Ryan J. Dzierniejko

Mr. Dzierniejko has been repeatedly recognized as a leading adviser in his field. In 2022, he was named as one of five Capital Markets MVPs by Law360, honoring an elite slate of attorneys who have distinguished themselves from their peers. He has also been named FinTech Dealmaker of the Year by The Deal and is consistently named as one of Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Dealmakers in America. Additionally, he is recognized by Chambers Global, IFLR1000 and The Legal 500 — in Chambers, clients have noted that “he is super personable and ... comes up with really creative ideas for legally structuring a transaction with a business focus,” “he is an exceptional deal lawyer who is the perfect blend of substance and practicality” and “he is a true partner on deals — whether he is representing the issuer or the underwriters, his clients love him.” Earlier in his career, he was the recipient of multiple Rising Star awards, including being named “Best in Capital Markets.”

Mr. Dzierniejko has led some of the largest and most notable capital markets transactions in recent years, including:

• numerous “unicorn” pre-IPO financings, ranging from the largest seed financing ever completed (Binance.US) to some of the largest late-stage financings ever completed (e.g., WeWork)
• the best-performing IPO of the past decade (Shopify)
• the largest IPO of 2021 and the seventh-largest IPO ever completed (Rivian)
• the first direct listing ever completed by an east coast company (Squarespace)
• the IPO of the most valuable Israeli company to access the U.S. capital markets (Monday.com)
• the IPO of the most valuable South American company to access the U.S. capital markets (XP)
• the largest equity offering ever completed by a Canadian company (Barrick)
• the largest debt offering ever completed by a Canadian company (Rogers)
• numerous inaugural debt offerings, including two of the largest inaugural bond offerings of the past decade (Meta and DowDuPont)
• the second-largest high-yield debt offering ever completed (Valeant)

Mr. Dzierniejko regularly works with private companies to execute late-stage financings and strategically prepare for an IPO. Over the past four years, he has led more than 20 IPOs for innovative and disruptive companies looking to access the U.S. capital markets. His IPO experience includes, among others, IPOs of Cava, Clearwater Analytics, Duolingo, Fiverr, IHS Markit, Lightspeed, Match Group, Monday.com, Rivian, Shopify, Squarespace and XP. He also has extensive experience representing companies and investment banks in high-yield and investment grade debt financings, leading over $250 billion of offerings to date. Additionally, he advises corporate clients in areas such as corporate governance, SEC and stock exchange matters.

Mr. Dzierniejko spent several years in Skadden’s Toronto office where he gained extensive experience representing Canadian and other foreign companies on cross-border transactions. He is currently co-head of Skadden’s U.S./Canada capital markets practice.

Mr. Dzierniejko graduated as the gold medalist in his law school class. He currently teaches Tech and VC Law at Columbia Law School.