Paul Hastings announced that preeminent finance lawyer Morgan Bale has joined the firm’s premier global finance practice as a partner in New York.

Consistently ranked by Chambers Global, Chambers USA, Legal 500 US, and IFLR1000, Bale represents top-tier investment banks, other financial institutions and corporate borrowers in acquisition finance and other event-driven lending transactions, encompassing investment-grade, leveraged cash flow and asset-based syndicated credit facilities, as well as loan restructurings, debtor-in-possession financings, and exit financings. He is widely known for his deep market knowledge and, in particular, as a trusted advisor and go-to attorney for high-profile investment-grade financings.

“Morgan is an elite finance lawyer with a superb reputation,” said Paul Hastings Chair Frank Lopez. “He represents a cross-section of leading banks and corporates in the highest profile, most complex finance transactions by some of the most prestigious companies in the world.”

Bale joins from Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP after more than 24 years with that firm. He is a market leader who regularly represents Citi, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and other major investment banks on financings for high-profile US domestic and cross-border transactions. Notable examples include:

• Goldman Sachs and other major investment banks in connection with CVS Health Corporation’s $78 billion acquisition of Aetna Inc.

• Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse in connection with the merger of International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. with the Nutrition & Biosciences (N&B) Business of DuPont, in a deal with a $45 billion combined enterprise value.

• Citi and another major investment bank in connection with Occidental Petroleum Corporation’s $55 billion acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation.

• JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and another major investment bank in connection with the $23.1 billion merger of Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. (a portfolio company of JAB Holding Company) with Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc.

• Citi in connection with Becton, Dickinson and Company's $24 billion acquisition of C. R. Bard Inc.

• Goldman Sachs and another major investment bank in connection with Amazon’s $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market.

• Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, and Citi in connection with Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc.’s (21CF) £11.7 billion bid to acquire all of the shares of capital it did not already own of Sky plc., and the subsequent spin-off by 21CF of a new Fox Corporation comprising its news, sports and broadcast businesses, as part of a series of transactions that also included the combination of the rest of the 21CF businesses with The Walt Disney Company.

The addition of Bale reflects the extraordinary expansion of the Paul Hastings finance platform and the firm’s New York office. The firm recently added Band 1 finance talent in London and has added premier talent across a number of diverse practice areas, including investigations and white collar defense, M&A and shareholder activism, financial restructuring, infrastructure and energy transition, financial services investigations, regulation and litigation, and real estate.

“Paul Hastings is a top-flight firm with an incredible path forward,” said Bale. “The firm’s team-oriented, cross-border and balanced approach to its finance, capital markets and corporate M&A practices—having impressively strong platforms in the US and UK in particular—were incredibly appealing when thinking about how I can best serve my longstanding client relationships. The opportunity to further enhance and grow my practice at Paul Hastings is a highly compelling proposition.”