Shareholder activism strategy
Proxy contests and defensive strategies
Mergers and acquisitions
Securities law and regulatory compliance, including Sections 13 and 16, Rules 144 and 105, Schedules 13G and 13D, Form 13F, Reg SHO, MNPI
Ele Klein leads McDermott’s shareholder activism practice and serves on the firm’s Management Committee, advising clients on activism, M&A, securities law and regulatory compliance.
He represents activists, companies and investment banks in corporate governance and control matters, including proxy contests and defensive strategies.
He also guides PIPEs, IPOs, secondary offerings, venture capital financings and complex securities trading and reporting issues for major investment groups and banks in the United States and abroad.
- Represented JANA Partners at Six Flags, Lamb Weston Holdings, Rapid7 and Freshpet
- Represented Anson Funds at Match Group and Twilio
- Represented Strategic Organizing Center at Starbucks
- Represented Elliott Management at Southwest
- Represented Trian Fund Management in The Walt Disney Company
- Chambers USA, Band 1 in Corporate/M&A: Shareholder Activism, 2025-2026
- Financier Worldwide Magazine – Shareholder Activism Power Player
- The Legal 500 US – US Elite, Corporate and M&A
- The Legal 500 US – Leading Lawyer
- The American Lawyer – 2022 Dealmaker of the Year
- American Bar Association
- Board of Advisors, Yale Law School Center for the Study of Corporate Law
- McDermott Will & Schulte Management Committee, member
- Yale Law School, JD
- Brooklyn College, BS, summa cum laude
- Connecticut
- New York
- Englisch