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Meet the Team
Lawrence Waks
Partner, Corporate
Lawrence Waks is a corporate partner who represents high profile individuals, celebrities, brands and their businesses in M&A, joint ventures, and strategic transactions in the entertainment, media, and food & beverage industries.
Lawrence has represented some of the biggest A-list celebrities in the industry. Most notable deals include: the $1b sale of Casamigos Tequila (owned by George Clooney, Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman); the $600m sale of Aviation Gin (part owned by Ryan Reynolds) and Davos Brands; and the sale of Conor McGregor’s Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey. His practice also encompasses key transactions in the food and beverage, retail, consumer goods, and entertainment sectors.
Before joining Sterlington, Lawrence was a partner at Reed Smith and Foley & Lardner. Earlier in his career, he practiced at Jackson Walker and at Milgrim Thomajan & Lee. Lawrence has been named a Texas Super Lawyer and is listed in Best Lawyers in America.
Lawrence holds a J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law and a BSc (Hons) from Trinity University. He is admitted to practice in Texas and New York and is fluent in Spanish, French, Russian, and Portuguese.
Lawrence has represented some of the biggest A-list celebrities in the industry. Most notable deals include: the $1b sale of Casamigos Tequila (owned by George Clooney, Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman); the $600m sale of Aviation Gin (part owned by Ryan Reynolds) and Davos Brands; and the sale of Conor McGregor’s Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey. His practice also encompasses key transactions in the food and beverage, retail, consumer goods, and entertainment sectors.
Before joining Sterlington, Lawrence was a partner at Reed Smith and Foley & Lardner. Earlier in his career, he practiced at Jackson Walker and at Milgrim Thomajan & Lee. Lawrence has been named a Texas Super Lawyer and is listed in Best Lawyers in America.
Lawrence holds a J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law and a BSc (Hons) from Trinity University. He is admitted to practice in Texas and New York and is fluent in Spanish, French, Russian, and Portuguese.
Others in this Department
Christopher S. Harrison
Managing Partner
Leads M&A practice. Former Co-Head of market-leading Investment Management M&A practice of Schulte Roth and former Cravath associate. Taught Negotiating M&A at NYU Law for 11 years and published a book on M&A with Bloomberg (#1 New Release on Amazon).
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Jeremy L. Goldstein
Partner, Executive Compensation
Former Wachtell Lipton partner. Involved in over $3 trillion of M&A over his career. Leading executive compensation lawyer in Chambers. J.D. from NYU. BA cum laude from Cornell.
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Paul Jebely
Partner and Vice Chair, International
Top global private aviation attorney for UHNW individuals. “Private Aviation & Yachts Lawyer of the Year”, “Private Wealth Lawyer of the Year” and longstanding Band 1 ranking (HNW – Private Aircraft) in Chambers. Lead counsel on $23 billion in aircraft transactions. Founder and Chair of The Hague Court of Arbitration for Aviation.
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Thomas A. Russo
Strategic Advisor
Former GC of AIG. Named most innovative GC in North America by the FT. Former management committee member of Cadwalader. Authored several books and articles on financial market regulation. Former member of the Board of Governors of FINRA, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York International Advisory Committee.
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Michael Smith
Partner, Corporate
Senior international corporate lawyer. Practiced at Clifford Chance and Skadden Arps. Helped to open the New York Office of Patton Boggs and was head of SPAC Advisory Group at Nixon Peabody.
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Ken Lee
Partner, Finance
Partner in Sterlington’s Finance practice, with a focus on asset trading and finance. Former Counsel at Clifford Chance NY. J.D. from Cornell Law. BA in Business Administration and Management from Korea University.
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Todd McClelland
Partner, Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, AI and Litigation
Partner in Sterlington’s Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, AI and Litigation practices, focusing on cybersecurity, data privacy and technology law. Formerly Head of Global Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice Group at McDermott, Will & Emery. Recognized by The Legal 500 US and The Best Lawyers in America for Privacy and Data Security and named “Lawyer of the Year” in IT Outsourcing Law.
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Brian Slater
Partner and Co-Head, Intellectual Property
IP and Life Sciences Partner and Co-Head of IP practice. Former Chair of Life Sciences at Kramer Levin and served on the management committee of IP boutique, Fitzpatrick Cella (now Venable LLP). Lead trial lawyer in high-stakes IP disputes, including Hatch-Waxman patent litigations. Recognized in: IAM Patent 1000’s The World’s Leading Patent Professionals. LL.M. from the University of Pennsylvania (Thouron Scholar).
