New Partners Named at Debevoise & Plimpton

Debevoise plimpton

New York, May 30, 2014 – Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is pleased to announce that Jonathan Adler, Andrew M. Ahern, Michael Bolotin, Alexander R. Cochran, Courtney M. Dankworth, David A. Luigs, Natalie L. Reid and Edward M. Rishty will become partners of the firm, effective July 1, 2014.

Jonathan Adler, based in the firm’s New York office, is a member of the Corporate Department and the Investment Management Group. His practice focuses on advising sponsors of private investment funds, including buyout, growth capital, energy, infrastructure and credit funds. In addition to his work with U.S., Asian and European funds, Mr. Adler has also advised clients in establishing private equity funds, offices and joint ventures in various emerging markets, including Africa, India and South America. Mr. Adler joined the firm in 2005. He received a J.D., magna cum laude, from New York University (2005), where he was a member of the Order of the Coif, and a B.S. in Biological and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University (2002).

Andrew M. Ahern, based in the firm’s New York office, is a member of the Corporate Department and the Investment Management Group. He focuses on advising sponsors of private equity funds and hedge funds, including buyout, mezzanine, credit opportunities and funds of funds. Mr. Ahern joined the firm in 2005. He graduated with a B.A., magna cum laude, from Bucknell University (2002), and received a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law (2005), where he was a Kent Scholar and member of the Columbia Law Review.

Michael Bolotin, based in the firm’s New York office, is a member of the Tax Department. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, real estate investing, particularly structuring U.S. real estate investing for tax-exempt and foreign investors and the formation of real estate investment trusts, and private equity fund formation. Mr. Bolotin joined Debevoise in 2004. He received his B.A. from Columbia University (2001) in History and Economics, and his J.D., magna cum laude, from New York University (2004), where he was a member of the Order of the Coif.

Alexander R. Cochran, based in the firm’s New York office, is a member of the Corporate Department and the Financial Institutions Group. He focuses on corporate transactions in the insurance industry, including mergers and acquisitions, with a focus on transactions involving acquisitions by private equity funds, hedge funds and other financial buyers, financing transactions, as well as insurance and reinsurance regulatory matters. Mr. Cochran received his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School (2005), where he was a senior editor of the Law Review, and his B.A., magna cum laude, from Bucknell University (2002). Prior to joining Debevoise in 2006, Mr. Cochran was a law clerk to the Honorable Mary McLaughlin of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Courtney M. Dankworth, based in the firm’s New York office, is a member of the Litigation Department. Her practice focuses on banking enforcement actions and disputes related to financial services and consumer finance, including investigations conducted by the Department of Justice, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, state attorneys general, and state banking regulators. In 2012, Ms. Dankworth was seconded to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., where she advised on mortgage servicing issues. Ms. Dankworth joined the firm in 2007. From 2006 to 2007, she clerked for the Honorable Amalya L. Kearse of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Ms. Dankworth received an A.B. with honors from Harvard University (2001) and a J.D. with honors from Harvard Law School (2006), where she was Managing Editor of the Harvard Law Review.

David A. Luigs, based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office, is a member of the Corporate Department, the Banking Group and Financial Institutions Group, and is co-head of the Consumer Finance practice. He focuses his practice on consumer financial protection and banking matters. Prior to joining Debevoise, Mr. Luigs was with Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr’s Financial Institutions Practice Group and Regulatory and Government Affairs Departments. From 1995 to 1996, he clerked for the Honorable J. Edward Lumbard of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Mr. Luigs received his B.A. from the College of William & Mary (1988) and his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School (1995), where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and Notes Editor of the Michigan Law Review.

Natalie L. Reid, based in the firm’s New York office, is a member of the Litigation Department. Her practice focuses on international arbitration, public international law, and complex commercial litigation matters. Prior to joining Debevoise in 2006, Ms. Reid was an Associate Legal Officer at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and clerked for the Honorable Betty B. Fletcher, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Ms. Reid has served on the Executive Council of the American Society of International Law (2011–2014), and is currently a member of the International Commercial Disputes Committee of the New York City Bar Association. She is also a co-chair of the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law, and a 2012 Fellow of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity. Ms. Reid received her J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School (2003), where she was co-managing editor of the Harvard International Law Journal, and her A.B., magna cum laude, in International Relations from Brown University (1999).

Edward M. Rishty, based in the firm’s New York office, is a member of the firm’s Corporate Department and the Real Estate Group. He focuses on the acquisition, disposition, financing, leasing and development of various types of real estate, as well as joint venture and capital market transactions involving real estate. Mr. Rishty joined Debevoise in 2004. He received his J.D. from New York University School of Law (2004) and his B.S., cum laude, from the New York University Stern School of Business (2001).

