Akin Adds Market-Leading Lawyers in Real Estate Funds and Infrastructure M&A

(Chicago) – Akin announced today that Wendy Dodson Gallegos and Jason Wagenmaker have joined the firm from Mayer Brown. The pair has practiced together for nearly two decades, providing comprehensive advice and bespoke solutions to prominent investment managers and companies pursuing investments in real estate and infrastructure. They add depth to Akin's market-leading real estate fund formation and M&A practices, advising on complex investment vehicles and structures around the globe. Both will continue to be based in Chicago.

Gallegos co-led the global private funds and investment management practice at Mayer Brown, along with leading its real estate funds practice. She represents many of the largest real estate private equity firms and sector-specific operators and allocators in forming open-end and closed-end private equity funds with a wide range of real estate and real estate-related investment strategies across the U.S., Asia-Pacific and Europe.

Wagenmaker co-led the infrastructure M&A strategy at Mayer Brown. He brings nearly 20 years of experience advising investors and strategic companies in complex M&A transactions across transportation, social infrastructure, digital infrastructure, energy, real estate, steel, chemicals and technology.

"Wendy and Jason are exceptional lawyers at the top of the market, and their practices align perfectly with our real estate funds practice and global transactional platform serving the largest and most respected alternative asset managers around the world," said Abid Qureshi, Akin's co-chair.

"We are thrilled to bring on such a prominent team with enormous depth of experience in fundraising, structuring and sophisticated transactions. Their addition strengthens our market-leading investment management and corporate practices and significantly bolsters our capabilities," said Barbara Niederkofler, co-head of Akin's investment management practice.

"The firm's energy & infrastructure practice is a terrific fit as we support our clients deploying capital across the full range of infrastructure and other transactions," said Wagenmaker.

"Akin has one of the leading global investment management practices in the market and our clients will benefit from access to its premier platform with top fund and tax structuring, transactional, regulatory, litigation and public policy practitioners focused on the needs of asset managers and strategic clients," said Gallegos. "We look forward to getting started."

About Akin's Investment Management Practice

Akin's investment management practice, comprising over 100 lawyers, is a recognized leader in the representation of large institutional and entrepreneurial fund sponsors and managers. We also serve as lead counsel to the world's premier investors and help them access opportunities in markets worldwide. Through its representation of a broad range of investment managers and institutional investors, Akin has unique insight on emerging trends across the private equity, credit and hedge fund industries. This knowledge and experience are particularly valuable to clients as convergence across asset classes continues to play out in the marketplace.

The firm's real estate funds practice draws on over 30 years of experience advising global fund sponsors and investors on the legal and structural complexities of real estate investments. With a focus on strategic fund formation, governance and cross-border structuring, we support clients across the full life cycle of real estate funds, including open-end and closed-end vehicles, evergreens, joint ventures and operating platforms. Our work spans core through opportunistic strategies and covers all major asset classes—from logistics and commercial to residential and agriculture—reflecting a deep understanding of market trends, investor priorities and regulatory developments shaping the real estate sector.

About Akin's Corporate Practice

Our market-leading corporate lawyers work with clients to structure and execute complex transactions and devise creative debt and equity capital solutions around the world. Our team of 300+ transactional lawyers, in major financial centers on three continents, works across borders, industries and the capital structure.

We provide counsel to alternative capital providers, including private equity, private credit, infrastructure, sovereign wealth and other investment funds, public and private companies, boards of directors and family offices, in connection with mergers & acquisitions, capital solutions and other investments, debt financings and capital markets transactions, energy & infrastructure transactions and corporate governance matters worldwide.

Akin is a leading international law firm with more than 900 lawyers in offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

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