Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation – Senior Associate

Simpson Thacher eyes sports deals in triple partner swoop from Hogan Lovells, Sidley and the NBA. Incoming trio are New York-based Michael Kuh and Matthew Carpenter-Dennis and LA-based Eric Geffner 07 April 2026 (l-r): Michael Kuh, Eric Geffner, Matthew Carpenter-Dennis Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is expanding its sports M&A practice with a trio of partner hires from Hogan Lovells, Sidley Austin and the National Basketball Association. The incoming threesome are Michael Kuh and Eric Geffner, who have joined as co-heads of the firm's sports group, while Matthew Carpenter-Dennis is due to join the team at a later date. Kuh and Carpenter-Dennis are based in New York, while Geffner is based in Los Angeles. The trio will advise on a range of sports-related deal matters. Advertisement Alden Millard, chair of Simpson Thacher's executive committee, said: "The sports landscape continues to evolve, and we are seeing significant momentum from our alternative asset manager clients who are expanding their investments into multi-club platforms, real estate and infrastructure assets, and adjacent experiential businesses. Mike, Eric and Matt are well known for their industry and business expertise spanning game-changing deals involving alternative asset managers." Kuh was previously a partner at Hogan Lovells for more than six years, where he was managing partner of the New York office. He previously spent 16 years at Latham & Watkins, where he was a counsel. His client list includes some of the world's biggest sporting organisations. Earlier this year, he was on the Hogan Lovells team that advised Sportsology Capital Partners on its minority investment in Major League Baseball team Texas Rangers. He also represented Canada, Mexico and the US on their successful bid to host this year's FIFA World Cup. Geffner spent just under four years at Sidley in its century city office, the majority of them as a partner. He had earlier spells as counsel at o'melveny & myers and as an associate at Latham & Watkins. He advises on M&A, co-investments and joint ventures in the sports, entertainment and media sectors. He also advises professional sports teams on sponsorship, licensing and stadium deals, among other matters. LAW OVER BORDERS COMPARATIVE GUIDES luxury Law guide this third edition provides answers and insight into how luxury businesses can protect their brands in a range of jurisdictions... | 1yr. Carpenter-Dennis, meanwhile, joins after more than a decade at the NBA, the past four years as assistant GC. He was previously an associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. At the NBA, he oversaw team ownership transactions, capital structuring, arena financings and leasing, and other investment matters. Eric Swedenburg, global head of Simpson Thacher's M&A practice, said: "Sports has become an increasingly active frontier in M&A, and this team will provide clients with unparalleled insight into the commercial, operational and investment dynamics shaping the global sports industry, as well as seamless transactional execution. "Mike and Eric have quarterbacked several prominent and complex sports transactions from private practice, while Matt brings an insider edge honed through his years at the NBA, making them ideal additions to our preeminent global M&A team." Last October, former Mishcon de Reya lawyers Simon Leaf and Tom Murray launched a London-based boutique - Three Points Law - targeting sports, tech and commercial work.

Vinson & Elkins opens Brussels office. With hire of Antitrust Partner May Lyn Yuen. An experienced competition lawyer based in Brussels for over a decade, Yuen will expand the firm's Antitrust transactional and dispute practices. Vinson & Elkins today announced that it has opened an office in Brussels, led by Antitrust Partner May Lyn Yuen. Qualified in both the EU and England & Wales, Yuen advises on multi-jurisdictional transactions and complex competition matters. She has significant experience leading global merger control strategies and represents clients in cartel, antitrust and EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation Investigations. She also regularly counsels clients on distribution issues and competitor collaborations. "Our antitrust practice has earned a reputation for helping clients navigate their most consequential competition matters. Adding capability in Brussels reflects our commitment to both our cross-border investigations and transactional practices," said Vinson & Elkins Chair Keith Fullenweider. "May Lyn is highly recommended by some of our top clients and also highly endorsed by our partners who have worked with her in the past," said Partner Hill Wellford, co-head of the Vinson & Elkins' Antitrust group "Her deep experience and collaborative approach strengthen our ability to deliver practical, strategic counsel to clients facing complex competition issues, including major transactions and European Commission investigations of market conduct." Brussels is home to the European Commission, one of the most influential competition authorities in the world, responsible for defining EU competition law policy and enforcing it across antitrust, mergers and State aid, as well as implementing the Digital Markets Act and the Foreign Subsidies Regulation. Vinson & Elkins' new office is located in the heart of the city's European Quarter and steps away from the European Commission. Yuen joins Vinson & Elkins from Hogan Lovells, where she was a Brussels-based partner in the firm's Antitrust and Competition practice. Before moving to Brussels over a decade ago, Yuen practiced in London. In addition to being registered as an EU lawyer with the Brussels Bar, Yuen is admitted as a Solicitor of England & Wales and serves as the Chair of the Law Society's Competition Section Advisory Committee. She has been recognized in Global Competition Review's "Women in Antitrust" (2025) and Lexology's Client Choice - Competition (2026). "Competition and regulatory scrutiny are increasingly global and complex, especially for companies operating across multiple jurisdictions," Yuen said. "This is an exciting opportunity to help build the firm's European presence from Brussels in collaboration with Vinson & Elkins' well-established London office. I look forward to developing a transatlantic antitrust platform that reflects the firm's excellence and ambition." For more than 50 years, Vinson & Elkins' Antitrust practice has guided clients through their most challenging competition law issues. The firm is ranked among the leading Antitrust and Cartel practices by Chambers Global (2019-2026); Chambers USA (Nationwide, 2025); and The Legal 500 US (Antitrust - Merger Control, 2018-2025).