Sheppard Mullin Adds Private Equity Partner Thomas DeSplinter in Chicago
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP is pleased to announce that Thomas J. DeSplinter has joined the firm as a partner in the Corporate practice group in Chicago. He was previously a partner at McGuireWoods.
DeSplinter represents private equity and independent sponsors and large multi-national corporations in the energy, healthcare, manufacturing, retail and technology industries. He focuses on mergers and acquisitions, equity investments, debt financings, corporate spinoffs and dispositions of assets. Earlier in his career, DeSplinter was vice president of corporate development at a portfolio company of a multinational private equity fund, where he led deal teams that invested in regulated utility and transmission assets. He also worked in the integrated supply and trading unit of a multinational oil and gas company.
“We won a trifecta with Tom. Not only does he further deepen our private equity team’s bench strength, but he also brings significant experience in both healthcare and energy,” said Luca Salvi, chair of Sheppard Mullin. “Continuing to grow our private equity, healthcare and energy practices are strategic initiatives for the firm, and we are thrilled to have Tom here to help us continue to grow these sectors in Chicago and firmwide."
In addition to DeSplinter, the firm in the last year has welcomed transactional partners Julie Marion, Adam Marks, Carolyn Metnick, Megan Rooney, Doug Swill and Michael Wilson in Chicago.
“We have known and worked with Tom on both sides of the table,” said John Tishler, co-leader of Sheppard Mullin’s Corporate practice group. “We know the caliber of his work and clients, and we are delighted to have him on our team.”
“I have had the pleasure of working with and getting to know many Sheppard Mullin attorneys and have always been impressed by the depth and breadth of the firm’s private equity practice and its collaborative culture,” DeSplinter said. “I am excited to work alongside such deeply experienced attorneys in Chicago and across the firm.”
DeSplinter received his B.B.A., cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame, his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Illinois College of Law and his MBA from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is a major in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s Corps, where he advises commanders and soldiers on various areas of military law. He was deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
About Sheppard Mullin’s Corporate and Securities Practice Group
One of the firm's core strengths, Sheppard Mullin’s Corporate and Securities practice group, assists clients throughout the United States and abroad in maximizing their business opportunities. We represent clients that range from private to public companies and from startups and emerging businesses to international corporations. We are proud to offer CRADLE TO LIQUIDITY® services. We provide general business legal advice, assist in structuring and implementing major transactions, prepare agreements to address unique business arrangements, and consult with clients to resolve major business and ownership issues. We handle such matters as initial and later-stage venture and other financings; leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations; public offerings; mergers and acquisitions; SEC compliance; private equity transactions; real estate capital markets transactions; corporate, LLC and partnership formation; and corporate partnering, joint venture and other strategic alliance arrangements. Because of our diverse client base, we have experience representing substantial entities in complicated multinational and multistate transactions, as well as advising smaller and emerging clients on the full spectrum of business matters.