David C. "Dave" Blickenstaff

As a corporate attorney working with clients ranging from start-up entrepreneurs to institutional investors and established companies, Jeremy takes a collaborative, client-focused approach to helping clients understand legal and business risks and offers practical guidance to help them achieve their strategic objectives. Jeremy concentrates his practice on counseling investors (including private equity and venture capital funds and angel investors) in connection with their debt and equity inv...

Janet Garetto is a partner in the IP group. Her practice spans the firm’s Trademarks & Copyrights, Patents and IP Litigation practice groups. Janet counsels clients on IP issues facing their brands. In addition, she counsels clients on patent protection and litigation prevention issues with a focus on chemical and mechanical technologies. Janet also serves as the Managing Partner of Nixon Peabody’s Chicago office. What do you focus on? I focus my practice on three main areas, ...

Stephanie Samz is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Patent Law. Stephanie, who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Stephanie is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

A trusted adviser with over a decade of experience, Terese Connolly counsels and represents multinational corporations in navigating the wide range of domestic and international labor and employment related issues that arise when managing a global workforce. Terese advises and counsels multinational companies; conducts enterprise risk assessments, compliance audits and internal investigations; and provides training for management and employees on employment law, leave laws, anti-discriminatio...

As employers increasingly seek to hire and retain talented foreign national employees to maximize competitiveness, Tejas is empathetic to their needs and offers practical immigration law advice. He is committed to guiding employers of all sizes – across a diverse cross-section of industries, including finance, banking, education, transportation, and healthcare – in efficiently and economically sponsoring workers for permanent residency in the United States through Program Electron...

With more than two decades of experience, Paul Quinn represents private equity funds and their portfolio companies in leveraged acquisitions and dispositions, corporate governance, and restructurings. Paul also represents management teams in employment and compensation arrangements, distressed-focused private equity funds in acquisitions in bankruptcy court and out-of-court processes; and private equity and venture capital funds in minority growth equity investments. Ranked by Chambers USA , ...

Todd Maynes focuses his practice on the tax aspects of debt restructurings, bankruptcy and insolvency, and tax litigation. Todd has served as Chair of the Planning Committee for both the University of Chicago Federal Tax Conference and the Chicago-Kent College of Law Federal Tax Institute. He teaches bankruptcy taxation at Northwestern University School of Law and the Law School at the University of Chicago, previously taught advanced income taxation at Chicago-Kent College of Law, and has le...

Maureen O'Brien is a partner in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Maureen's practice includes a broad range of employee benefits and executive compensation matters, and she has extensive experience with the M&A aspects of employee benefits and executive compensation, including strategic and private equity transactions. Maureen advises clients on the design and implementation of qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, welfare plans, Section 409A matters and equity and in...

Shilpi Gupta is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Corporate Law and Mergers and Acquisitions Law. Shilpi, who practices law in Chicago, Illinois, has been recognized since 2016. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Shilpi is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

John G. Caruso is a partner in the Real Estate Group in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. John represents and counsels clients in a broad range of commercial real estate transactions, including financings/commercial lending, acquisitions, dispositions, synthetic lease and sale-leaseback transactions, commercial leases, rights-of-way and easement agreements and portfolio acquisitions and dispositions. John actively represents clients in structuring joint ventures for the acquisit...