Andrew J. Nussbaum is the Co-Chair of Wachtell’s Executive Committee and a member of the Corporate Department, joining the firm in 1993 and becoming partner in 1999. His practice involves a wide range of merger and acquisition-related matters, including cross-border transactions, spin-offs, divestitures, carve-out IPOs, private equity transactions and joint ventures, as well as governance advice and activism defense across a wide range of industries. Nussbaum also handles related work in public offerings, and debt and equity financings. He has completed a number of the largest cross-border transactions involving mergers between U.S. and European companies, acquisitions in Latin America, investments in China, a public company transaction in Russia and a major transaction involving one of Australia’s largest listed companies. He divides his work between corporate clients and the representation of major private equity firms, both in the United States and internationally.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America | 2026 | Corporate, esp. M&A |
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Dealmakers in America | 2026 | M&A, Private Equity |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 100 Managing Partners You Need to Know | 2025 | Co-Chair Executive Committee |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America | 2025 | Corporate, esp. M&A |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Dealmakers in America | 2025 | M&A, Private Equity |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America | 2024 | Corporate, esp. M&A |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Dealmakers in America | 2024 | M&A, Private Equity |
| The 2022 Lawdragon 500 Leading Dealmakers in America | 2022 | M&A, Private Equity |
| Lawdragon 500 Leading Dealmakers in America | 2021 | M&A, Private Equity |
| The 2016 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America | 2016 | Corporate, esp. M&A |
| The 2014-15 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers | 2014-2015 | Corporate, esp. M&A |
| The 2013 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers | 2013 | Corporate, esp. M&A |
Nussbaum graduated, summa cum laude, from Amherst College (1985) and has a master’s degree from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He attended the University of Chicago Law School, where he received his J.D. with high honors (1991), was a member of Order of the Coif and served as editor-in-chief of The University of Chicago Law Review. Prior to joining the firm, Nussbaum served as a law clerk to the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg, then of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and thereafter to Justice Antonin Scalia, United States Supreme Court.
Nussbaum speaks Spanish and Russian, and he is a member of the New York State and American Bar Associations. Nussbaum is active in various nonprofit organizations and serves as Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees of Amherst College, Member of the Executive Committee of the Partnership for New York City, and Member (previously Chairman) of the Board of Directors of Asphalt Green, a sports and fitness organization promoting wellness, water safety and health for New Yorkers. Nussbaum was previously on the Board of Governors of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.