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is a leading international law firm, representing a wide range of clients in transactions and disputes around the world. Founded in 1931, the firm has offices in New York, Washington, D.C., London, Paris, Frankfurt, Moscow, Hong Kong and Shanghai.


Weil Acts for Yahoo! on Flurry Deal

Yahoo lawfuel

Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Flurry, Inc. announced today that they have reached a definitive agreement for Yahoo to acquire Flurry.

“Yahoo’s growth in mobile traffic comes from great people and great products”

Yahoo is on a mission to re-imagine users’ daily habits, and mobile is at the center of everything we do. Our agreement to acquire Flurry is a meaningful step for the company and reinforces Yahoo’s commitment to building and supporting useful, inspiring and beautiful mobile applications and monetization solutions. By joining Yahoo, Flurry will have resources to speed up the delivery of platforms that help developers build better apps, reach the right users, and explore new revenue opportunities. Together, the companies can make mobile experiences better through products that are more personalized and more inspiring.

Analytics are critical for all mobile developers to understand and optimize their applications. Yahoo and Flurry are reinvesting in developers and continuing to build great analytics products. The combined scale of the two companies will accelerate revenue growth for thousands of developers and publishers across the mobile ecosystem.

In addition, the joined offerings of Yahoo and Flurry will enable more effective mobile advertising solutions for brands seeking to reach their audiences and gain unique insights across desktop and mobile, and users will benefit from more personalized app experiences.

Flurry has been delivering the platform and insights to help developers optimize and personalize their apps since 2008. The Flurry stats speak to their success.

  • 170,000 developers use Flurry Analytics
  • Flurry sees app activity from 1.4 billion devices monthly
  • Flurry sees 5.5 billion app sessions per day
  • Flurry Analytics is in 7 apps per device on average
  • 8,000 publishers monetize with Flurry
  • Flurry works with mobile developers in 150 countries

As announced in Q2 earnings last week, Yahoo mobile usage is growing rapidly.

  • Yahoo’s mobile display and search revenue each grew more than 100% year-over-year
  • More than half Yahoo’s total monthly audience visits on a mobile device, and in Q2, over 450 million mobile monthly active users came to Yahoo, a 36% increase year-over-year
  • Time spent on mobile has grown 79% in the last year alone
  • The average Yahoo user now spends 86% of their time on smartphones in apps

“Yahoo’s growth in mobile traffic comes from great people and great products,” said Scott Burke, SVP Advertising Technology. “Flurry’s success is the result of years of committed investment by a passionate team to create an indispensable platform for mobile developers. We want to harness our collective innovative spirit and bolster the mobile ecosystem by providing developers the analytics and monetization solutions to drive their success.”

“As part of Yahoo, Flurry will continue to serve the application developer community in the way we always have, only better,” said Simon Khalaf, President and CEO, Flurry. “With Yahoo, we will have access to more resources to speed up the delivery of great products that can help app developers build better apps, reach the right users, and explore new revenue opportunities. Over the last six years we have accomplished a lot on our own, but with Yahoo we are in an even better position to achieve our joint goals.”

Following the closing, the Flurry team will remain in their present locations, and Flurry’s vision, mission, and focus will stay the same. Flurry’s products will continue to operate and innovate with Yahoo’s support and investment.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

About Flurry

Flurry is optimizing the mobile experience for developers, marketers and consumers. Flurry’s market-leading analytics product sees activity from more than 540,000 smartphone and tablet apps on over 1.4 billion devices worldwide, giving the company the deepest understanding of mobile consumer behavior. Flurry has turned this knowledge into accelerated revenue and growth opportunities for app developers, and an effective, measurable advertising channel for marketers to engage their audiences on mobile devices. Flurry is venture backed and has offices in San Francisco, New York, London, Chicago and Mumbai. For more information, please visit www.flurry.com.

About Yahoo

Yahoo is focused on making the world’s daily habits inspiring and entertaining. By creating highly personalized experiences for our users, we keep people connected to what matters most to them, across devices and around the world. In turn, we create value for advertisers by connecting them with the audiences that build their businesses. Yahoo is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and has offices located throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific (APAC) and the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions. For more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.net) or the Company’s blog (yahoo.tumblr.com).

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties concerning Yahoo’s proposed acquisition of Flurry (including without limitation the statements contained in the quotations from management in this press release), as well as Yahoo’s strategic and operational plans. Actual events or results may differ materially from those described in this press release due to a number of risks and uncertainties. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, the possibility that the transaction will not close or that the closing may be delayed; and that the anticipated benefits to Yahoo, including projected growth in audience and traffic, and benefits to users and advertisers may not be realized. More information about potential factors that could affect Yahoo’s business and financial results is included under the captions, “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2013, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and available at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

About The Author

Stay ahead in law news. Subscribe now.

LawFuel has been breaking news for lawyers since 2001. We're still first to market with the news that powers lawyers - get our weekly headlines.

    We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.