Iliana Ongun, a partner in Milbank LLP’s Global Corporate/M&A Group in New York, was recognized as a Dealmaker of the Year finalist by the New York Law Journal at The New York Legal Awards 2024. The annual awards honor attorneys who have made a remarkable difference in the legal profession in New York.
In an interview with the NYLJ, Ms. Ongun discussed her most satisfying successes of the past year, highlighting the successful relationships she’s fostered with clients as she partnered with them on their most challenging matters—including advising the board of U. S. Steel on its merger with Nippon Steel, and the special committee of the board of Carrols Restaurants on its acquisition by Burger King, as well as the work she’s done as the Chair of the M&A Committee of the New York City Bar Association.
On the qualities that make a great dealmaker, Ms. Ongun shared, “A great dealmaker has creativity and the ability to distill complex ideas into simple trade-offs in order to help clients achieve their objective. Additionally, a great dealmaker must be able to motivate and coordinate an internal team of tax, antitrust and other specialists – all of whom must operate in sync and with sustained effort for the weeks or months that it takes to sign an M&A transaction.”
Ms. Ongun advises public and private companies across industries through mergers and acquisitions, including cross-border and domestic acquisitions and divestitures, joint ventures, private equity transactions and spin-offs. She also counsels boards of directors on shareholder activism, takeover defense strategies and other corporate governance matters.
Ms. Ongun serves on the Milbank hiring committee and is deeply involved in the firm’s Latinx affinity group, LaMano, as well as the firm’s pro bono efforts.
Read Ms. Ongun’s full Q&A here (subscription may be required).
Milbank was also named a winner in the Firm Innovation category in recognition of the firm’s Milbank@Harvard program.
