Williams

Mike Williams is a trial lawyer and appellate advocate who represents individuals, businesses, and governments in complex, high-stakes litigation. Since joining Kirkland & Ellis after a clerkship on the Supreme Court, Mike has led the representation of clients across a broad array of matters, including administrative law, antitrust, banking, constitutional law, copyrights, civil rights, environmental law, mergers and acquisitions, and products liability. Mike is one of the rare litigators who argues cases to juries, judges, and courts of appeals. Mike’s appellate practice includes a special focus on representing United States territories and territorial residents in landmark litigation concerning their relationship with the United States. Mike’s pro bono practice includes the successful representation of death-row prisoners in actual-innocence and intellectual-disability cases in federal and state courts. Mike teaches trial advocacy at Georgetown University Law Center and regularly presents on trial skills for bar associations.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Michael Williams

Partner/Co-Chair

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC

Michael Williamson

Michael Williamson sits on the Board of Buchalter, and is Chair of the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group which includes the Community Development Finance group. Michael’s practice includes equity and debt finance, tax credits, opportunity zones, real estate fund formation, syndicated investments, and portfolio and syndicated credit facilities. Michael represents the spectrum of transaction participants including investors, fund sponsors, joint ventures, lenders and borrowers nationwide in all real estate product types. He lectures frequently on legal and financing issues, opportunity zones, historic preservation, tax credits, and housing issues. Michael is active in community affairs in his hometown of Pasadena. He was Chair of the City Planning Commission and Chair of the Pasadena Board of Zoning Appeals. He is founder, past president and vice president of development of Heritage Housing Partners, a nonprofit for-sale housing developer. In 2019 & 2020, Michael was selected as a finalist by the Los Angeles Business Journal for the prestigious “Leader in Law” award.

Buchalter Law Firm

Michael Winograd

Partner

Brown Rudnick LLP

Michael Wolitzer

Simpson Thacher's Chair of Funds and Funds Adjacencies, focusing on private investing and other facets of "alternative asset management." Has represented some of the largest and most well-known sponsors of private investment funds, including Apax Partners, Blackstone, Centerbridge, Lexington, Patria, Silver Lake and Sixth Street. In addition to private equity funds, has represented sponsors in other alternative asset classes, including real estate, energy/infrastructure, secondaries and credit/distressed debt, as well as on SMAs and fund structured products. Also has represented global financial institutions in the establishment of their employee investment programs; family offices on their investment activities; acquisitions of, and investments in, private investment firms (including several minority stakes and control transactions); buyers, sellers and sponsors regarding the disposition of private fund interests, GP-Led Secondaries and other secondary transactions; and founders and other stakeholders in connection with carried interest and other customized internal arrangements.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Michael Young KC

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP

Michael Yu

Michael Yu advises banks, broker-dealers, and hedge funds on derivatives and financial products, related transaction and trading regulatory issues and negotiations of ISDA Master Agreements and Confirmations. Michael’s experience covers a spectrum of equity, hedge fund, currency, commodity, fixed income, and insurance-linked derivatives and structured products. Michael has extensive experience in the operation, maintenance, and optimization of structured-note programs, and leads the point-to-point design and setup of securities offering platforms and their related registration statements and documentation. Michael also spearheads the bespoke automation of structured note programs and works on the coding of offering documentation, closing documentation, and their processes from launch to settlement.

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP

Michael Yuffee

Partner Section Chair - Energy Regulatory (Firmwide)

Baker Botts L.L.P.

Michael Zaken

Michael J. Zaken has a broad litigation practice, with a particular focus on antitrust, bankruptcy, class action defense, commercial disputes and intellectual property, as well as antitrust advisory and other advisory work.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP

Michael Zimmerman

Associate, New York

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer

Michel C. Narganes

Michel Narganes is a partner in Manatt’s ­­­­­San Francisco and Boston offices. She has guided venture-backed startups and other, established clients—including various technology companies, media and gaming ventures, financial institutions, health care companies and others—through licensing, technology and commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), financing matters, and developer and publisher agreements for more than 15 years. Michel also works with disruptors in the growing cryptocurrency space with respect to blockchain-based technologies and transactions in the Web3 ecosystem. She was an early mover in this area, representing the platform that facilitated the highly publicized sale of an American digital artist’s nonfungible token (NFT) artwork in the first digital auction held by one of the largest global auction houses. She is sought after for her business-minded counsel on the convergence of cryptocurrency with other emerging industries, including the rise of tokenization in gaming and transactions in the nascent metaverse. Before joining Manatt, Michel served as in-house counsel at a large technology company, where she played a key role in the growth of global strategic partnerships, M&A and corporate compliance operations. Michel is also an entrepreneur, having founded her own legal services firm, providing her firsthand experience tackling the gamut of challenges emerging companies face throughout their life cycles.

