John M. Pollack is co-chair of Gibson Dunn’s Private Equity Group, where he advises private equity firms and their portfolio companies on U.S. and cross-border transactions. He also serves on the Finance Committee of Gibson Dunn.
John was named one of the 2025 Dealmakers of the Year by The American Lawyer. This recognition underscores why clients consistently go to John for the most critical solutions for their highest-leverage needs. John was also named as one of the Top Technology Lawyers in North America FY 2024 by MergerLinks. John has been recognized as a leader in his field by Chambers USA, which praised him for being “fantastic to work with, very bright and very attentive to detail.” He is consistently ranked by The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law, and has been recognized as one of the “500 Leading Lawyers in America” by Lawdragon.
He represents clients in a number of industries including Aerospace and Defense. He has advised private equity sponsors, strategic investors, and defense companies on complex transactions and risk management in highly regulated industries.
John’s private equity clients have included and include Veritas Capital, Liberty Hall Capital Partners, OceanSound Partners, Lupa Systems, Cerberus Capital Management and Motive Partners. Recent transactions that he has led include:
- the representation of Veritas Capital in connection with certain M&A transactions, including:
- the $2.45BN acquisition of NCR Voyix’s cloud-based digital banking business,
- the $10.5BN acquisition of Cotiviti with KKR and the pending acquisition by Cotiviti of Edifecs (owned by Francisco Partners and TA Associates),
- the $3.1BN acquisition of the Wood Mackenzie business from Verisk,
- the acquisition of the CAES business (now Frontgrade) from Cobham (owned by Advent) and Frontgrade’s subsequent acquisition of Aethercomm and IDSI,
- the acquisition of Sequa Corporation (now Chromalloy) from entities affiliated with Carlyle Partners, and
- the acquisition by Finalsite of the Blackboard K-12 division of Anthology,
- the representation of Liberty Hall Capital Partners and its portfolio companies on various M&A transactions, including
- the acquisition by Accurus Aerospace of Ferra Holdings,
- the sale of OnBoard Systems to Arcline Investment Management,
- the sale of AIM Aerospace to Sekisui Chemical for $510 million,
- the sale of Aircraft Performance Group to AFV Partners, and
- the acquisition of Comply365 from Luminate Capital Partners and subsequent combination of Comply365 with Vistair and related investment by Insight Partners,
- the representation of OceanSound Partners and its portfolio companies on various M&A transactions, including
- the acquisition of cBEYONData,
- the acquisition of DMI and related add-on acquisitions (including the sale of its commercial business to Encora (owned by Advent and Warburg Pincus)), and
- the acquisition of SMX and related add-on transactions,
- the representation of Lupa Systems (James Murdoch’s family office) on various M&A matters, including the acquisition of majority control of the parent company of the Tribeca Film Festival and its add-on acquisition of m ss ng p eces production company.
John has also represented various public companies in change of control transactions, including former Veritas portfolio company Aeroflex Holding Corp. in its $1.5 billion sale to Cobham plc, former Veritas portfolio company Dyncorp International in its $1.5 billion sale to Cerberus Capital and Charming Shoppes in its $900 million sale to Ascena Retail Group.*
John graduated magna cum laude from The George Washington University and The George Washington University Law School, the latter bestowing upon him High Honors, Order of the Coif and an award for Highest Overall Proficiency in Securities Law.
He also serves on GW Elliott School of International Affairs and The George Washington University Law School Board of Advisors, as well as is a member of the Law School’s Center for Law, Economics & Finance (C-LEAF) Advisory Board.
*Representations were made by Mr. Pollack prior to his association with Gibson Dunn.
Capabilities
Credentials
Education:
- George Washington University - 1998 Juris Doctor
- George Washington University - 1995 Bachelor of Arts
Admissions:
- New York Bar