Alyssa A. Grikscheit has a diverse corporate practice that currently emphasizes complex transactions and alternative investment funds. Her experience also includes private equity and hedge funds, mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances and restructurings. Alyssa is fluent in Spanish and French and has extensive experience in international transactions, particularly those involving Latin America and other emerging markets such as China and India. Alyssa represents domestic and foreign clients making cross-border investments. She also represents buyers and sellers, including private equity funds and their portfolio companies, in acquisitions, dispositions, strategic alliances, restructurings and financings, including transactions in regulated industries such as the healthcare, pharmaceutical, energy, telecommunications and defense industries. In addition, Alyssa represents sponsors of alternative investment funds in fund formation and other aspects of their operations. Such funds have included distressed debt, energy, infrastructure, real estate opportunity, agribusiness, fintech, microfinance and emerging market funds.

Alyssa is ranked in Chambers Global, Chambers USA and Chambers Latin America where “she is noted for her work in the M&A and private equity space and has longstanding experience dealing with cross-border transactions in Latin America.” Additionally, she has been recognized in IFLR1000 as a “Rising Star” for Investment Funds in the U.S. Alyssa was also recommended in Private Equity Funds in The Legal 500 US and in Capital Markets and Corporate M&A in The Legal 500 Latin America. Alyssa has also been recognized by Latinvex in “Latin America’s Top 100 Lawyers” and is featured as one of “Latin America’s Top 50 Female Lawyers: Corporate/M&A.”

Alyssa actively represents a nonprofit in establishing and capitalizing microfinance institutions in emerging markets on a pro bono basis. She served as co-chair of the Inter-American Committee of the New York State Bar Association’s International Section and is a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Alyssa graduated cum laude from The University of Michigan Law School in 1994.  She received a Diploma in European Studies from the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium in 1991 and an A.B. magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1990.

Jodi Simala is Co-Chair of Mayer Brown's M&A practice in the Americas. She represents sellers and buyers in connection with domestic and international stock and asset acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures, mergers, tender and exchange offers, consent solicitations, recapitalizations and reorganizations.

Jodi's general corporate and securities practice includes representation of issuers and selling securityholders in connection with public and private sales of debt and equity securities. She also counsels boards of directors and management regarding fiduciary duties, corporate governance and defensive measures, including stockholders' rights plans and other matters, and she advises public companies regarding SEC reporting, compliance and disclosure issues.

Jodi is recognized as a leading M&A lawyer in Chambers USA (2012-2018).  Jodi was selected by Law360, a leading industry publication, as one of the "Top 10 Female DealMakers" in M&A. The honorees "have helped complete some of the biggest deals in the business and established themselves as leaders in their field," the publication said.

Jodi graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and summa cum laude from Boston University.

Martin Wellington is the managing partner of Sidley’s Palo Alto office and a member of the M&A, Private Equity, Capital Markets and Emerging Companies and Venture Capital (ECVC) practices. Martin counsels technology companies and their sources of capital on a variety of transactions, including M&A, joint ventures and private as well as public offerings. He also regularly advises private equity investors and underwriters. His clients include publicly held technology companies in addition to companies looking to enter the public markets. Prior to joining Sidley, Martin was a partner with an international law firm and he also served at the U.S. Department of State from 1989–1993.

Martin was recommended in The Legal 500 US 2016 in several categories of M&A/Corporate and Commercial in addition to Finance Capital Markets. Named an “Up & Coming” lawyer for Corporate/M&A: Northern California in Chambers USA 2014, he was also featured in the Financial Times’ “US Innovative Lawyers” report for his work as lead counsel on two IPOs in 2011 and 2012. Martin earned his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School and received his Master of International Affairs from Columbia University where he headed the International Security Policy Association. He graduated with a B.A. from the University of California, Irvine.

Experience

• Pandora Media in SiriusXM’s US$480 million investment in in Pandora’s newly authorized Series A Preferred Stock and its sale of Ticketfly to Eventbrite for US$200 million
• Angie’s List, Inc. on its merger with HomeAdvisor to form ANGI Homeservices Inc.
• Pandora Media in connection with its $345 million convertible note financing
• Acrisure in its recapitalization and partial buyout by ABRY Partners of Genstar’s position in Acrisure
• Intapp in its recapitalization and partial buyout by Temasek by way of a tender offer for a portion of the positions of Great Hills Partners and other pre-existing investors
• Vector Capital in connection with its sale of 20-20 Technologies to Golden Gate Capital
• CollabNet and Vector Capital on their acquisition of Version One
• Abakus on its acquisition by SAP
• Corel in its acquisition of MindManager
• Cadence in connection with its acquisitions of nusemi and Rocketick Technologies Ltd
• Blackbaud in its acquisitions of JustGiving SmartTuition 

• Harvard Law School (J.D., 1996, cum laude)
• Columbia University (M.I.A., 1988)
• University of California, Irvine (B.A., 1986)