Ilan S. Nissan

Ilan Nissan is the firm’s head of Private Equity and M&A and is based in New York and Miami. He leads one of the firm’s largest and most active private equity businesses and advises many of the world’s most sophisticated asset managers, including leading private equity and venture capital firms, hedge funds, family offices, and multi-strategy investment platforms.

His clients include Fortune 50 founders and CEOs, prominent media figures, and A-list artists and celebrities in connection with their investing and strategic activities.

With more than 38 years of experience, Ilan is widely regarded as one of the nation’s preeminent advisors in mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and technology-driven investing. Ilan is a trusted member of his clients’ inner circle and is often relied on for candid advice on complex business and investment decisions. Clients turn to him for both execution and judgment — often seeking his guidance on matters where other firms are engaged. Many clients rely on him as a long-term strategic counselor, advising on the business, governance, and capital decisions that define the evolution of their enterprises. Ilan’s approach is distinguished by a combination of elite legal judgement, relationship intelligence, and an investor’s lens — enabling him to cut through complexity, identify the true sources of risk and leverage, and deliver clear, pragmatic solutions in high-stakes situations.

For more than two decades, Ilan has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at Columbia University Law School, where he teaches mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, and transactional strategy.

Mergers & Acquisitions / Private Equity. Advises leading private equity sponsors and investment firms on complex mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, divestitures, securities offerings, and strategic investments.

Strategic Counseling. Provides senior-level advice on critical business and legal matters, including acquisitions, liquidity strategies, high-stakes litigation, governmental investigations, and complex regulatory issues. Ilan also has substantial international experience involving cross-border acquisitions, investments, and joint ventures.

Growth Equity, Venture Capital & Technology. Represents growth equity and venture capital funds, family offices, and founders, with a concentration on software, internet, and technology businesses. Ilan has advised investors across multiple waves of AI deployment — from early machine learning platforms to today’s large-scale foundation model infrastructure, helping sponsors and operators navigate both technical disruption and capital strategy.

Fund Formation & Sponsor Advisory. Advises on the formation and restructuring of private equity, venture capital, hedge funds, co-investment vehicles, pledge funds, and secondary transactions. He is frequently consulted by senior sponsors on internal economics, governance, carry structures, compensation frameworks, and sensitive inter-partner negotiations.

Executive Compensation. Represents investors and management teams in structuring executive employment arrangements and equity-based incentive programs.

Film, Media & Entertainment. Represents media personalities and A-list artists in their investment and business activities. He was a producer of the Israeli television series Red Alert, which documents the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel, reflecting a broader commitment to projects at the intersection of culture, impact, and storytelling.

Real Estate. Advises on real estate-related matters, including proptech, infrastructure, and project finance.

Ilan is a co-founder of Soirée Miami Beach, a luxury swimwear and resortwear brand. As an active entrepreneur, he brings an operator’s perspective to his advisory work, offering clients practical insight into brand-building, growth, and execution beyond traditional legal frameworks.

Ilan is actively engaged as an angel investor in early-stage technology companies, reflecting a sustained focus on innovation, product development, and the evolution of technology markets. Ilan also maintains active involvement with the Montreux Jazz Festival Miami, reflecting his commitment to music, cultural platforms, and global creative exchange.

Ilan approaches his life and work through an interdisciplinary lens shaped by active engagement across law, investing, entrepreneurship, technology, culture, and human performance. His perspective is informed by relationship-building instincts, an investor’s view of risk and reward, and sustained curiosity across disciplines that are not always connected. His interests span artificial intelligence, luxury brand development, film and cultural projects, music, fashion, wellness, longevity, and performance optimization, and global travel. 

By operating fluently across these arenas, he recognizes patterns that are often invisible within a single discipline — sharpening his judgment and enabling him to address complex problems with clarity, creativity, and strategic foresight. Clients benefit from his low-friction style, direct judgement, practical execution, and an instinct for cutting through institutional complexity.

Ilan sits on the boards of directors and advisory boards of multiple asset managers and operating businesses, including Sbarro Holdings, Inc.

He is proficient in Arabic, French, Hebrew, and Spanish and is proudly from Ramat Gan, Israel.

Prior to joining the firm, Ilan was Chairman of the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at O’Melveny & Myers LLP. He was previously a partner at O’Sullivan Graev & Karabell LLP and began his legal career at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, all in New York City.

Ilan was named Lawyer of the Year for Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity by The Best Lawyers in America and is consistently recognized by Best Lawyers, Legal 500 U.S., Super Lawyers, and International Financial Law Review.