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Yan Yuan
Partner, Corporate
Partner in cross-border corporate practice, focusing on M&A, private capital, joint ventures, investment and cross-border transactions. Previously a partner at Ashurst and counsel at Clifford Chance. Recognized by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific as a Next Generation Partner and Rising Star. J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
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Gregory Sephton
Partner and Co-Head, Intellectual Property
IP and Life Sciences Partner and Co-Head of Sterlington’s IP practice. Extensive experience in high-stakes patent litigation for pharmaceutical and biotech innovators. Former partner at Kramer Levin and at Fitzpatrick Cella (now Venable LLP). J.D. from Suffolk University and Ph.D. in biochemistry from Brandeis University.
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Yvette Teofan
Of Counsel, Investment Management
Investment management and M&A attorney with experience in fund formation and cross-border transactions. 22 years’ experience at Cleary Gottlieb, working in New York and Paris as a partner. JD from Yale (law review editor), and BA from Stanford.
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Robert Kantowitz
Partner, Tax
Partner and Head of Tax practice. Over 40 years of tax law expertise. Former MD at JP Morgan, Merrill/BofA, UBS, and SocGen, where he focused on deal structuring and new product development. JD from Harvard (executive editor of Harvard Law Review), tax LLM from NYU, and Master’s degree in Physics.
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Ivy Dodes
Of Counsel, Investment Management
Corporate and investment management lawyer. Former COO, GC, and MD of a PE division of Credit Suisse Asset Management. Former associate at what is now Norton Rose Fulbright.
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Mary Messihi
Partner, Trusts & Estates
Trusts & estates lawyer. Ran a multi-billion-dollar single-family office serving more than 200 family members across six generations. LLM from NYU Law.
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Cody Wamsley, CISSP
Partner, Cybersecurity, Data Privacy and Intellectual Property
Partner in Sterlington’s Cybersecurity & Data Privacy and IP practices. Held senior in-house roles at Coinbase, Oracle, American Express, and 3M. Previously senior associate in Dorsey & Whitney’s Cybersecurity & Privacy practice. LL.M. in IP Law from George Washington. J.D. from University of Kansas.
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Jamie Sklar
Of Counsel, Corporate
Corporate attorney. 25 years’ experience managing complex transactions/corporate matters. Emphasis on PE, M&A, JVs, and fund formation matters. Former In-House at Credit Suisse Asset Management. Worked at White & Case and Sidley Austin. LL.B., B.C.L., and M.B.A. from McGill University.
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Geoffrey Raicht
Senior Counsel
Senior Counsel in Sterlington’s Bankruptcy and Restructuring practice. Former partner at Sidley, McDermott, Proskauer, and Haynes and Boone. Recognized by The Legal 500 as a leading lawyer. Earned JD from CUNY Law School, and MPA and BA from NYU.
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Stuart Daroca
Partner, Corporate
Partner in Corporate practice. Former Associate GC at AIG, GC/Chief Legal Officer at B2B real estate firms, Senior Legal Counsel at Citigroup. Former associate at Skadden. JD from Georgetown University Law Center (senior editor of Law and Policy in Int’l Business Journal). BA from UC Berkeley.
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Teresa “Teri” F. Santos
Partner, Employment Law and Head, General Counsel Services
Partner and Head of General Counsel Services practice. Former GC and CCO of both NASDAQ-listed and private equity-owned companies. Former Reed Smith associate. JD from Georgetown.
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Tina Lee Jebely
Counsel
Counsel in corporate practice, with a focus on capital markets. Previously at Latham & Watkins and White & Case.
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John Ngo
Special Counsel
Former attorney at Reed Smith, Greenberg Traurig, Kelley Drye and Dewey & LeBoeuf. Held senior in-house roles at the Amynta Group and Assurant. J.D. from Georgetown and BA from NYU.
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Evan Coren
Counsel
Counsel focused on finance and corporate transactions and bankruptcy matters. Former clerk for U.S. Bankruptcy Court for District of CT, and associate at Stevens & Lee. JD from Duke University School of Law. BA in PoliSci from University of Chicago (Phi Beta Kappa Honors).
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Dexter X. Heeter
Associate
Associate in Finance practice, with a focus on asset trading and asset finance. Previously with Clifford Chance in its NY office. J.D. from Columbia Law School. B.A. magna cum laude in Political Science and History from Clark University (Phi Alpha Theta and Pi Sigma Alpha Honor Society member).
