Matthew Goulding

Thirty-four Freshfields partners have been selected to Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Dealmakers in America guide for 2026. The guide recognizes the M&A, corporate, securities, finance, private equity, tax, corporate governance and ESG leaders and other transactional lawyers handling the biggest deals. The partners recognized are: Andrea Merediz Basham – Corporate/M&A Elizabeth K. Bieber – Shareholder Engagement and Activism Defense Oliver J. Board – Corporate/M&A Ian N. Bushner – Private Capital Calise Cheng – Capital Markets Timothy J. Clark – Private Funds & Secondaries Chris DeCresce – Capital Markets Sebastian L. Fain – Corporate/M&A John A. Fisher – Corporate/M&A Erik Gerding – Capital Markets Adam H. Golden – M&A (Life Sciences) Matthew Goulding – Private Capital Alison M. Hashmall – Financial Services Regulatory Jenny Hochenberg – Corporate/M&A Paul Humphreys – Corporate/M&A Vinita Kailasanath – M&A (Life Sciences) Menachem Kaplan – IP and Tech Transactions Ethan Klingsberg – Corporate/M&A Denny Kwon – Corporate/M&A Kyle Lakin – Finance Michael Levitt – Capital Markets Allison Liff – Leveraged Finance Aly Love – Corporate/M&A Pamela L. Marcogliese – Capital Markets and Corporate Governance Jerome Ranawake – Finance Brian Rance – Finance Neal J. Reenan – Private Capital Damian Ridealgh – Private Credit and Capital Solutions Kristen Olvera Riemenschneider – M&A (Life Sciences) David Sewell – Financial Services Regulatory Sarah K. Solum – Capital Markets Phillip Stoup – Capital Markets Zheng 'Jonathan' Zhou – Corporate/M& Damien Zoubek – Corporate/M&A

Oct 20

1 min

Freshfields today announced that it is opening an office in Boston as it enters the next phase of its U.S. expansion. Boston-based Private Capital M&A partner Matthew Goulding has joined the firm as managing partner of our new office and will lead the Boston build out. Matt brings more than two decades of experience across the full spectrum of private equity transactions and general corporate matters. He advises financial sponsors and strategics on leverage buy outs, M&A, carve-outs, take-privates, joint ventures, shareholder arrangements, equity investments and syndication transactions. Senior partner Georgia Dawson commented: “As a leading global law firm, we are laser focused on serving our clients on their most pressing corporate, regulatory and litigation matters. Greater Boston has become a global hub for some of the most sophisticated and fastest growing companies in the world and it’s a highly strategic market for many of our clients, particularly private capital, life sciences and emerging companies. Our focus on these growth industries in the U.S. and globally makes Boston a very natural fit for us. We also expect Boston to play an important role in our U.S. recruitment strategy given its proximity to some of the best colleges and universities in the world and the city’s deep and attractive talent market for attorneys and business services colleagues. Matt has an extensive network in the Boston market and shares our strong sense of client service, the importance of culture and vision for the future – he is the perfect partner to lead our Boston office build.” Matt added: “I’ve spent over 20 years in Boston’s legal market and know it’s full of highly skilled and experienced practitioners, with deep roots across private capital, life sciences and emerging companies. To launch a Boston office while leveraging Freshfields’ global platform and rich history is an exciting opportunity. The firm’s client-focused mindset paired with its collegial culture and strength in cross-border teamwork has made it an elite standout among global law firms. I’m thrilled to join the team as we take this next step in our U.S. expansion.” Neal J. Reenan, Global Co-Head of Freshfields’ Private Capital group said: “Matt is an extremely skilled private equity lawyer capable of handling any kind of private equity transaction, including growth and structured equity investments, middle market leveraged buyouts and divestitures, and multi-billion-dollar global carveouts. His experience serving large global and U.S. middle-market private equity sponsors aligns with core pillars of Freshfields’ global private capital strategy, and Matt’s deep experience, strong client following, sterling reputation and leadership skills make him the perfect leader of this next facet of our private capital practice growth.” Boston will be Freshfields’ fourth U.S. office, joining New York, Washington DC, and Silicon Valley/San Francisco. Freshfields is the only firm with Band 1 rankings from Chambers Global 2025 in the following worldwide transactional, regulatory and risk practices: Private Equity, M&A, Antitrust, Dispute Resolution, International Arbitration, Tax and Public International Law. The firm is regularly recognized across league tables where we excel in cross-border, U.S., Europe, Asia, MENA and private equity markets. Freshfields’ work across the private capital, life sciences and technology industries has received numerous awards around the world including Law360’s Life Sciences Group of the Year, LMG Life Sciences’ Impact Deal of the Year and Financial Times’ recognition as “Innovative Lawyers in Technology.”

Feb 24

2 min

Twenty-two Freshfields partners have been selected to Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America guide for 2026. Since 2005, this flagship guide has recognized seasoned lawyers for their exceptional skill in practice and their exhibition of strong leadership on cases, deals and other significant contributions throughout the most important legal matters of the previous year. This is the largest number of Freshfields partners ever featured in this guide. The partners recognized are: Andrea Merediz Basham, M&A, New York Eric B. Bruce, White Collar Investigations, Washington DC Ian N. Bushner, Private Capital, New York Timothy J. Clark, Private Funds & Secondaries, New York Mary Eaton, Securities & Shareholder Litigation, New York John Fisher, M&A, Silicon Valley Elliot Friedman, International Arbitration, New York Matthew Goulding, Private Capital, Boston Jenny Hochenberg, M&A, New York Paul Humphreys, M&A, New York Gayle Klein, Commercial Litigation, New York Ethan Klingsberg, M&A, New York Meredith Kotler, Securities & Shareholder Litigation, New York Allison Liff, Leveraged Finance, New York Eric Mahr, Antitrust Litigation, Washington DC Noiana Marigo , International Arbitration, New York Jennifer Mellott, Antitrust, Washington DC Sanjay Murti, M&A, New York Melissa Raciti-Knapp, Project Finance, New York Neal J. Reenan, Private Capital, New York Sarah K. Solum, Capital Markets, Silicon Valley Damien Zoubek, M&A, New York

Jan 9

1 min

Twenty-two Freshfields partners have been selected to Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America guide for 2026. Since 2005, this flagship guide has recognized seasoned lawyers for their exceptional skill in practice and their exhibition of strong leadership on cases, deals and other significant contributions throughout the most important legal matters of the previous year. This is the largest number of Freshfields partners ever featured in this guide. The partners recognized are: Andrea Merediz Basham, M&A, New York Eric B. Bruce, White Collar Investigations, Washington DC Ian N. Bushner, Private Capital, New York Timothy J. Clark, Private Funds & Secondaries, New York Mary Eaton, Securities & Shareholder Litigation, New York John Fisher, M&A, Silicon Valley Elliot Friedman, International Arbitration, New York Matthew Goulding, Private Capital, Boston Jenny Hochenberg, M&A, New York Paul Humphreys, M&A, New York Gayle Klein, Commercial Litigation, New York Ethan Klingsberg, M&A, New York Meredith Kotler, Securities & Shareholder Litigation, New York Allison Liff, Leveraged Finance, New York Eric Mahr, Antitrust Litigation, Washington DC Noiana Marigo , International Arbitration, New York Jennifer Mellott, Antitrust, Washington DC Sanjay Murti, M&A, New York Melissa Raciti-Knapp, Project Finance, New York Neal J. Reenan, Private Capital, New York Sarah K. Solum, Capital Markets, Silicon Valley Damien Zoubek, M&A, New York

Jan 9

1 min