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Michele Beilke

Partner

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Michele Ben-David

Special Counsel, New York

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer

Michele Farquhar

Partner

Hogan Lovells US LLP

Michele Frank

Venable LLP

Michele Friend

Principal

Offit Kurman

Michele Johnson

Michele Johnson, Global Chair of the Litigation & Trial Department, is consistently recognized as a leading national trial lawyer. Michele represents industry-leading companies, officers and directors, special committees, and financial institutions in connection with: Securities class actions Shareholder derivative litigation Mergers and acquisitions litigation Battles for corporate control Fiduciary duty cases Proxy contests SEC enforcement actions Internal investigations Other complex, high-exposure litigation Michele’s recent representations include securities class action trials, special committee engagements in controlling stockholder transactions, multi-jurisdictional litigation arising out of solicited and hostile takeover attempts, and investigations and litigation on behalf of special committees and boards of directors related to public company crises. She has significant trial experience involving securities, contract, product liability, unfair business practices, intellectual property, tax, and insurance bad faith trials. Michele is a former member of Latham’s Executive Committee and the former Managing Partner of the Orange County office. She has served on the firm’s Pro Bono and Associates Committees as well. She serves on the boards of the Georgetown University Law Center, Berkeley Center for Law and Business, and Orange County Bar Foundation’s Project Youth, is a member of the American Bar Association’s Corporate Laws Committee, and is past president of the Orange County chapter of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers.

Latham & Watkins

Michele M. Anderson

Michele Anderson, a partner in the firm’s National Office, advises clients and Latham lawyers facing complex issues arising under the US securities laws. Prior to joining Latham, she served for 24 years in the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance. She held a number of senior positions in the Division, including most recently serving as Associate Director and Acting Deputy Director. For nearly 15 years she led and then oversaw the Division’s Office of Mergers and Acquisitions. Michele leverages her extensive knowledge and SEC experience to help the firm’s lawyers and clients navigate the disclosure requirements and other SEC rules that affect domestic and cross-border M&A and capital markets transactions. She also advises public company clients confronting shareholder activism and corporate governance issues. As Associate Director at the SEC, Michele oversaw the Division’s legal and policy program and the work of the Office of Mergers and Acquisitions, the Office of International Corporate Finance, and the Office of Structured Finance. She directed rulemaking initiatives and no-action, interpretive, and exemptive positions on: Domestic and cross-border M&A transactions Federal proxy rules Registration, disclosure, and reporting requirements that apply to foreign issuers and issuers of asset-backed securities As Chief of the Office of Mergers and Acquisitions, Michele managed the SEC’s regulation of M&A transactions and the application and interpretation of SEC rules relating to: Tender offers Mergers Going-private transactions Debt restructurings Beneficial ownership reporting Contested and other non-routine proxy solicitations She also has extensive experience with the full range of SEC reporting and disclosure obligations as a result of her broad oversight responsibility for the SEC’s disclosure review program for public companies. Michele is a frequent speaker on federal securities law developments, public company M&A, activism, and shareholder voting, and has served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, where she taught the course “Takeovers, Mergers and Acquisitions.”

Latham & Watkins

Michele M. Glessner

Registered to practice before the USPTO and backed with industry experience in engineering, Michele manages and counsels both consumer-oriented and tech-focused clients on trademark, copyright and other intellectual property issues. She uses her skills in Arabic and French to tap into a global network of associates to effectively represent international clients with their various IP needs. Michele Glessner is a member in Moore & Van Allen's Intellectual Property group. She concentrates her practice on trademark and copyright portfolio management and counseling clients on filing, use, and enforcement strategies worldwide. In the 2024 edition of the World Trademark Review 1000: The World’s Leading Trademark Professionals, Michele is recognized by the publication for her “swift replies, pragmatic approach and problem-solving capabilities” and is ranked silver in North Carolina. An experienced patent attorney and registered before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Michele also advises clients on various patent matters, including utility and design patent prosecution, freedom-to-practice, and patent portfolio analysis, particularly in the mechanical and electromechanical arts. Michele earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame in 2006. She received her B.S., cum laude, in mechanical engineering from Cornell University in 1999. Before attending law school, Michele was a product engineer for an industrial gases and chemicals company and earned her engineer-in-training certification. Michele is a fluent speaker of Egyptian Arabic and has a foundation in classical Arabic, both written and spoken. In addition, she is proficient in French.

Moore & Van Allen, PLLC