Latham & Watkins Adds Senior M&A, Finance Partners
The law firm Latham & Watkins has hired Emily Johnson and Mark Stagliano as partners in its New York office. The additions are intended to enhance the firm's finance and public M&A practices.
- Both Emily Johnson and Mark Stagliano join from Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, a firm known for its focus on large, complex M&A transactions. This move signals Latham & Watkins' intent to further solidify its position in handling high-value deals. - Mark Stagliano has significant experience in the TMT sector, having advised on major transactions such as T-Mobile's $146 billion combination with Sprint and Uber Technologies' $2.65 billion acquisition of Postmates. His expertise aligns with Latham's recent focus on TMT M&A, where the firm was a top legal advisor by deal value in the first three quarters of 2025. - Emily Johnson brings a strong background in financing for major transactions, having worked on deals totaling nearly $85 billion. Her experience includes advising on the financing for Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks and Diamondback Energy's $26 billion merger with Endeavor Energy Resources. - Latham & Watkins has been actively advising on significant TMT and tech-related deals, including Skydance Media's approximate $28 billion merger with Paramount and Endeavor's $13 billion acquisition by Silver Lake. The addition of Stagliano and Johnson is expected to bolster the firm's capabilities in these key sectors. - In the financial services sector, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, the former firm of Johnson and Stagliano, was a top M&A legal advisor by deal value for the first half of 2025, advising on deals worth $54.3 billion. Johnson has experience advising clients like Global Payments on significant transactions, including its $45 billion merger with Total System Services. - Stagliano's experience includes advising financial sponsors. He has worked with clients such as Stone Point Capital and Warburg Pincus on various transactions. This complements Latham's practice, which has a strong focus on representing private equity firms. - Latham & Watkins demonstrated strong performance in global M&A and private equity, advising on over 760 M&A transactions in 2025 with a total value exceeding $1.15 trillion. The firm has shown a particular strength in information technology M&A, ranking #1 globally by deal value. - Both partners' backgrounds align with Latham's strategy of providing integrated advice across corporate and finance practices to navigate complex transactions. Johnson's expertise in designing capital structures and Stagliano's experience in public company M&A and corporate governance will be key to this integrated approach.
