Alex Weingarten, Managing Partner of Willkie’s Los Angeles office, has been recognized as a “2026 Legal Visionary” by LA Times Studios.
Alex was again named among the lawyers in the Los Angeles market recognized for their leadership and accomplishments as well as “an unwavering commitment to their clients, their craft and the communities they serve.” He was profiled in Business, LA Times Studios’ magazine, as one of the entertainment industry’s top litigators and trial attorneys and as a leader in the broader business community. This is the fourth year in a row that Alex has been named a “Legal Visionary.”
Willkie has welcomed leading finance and restructuring lawyers Greg Gartland and April Doxey as partners in the Chicago office. They are members of the Firm’s Finance Department.
For nearly 25 years, Greg has advised clients across numerous industries in finance and insolvency related matters. He focuses on lending transactions, out-of-court workouts and recapitalizations, in-court restructurings, remedies exercises and distressed mergers and acquisitions. Greg regularly steers private credit lenders, lenders, borrowers, agents and other stakeholders through distressed transactions and special situations, such as change of control restructurings, proxy exercises, foreclosures and Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases.
A nationally recognized leader in private credit, April serves as lead counsel for private credit funds, special situation and opportunistic funds and other investment advisors, leading financial institutions and borrowers across the full spectrum of credit transactions — including leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, rescues, exits, out-of-court restructurings and broadly syndicated financings. Her practices span both performing credit and the finance dimensions of in-court and out-of-court workouts and restructurings.
We are pleased to welcome Nikita Kumar as a partner in the Restructuring Department, based in Willkie's London office. Nikita counsels clients on domestic and cross-border stressed and distressed situations, including debt restructurings and liability management exercises. She has represented a variety of stakeholders, including creditors, debtors, sponsors and insolvency practitioners, on various restructuring matters. Nikita also has significant experience advising funds on private credit restructurings in recent years.
Willkie has been recognized in the 2027 Vault Law 100. In addition to the overall prestige ranking, Vault also recognized Willkie for “Best Law Firm by Region” in Chicago, New York, Texas and Washington, DC; and “Best Firm by Practice Area” for M&A, Private Equity and General Corporate Practice.
This year, partner Matthew Haddad is featured in a Q&A about the firm’s Private Equity Practice. Matthew discussed the types of clients he represents, why he chose to focus on transactional work, and his advice for junior associates, among other topics.
Hon. Shelley C. Chapman (Ret.), senior counsel in Willkie's Restructuring Department and Chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution practice, appeared on “Women in Restructuring,” a podcast collaboration between Debtwire and the American Bankruptcy Institute. In the episode, Judge Chapman discussed her trailblazing career, her time on the bench and return to Willkie, and the impact of mediation in restructuring, among other topics.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Willkie reception in connection with the Privacy + Security Forum: Spring Academy 2026 in Washington DC. As part of the forum, Daniel Alvarez, Co-Chair of Willkie’s Privacy, Cybersecurity & Data Strategy Practice Group, spoke on the panel “Sound and Fury? What Can State Privacy Enforcement Teach Us About the Future of State AI Enforcement?” Laura Jehl, Co-Chair of Willkie’s Privacy, Cybersecurity & Data Strategy Practice Group, spoke on the panel “Age Verification Laws – Valuable Safeguards or Privacy Threats?” Daniel and Laura are pictured here alongside guests at the Willkie reception.
Willkie partners Daniel K. Alvarez, Debra Bogo-Ernst and Laura E. Jehl have been named to the 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Cyber Lawyers, an annual list of the top attorneys across cyber law, including cybersecurity, data privacy, incident response and digital rights.
A Willkie team led by partner Glenn Vanzura was recognized with a “Shout Out” by The AmLaw Litigation Daily for its victory on behalf of Generac Holdings, its CEO and its CFO, in a securities class action dismissal against the energy product company in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Alex Weingarten, Managing Partner of Willkie’s Los Angeles office, has been named to the Los Angeles Business Journal's “LA500 2026,” an annual series recognizing the most influential business leaders in Los Angeles.
LABJ again recognized Alex as one of the region’s top litigators and trial attorneys – this is the eighth year in a row he has been honored – and highlighted his success in launching Willkie’s Los Angeles office in 2021 and growing into a market leader, with approximately 115 attorneys.
Willkie partner Douglas Emhoff will be honored by the Inner City Law Center (ICLC) for his leadership and unwavering commitment to public service and legal advocacy.
On May 20, Doug will receive the Humanitarian Award and deliver the keynote address at the ICLC’s 26th Annual Awards Luncheon. The event includes the presentation of two prestigious awards—the Humanitarian Award and the Katharine Krause Award—to individuals working to bring justice to people experiencing homelessness.
Willkie has been shortlisted for "International Law Firm of the Year" and "Private Equity Team of the Year" at the 2026 Legal Business Awards.
The shortlists highlight Willkie’s leadership in the market, the success of its international platform and its achievements as one of the top firms for the private equity industry.
The winners will be recognized at an awards ceremony in London on September 29.
Willkie's London Private Equity team, together with Dean Street Advisers, recently co-hosted a breakfast seminar on one of the most active areas of UK M&A: sponsor-backed public-to-private (P2P) transactions. Willkie partners Gavin Gordon, Chair of the European Private Equity Practice, and Andy Gray, partner in the Private Equity Practice, were joined by Mervyn Metcalf, Managing Director, Dean Street Advisers.
P2P deal values have surged recently, with record activity continuing through 2025, and market expectation is that 2026 will see an ongoing increase in deal volume. The session explored what's driving these trends, how private equity sponsors identify and evaluate targets, boardroom dynamics, the UK Takeover Code, and deal structuring in an increasingly competitive market. Thank you to all who joined us for a great morning of discussion and insight.
