Overview
International law firm McDermott Will & Emery added six partners to the Transactions Practice Group in cities across the United States: Brian Gordon in Atlanta, Marcus Helt in Dallas, Parker Lee in New York, Mal Serure in Los Angeles, David Solander in Washington, DC and David Wolff in Chicago. This added, diversified talent across the transactions arena will guide clients—including some of the most important businesses in world—in their critical investments throughout a volatile market to achieve the best possible outcomes.
“Providing top legal talent for corporate clients in an increasingly active, technical and regulated post-pandemic market is our number one priority,” Harris Siskind, global head of the Firm’s transactions practice, said. “With our continued growth across our transactions practice platform, we are able to deliver creative and efficient legal solutions that match the diverse needs of our clients.”
“The transactions landscape has evolved greatly over the last year, and it’s vital we continue to build out our Firm’s in-demand transactions practice and bring on new teams to meet our clients’ growing needs,” added Michael Poulos, McDermott’s Head of Strategy. “These hires underscore our commitment in key markets like Atlanta, where our office has already doubled in size since opening in March 2020, and similarly in Texas, where new energy and restructuring talent have accelerated projected growth over the last year.”
McDermott Chairman Ira Coleman noted, “In the spirit of delivering ever-greater value to our clients, people and communities, we are thrilled to add these incredible deal lawyers to the McDermott family. Our industry-leading growth over the past three years is a testament to our indispensability to our clients, and it is supported by stellar partner talent acquisition.”
The six new partners are:
- Brian Gordon (Atlanta) represents VC-backed technology companies in acquisitions, financing transactions, negotiation of credit facilities, corporate governance, employment and equity compensation matters. On the private equity side, he represents funds in their acquisitions, roll-ups and sales of portfolio companies, with a subspecialty in restaurants and retail. Brian joins from DLA Piper.
- Marcus Helt (Dallas) focuses his practice on restructuring and insolvency matters, emphasizing bankruptcy, corporate restructuring, workouts, creditors’ rights and commercial litigation. Marcus represents borrower clients, buyers and other interested parties in all industries, especially healthcare, retail, food and beverage, energy, manufacturing, distribution and franchise. Marcus joins from Foley & Lardner.
- Parker Lee (New York) counsels some of the world’s largest energy companies. He advises corporations and investors in evaluating and executing transactions and commercial contracts in the energy and infrastructure industries. He represents clients in various domestic and international oil & gas, power, water, petrochemical and infrastructure M&A, project development and joint venture transactions. Parker joins from Hunton Andrews Kurth.
- Mal E. Serure (Los Angeles) is a commercial real estate lawyer with more than two decades of experience representing private equity funds, banks, real estate companies and real estate investment trusts in a wide range of transactions. He regularly advises lenders and borrowers in mortgage and mezzanine loan financing, and preferred equity transactions, as well as owners and investors in purchase and sale and joint venture transactions. Mal also advises clients on the purchase, workout and restructuring of troubled loans, including negotiations with co-lenders, participants, servicers and special servicers. Mal joins from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner.
- David Solander (Washington, DC) works with financial services firms on the many regulatory and compliance issues related to the asset management industry. In addition to traditional financial institutions—including managers to hedge funds, PE, real estate, VC and other private fund clients—David advises companies utilizing blockchain technology on regulatory matters and fund formation related to trading and investing in cryptocurrency and digital assets. David joins from Goodwin Procter.
- David Wolff (Chicago) is a leading real estate transactions lawyer dedicated to closing high-impact deals for numerous private equity sponsors, real estate investment trusts, developers, capital providers and other institutional and non-institutional investors in commercial real estate transactions and related joint venture and finance transactions. David will lead the Firm’s Chicago real estate practice. David joins from Kirkland & Ellis.
These partners join on the heels of steady, strong growth as McDermott jumped from #30 in 2019 to #24 in 2020 on The American Lawyer’s Am Law100 ranking.
Prior to this group joining, McDermott added several partners to the Firm’s Transactions Practice Group, including Houston-based Jack Langlois and Jibin Luke, a well-known duo in the Texas energy and legal circles. Anne Cox-Johnson also joined in Atlanta.
About McDermott
McDermott Will & Emery partners with leaders around the world to fuel missions, knock down barriers and shape markets. Our team works seamlessly across practices and industries to deliver highly effective—and often unexpected—solutions that propel success. More than 1,200 lawyers strong, we bring our personal passion and legal prowess to bear in every matter for our clients and the people they serve.