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Jane Scott
Special Counsel
Corporate attorney focusing on commercial transactions, contracts, and a diverse range of legal disciplines. Former attorney at Unisys and a midsized law firm. MBA from Fox School of Business at Temple University. JD from the Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law.
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Gianina Jean-Baptiste
Special Counsel
Senior attorney focused on corporate and transaction matters. Former in-house at a major privately held alternative investment fund in NY. BA from Harvard University. JD from Fordham Law School.
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Octavio Barone
Associate
Associate focusing on corporate matters. Fulbright Scholarship recipient. Earned LLM from NYU Law (Deans Graduate Award). LLB summa cum laude graduating 1st in class of 1500+ from National University of Cordoba School of Law.
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Lauren Cotilletta
Associate
Associate focusing on private funds and corporate matters. Previously at Schulte and Perkins Coie. JD from UChicago and BA (hons) from NYU.
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Cole Davis
Associate
Associate focusing on corporate transactions. Strong background in M&A, private equity, securities law, and intellectual property transactions. Previously at Baker Botts and Wilson Elser. JD from SMU Dedman School of Law, summa cum laude and salutatorian.
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Kelvin Yang
Associate
Associate focused on aviation law, and corporate and securities law matters. Previously an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell. JD from Stanford Law School; MA from Stanford University.
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Jing Zhang
Associate
Associate focused on corporate transactional work. Previously at Clifford Chance. LLM with honors from Stanford Law.
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Armando Guio Espanol
Associate
Associate focusing on data protection, technology and AI-assisted work. On secondment to UNESCO working on global ethics guidelines for generative AI efforts. Former fellow affiliate at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center. LLM with Honors from Harvard Law. MA from Oxford.
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Camilo López Campagnoli
Associate
Associate focusing on transactional and contract matters. Former senior associate at a mid-sized law firm. LLM in Economic Law and Global Governance Studies from Sciences Po in France. Law degree from Rosario University.
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Francisco Cabrera
Associate
Associate in Sterlington's litigation practice with a focus on complex litigation as well as a background in trademark and copyright law. Previously at Foley Hoag. JD (magna cum laude) from University of Puerto Rico and a MA (summa cum laude) from the University of Bristol.
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Juan Diego Jiménez
Associate
Associate in corporate practice. LLM from University of Pennsylvania. Wharton Business and Law Certificate. Worked at E&Y’s Corporate Practice, KPMG’s Legal Counsel Dept., and a mid-sized law firm.
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Stefania Olmos
Associate
Associate in Corporate practice. Previously led the International Affairs team at the Colombian Ministry of Interior. Former associate at Baker McKenzie. LLM from the University of Pennsylvania.
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María Cristina Coffey
Associate
Associate in Corporate practice. 13+ years of experience at mid-sized law firms. Master’s degree in business law from the University of San Andrés.
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Facundo Palczikowski
Associate
Associate with a focus on corporate and M&A matters. Former Assistant VP–Senior Counsel at JP Morgan Chase in U.S. Macro Markets and Sales team. LLM in Business Law from Penn State Law.
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Barbara Silveira
Associate
Associate focused on corporate and transactional matters. LLM from University of Miami.
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Christopher S. Harrison
Managing PartnerLeads M&A practice. Former Co-Head of market-leading Investment Management M&A practice of Schulte Roth and former Cravath associate. Taught Negotiating M&A at NYU Law for 11 years and published a book on M&A with Bloomberg (#1 New Release on Amazon).
Jeremy L. Goldstein
Partner, Executive CompensationFormer Wachtell Lipton partner. Involved in over $3 trillion of M&A over his career. Leading executive compensation lawyer in Chambers. J.D. from NYU. BA cum laude from Cornell.
Paul Jebely
Partner and Vice Chair, InternationalTop global private aviation attorney for UHNW individuals. “Private Aviation & Yachts Lawyer of the Year”, “Private Wealth Lawyer of the Year” and longstanding Band 1 ranking (HNW – Private Aircraft) in Chambers. Lead counsel on $23 billion in aircraft transactions. Founder and Chair of The Hague Court of Arbitration for Aviation.
Thomas A. Russo
Strategic AdvisorFormer GC of AIG. Named most innovative GC in North America by the FT. Former management committee member of Cadwalader. Authored several books and articles on financial market regulation. Former member of the Board of Governors of FINRA, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York International Advisory Committee.
