Mergers & Acquisitions
We guide clients through public and private M&A, leveraged buyouts, divestitures, and joint ventures — handling deal complexities from cross-border regulatory clearance to post-close integration disputes.
Learn MoreEstablished 1987 · New York · London · Singapore
Counsel Trusted
When the Stakes
Demand It.
Harlan & Reyes advises the world's most consequential companies, private equity sponsors, and sovereign entities on transactions, disputes, and the regulatory challenges that define industries.
What We Do
Practice Areas
Our practices span the full arc of corporate life — from formation and capital-raising through growth, transformation, and the disputes that arise along the way.
Capital Markets & Securities
From IPOs and secondary offerings to high-yield debt and structured products, our capital markets team has executed over $340 billion in transactions across more than 60 jurisdictions.
Learn MorePrivate Equity & Funds
We represent leading sponsors in fund formation, portfolio company acquisitions, GP-led secondaries, and exit transactions — with particular depth in infrastructure, healthcare, and technology sectors.
Learn MoreCommercial Litigation & Arbitration
Our litigators have tried landmark cases before federal courts and international arbitral tribunals. We represent clients in bet-the-company disputes with the same strategic precision we bring to transactions.
Learn MoreRegulatory & Compliance
We navigate the most complex regulatory environments — SEC enforcement, antitrust clearances, financial services regulation, and cross-border sanctions compliance — for institutions operating in high-stakes jurisdictions.
Learn MoreRestructuring & Insolvency
Whether advising distressed companies, creditor committees, or acquisition financiers, our restructuring practice brings creative, commercially grounded solutions to even the most complex Chapter 11 and cross-border insolvency proceedings.
Learn MoreOur Difference
Why the World's
Leading Companies
Choose Harlan & Reyes
We are not a general-service firm. We are a concentrated group of elite practitioners, each at the top of their specialty, built to handle the matters where the outcome genuinely cannot afford to be wrong.
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Strategic Depth, Not Volume
Our partners carry deliberately limited caseloads so that every matter receives senior attention from inception to resolution.
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Truly Global Reach
Offices in New York, London, and Singapore — plus alliance relationships across 40+ jurisdictions — give clients seamless cross-border execution.
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Absolute Confidentiality
We operate with a strict conflict-check protocol and partner-level confidentiality commitments that go beyond regulatory requirements.
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Transaction Value Advised
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Years of Practice
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Client Retention Rate
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Jurisdictions Served
Leadership
Our Attorneys
Each partner at Harlan & Reyes is a recognised authority in their field — many having trained at the bench, in-house at global institutions, or in government service before joining the firm.
Marcus J. Harlan
Senior Founding Partner
M&A · Private Equity · Capital Markets
Formerly co-head of M&A at Skadden, Marcus founded the firm in 1987 after serving as a Deputy General Counsel at Goldman Sachs. He has led over $180 billion in public company transactions, including four of the ten largest LBOs in US history.
- Harvard Law School, J.D. magna cum laude, 1981
- Law clerk, Judge Richard A. Posner, 7th Circuit
- Chair Emeritus, ABA Committee on M&A Law
Sofia Reyes-Alcántara
Managing Partner
Litigation · International Arbitration · Regulatory
Sofia leads the firm's global litigation and arbitration practice from London. A former Deputy Director at the UK Financial Conduct Authority, she has represented sovereign governments and FTSE 100 companies in precedent-setting disputes before the English Commercial Court and ICSID.
- Oxford University, BCL & BA Jurisprudence, First Class, 1993
- Called to the Bar of England and Wales, Inner Temple
- Member, ICSID Panel of Arbitrators
Vikram S. Nair
Senior Partner, Asia
Private Equity · Restructuring · Funds
Based in Singapore, Vikram advises pan-Asian private equity sponsors and sovereign wealth funds on complex acquisitions and cross-border restructurings. He joined the firm after a decade as General Counsel at Temasek Holdings and is widely regarded as one of Southeast Asia's pre-eminent corporate deal lawyers.
