Jonathan Levitsky is a corporate partner and member of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity, Corporate Governance and Technology, Media & Telecommunications Groups. Mr. Levitsky has a broad-based transactional practice advising public and private companies and private equity sponsors on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and corporate governance matters. He has led transactions across many industries, including media and telecommunications, healthcare, technology, consumer and industrials, among others.
Mr. Levitsky was named “Dealmaker of the Year” by The American Lawyer and recognized for “Most Outstanding Deal of the Year” by The Deal for his work leading Discovery, Inc. in the acquisition of WarnerMedia from AT&T in a Reverse Morris Trust transaction that values the combined entity at approximately $130 billion (2022). He is ranked as a leading lawyer by Chambers USA (2023), where clients value the combination of his “excellent bedside manner,” his “deep knowledge of the market” and his “ability to firmly defend his clients' interests when needed.” Clients describe him as “impressive,” “trustworthy,” “super smart” and “extremely reliable” and praise his “deep knowledge of the media and entertainment industry, with experience across different subsectors.” Mr. Levitsky was chosen by The New York Times as a member of the next generation of leading deal makers, and was included in its “Facebook of Wall Street’s Future.” He is recommended by The Legal 500 US (2023), where clients highlight his “huge expertise and thought power,” and he is also ranked as a leading M&A lawyer by IFLR1000 (2022). Mr. Levitsky was named Entertainment & Media Lawyer of the Year by leading M&A publication The Deal (2018).
Mr. Levitsky is a frequent author and speaker on topics related to mergers and acquisitions. He is the co-author of Takeovers: A Strategic Guide to Mergers & Acquisitions (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, 2020). He has served as a member of the New York City Bar Association’s Committee on Mergers, Acquisitions and Corporate Control Contests.
Mr. Levitsky joined Debevoise in 2001 and became a partner in 2007. He received his A.B. magna cum laude from Brown University in 1990; an M.Phil. from Oxford University in 1992, where he was a Marshall Scholar; and his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1995, where he was a member of the Yale Law Journal. Prior to joining Debevoise, Mr. Levitsky served as a law clerk to the Hon. John Paul Stevens, U.S. Supreme Court and the Hon. Pierre N. Leval, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Mr. Levitsky served as Counselor to Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and as a Member of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of the board of directors of Scholars at Risk.