Private Company Acquisitions: Negotiating and Navigating the Fraud Exception

Mr. Deibert has broad experience representing clients on complex corporate matters, including mergers and acquisition transactions, corporate governance issues, financings, and securities disclosures. He works with clients across a range of industries, including the financial services, semiconductor, technology, consumer products, and hospitality industries. Mr. Deibert's clients are companies, board of directors, private equity firms, venture capital funds, investment banks, and individuals. He is nationally recognized for his M&A and corporate governance work and was the immediate prior co-head of the firm’s M&A practice. Mr. Deibert has been involved in numerous M&A transactions buying and selling both privately held and publicly traded businesses and he regularly counsels boards on their fiduciary duties.

Ms. McLean is a partner in Willkie’s Dallas office, where she is a part of the Corporate & Financial Services Department and Private Equity Practice Group. She is a leading private equity lawyer with over 25 years of experience advising private equity funds and management teams on sophisticated and high-profile deals across the energy sector. Ms. McLean's practice focuses on private equity transactions, particularly portfolio company investments, acquisitions and divestitures of assets and companies, and joint ventures. She has been recognized as a leading dealmaker and influential woman in the energy sector. In 2025, Ms. McLean was awarded the highly respected recognition of “Hall of Fame” status in The Legal 500, for the category of Energy Transactions: Oil & Gas. In 2023, she was recognized by The Deal as a “Top Women in Dealmaking” for Private Equity. Ms. McLean also serves on the Private Equity Editorial Advisory Board for Law360.

Ms. Stark brings more than two decades of experience guiding companies through complex corporate transactions and strategic decisions involving Delaware corporate law. Her practice spans mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, proxy contests, asset sales, stock issuances and hostile takeovers. Ms. Stark advises both public companies and private equity funds and their portfolio companies in connection with mergers and acquisitions. She also counsels both public and private companies on corporate governance matters, including Delaware fiduciary duties, and the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware. In addition, Ms. Stark has a strong capital markets practice, advising on IPOs, secondary offerings, and at-the-market transactions. She also regularly works with private equity and venture-backed companies on preferred stock and debt financings, as well as strategic investments and exits.