Overview

Jonathan is an extremely talented and commercial attorney.” - Chambers and Partners

Jonathan Davis is a corporate partner in the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. His practice primarily focuses on public and private company M&A transactions and activist defense. Jonathan also advises corporations and their directors on general corporate and governance matters.

Over the course of his career, Jonathan has advised on transactions having an aggregate value of more than $750 billion. In recent years, he has participated in some of the largest and most high profile M&A transactions in history, including Anheuser Busch InBev’s $123 billion acquisition of SABMiller, Bristol Meyers Squibb’s $90 billion acquisition of Celgene, AbbVie’s $63 billion acquisition of Allergan and H.J. Heinz’s $60 billion merger with Kraft.

In 2021, Jonathan was one of six M&A attorneys recognized in Bloomberg Law’s inaugural “They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40” awards, and was profiled by Insider as one of 29 M&A lawyers “leading the way on billion-dollar M&A deals.” He was recognized as a 2020 “Dealmaker of the Year” by The American Lawyer, which called him an “M&A star” and “extraordinarily bright,” and he was one of five M&A attorneys nationwide chosen as a Law360 MVP in 2019. Chambers and Partners has listed Jonathan as a top M&A attorney in 2020–2024, and clients praise him for being “an incredible talent.” He has been repeatedly recognized by The Legal 500 U.S. for his work in M&A generally and in the technology sector from 2016–2024 and received a “Leading Lawyer” ranking for M&A in 2023 and 2024. After naming him a “Rising Star” in 2017–2019, IFLR1000 has recognized Jonathan as “Highly Regarded” in 2020–2024.

More

Recognition

Variety’s “Legal Impact Report 2024: Meet Hollywood’s Top Entertainment Attorneys”

Corporate/M&A – New York, Chambers USA, 2020–2024

Mergers and Acquisitions, IFLR1000, 2017–2024

M&A: Large Deals ($1bn+) [Leading Lawyer], The Legal 500 U.S., 2016–2024

They’ve Got Next: The 40 Under 40 (M&A), Bloomberg Law, 2021

MVP, Mergers and Acquisitions, Law360, 2019

Mergers and Acquisitions, Law360, 2017–2018

Credentials

Admissions & Qualifications

  • New York

Education

  • New York University School of LawJ.D.
  • University of Wisconsin-MadisonB.B.A.