- National University of Singapore, LL.B. (Hons), 1998
- NYU School of Law, LL.M., 2000
- Fellow, Singapore Academy of Law
Eleanor M. Thorne
Partner
Capital Markets · Securities Regulation · SPACs
Eleanor joined the firm as a lateral from Sullivan & Cromwell and leads our capital markets practice in New York. She has been primary counsel on 47 registered public offerings raising an aggregate $22.4 billion in the last five years, with particular expertise in life sciences and technology listings.
- Yale Law School, J.D., 2005
- Former SEC Division of Corporation Finance, Counsel
- The American Lawyer — "Dealmaker of the Year," 2022
Selected Matters
Notable Case Results
A selection of representative matters. Specific client identities are withheld in accordance with our confidentiality commitments.
$11.4 Billion Acquisition of European Infrastructure Platform
Sole counsel to a North American infrastructure fund in its acquisition of a pan-European digital infrastructure operator spanning 14 EU member states. Navigated concurrent FDI filings in Germany, France, and Spain while achieving a fully committed financing package in under four months.
Complete Dismissal — $4.7B Treaty Arbitration Claim
Successfully represented a sovereign government respondent before an ICSID tribunal, securing complete dismissal of a $4.7 billion energy sector expropriation claim. The panel's jurisdictional ruling is now widely cited in investment treaty scholarship.
$3.2 Billion Dual-Listed IPO — Healthcare Technology
Lead issuer's counsel on a simultaneous New York and London listing of a UK-based healthcare analytics company. The offering, oversubscribed 6.4×, was the largest dual-listed healthcare IPO of 2023 and set pricing precedent for the sector.
Out-of-Court Restructuring — $1.8B Retail Credit Facility
Advised an ad hoc group of first-lien lenders in the restructuring of a major North American specialty retailer. Our team achieved a consensual amendment-and-extension without a Chapter 11 filing, protecting $1.8 billion in principal and preserving 14,000 jobs.
SEC Wells Notice — Enforcement Action Declined
Represented a Nasdaq-listed technology company following receipt of an SEC Wells Notice related to revenue recognition practices. After a comprehensive remediation programme and response brief led by our regulatory team, the Division of Enforcement declined to bring an action.
Client Voices
What Our Clients Say
When we were facing a hostile bid from a well-capitalised activist, we needed more than technical lawyers — we needed strategic counsel who could help our board understand the full picture and respond decisively. Harlan & Reyes gave us exactly that, and then some.
Sofia Reyes-Alcántara and her team took on a treaty claim that three other firms had told us was unwinnable. Not only did they secure a full dismissal, they reshaped the jurisdictional framework in a way that will protect us going forward.
We have worked with Harlan & Reyes on six portfolio company exits over the last decade. Their capital markets bench is extraordinary — Eleanor Thorne, in particular, navigated our dual-listing with a calmness and precision that only comes from genuine mastery.
The SEC enforcement matter was the most stressful period of our company's history. Harlan & Reyes handled it with complete discretion, sharp legal strategy, and — ultimately — an outcome none of us dared hope for. I would recommend them without reservation.
Knowledge
Insights & Analysis
The New Antitrust Paradigm: What the FTC's 2024 Merger Guidelines Mean for Cross-Border Deals
The revised guidelines signal a materially different enforcement posture for deals exceeding $2 billion. Our M&A team analyses the practical implications for deal structuring, timeline expectations, and remedy negotiations.
Read Full AnalysisSEC's Climate Disclosure Rule: A Compliance Roadmap for Listed Companies
Read ArticleGP-Led Secondaries: Navigating the Evolving Regulatory Landscape in the EU and UK
Read ArticlePre-Packaged vs. Pre-Negotiated Chapter 11: Choosing the Right Tool for a Complex Restructuring
Read ArticleConfidential Enquiry
Begin a
Confidential
Consultation
All enquiries are handled under strict professional confidentiality. A senior attorney will respond within one business day.
New York
1221 Avenue of the Americas, 42nd FloorNew York, NY 10020
+1 (212) 555-7890
newyork@harlanreyes.com
London
One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, 38th FloorLondon, E14 5AB
+44 20 3456 7890
london@harlanreyes.com
Singapore
Marina Bay Financial Centre, Tower 3, 31st FloorSingapore 018982
+65 6123 4567
singapore@harlanreyes.com