Dennis A. Durkin

Simpson Thacher represented the initial purchasers, led by J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, in connection with a Rule 144A/Regulation S offering by Smyrna Ready Mix Concrete, LLC (“SRM”) of $1,100 million aggregate principal amount of 8.875% Senior Secured Notes due 2031.~~Simpson Thacher also represented JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent, and the lenders in connection with the repricing of SRM’s Term Loan B.~~SRM is one of the largest privately held ready-mix concrete providers in the country. Founded in 1999, it is a family-owned and operated company providing ready-mix concrete, aggregates and concrete-related products and services, such as material hauling and concrete pumping.~~The Simpson Thacher team for the transaction included John C. Ericson, Matt Hart, Sydney Mark, Jack Ligon and Mark Marzziotti (Capital Markets); Dan Kay, Dennis Durkin and Abdulyekinni Fasinro (Credit); Jonathan Pall (Collateral); Tim Gallagher (Real Estate); Jon Cantor (Tax); Pasco Struhs and Josh Goldman (Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits); Bobbie Burrows, Mark Natividad and Courtney Welshimer (Intellectual Property); and Jennie Getsin (Blue Sky).~~

Nov 21

1 min

A Michigan federal judge Wednesday selected a group of pension funds to serve as a lead plaintiff for Neogen investors alleging the company hid postmerger financial difficulties following a combination with a division of manufacturing giant 3M. U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou said in an order the seven pension funds appointed as lead plaintiff collectively have a larger financial stake in the litigation than the other lead plaintiff candidate, the IAM National Pension Fund. She also named Saxena White PA and Grant & Eisenhofer PA lead counsel for the plaintiffs at the pension funds' request. Together, the seven funds — Operating Engineers Construction Industry and Miscellaneous Pension Fund, City of Miami Fire Fighters' & Police Officers' Retirement Trust, Metropolitan Employee Benefit System, City of Orlando Firefighters' Pension Fund, City of Orlando Police Officers' Pension Fund, City of Orlando General Employees' Pension Fund and West Palm Beach Firefighters' Pension Fund — have asserted $3.7 million in losses, surpassing IAM's $1.7 million loss claim, according to the decision. IAM, which had also sought to be appointed lead plaintiff, said it experienced the largest individual investor loss and argued the seven funds could not aggregate their losses to win lead plaintiff status. The judge that found nothing in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act prevents a group of plaintiffs from combining their losses for the purposes of calculating which party has the greatest financial interest. Courts in the Sixth Circuit generally take a "case-by-case" approach to determine if the members of a proposed group of plaintiffs can effectively work together to lead the proposed class, she said. In this case, the seven pension funds provided "a joint declaration stating that they 'are dedicated to maximizing the class's recovery by ensuring this litigation is prosecuted in an efficient and cost-conscious manner and believe that [they] have put in place mechanisms to ensure effective decision-making and coordination and oversight of [their] chosen counsel,'" according to the order. Judge Jarbou said she was "satisfied" with the pension funds' declaration of "their intent and ability to work together and represent the interests of the class." IAM, represented by Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, had additionally contended that seven funds made up too large a group to serve as a lead plaintiff, citing a "general rule" that a lead plaintiff group should have no more than five members. The pension fund group had countered that the three Orlando, Florida, funds could be considered one entity, as they have the same executive director, are part of a unified investment strategy for the city's public investments and purchased the Neogen stock in a jointly held account. The court determined it ultimately did not matter if the Orlando pension funds were one entity or separate entities because the "no more than five" rule is only a guideline, and the judge was satisfied that the close ties between the Orlando funds meant the group would not be unwieldy. "Thus, the pension funds may amalgamate their losses, and they collectively have the largest financial interest of any potential lead plaintiff," Judge Jarbou wrote. The institutional investors sued Neogen and two of its executives in July, alleging the company hid financial difficulties it faced after merging with the food safety division of 3M Co. in 2022. Neogen led investors to believe the integration was progressing more smoothly than it was and that any hurdles were being resolved, according to the suit. Then, in January 2025, the company revealed, among other things, that its net income for the most recent financial quarter was negative because of a $461 million write-down related to the business combination. It also revealed it had identified weaknesses affecting internal financial controls, and lowered the firm's revenue projections for the coming fiscal year. From an August 2023 high of nearly $24 per share, Neogen's stock price dropped to just shy of $5 a share at the beginning of June 2025, a 79% drop that erased more than $4 billion of the company's market capitalization over the class period, the investors said. Representatives of the parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The lead plaintiffs are represented by Marco A. Dueñas, Maya Saxena and Lester R. Hooker of Saxena White PA, Karin E. Fisch and Vincent J. Pontrello of Grant & Eisenhofer PA, Robert D. Klausner of Klausner Kaufman Jensen & Levinson, and E. Powell Miller, Marc L. Newman and Dennis A. Lienhardt Jr. of The Miller Law Firm PC. IAM is represented by Jason A. Forge, Danielle S. Myers, Michael Albert and Kenneth P. Dolitsky of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP. Neogen is represented by John A. Neuwirth, Stefania Di Trolio Venezia and Tanner S. Stanley of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP and D. Andrew Portinga of Miller Johnson Snell & Cummiskey PLC. The case is Operating Engineers Construction Industry and Miscellaneous Pension Fund v. Neogen Corp. et al., case number 1:25-cv-00802, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

