Richard Birns is co-chair of Gibson Dunn’s Private Equity Group. He regularly represents private equity firms and companies on domestic and cross-border leveraged buyouts, strategic mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, carve-outs, minority investments and joint ventures.
He is recognized as a leading lawyer by Legal 500 as well as Chambers USA, where clients describe him as “smart and tenacious”. The American Lawyer recognized Richard as a 2023 Dealmaker of the Year for his work advising Elliott Management’s acquisition of Nielsen Media with Brookfield. He was also named a Private Equity MVP by Law360 in 2019.
His recent experience includes advising:
- Elliott Investment Management L.P. and its affiliate, Evergreen Coast Capital Corporation, on acquisitions and dispositions, including the $16.5 billion acquisition of Citrix Systems, Inc. and the $16 billion acquisition of Nielsen Holdings plc. He also advised Elliott Management on its acquisitions and dispositions of Gigamon, athenahealth, Travelport, LogMeIn and Cubic
- Motive Partners in its strategic and financial partnership with Apollo Global Management, Inc., to capitalize on significant technological transformation and innovation in financial services
- Goldman Sachs in connection with its investment in Oncoclínicas, a Brazilian medical-care provider, and subsequent IPO
- Hazel, the independent fintech launched in partnership with Walmart and investment firm Ribbit Capital, on their acquisition of fintech platforms Even and ONE.
Richard is also chair of the firm’s Sports Law Group, and has extensive experience in the technology, media, sports and entertainment sectors. He advises on some of the most high-profile transactions in these sectors, including representing:
- RedBird Capital Partners in a number of significant acquisitions, including Italy’s Associazione Calcio Milan (AC Milan Football Club), the acquisition of a majority stake in the Toulouse Football Club; and the acquisition from The Walt Disney Company of the YES Network, a regional sports network, by an investor group that included Yankee Global Enterprises, Sinclair Broadcasting Group, Blackstone and Amazon.com
- Affiliates of Yankee Global Enterprises and the Dallas Cowboys, in connection with a sale of Legends Hospitality to Sixth Street.
Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in History from Georgetown University, Richard earned his Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and member of the Columbia Law Review. He clerked for Judge Milton Pollack of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, from 1997 to 1998.
Richard is a leader in the community and active in a number of non-profit organizations, including serving as co-chair of the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s New York Leadership Council.
Capabilities
Credentials
Education:
- Columbia University - 1997 Juris Doctor
- Georgetown University - 1994 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- New York Bar