Key takeaways
- Nicholas Simon has joined BakerHostetler’s Cincinnati office as a partner in the firm’s Business Practice Group and a member of the Mergers and Acquisitions team and Sports Industry Team.
- Simon joins from a Chambers-ranked firm, where he was chair of the Sports & Entertainment Industry Group. He routinely advises clients on complex mergers and acquisitions and commercial transactions in the middle market across a range of industries, including sports, technology, financial services, retail and consumer products, manufacturing, life sciences and other business services.
- Simon’s arrival further strengthens the firm’s rapidly growing Business Practice Group, which welcomed prominent M&A partners Todd Kegler earlier this month and Sol Sassoon in February.
Why this matters
Simon’s arrival is strategic to the expansion of BakerHostetler’s nationally recognized Business Practice Group, which has welcomed more than 80 attorneys since the start of 2022. With over a decade’s worth of experience in private practice, Simon bolsters the firm’s corporate presence in the Cincinnati market and across the United States.
Key quote
“Nick is an exceptional corporate and M&A lawyer, but it’s his knowledge and experience in sports and hospitality law that really make him such a great fit,” said John Allotta, firmwide chair of BakerHostetler’s Business Practice Group. “Our firm’s sports and hospitality practices are already well known and top-notch. By adding Nick’s national recognition, impressive track record and key contacts, we further elevate BakerHostetler’s reputation as a go-to firm for clients in the sports and hospitality sectors.”
About Simon’s practice
A considerable portion of Simon’s practice is dedicated to advising clients in the sports industry in a range of matters, including mergers and acquisitions, stadium and team debt financings, equity financings, media, apparel, naming rights, sponsorship and other commercial matters.
Beyond his sports practice, Simon has extensive experience counseling middle market companies as well as private equity funds and their portfolio companies in an array of transactions, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions and complex commercial transactions. His mergers and acquisitions experience includes leading a broad range of transactions, from large public and private company control acquisitions and divestitures to strategic investments, equity and growth financings, and smaller add-on acquisitions and asset carve-outs.
Simon regularly serves as outside general counsel to middle market private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, providing and coordinating daily legal services on matters including corporate governance, commercial contracts, incentive equity, intellectual property, labor and employment, employee benefits, data privacy and security, real estate and tax.
Simon received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Wake Forest University and his J.D., magna cum laude, from Duke University School of Law.
Key quote
“Nick is a highly skilled attorney with experience leading deals for corporate clients and private equity firms. Adding Nick strengthens our M&A and private equity capabilities in the Cincinnati marketplace,” said Ashley Hess, Cincinnati office partner-in-charge. “We are delighted to have this opportunity to bring Nick on board and continue building our highly regarded Business Practice Group and the Cincinnati office.”