Dec 3

4 min

A Michigan federal judge Wednesday selected a group of pension funds to serve as a lead plaintiff for Neogen investors alleging the company hid postmerger financial difficulties following a combination with a division of manufacturing giant 3M. U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou said in an order the seven pension funds appointed as lead plaintiff collectively have a larger financial stake in the litigation than the other lead plaintiff candidate, the IAM National Pension Fund. She also named Saxena White PA and Grant & Eisenhofer PA lead counsel for the plaintiffs at the pension funds' request. Together, the seven funds — Operating Engineers Construction Industry and Miscellaneous Pension Fund, City of Miami Fire Fighters' & Police Officers' Retirement Trust, Metropolitan Employee Benefit System, City of Orlando Firefighters' Pension Fund, City of Orlando Police Officers' Pension Fund, City of Orlando General Employees' Pension Fund and West Palm Beach Firefighters' Pension Fund — have asserted $3.7 million in losses, surpassing IAM's $1.7 million loss claim, according to the decision. IAM, which had also sought to be appointed lead plaintiff, said it experienced the largest individual investor loss and argued the seven funds could not aggregate their losses to win lead plaintiff status. The judge that found nothing in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act prevents a group of plaintiffs from combining their losses for the purposes of calculating which party has the greatest financial interest. Courts in the Sixth Circuit generally take a "case-by-case" approach to determine if the members of a proposed group of plaintiffs can effectively work together to lead the proposed class, she said. In this case, the seven pension funds provided "a joint declaration stating that they 'are dedicated to maximizing the class's recovery by ensuring this litigation is prosecuted in an efficient and cost-conscious manner and believe that [they] have put in place mechanisms to ensure effective decision-making and coordination and oversight of [their] chosen counsel,'" according to the order. Judge Jarbou said she was "satisfied" with the pension funds' declaration of "their intent and ability to work together and represent the interests of the class." IAM, represented by Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP, had additionally contended that seven funds made up too large a group to serve as a lead plaintiff, citing a "general rule" that a lead plaintiff group should have no more than five members. The pension fund group had countered that the three Orlando, Florida, funds could be considered one entity, as they have the same executive director, are part of a unified investment strategy for the city's public investments and purchased the Neogen stock in a jointly held account. The court determined it ultimately did not matter if the Orlando pension funds were one entity or separate entities because the "no more than five" rule is only a guideline, and the judge was satisfied that the close ties between the Orlando funds meant the group would not be unwieldy. "Thus, the pension funds may amalgamate their losses, and they collectively have the largest financial interest of any potential lead plaintiff," Judge Jarbou wrote. The institutional investors sued Neogen and two of its executives in July, alleging the company hid financial difficulties it faced after merging with the food safety division of 3M Co. in 2022. Neogen led investors to believe the integration was progressing more smoothly than it was and that any hurdles were being resolved, according to the suit. Then, in January 2025, the company revealed, among other things, that its net income for the most recent financial quarter was negative because of a $461 million write-down related to the business combination. It also revealed it had identified weaknesses affecting internal financial controls, and lowered the firm's revenue projections for the coming fiscal year. From an August 2023 high of nearly $24 per share, Neogen's stock price dropped to just shy of $5 a share at the beginning of June 2025, a 79% drop that erased more than $4 billion of the company's market capitalization over the class period, the investors said. Representatives of the parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The lead plaintiffs are represented by Marco A. Dueñas, Maya Saxena and Lester R. Hooker of Saxena White PA, Karin E. Fisch and Vincent J. Pontrello of Grant & Eisenhofer PA, Robert D. Klausner of Klausner Kaufman Jensen & Levinson, and E. Powell Miller, Marc L. Newman and Dennis A. Lienhardt Jr. of The Miller Law Firm PC. IAM is represented by Jason A. Forge, Danielle S. Myers, Michael Albert and Kenneth P. Dolitsky of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP. Neogen is represented by John A. Neuwirth, Stefania Di Trolio Venezia and Tanner S. Stanley of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP and D. Andrew Portinga of Miller Johnson Snell & Cummiskey PLC. The case is Operating Engineers Construction Industry and Miscellaneous Pension Fund v. Neogen Corp. et al., case number 1:25-cv-00802, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

