July 15, 2025
New York, NY (July 15, 2025) --- Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP today announced that three leading private equity transactional lawyers, Jesse Betts, Jessica Hammons and Nathan Meredith have joined the Firm as partners in the Corporate & Financial Services Department. They are based in the Firm’s Dallas office.
Jesse Betts is a highly regarded corporate attorney who advises private equity sponsors, management teams and high-net-worth individuals through the entire investment cycle. He represents clients across multiple industries, including upstream and midstream oil and gas, oilfield water and waste disposal, manufacturing, logistics, medical device and technology. His practice focuses on private equity investment, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, joint ventures, internal restructurings, compliance with securities law, securities offerings, venture capital investments and other general corporate governance matters.
A well-known dealmaker in the Texas market, Jessica Hammons guides clients through corporate and securities transactions with an emphasis in upstream and midstream energy, manufacturing and financial services. She has extensive experience with private equity investments, public and private mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, public and private securities offerings, SEC reporting and corporate governance, and other general corporate and contract matters.
Nathan Meredith is a top-ranked transactional attorney with a practice focusing on mergers and acquisitions and private equity investments, particularly acquisitions and divestitures of oil and gas assets and companies and private equity funding arrangements. He also represents publicly and privately held companies and private equity funds across various industries, including energy, infrastructure, manufacturing and technology, in connection with joint ventures, portfolio company investments, commercial transactions and general corporate matters.
Holt Foster, Managing Partner of the Dallas office, commented: “The addition of Jesse, Jessica and Nathan further strengthens Willkie’s first in class transactional team in Dallas and continues the momentum of our Dallas office, which has welcomed several impressive lateral partners in recent months. Many Willkie partners in Dallas, including myself, worked with Jesse, Jessica and Nathan previously and know them to be premier transactional practitioners who are trusted advisors to their clients. We are thrilled to be working with them again. They have deep market knowledge and extensive experience that will complement our strong M&A and private equity capabilities in Texas and across the Firm.”
Jesse commented: “The opportunity to partner and collaborate with this group of distinguished and trusted advisors, many of whom I have known for years, is truly inspiring. Willkie’s dedication to the Texas market and excellence in private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and capital markets perfectly complements our clients’ needs and my professional goals.”
Jesse and Jessica join from Akin Gump. Nathan joins Willkie from A&O Shearman.
Willkie’s Dallas office was launched in May 2024 and extends the Firm’s preeminent private equity, M&A, finance and asset management practices to a diverse array of clients located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area as well as nationwide. Our team advises on corporate transactions, private equity, finance, restructuring, tax and additional transactional matters, and has significant experience in the energy, infrastructure, industrial, manufacturing, aviation, automotive, chemicals, real estate, technology and retail sectors.
Earlier this year, Willkie extended its footprint in Dallas by adding a second floor to its lease at The Quad in Uptown Dallas.
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Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP provides leading-edge legal solutions on complex, business critical issues spanning markets and industries. Our more than 1,200 attorneys across 16 offices worldwide deliver innovative, pragmatic and sophisticated legal services across approximately 45 practice areas. Learn more at www.willkie.com.
