Kevin Schmidt is a corporate partner in the M&A Group and is Co-Chair of the firm’s Private Equity Group. For three decades, he has counseled private equity sponsors and investors in deals spanning the full range of private equity investing, including public company take privates, carve-outs, joint control transactions, and sponsor-led liquidity solutions. Mr. Schmidt is recognized as a leading lawyer for mergers and acquisitions in the private equity sector by Chambers USA, where he is described as “hyper-commercial,” “tactical, smart and persistent." He has drawn praise for his “ability to aggregate expertise from across the firm and distil it into simple ideas and strategy.” Clients also value his “candid feedback and negotiating prowess,” describing him as “a great negotiator” who is “pragmatic” and gets “right to the point.” He has also been recommended for private equity buyouts by Chambers Global, where clients have said he “thinks like a business person and manages risk with sound commercial judgment,” and is viewed as “an incredible negotiator who, more often than not, wins the argument.” Mr. Schmidt is recognized as a Leading Lawyer by The Legal 500 US, which has noted that he “stands out in his peer group” for his “responsive, commercially minded approach” and as someone “clients look to for leadership.” Mr. Schmidt has spoken at a variety of seminars regarding recurring M&A issues and is a regular speaker at the International Bar Association’s Annual M&A Conference in New York.
Mr. Schmidt joined Debevoise in 1994 and became a partner in 2002. He received his J.D. with high honors from Rutgers School of Law in 1994, where he was Order of the Coif, and his B.A. summa cum laude from Jersey City State College in 1989.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of the New Jersey City University Foundation, which provides philanthropic support to NJCU and its students.