Michael Blair is of counsel in the New York office of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. Mr. Blair served as the firm’s Presiding Partner from July 2011 through June 2022. Mr. Blair has served as lead counsel in a host of major M&A transactions, advised senior executives and boards of directors on governance matters and handled securities transactions for clients across a range of industries.

Mr. Blair joined Debevoise in 1981 and became a partner in 1989. He received his B.A. from Yale University in 1977 and his J.D. from the University of Chicago in 1981. Mr. Blair is currently a Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School. He is also a Trustee of the Smith Richardson Foundation, a member of the Economic Club of New York and a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. He has previously served as a director of the Partnership for New York City, the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity and The Legal Aid Society.