Michael Smith
Partner, CorporateSenior international corporate lawyer. Practiced at Clifford Chance and Skadden Arps. Helped to open the New York Office of Patton Boggs and was head of SPAC Advisory Group at Nixon Peabody.
Ken Lee
Partner, FinancePartner in Sterlington’s Finance practice, with a focus on asset trading and finance. Former Counsel at Clifford Chance NY. J.D. from Cornell Law. BA in Business Administration and Management from Korea University.
Todd McClelland
Partner, Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, AI and LitigationPartner in Sterlington’s Cybersecurity, Data Privacy, AI and Litigation practices, focusing on cybersecurity, data privacy and technology law. Formerly Head of Global Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice Group at McDermott, Will & Emery. Recognized by The Legal 500 US and The Best Lawyers in America for Privacy and Data Security and named “Lawyer of the Year” in IT Outsourcing Law.
Brian Slater
Partner and Co-Head, Intellectual PropertyIP and Life Sciences Partner and Co-Head of IP practice. Former Chair of Life Sciences at Kramer Levin and served on the management committee of IP boutique, Fitzpatrick Cella (now Venable LLP). Lead trial lawyer in high-stakes IP disputes, including Hatch-Waxman patent litigations. Recognized in: IAM Patent 1000’s The World’s Leading Patent Professionals. LL.M. from the University of Pennsylvania (Thouron Scholar).
Yan Yuan
Partner, CorporatePartner in cross-border corporate practice, focusing on M&A, private capital, joint ventures, investment and cross-border transactions. Previously a partner at Ashurst and counsel at Clifford Chance. Recognized by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific as a Next Generation Partner and Rising Star. J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Gregory Sephton
Partner and Co-Head, Intellectual PropertyIP and Life Sciences Partner and Co-Head of Sterlington’s IP practice. Extensive experience in high-stakes patent litigation for pharmaceutical and biotech innovators. Former partner at Kramer Levin and at Fitzpatrick Cella (now Venable LLP). J.D. from Suffolk University and Ph.D. in biochemistry from Brandeis University.
Yvette Teofan
Of Counsel, Investment ManagementInvestment management and M&A attorney with experience in fund formation and cross-border transactions. 22 years’ experience at Cleary Gottlieb, working in New York and Paris as a partner. JD from Yale (law review editor), and BA from Stanford.
Robert Kantowitz
Partner, TaxPartner and Head of Tax practice. Over 40 years of tax law expertise. Former MD at JP Morgan, Merrill/BofA, UBS, and SocGen, where he focused on deal structuring and new product development. JD from Harvard (executive editor of Harvard Law Review), tax LLM from NYU, and Master’s degree in Physics.
Ivy Dodes
Of Counsel, Investment ManagementCorporate and investment management lawyer. Former COO, GC, and MD of a PE division of Credit Suisse Asset Management. Former associate at what is now Norton Rose Fulbright.
Mary Messihi
Partner, Trusts & EstatesTrusts & estates lawyer. Ran a multi-billion-dollar single-family office serving more than 200 family members across six generations. LLM from NYU Law.
Cody Wamsley, CISSP
Partner, Cybersecurity, Data Privacy and Intellectual PropertyPartner in Sterlington’s Cybersecurity & Data Privacy and IP practices. Held senior in-house roles at Coinbase, Oracle, American Express, and 3M. Previously senior associate in Dorsey & Whitney’s Cybersecurity & Privacy practice. LL.M. in IP Law from George Washington. J.D. from University of Kansas.
Jamie Sklar
Of Counsel, CorporateCorporate attorney. 25 years’ experience managing complex transactions/corporate matters. Emphasis on PE, M&A, JVs, and fund formation matters. Former In-House at Credit Suisse Asset Management. Worked at White & Case and Sidley Austin. LL.B., B.C.L., and M.B.A. from McGill University.
Geoffrey Raicht
Senior CounselSenior Counsel in Sterlington’s Bankruptcy and Restructuring practice. Former partner at Sidley, McDermott, Proskauer, and Haynes and Boone. Recognized by The Legal 500 as a leading lawyer. Earned JD from CUNY Law School, and MPA and BA from NYU.
Stuart Daroca
Partner, CorporatePartner in Corporate practice. Former Associate GC at AIG, GC/Chief Legal Officer at B2B real estate firms, Senior Legal Counsel at Citigroup. Former associate at Skadden. JD from Georgetown University Law Center (senior editor of Law and Policy in Int’l Business Journal). BA from UC Berkeley.
