Partners Jenny Hochenberg, Christine Wilson and Damien Zoubek Named to Forbes' 2026 America's Top Lawyers List

Global Co-Head of M&A Jenny Hochenberg, Head of U.S. Antitrust, Competition and Trade Christine Wilson and U.S. Managing Partner and Co-Head of U.S. Corporate and M&A Damien Zoubek have been named to the 2026 Forbes America's Top Lawyers List. The list identified the leading dealmakers, litigators, advisers and strategists who stand apart in an extraordinarily competitive field. America's Top Lawyers 2026 honors those who are defining modern legal excellence, as distinguished through their notable deals and transactions, impressive trial work, wise counsel and respect from colleagues, arbiters and clients.

Jenny focuses her practice on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and shareholder activism defense. She has worked on some of the biggest and most transformative M&A transactions of our time, both purely U.S. as well as cross-border, on behalf of clients including bp on its $4.1bn acquisition of Archaea Energy, Novartis on its €2.7bn acquisition of MorphoSys AG., Merck on its $10bn acquisition of Verona Pharma plc., Sanofi S.A. on its acquisition of Vigil Neuroscience, Inc., Standard BioTools Inc. on its pending stock-for-stock merger with Treeline Biosciences, Inc. and Terns Pharmaceuticals on its $6.7bn acquisition by Merck. Jenny has consistently been recognized as a leading advisor by numerous publications and legal directories, including being named a 2024 "Dealmaker of the Year" by The American Lawyer. She was also recognized earlier in 2026 on the inaugural Forbes America's Top Women Lawyers List.

Christine leads the firm's U.S. antitrust, competition and trade practice. Drawing on 30 years of public and private sector experience at the intersection of law, policy and politics, she has counseled clients on navigating rapidly evolving legal and regulatory regimes during seminal transactions including Northwest Airlines in its merger with Delta Air Lines, Verizon in its acquisition of MCI, Google on the $32bn acquisition of Wiz and ExxonMobil on its $59.5bn acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resource Company. Before joining Freshfields, Christine served as a Commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), where she helped shape antitrust and consumer protection policies and enforcement actions. Before joining the FTC, she was a Senior Vice President at Delta Air Lines where she oversaw the carrier's regulatory and international legal matters.

Damien focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, shareholder activism defense, corporate governance and general corporate matters spanning numerous industries. He has led numerous high-profile transactions, including Johnson & Johnson on its $13.1bn acquisition of Shockwave Medical, Inc., Lowe’s on its $8.8bn acquisition of Foundation Building Materials, Merck on its $10bn acquisition of Verona Pharma plc. and Patrick Whitesell, the Executive Chairman of Endeavor, in connection with the $25bn sale of Endeavor to Silver Lake. Damien is repeatedly recognized as a leading lawyer for Corporate/M&A by, among others, Chambers U.S.A, Chambers Global and The Legal 500 U.S.