Chicago-based law firm Sidley Austin hired Ankur Gupta, Sam Wales and Ben Kirschner as partners and Krista Kay Lewis as an associate in its global M&A and private equity practice.
Gupta, Wales, Kirschner and Lewis joined from McDermott Will & Emery, where Gupta was the leader of the global healthcare real estate practice.
Gupta focuses his practice on representing privately and publicly held healthcare, real estate and financial institutions; private equity firms; investment banks; and family offices in major healthcare-related real estate, industrial, office, hospitality, multi-family and retail real estate and M&A transactions. He manages all legal components of domestic and international real estate portfolios for several clients and regularly counsels clients on corporate structure and strategy, internal controls, and risk management issues and best practices.
Wales represents private equity funds, as well as publicly traded and privately held companies, on M&A, joint ventures and healthcare-related transactions. His work with private equity fund clients includes leveraged buyouts of public and private companies, divestitures, recapitalizations and venture capital investments. He also advises boards of directors on transactions, corporate governance and other corporate matters.
Kirschner has experience working on domestic and international transactional real estate matters. His practice focuses on acquisitions, dispositions, property development, leasing and joint ventures, with a concentration on healthcare and industrial transactions. He also has counseled clients on large corporate transactions for the real estate portions of their deals.
Lewis represents private equity, investment funds and privately held companies in connection with domestic and cross-border transactions, including mergers, stock and asset sales, acquisitions, venture capital investments and restructurings. She also provides corporate counsel on matters including corporate governance, securities laws, employment, financing and executive compensation.
“Ankur, Sam, Ben and Krista have extensive experience in leading and executing sophisticated transactions, with a particular focus on healthcare-related transactions,” Dan Clivner, global co-leader of Sidley’s M&A and private equity practice, said. “They will enhance our ability to represent healthcare providers and investors on transactional matters both domestically and abroad, which is an important strategic focus for the firm. We are excited to have these exceptional lawyers join our team.”