Teresa “Teri” F. Santos
Partner, Employment Law and Head, General Counsel ServicesPartner and Head of General Counsel Services practice. Former GC and CCO of both NASDAQ-listed and private equity-owned companies. Former Reed Smith associate. JD from Georgetown.
Tina Lee Jebely
CounselCounsel in corporate practice, with a focus on capital markets. Previously at Latham & Watkins and White & Case.
John Ngo
Special CounselFormer attorney at Reed Smith, Greenberg Traurig, Kelley Drye and Dewey & LeBoeuf. Held senior in-house roles at the Amynta Group and Assurant. J.D. from Georgetown and BA from NYU.
Evan Coren
CounselCounsel focused on finance and corporate transactions and bankruptcy matters. Former clerk for U.S. Bankruptcy Court for District of CT, and associate at Stevens & Lee. JD from Duke University School of Law. BA in PoliSci from University of Chicago (Phi Beta Kappa Honors).
Dexter X. Heeter
AssociateAssociate in Finance practice, with a focus on asset trading and asset finance. Previously with Clifford Chance in its NY office. J.D. from Columbia Law School. B.A. magna cum laude in Political Science and History from Clark University (Phi Alpha Theta and Pi Sigma Alpha Honor Society member).
Jane Scott
Special CounselCorporate attorney focusing on commercial transactions, contracts, and a diverse range of legal disciplines. Former attorney at Unisys and a midsized law firm. MBA from Fox School of Business at Temple University. JD from the Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law.
Gianina Jean-Baptiste
Special CounselSenior attorney focused on corporate and transaction matters. Former in-house at a major privately held alternative investment fund in NY. BA from Harvard University. JD from Fordham Law School.
Octavio Barone
AssociateAssociate focusing on corporate matters. Fulbright Scholarship recipient. Earned LLM from NYU Law (Deans Graduate Award). LLB summa cum laude graduating 1st in class of 1500+ from National University of Cordoba School of Law.
Lauren Cotilletta
AssociateAssociate focusing on private funds and corporate matters. Previously at Schulte and Perkins Coie. JD from UChicago and BA (hons) from NYU.
Cole Davis
AssociateAssociate focusing on corporate transactions. Strong background in M&A, private equity, securities law, and intellectual property transactions. Previously at Baker Botts and Wilson Elser. JD from SMU Dedman School of Law, summa cum laude and salutatorian.
Kelvin Yang
AssociateAssociate focused on aviation law, and corporate and securities law matters. Previously an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell. JD from Stanford Law School; MA from Stanford University.
Jing Zhang
AssociateAssociate focused on corporate transactional work. Previously at Clifford Chance. LLM with honors from Stanford Law.
Armando Guio Espanol
AssociateAssociate focusing on data protection, technology and AI-assisted work. On secondment to UNESCO working on global ethics guidelines for generative AI efforts. Former fellow affiliate at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center. LLM with Honors from Harvard Law. MA from Oxford.
Camilo López Campagnoli
AssociateAssociate focusing on transactional and contract matters. Former senior associate at a mid-sized law firm. LLM in Economic Law and Global Governance Studies from Sciences Po in France. Law degree from Rosario University.
Francisco Cabrera
AssociateAssociate in Sterlington's litigation practice with a focus on complex litigation as well as a background in trademark and copyright law. Previously at Foley Hoag. JD (magna cum laude) from University of Puerto Rico and a MA (summa cum laude) from the University of Bristol.
Juan Diego Jiménez
AssociateAssociate in corporate practice. LLM from University of Pennsylvania. Wharton Business and Law Certificate. Worked at E&Y’s Corporate Practice, KPMG’s Legal Counsel Dept., and a mid-sized law firm.
Stefania Olmos
AssociateAssociate in Corporate practice. Previously led the International Affairs team at the Colombian Ministry of Interior. Former associate at Baker McKenzie. LLM from the University of Pennsylvania.
María Cristina Coffey
AssociateAssociate in Corporate practice. 13+ years of experience at mid-sized law firms. Master’s degree in business law from the University of San Andrés.
Facundo Palczikowski
AssociateAssociate with a focus on corporate and M&A matters. Former Assistant VP–Senior Counsel at JP Morgan Chase in U.S. Macro Markets and Sales team. LLM in Business Law from Penn State Law.
Barbara Silveira
AssociateAssociate focused on corporate and transactional matters. LLM from University of Miami.