Kimberly C. Petillo-Décossard

Partner, New York

Biography

“Kimberly is extremely knowledgeable and is a tremendous advocate. Her approach is always thoughtful, considered and nuanced. Our company has benefited tremendously from her counsel.” Chambers USA

“Kimberly Petillo-Décossard is a stand-out partner. Her ability to quickly and succinctly understand the unique situation of our company and provide reasonable alternatives to achieve our objectives has proven invaluable.” The Legal 500

Overview

Kimberly advises public and private companies, boards, founders and family offices on complex business law matters, focusing on mergers and acquisitions and other strategic transactions, as well as governance, disclosure and compliance matters.

Noted in Chambers as an attorney who "is smart, practical and gives legal advice based on the business ramifications and risk assessment," Kimberly has experience practicing in a variety of industries, including: biotechnology, energy, financial services, health care, insurance, manufacturing, media, pharmaceutical, retail and technology.

Current representations include Arch Capital Group Ltd., Broadridge Financial Solutions, Dyadic International, Inc., Kaspien Holdings, North European Oil Royalty Trust, Novonix Ltd., Shutterstock, Inc., and other privately and publicly-held companies.

Kimberly has been listed in Lawdragon's The 500 Leading Lawyers and The 500 Leading Dealmakers guides since 2021. She is recognized as Highly Regarded and as a Women Leader by IFLR1000 and named a Top 50 Attorney of New York by Attorney Intel.

Recognized as a Dealmaker of the Year by The American Lawyer in 2022, Kimberly has also twice been named one of the "Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A" by Mergers & Acquisitions magazine and has been featured in The Deal's "Top Women of Dealmaking." Kimberly was shortlisted for IFLR Americas Awards 2022 "Women Dealmakers Hall of Fame" and in 2021 she was named a "Mergers & Acquisitions MVP" by Law360, just one of six lawyers to receive the honor, nationwide. Kimberly was shortlisted for "Lawyer of the Year: M&A" in 2021 and 2020 by IFLR's Women in Business Law and was recognized in The American Lawyer's 2021 inaugural list of "Northeast Trailblazers." Kimberly has been named among the "Notable Women in Law" by Crain's New York Business in 2023, 2022, and 2020. In 2018, Kimberly was selected as a Rising Star by the New York Law Journal and an Emerging Leader by The M&A Advisor.

A highly-sought speaker and author on M&A, transactional matters and corporate governance topics, Kimberly has written pieces for Law360, The Deal, Corporate Board Member, New York Law Journal and Directorship, a publication of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). She has both moderated and spoken on panels at The Deal Economy Conference in New York, led discussions on M&A matters as a panelist at NACD's Summit, served on a panel sponsored by the ABA's Women in M&A Task Force, moderated an M&A discussion at BIO's CEO Conference and co-chaired Thomson Reuters' NY M&A Forum, among others.

Kimberly founded the Women's Leadership Initiative ("WLI") at Albany Law School and continues to help lead the program as chair of the WLI Advisory Committee. She was honored for this work in 2023 by the New York Law Journal’s Legal Awards, winning in the Diversity Initiative category. Kimberly also serves on the Board of Trustees at Albany Law School and on the New York-Presbyterian's Leadership Council on Children's and Women's Health.

She has previously served as co-chair of the Association for Corporate Growth (NY) Women of Leadership Committee, on the Dean's Leadership Council at Albany Law School, on the Board of Trustees at Tuxedo Park School, on the Leadership Advisory Committee of the National Women's Law Center and on the Board of Directors of PowerPlay NYC, a non-profit dedicated to advancing the lives of girls through sport.

Bars and Courts
New York
Education
JD
Albany Law School
BA
Furman University
Languages
English

Experience

Notable transactions include:

1-800-FLOWERS.COM in connection with its*:

  • Sale of Fannie May Confections Brands, Inc.
  • Acquisition of Harry & David and the related acquisition financing
  • Acquisition of PersonalizationMall.com
  • Acquisition of Shari's Berries Brand
  • Acquisition of Vital Choice
  • Acquisition of Things Remembered®

Arch Capital in connection with its acquisition of Watford Holdings*

Ascend Health Corporation in connection with its acquisition by Universal Health Services, Inc.*

Cable One. Inc. in its acquisition or investment in three communications service providers*

Dyadic International, Inc. in connection with its sale of substantially all of the assets of its Industrial Technology business to DuPont Industrial Biosciences*

Horton Outdoor in connection with its sale of outdoor advertising assets to Trailhead Media*

ICON plc in connection with its*:

  • Acquisition of Aptiv Solutions, Inc.
  • Acquisition of Clinical Research Management, Inc.
  • Acquisition of the clinical trial services division of Cross Country Healthcare, Inc., which includes ClinForce, LLC and its subsidiaries, Assent Consulting, Inc. and Metropolitan Research Associates, Inc.
  • Acquisition of MolecularMD, a Portland, OR-based molecular diagnostics lab
  • Acquisition of PRA Health Sciences, Inc.
  • Acquisition of Symphony Clinical Research

IDP Holdings, a joint venture of Ironshore Holdings and The Distinguished Programs Group in connection with its acquisition of the hospitality business of National Specialty Underwriters*

Integro Ltd. in connection with its acquisition by entities affiliated with Odyssey Investment Partners, LLC*

Ironshore Inc. in connection with the acquisition by Fosun International Limited*

S&P Global in connection with its acquisition of 451 Research, LLC*

Shutterstock, Inc. in its

  • Acquisition of GIPHY
  • Acquisition of Pond5*
  • Acquisition of Splash News*

Springs Industries in connection with its acquisition by private equity firm Golden Gate Capital*

The Empire District Electric Company in connection with its acquisition by a subsidiary of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.*

The Shade Store LLC in connection with Great Hill Partners' investment in the Company*

TransWorld Entertainment in connection with its sale of FYE*

*Matters prior to joining White & Case

Speaking Engagements

Kimberly has both moderated and spoken on panels at The Deal Economy Conference in New York, led discussions on M&A matters as a panelist at the National Association of Corporate Director’s Summit, served on a panel sponsored by the American Bar Association's Women in M&A Task Force, moderated an M&A discussion at BIO's CEO Conference and co-chaired Thomson Reuters' NY M&A Forum, among others.

Publications

Kimberly has written on transactional matters and corporate governance topics for Law360, The Deal, Corporate Board Member, New York Law Journal and Directorship, a publication of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD).

Awards and Recognition

Leading Corporate/M&A lawyer, Chambers USA (New York)

Leading Lawyer, The Legal 500 (US)

Highly Regarded and a Women Leader, IFLR1000

"Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A" by Mergers & Acquisitions magazine, 2024 and 2020

"Dealmaker of the Year" by The American Lawyer, 2022

Notable Women in Law, Crain's New York, 2023, 2022 and 2020

M&A MVP, Law360, 2021

Northeast Trailblazers, The American Lawyer, 2021

Top Women in Dealmaking, The Deal

The 500 Leading Dealmakers, Lawdragon

The 500 Leading Lawyers, Lawdragon

Top 50 Attorney of New York, Attorney Intel

Winner: Diversity Initiatives, The New York Law Journal's Legal Awards 2023