Hui Lin of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP's capital markets practice helped private equity firm Silver Lake complete its $13 billion deal to take sports and entertainment company Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. private, and represented Mars Inc. in its $26 billion senior notes offering, earning her a spot as one of 2025 Law360 Capital Markets MVPs.

Hui Lin Simpson Thacher Her biggest accomplishment: Lin led the $800 million in preferred equity financing for Silver Lake's $13 billion deal taking Endeavor Group private, which closed in March.

She said the deal was particularly complex, with multiple stakeholders with different priorities.

"It was really important to be able to think commercially, offer pragmatic advice and also balance out the various objectives of the different parties," Lin said. "There was a lot of creative problem-solving and collaboration across practice areas, and frankly across offices as well."

Lin also represented snack food and candy giant Mars in its $26 billion senior notes offering in March, the proceeds of which will be used to fund its $36 billion purchase of Kellanova, the maker of Cheez-It and Pringles.

In February and May, Lin advised Waystar on two secondary offerings after the healthcare payments company went public in June 2024. The follow-on offerings raised $920 million and $557 million.

Lin has also led financing and capital markets aspects of several mergers and acquisitions, including Paramount's combination with Skydance Media, Silver Lake's majority investment in semiconductor business Altera in partnership with Intel, and private equity firm Sixth Street's $5.1 billion take-private of insurance company Enstar Group.

Her biggest challenge: Lin's biggest challenge was handling such a wide variety of transactions that she was advising on, ranging from M&As to initial public offerings to financing to private capital investments.

It was "definitely challenging balancing these different transactions and switching gears from deal to deal," she said.

Lin said she doesn't believe in a one-size-fits-all approach, and instead she aims to thoroughly understand the goals of each client.

"Just given the different deal profiles, deal dynamics, client profiles, client priorities that really varied greatly, I think when I looked at each deal, I just I needed to recalibrate," she said.

Why she's a capital markets attorney: Lin, who was named a Law360 Rising Star in 2019, prides herself in understanding the details of a business she's advising and said capital markets law is almost like getting an education in business management.

"I learn more than I ever would have expected about any given industry that the client is in and specifically how they operate, what drives their success, what their future goals are, how they're going to get there, what challenges they face," she said.

This includes the ins and outs of the pet food business after advising pet food company Blue Buffalo in connection with its IPO, secondary offering and later its acquisition by General Mills.

"I learned so much about pet food," Lin said.

That process also helps her develop deep relationships with her client's management.

"When you have that personal connection, it's very meaningful when you're able to actually help them achieve their goals and position their companies for long term growth," Lin said.

What motivates her: The variety of clients and transactions are part of what keeps Lin motivated.

"Every transaction has its own different complexities, whether it's structural issues or something else. And because of that, I still feel like I learn something new every day after 18 years of doing this," she said. "I find it to be intellectually stimulating. It's never boring."

Lin said Simpson Thacher likes being on the cutting-edge of legal developments, and while that can be more challenging, Lin said she finds it much more rewarding.

Her advice for young attorneys: Lin encouraged junior attorneys to "stay intellectually curious and adaptable."

The learning curve in her first few years was steep, she said, but the industry is always changing.

"It's not uncommon for things to feel new or unfamiliar," Lin said. "I think the best way to learn is just to dive right in and take ownership, even on smaller tasks and work streams because that builds confidence."