Knowledge Attorney – Mergers & Acquisitions / Private Equity

Gibson Dunn is a leading global law firm, advising clients on significant transactions and disputes. Our exceptional teams craft and deploy creative legal strategies that are meticulously tailored to every matter, however complex or high-stakes. The firm’s work is distinguished by a unique combination of precision and vision.

Based in any U.S. office (New York preferred), the Knowledge Attorney – Mergers & Acquisitions / Private Equity will have primary responsibility for the Firm’s M&A and Private Equity forms and related drafting resources. The Knowledge Attorney will keep those materials current with legal and regulatory developments, market practice, and Firm precedent, and will develop new forms and guidance where needed.

The role requires an experienced M&A / Private Equity lawyer with strong drafting judgment who can independently assess proposed changes, work with partners and specialists where appropriate, and maintain consistency across a substantial collection of interrelated documents.

The Knowledge Attorney will use AI and other technology as part of the review and update process, including to compare Firm forms against internal precedent and public filings, identify potential inconsistencies or outdated provisions, and track developments in drafting and market practice. The Knowledge Attorney will work closely with the Legal Technology & AI Attorney – Mergers & Acquisitions / Private Equity on technical aspects of these efforts.

Substantive judgment and responsibility for the forms will remain with the Knowledge Attorney.

The role also includes related M&A / Private Equity knowledge work that supports the forms and drafting resources, including precedent curation, analysis of deal terms and drafting trends, and development of related guidance materials.

This role reports to the Sr. Director & Counsel of Knowledge & AI.

Responsibilities include:

• Forms & Drafting Resources
• Serve as the primary substantive owner of the Firm’s M&A and Private Equity forms, with responsibility for their continuing accuracy, quality, consistency, and practical usefulness.
• Conduct a systematic review of the existing collection to identify the forms that should be maintained as current Firm resources, retire or archive duplicative and outdated materials, and prioritize the balance by use and substantive importance.
• Review maintained forms against current law, legal and regulatory developments, and applicable Firm drafting standards, including for consistency with related Firm forms.
• Develop new forms and related drafting resources in response to recurring practice needs, drawing on Firm precedent, public filings, and other appropriate sources.
• Coordinate focused review with M&A and Private Equity lawyers and with specialist practices, including Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance, tax, benefits, executive compensation, and antitrust, as the document requires.
• Manage the review cycle for maintained resources, including scheduled review dates and interim review prompted by significant legal, regulatory, or market developments.
• Coordinate outside Delaware counsel review of core organizational documents on a regular cycle.
• Maintain documentation of substantive review, significant drafting decisions, and the status of each item in the collection.
• Legal, Regulatory & Market Currency
• Keep current on developments affecting M&A and Private Equity practice, including case law, statutory and regulatory change, transaction structures, market terms, and drafting trends.
• Determine whether those developments require changes to the Firm’s forms or related resources.
• Review Firm transactions, publicly filed transaction agreements, market studies, and other sources on a regular basis to stay current on transaction structures, deal terms, and drafting trends.
• Build working relationships across the practice so that drafting issues and developments arising in live matters are reflected in the collection.
• AI-Enabled Forms & Precedent Management
• Benchmark Firm forms and drafting resources on an ongoing basis against relevant internal precedent, public filings, and evolving market practice, using AI-assisted tools and structured review methods to identify where Firm drafting should be updated, harmonized, or reconsidered.
• Use AI-assisted analysis to identify potentially outdated provisions, inconsistencies among related forms, recurring departures from Firm forms, and changes in market drafting.
• Develop processes for identifying relevant Firm deal documents and external precedent, including public company filings, and incorporating them into the benchmarking and review process.
• Structure forms, precedent, and related content to support document automation, AI-assisted drafting, and other transactional tools.
• Test new technology-assisted approaches to forms development and maintenance, with substantive lawyer review of proposed changes.
• Related Transactional Knowledge
• Curate high-value transaction precedent and help lawyers identify useful Firm precedent and drafting resources.
• Develop checklists, drafting guidance, and other know-how closely connected to the forms collection.
• Analyze transaction terms and drafting trends where the results can improve Firm forms or other transactional resources.
• Participate in targeted training and practice discussions concerning significant changes to Firm forms and new drafting resources.
• Work with Practice Group Management, Market Intelligence, and other teams to identify and analyze relevant M&A and Private Equity matter and deal data for benchmarking, precedent analysis, and other practice needs.

Qualifications:

• Strong interest in legal drafting and precedent, including how customary language evolves.
• Independent judgment on drafting issues, including distinguishing material from immaterial differences and making practical recommendations to senior lawyers.
• Eagerness to use AI and other emerging legal technology as a core part of substantive legal work.
• Excellent legal research, writing, and analytical skills, with exceptional attention to detail.
• Comfort working through large bodies of precedent and complex legal developments and reducing them to clear, usable drafting resources.
• Capacity to manage competing priorities and carry long-running substantive projects through to completion.
• Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with appropriate discretion.
• Ability to build trusted working relationships with partners, practicing lawyers, specialists, technologists, and other members of the Knowledge Management & AI Group.
• Experience: A J.D., Bachelor of Laws, or equivalent with strong academic credentials; must be admitted to practice and in good standing in the state where they will be based.
• At least seven years of significant M&A and/or Private Equity experience, with substantial experience drafting and negotiating transaction documents.
• Experience across public M&A, private M&A, and Private Equity transactions is strongly preferred.
• Prior experience with AI-assisted legal analysis, knowledge systems, or document automation is strongly preferred.
• Prior knowledge management experience is helpful but not required; substantive transactional experience and drafting judgment matter more.
• Gibson Dunn will consider for employment qualified Applicants with Criminal Histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of local law.