Emily D. Johnson

Emily D. Johnson is a distinguished partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, where she leads clients through the financial architecture of major corporate transactions. Her practice encompasses all aspects of transaction financing, including mergers, acquisitions, spin-offs, and restructurings. She is particularly skilled in crafting capital structures that strike a balance between flexibility and resilience across varying market cycles.

Emily earned her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Duke University School of Law, where she was an Allen G. Siegel Scholar and member of the Order of the Coif. She holds a Bachelor of Arts with Highest Distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was recognized as a Morehead Scholar and Phi Beta Kappa inductee.

Emily’s legal career at Wachtell began in 2010, where she rose through the ranks from associate to partner. Emily Johnson has advised on nearly $85 billion in deals, earning top industry accolades including MergerLinks’ #1 Financing Lawyer in North America (2024) and Law360’s Capital Markets MVP. She has also been recognized by Lawdragon, Chambers, IFLR, and The American Lawyer.

Beyond transactional excellence, Emily brings deep knowledge of both investment-grade and leveraged markets, including bank and direct lending, capital markets transactions, and distressed financing. She routinely advises on liability management and has a proven track record in high-stakes restructuring and divestiture scenarios.

Emily D. Johnson is also a dedicated community advocate with a robust pro bono practice. She serves on the board of Her Justice, co-chairs a subcommittee for the NY Attorney General’s Pro Bono Task Force for Reproductive Health, and lectures on acquisition finance at Columbia Law School. Her leadership and service have been recognized through appointments such as the David Rockefeller Fellowship and LCLD Fellowship.

Law Office Affiliations

• Partner, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
• Board Member, Her Justice

Licensed State

• New York

Education

• Duke University Law School
  Juris Doctor (JD)
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  BA with Magna Cum Laude

Awards & Badges