Black, Female Lawyer Team Led Adtalem’s $1.48B Walden Deal (1)

When five Black women recently led Adtalem Global Education‘s $1.48 billion acquisition of online, for-profit educator Walden University, it was a rarity in the legal industry. Adtalem general counsel Chaka Patterson hopes the move will set an example for other legal chiefs.

Akerman partner LaKeisha Marsh and Skadden partner Janine Jjingo served as Adtalem’s lead regulatory and financing counsel, respectively, and Covington partners Catherine Dargan and Amy Wollensack co-led M&A counsel. The Chicago-based company’s associate general counsel Elisa Davis served as internal lead lawyer, and the deal was signed on Sep. 11.

This was the first time that these ...