Denise A.Carkhuff

Denise Carkhuff has acted as the lead lawyer on a multitude of completed M&A and private equity transactions in more than 25 years in practice. Her experience covers matters in a variety of industries, jurisdictions, and deal structures. Denise has experience in the full life cycle of a company (from formation, capital raising, dividend recapitalizations, IPOs, sales, and dissolutions). The main focus of Denise's practice is the representation of private equity funds. She has also served a general counsel function for countless private companies, including portfolio companies of private equity funds.

Denise has worked with many private equity funds, including Blue Point Capital Partners, Centre Lane Partners, Cortec Group, Edgewater Capital Partners, Morgan Stanley Private Equity, The Riverside Company, and Wellspring Capital. She regularly represents private companies or their management teams in their ultimate sale and also has been involved with many significant and complex M&A transactions involving public and private clients.

Denise has authored articles on M&A and corporate governance topics published in Buyouts, VC Experts, and Smart M&A. She is a member of the board of each of Friends of Breakthrough Schools, a top-rated network of free public charter schools, and the Achievement Centers for Children, a nonprofit whose mission is to empower children and adults with disabilities. Denise developed, and led for more than a dozen years, Women In Transactions, a networking group for women doing transactional work. She co-leads RRAIN, a Cleveland women lawyers group at Jones Day. Denise was a member of the 2018 Leadership Cleveland class.