DAVID PERKINS maintains a diverse practice that focuses on advising private equity sponsors and other private capital investors and asset managers on all aspects of their transactions, capital raising activities, and business and investment structures. Dave has received numerous accolades for his work, including being recognized for Private Equity Buyouts: Large Deals, 500m+ by Legal 500 US (2024), as “Dealmaker of the Year” by the New York Law Journal (2023), and as a Private Equity “MVP” by Law360 (2024). IFLR1000 has ranked him in Mergers and Acquisitions and Real Estate Acquisitions in the United States (2019–2024) and Lawdragon listed him as one of the “500 Leading Dealmakers in America” (2021–2024).
Dave’s transactional practice includes representing both large cap and middle market private equity sponsors, as well as their portfolio companies, in connection with complex transactions, including leveraged buyouts, take-privates, dispositions, spinoffs, joint ventures, minority and other structured investments, special situations restructurings, and general corporate matters. Dave also advises asset managers on the structuring and formation of investment funds and other investment vehicles across a wide variety of asset classes, including private equity, private credit, and real estate. He has extensive experience with mergers, acquisitions, GP stakes, seed transactions, and other transactions involving asset managers.
Dave has represented clients across a wide range of industries, such as insurance, renewable energy, aerospace and defense, food and beverage, manufacturing, engineering, business services, and real estate. His clients have included BDT&MSD, Blue Owl Capital, Blue Torch Capital, Brookfield, Lindsay Goldberg, White Mountains Insurance Group, and their respective portfolio companies.
Prior to joining Sidley, Dave was a partner at another global law firm and was one of the co-leaders of its Private Equity group. Dave has served on the Private Investment Funds Committee of the New York City Bar Association and was selected to serve on Law360’s Private Equity Editorial Advisory Board in 2022.
Before his legal career, Dave served as an officer in the United States Army in various infantry assignments, including with the 82nd Airborne Division and the 25th Infantry Division. He was later recalled to active duty in 2008 to serve as an embedded advisor to the Afghan National Police in southern Afghanistan, ultimately attaining the rank of Major.