Dec 3

4 min

Michal Netenyah • Clifford Chance has added private equity partner Michal Netanyahu to the firm's global private capital group. She joins from Freshfields. • King & Spalding has brought on Mae Rogers as a partner in its finance and restructuring practice group as a partner. She joins from Mayer Brown, where she was also a partner. • Latham & Watkins has added Matthew Eisler and Russell Hedman as partners in the firm’s M&A and private equity practice, and entertainment, sports & media practice. They both join from Hogan Lovells. • Morrison Cohen has added Joshua Garcia as a partner in the firm’s digital assets practice in New York. He was previously with the boutique firm Ketsal, which he founded. In addition, the firm has promoted Amber Will and Timur Eron to partners. Both previously served as counsel. • Barnes & Thornburg has brought on Neil Begley as partner in the firm’s corporate department. He was formerly with McDermott Will & Schulte. • Sahar Ayinehsazian has joined A.Y. Strauss as a partner in its corporate and cannabis practice groups. • Gregory Kalnitsky has been appointed corporation counsel of the City of Long Beach, NY. He was formerly a partner at Forchelli Deegan Terrana. • Tarter Krinsky & Drogin has added Terence (Terry) K. McLaughlin as a partner in its litigation group. He was formerly a partner at Willkie Farr and Morrison Cohen. • Mark Lebovitch has returned to Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann as special governance counsel to co-head the firm’s department of governance practice. He was formerly a partner with the firm before retiring and becoming an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Steven Lutt • Rosenberg & Estis has added Steven Lutt as a member in the firm’s transactions group and to lead the its hospitality group. He joins from White & Case. • Pryor Cashman has brought on Jason Sloan as a partner in its music, intellectual property, and media + entertainment practices. He previously served as assistant general counsel for the United States Copyright Office. In addition, the firm has promoted Wendy LaManque, Matthew Marcus, Dustin Nofziger, and Eric Wisotsky to partners and Vanessa Avello, Christine Dimitriou, Evan Hey, Arsala Kidwai, Itai Raz, Nicholas Saady, Linda Sabatello, and Aaron Wiltse to counsel. • Blank Rome has appointed Mitch Brand as co-chair of its New York office. He will joins Lois Liberman in leading the office. The firm has also hired David Kaufman as senior counsel. He was formerly with Morrison & Foerster. In addition, James Sanderson has been added as an associate. He was previously with Duane Morris. • Haynes Boone has added partners Jeffrey Moerdler and Stephen Friedberg to the firm’s real estate practice group. They both join from Mintz Levin. Joseph Spina • Cullen and Dykman partner Joseph Spina has been tapped to lead the firm’s newly-formed entrepreneurship through acquisition and SMB transactions practice. • Patrick Lespinasse has joined Cozen O’Connor as principal. Most recently, he was regional head of policy and government affairs for Starbucks Coffee Company. • Shireen Barday, a partner at the boutique firm Pallas Partners, has been appointed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to a seat on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Pallas Partners has also promoted Alessia de Quincey and Anastasia Cembrovska to partners, and Andrew Breland, John McAdams, and Brianna Simopoulos to counsel. • Eversheds Sutherland has hired Rachel Schneidman as counsel in the firm’s real estate practice group. • Harris Beach Murtha has added James Mann as special counsel. • Moses Singer has hired Michael Fruchter as a partner in its corporate trust and loan agency practice. He joins from Holland & Knight, where he served as senior counsel. • McGuireWoods has hired Kayci Hines as counsel to its restructuring & insolvency practice group. She joins after serving as senior bankruptcy counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice. • Sara Margolis has joined Latham as a partner. She was formerly with MoloLamken. • Robinson+Cole has elected Zhuoyao (Joy) Hui, and Austin G. Provost as partners. In addition, Kiernan Ignacio and Judy Lu have been promoted to counsel. • Lewis Kuper has joined Tarter Krinsky & Drogin as chair of its cooperatives & condominiums practice and as a partner in the real estate practice. He joins from Abrams Fensterman. Richard Brown • Anderson Kill has added Richard Brown as a shareholder. He joins from Saxe Doernberger & Vita. The firm has also promoted Grant Brown to shareholder. • Boutique firm Kleinberg Kaplan has promoted Alexander Shiekman to partner. • Moses Singer has promoted Daniel Hoffman and Robert McFarlane to partner. • K&L Gates has elevated Christopher Bozydaj and Jarel Rosser to partners. • Joshua Lewin has been elected partner with Frankfurt Kurnit Klein + Selz. • Wilson Elser has promoted the following attorneys to partners in New York: Christin Brown, Roberto Caruso, Rachel Davis, Joanna DeLauro, Christopher Post, Yana SIegel, Saige Subick, Patricia Wik, Jessica Woodhouse, Siobhainin Funchion, Nicole Holland, William Sciales, and Eliza Schneibel. • Grunfeld Desiderio Lebowitz Silverman and Klestadt (GDLSK) has promoted Kristina Barry to partner. Josh Bauchner • Joshua Bauchner, partner and chair of Mandelbaum Barrett’s cannabis, hemp & psychedelics practice group, has been named chair of the Cannabis Chamber of Commerce, Northeast Region. • Ballard Spahr has elected Lauren