Key Takeaways
- • Two senior private equity partners from Goodwin Procter joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher on June 1, 2026, expanding the firm's PE practice with experienced M&A counsel in West Coast markets (Los Angeles and San Francisco).
- • Stephen Lee brings expertise in carve-outs, acquisitions, sales, leveraged buyouts, and cross-border transactions across aerospace, software, technology, automotive, medical device, and healthcare sectors.
- • Brian Raynor specializes in acquisitions, divestitures, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, and minority/growth equity transactions, though the primary source provides limited detail on his specific sector focus.
- • This lateral hire represents competitive talent acquisition in the private equity legal market, signaling Willkie's strategic investment in West Coast deal capabilities where substantial PE activity occurs.
Summary
Willkie Farr & Gallagher announced on June 1, 2026, that it has brought on two partners from Goodwin Procter to strengthen its private equity practice group. Stephen Lee, based in Los Angeles, and Brian Raynor, based in San Francisco, join the firm as partners effective immediately.
Lee advises clients across the full spectrum of PE transactions, including carve-outs of business divisions, asset and stock acquisitions and sales, mergers, leveraged buyouts, and auction processes. His practice encompasses cross-border transactions and encompasses joint venture, joint development, licensing, and manufacturing arrangements. Lee's sector expertise spans aerospace, software, technology, automotive, medical device, and healthcare industries—sectors that generate substantial private equity activity and command premium valuations in the M&A market.
Raynor's practice focuses on acquisitions, divestitures, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, and minority and growth equity transactions, though the announcement provides limited elaboration on his specific industry verticals. Both partners relocate from Goodwin, a top-tier law firm with substantial private equity and M&A practices, indicating Willkie's targeted effort to build competitive strength in West Coast PE markets where venture capital and buyout activity concentrate.
This move reflects broader competitive dynamics in legal services to the alternative investment community, where law firms compete aggressively for experienced partners with established PE client relationships and deal track records.
Lee advises clients across the full spectrum of PE transactions, including carve-outs of business divisions, asset and stock acquisitions and sales, mergers, leveraged buyouts, and auction processes. His practice encompasses cross-border transactions and encompasses joint venture, joint development, licensing, and manufacturing arrangements. Lee's sector expertise spans aerospace, software, technology, automotive, medical device, and healthcare industries—sectors that generate substantial private equity activity and command premium valuations in the M&A market.
Raynor's practice focuses on acquisitions, divestitures, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, and minority and growth equity transactions, though the announcement provides limited elaboration on his specific industry verticals. Both partners relocate from Goodwin, a top-tier law firm with substantial private equity and M&A practices, indicating Willkie's targeted effort to build competitive strength in West Coast PE markets where venture capital and buyout activity concentrate.
This move reflects broader competitive dynamics in legal services to the alternative investment community, where law firms compete aggressively for experienced partners with established PE client relationships and deal track records.
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