Debevoise & Plimpton LLP announces that partners Peter Furci and Nicole Mesard have assumed the positions of Presiding Partner and Deputy Presiding Partner of the firm, respectively, as of July 1. Their appointments were previously announced on April 25, 2022. Together, Mr. Furci and Ms. Mesard bring a combined two decades of firm management experience to their new roles. They succeed former Presiding Partner Michael Blair, who has held the position since 2011 and will retire at the end of this year, and Deputy Presiding Partner Bruce Yannett, who remains chair of the White Collar & Regulatory Defense Group.

Mr. Furci is the firm’s Presiding Partner and a partner in the Global Tax Group, where he advises private equity and corporate clients on M&A transactions and investment fund formation, as well as cross-border deals, particularly in Latin America. Previously Co-Chair of the firm’s Tax Department, Mr. Furci is the first in his family to attend college and serves as a partner sponsor of the firm’s First Generation Affinity Group and a longtime partner ally of the Latin@ Affinity Group. Mr. Furci is on the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association Tax Section, a fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel and an adjunct professor of tax law at New York University Law School. He joined Debevoise in 1995 and was promoted to partner in 2003.

Ms. Mesard is the firm’s Deputy Presiding Partner and a partner in the Real Estate Group, where she focuses on acquisitions and sales, financings, joint ventures, secondaries and restructurings. Ms. Mesard is also Chair of the firm’s Hiring Committee and Co-Chair of the Global Talent Initiative. She previously served as Deputy Chair of the Corporate Department and a member of the firm’s Management Committee. Ms. Mesard is a fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and a Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School. She joined Debevoise in 2001 and was promoted to partner in 2008.