Engelmyer, Peter Lam, and Rebecca Leaf to its partnership. • Cassandra Vogel and Jonathan Ohring have been promoted to partners at Yankwitt. • Alston & Bird has elected Gregg Fish, Sharon Steinerman and Lance Taubin to its partnership in New York. • Braverman Greenspun has promoted William Geller and Peter Salzler to partners. • Fried Frank has elevated the following attorneys to partner: Dana Goldstein, Becky Kumar, Andrew Minear, Hannah Reiner, Abraham Rudy and Jonathan Weiss. In addition, the following were elected special counsel: Denis Fatovic, Jackie Ferreira, Corey Fersel, Thomas Gallagher, Othon Flores Juarez, Jason Kantermank, Ellen Lehman, Katie Warren, Jaclyn Waters, Danielle Wheeler, Nick Williams and Josh Xiong. • Holwell Shuster & Goldberg has promoted Jack Millman to partner. Dan Connolly • Bracewell has elected NY-based managing partner Daniel Connolly to serve a three-year term on the firm’s management committee. The firm has also promoted Margaret Beasley and Rebecca Foxwell to partners. • Jones Day has promoted Andrew Butler, Tito Escobar, Julia V.S. Feldman and William Sinchuk to partners. • Norton Rose Fulbright has promoted Ryan Apar, Susana Medeiros, and Gabrielle Jacques to partners. In addition, the firm has hired Bhavna Agnihotri as senior counsel. Most recently, she served as executive deputy superintendent of insurance at the New York State Department of Financial Services. • Brian Haran has been promoted to partner at Cona Elder Law. Derrelle Janey • Olshan Frome Wolosky has added Derrelle Janey as a partner in its litigation and white collar & government investigations practices. Prior to joining, he was the founder and managing partner of the Janey Law Firm. Olshan has also promoted Ian Engoron and Richard Quatrano to counsel. • Venable has elevated the following attorneys to partners: Yeon Jae Ko, Katie Milea, Allison Gotfried and Emily Seiderman West. The following have been promoted to counsel: Nicholas Marcello, Teresa Biviano and Benjamin Paull. • Cole Schotz has promoted Matthew Barish as a member of the firm. • Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has elevated the following attorneys to partners in New York: Gabriela Astolphi, Demetrius Baefsky, Patrick Marc Baron, Nicholas Brown, Kelsey Byeff, Daniela Chediak, Catherine Ciriello, Claire M. DiMario, Moshe Fink, Laura Gallo, Edward Grais, Kirsten Harmon, Jasmine Hay, Nathalie A. Herrand, Chaim (Carter) Kagedan, Kelly Karapetyan, Catherine Kidd, Albi Kocibelli, Malik Ladhani, William LeBas, Jieun Lim, Sonia Lopez, May Mansour, Brian Mendick, Lisa Morales, Amanda Ng, Ignacio Perez, Matthew Petrone, Mia Pisk, Nicole Rubin Sanci, Christopher Scavone, Alysha J. Sekhon, Ryan Stott, Gary Tashjian, Nathan Utterback and Sam Zhu. In addition, the firm has promoted Brandon Adoni and Bettina Elstroth to senior counsel, and Stephanie Chaung, Amy Dawson, Dennis Durkin, Melissa Glazer Ron Havas, Robert Hayes, Elliott Kieffer, Daniel Owsley and Kam Siu to counsel. • Marshall Dennehey has promoted former special counsel Sanford Jacobs to shareholder and former associates Ian Glick and Noriel Sta. Maria to special counsel. • Jenner & Block has elevated Ben Alter, Allison Douglis, and Cayman Mitchell to partners. • Ogletree Deakins has promoted Shirin Aboujawde and Sarah Zucco to partners. • Cahill Gordon & Reindel has promoted Jonathan Galea, Mark Gelman, James Mandolfo, Biagio Marino, and Jordan Wishnew to its partnership. Eric Scher and Lynn Schmidt have been promoted to counsel at the firm. • Asher Belsky has been promoted to partner with Adler & Stachenfeld. • Mintz has promoted Kerime Akoglu, Amanda Asaro, Bridgette Keller, Joshua Rudin and Maarten Tuurenhout to its partnership. • Seward & Kissel has promoted Theodore Kaminski to partner in the firm’s investment management group. The firm has also promoted Catherine LoTempio and Anna Weigand to counsel. • Marni Weiner Arlia, Alessandra Ash, Michael Discenza, and Jeffery Sheng have been elected partners at Harris Beach Murtha. • Herrick has elevated Gita Gandhi, Maxim M.L. Nowak, Elizabeth Plowman and Joshua Stricoff to partners. • Philip Nash, Eric Santos, and Elizabeth Sy have been elected partners at Rivkin Radler. • BakerHostetler has selected Jorian Rose as the managing partner of the New York office, succeeding George Stamboulidis, who was one of the founders of the New York office when it opened in 2001. He will continue to co-lead the firm’s white collar, investigations and securities enforcement and litigation team. The firm has also promoted J’Naia Boyd, Justin Guilfoyle and Kyle Morse to partners. • Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer has elected William Cavanagh, Darina  Delappe, Nicole Fenton, John Lagrou and Megan Wasson to the firm’s partnership in New York. • Goldberg Segalla has elevated the following attorneys to partners: Alexander Blood, Allison Cullens, Andrew Fluger, Mindy Hsu, Morgan Kitton, Charles Lazo, Abraham D. Leybengrub, Ryan Mahoney, Selma Moy, Zachary Oliva, Min Yu and Jeffrey Zech. In addition, the firm has promoted Matthew Feinberg and Kerry Jones as special counsel, and has added Christina O’Dea as an associate. • Preeya Varma has been promoted to partner at MG+M The Law Firm. Price Ciolino • H. Price Ciolino has joined Norris McLaughlin as a litigation associate. • Eversheds Sutherland, has elected Kym Kochis to the firm’s US executive committee. She will step down from her role as US co-head of litigation after serving in that role for five years.

