McDonald Hopkins announces remodeling of national Private Equity Practice Area and new Executive Webinar Series

CLEVELAND (March 7, 2022) — McDonald Hopkins LLC is excited to announce the remodeling of its national Private Equity Practice Area under the direction of Members Christal Contini, Marc Carmel, Jason Klein, and Ben Panter, adding a new focus on education with the launch of an Executive Webinar Series on March 22 and a full-day conference to be held in October 2022.

Contini was recently elevated from co-chair to sole chairperson of McDonald Hopkins’ full-service Mergers and Acquisition team, becoming one of the few female attorneys in the country to lead such a practice. According to the National Law Journal’s 2021 NLJ500 list, fewer than 8 percent of similar practice groups of the 500 largest law firms in the United States have a woman in a solo leadership role.

In addition to being a member of McDonald Hopkins’ Business Restructuring team, Carmel is the co-chair of the firm’s Litigation Finance Group. Jason Klein is a member of the firm’s Mergers and Acquisition practice. Ben Panter is a member of the Business Department and chair of the firm’s Executive Compensation and Governance Practice Group.

“We have put together a series of webinars that are going to address practical issues about which we are counseling our private equity clients,” said Contini. “We are rolling out a collection of hour-long sessions and planning an annual conference that will all be filled with valuable business and legal advice from lawyers, investment bankers, and business advisors.”

The Private Equity Executive Webinar Series will begin on March 22 from 2-3 p.m. The first session, entitled “Acquiring and Protecting Critical Information Assets in M&A Deals,” will feature Contini and fellow McDonald Hopkins members Todd Benni, Christine Czuprynski and Emily Johnson as panelists. Future webinars will examine a variety of issues facing private equity firms, including: specialty insurance products to help close transactions when a target is exposed to significant litigation risks; dealing with distressed targets, counterparties, and portfolio companies; and getting the attention of sellers and their investment bankers. To register for the first session on March 22, visit mcdonaldhopkins.com/events.

According to Carmel, “McDonald Hopkins’ leadership has provided an extraordinary amount of support for our efforts, which is consistent with its commitment to fostering an entrepreneurial spirit among attorneys.”

McDonald Hopkins’ national Private Equity Practice Area brings together an integrated, multi-disciplinary team of sophisticated attorneys who know how to close transactions. With experience in M&A, finance, tax structuring, executive compensation, labor and employment, intellectual property, real estate, environmental, restructuring, and litigation, the private equity team collaborates with professionals across the firm to provide private equity, private debt, and independent sponsor clients a full range of services.

The transactions on which McDonald Hopkins’ attorneys work are mostly in the middle market—with values between $5 million and $350 million—across all industries and throughout the United States.

“One of the characteristics that differentiates McDonald Hopkins is its ability and interest in assisting clients throughout the life of their investments and not just big transactions,” said Contini. “Attorneys in our corporate department and specialists throughout the law firm are uniquely positioned to act as outside counsel to portfolio companies after we represent firms in their M&A transactions. Typically, law firms can handle transactions or day-to-day work, but not both. Because of McDonald Hopkins’ experience and structure, we are able to provide business friendly advice to close acquisitions, work with funds and portfolio companies to add value and address daily legal issues, and then to advise on the exit.”

Related Services

Jump to Page

McDonald Hopkins uses cookies on our website to enhance user experience and analyze website traffic. Third parties may also use cookies in connection with our website for social media, advertising and analytics and other purposes. By continuing to browse our website, you agree to our use of cookies as detailed in our updated Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use.