Deborah J. Kirk

Deborah regularly guides clients in navigating the complex, regulatory landscape involved with intellectual property, technology and data-related aspects of M&A, private equity and technology transactions (with particular experience handling large, complex carve-outs).

Drawing on her deep knowledge of complex technical and legal issues, including in connection with IP and commercial due diligence, Deborah provides holistic and commercially astute guidance to clients. Her perspectives are gleaned from representing both buyers and sellers in matters involving an array of commercial arrangements, and enable her to anticipate potential challenges in complex transactions and guide them to completion.

Recognition

With over 20 years of experience, Deborah is recognized as a leading practitioner in her field and has received the following accolades:

• Lawdragon’s 100 Leading AI & Legal Tech Advisors — 2025
• Lawdragon’s 500 Global IP Lawyers — 2025
• MergerLinks Top 5 EMEA IP Lawyer — 2022
• MergerLinks Top 10 M&A Lawyer — 2021
• MergerLinks No. 1 EMEA IP Lawyer — 2021

Experience

Deborah has advised on the intellectual property, technology and data protection aspects of a variety of matters both prior to and since joining Skadden, including:

• Facebook on the acquisition of Papers With Code, an AI research platform provider
• OSN Group on Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.’s $57 million minority investment in OSN Streaming Ltd.
• Authentic Brands Group on its strategic partnership with David Beckham to co-own and manage Mr. Beckham’s global brand
• Aker ASA on a joint venture and series B funding round with Nscale Global Holdings Ltd. to launch Stargate Norway and their “AI gigafactories” with support from OpenAI. Valued at $1.1 billion, this is the largest series B round in the U.K. and in European history
• Mona Kattan, co-founder of Huda Beauty LLC, on the carve-out of the KAYALI fragrance business to General Atlantic
• Permira Advisers in connection with the acquisition of a majority stake in Corin Group
• Farfetch on its IPO and acquisition of a large Chinese e-commerce platform, as well as on its global strategic partnership with Alibaba Group and Richemont to enhance access to the China market and accelerate digitization for luxury brands
• NVIDIA on its proposed (but terminated) $40 billion acquisition of Arm Limited
• Goldman Sachs on the acquisition of Aston Lark, a U.K.-based provider of insurance brokerage services
• Sony Pictures Entertainment on its acquisition of Silvergate Media, a developer of children’s brands for broadcasters, streaming platforms and retail partners
• Lineage Logistics on its acquisition of Harry Yearsley, a U.K.- based temperature-controlled logistics service provider and frozen food distributor
• Platinum Equity in connection with its acquisition of the European vacation rental business of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation

Pro Bono

Deborah has also advised on a number of pro bono matters for organizations, including Fairtrade, Save the Children and Dope Black CIC, among others.