Jan 14

8 min

Simpson Thacher is representing Oakbridge Insurance Agency LLC (“Oakbridge”), a leading independent insurance and risk management agency, in connection with the announced partnership of Audax Private Equity alongside management to invest in Oakbridge. Oakbridge was formed in December 2020 by Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Robbie Smith and Corsair Capital (“Corsair”). The transaction includes the sale by Corsair of its investment in Oakbridge. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.~~Oakbridge is a scaled insurance brokerage firm focused on commercial P&C, employee benefits, surety, personal P&C, and risk management services. Led by an experienced management team, the Company has developed an integrated “One Oakbridge” operating model driven by partnership with employees and a culture committed to client service. Oakbridge has exhibited strong growth over the past several years, driven by consistent organic growth and the completion of 25 acquisitions since inception.~~The Simpson Thacher team includes Johanna Mayer, Izaak Lustgarten and Cathleen Ye (M&A); Larry Moss, Meredith Brenton and Guanxiong Xu (Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits); Jonathan Goldstein, Andrew Mandelbaum and Matthew Lester (Tax); Lori Lesser and Kate Mirino (Intellectual Property); Steven DeLott (Insurance); Krista McManus (Real Estate); Brian Gluck and Dennis Durkin (Credit); and Erica Rozow and George Gerstein (ERISA).

Sep 26

1 min