K&L Gates has announced a new global managing partner and chair, as the top 25 US firm passes the baton to the next generation of leaders.
Stacy Ackermann, head of the firm’s finance practice, has been named global managing partner, effective on 1 July. Her appointment follows Jim Segerdahl’s decision not to seek a third term.
Meanwhile, Rick Giovannelli has been appointed co-chair of the firm’s management committee alongside current chair Michael Caccese. Caccese will step down from firm leadership on 30 June 2026, after having served as chair for nine years, at which point Giovannelli will continue in the chair role.
Ackermann joined K&L Gates in 2012 from Alston & Bird, where she was a partner. She has served on K&L Gates’s management committee for six years and has a well-regarded practice advising lenders, servicers and investors in financial and credit market transactions.
Ackermann said: “It is a privilege to succeed Jim as global managing partner and I’m ready to build on the solid foundation he helped establish to deliver new opportunities for our global team and clients.”
Ackerman added she would focus on strengthening the firm’s market position and talent development as managing partner.
Giovannelli has been with the firm since 1996 and currently leads its global corporate practice, where he focuses on M&A, private equity and financing transactions across industries including manufacturing, healthcare, retail and technology. Giovannelli has been a member of the management committee since 2014 and has led the firm’s global practice management and industry initiatives since 2021.
Giovannelli commented: “K&L Gates places our clients at the centre of everything we do while simultaneously fostering a culture of collegiality and opportunity. I’m excited to work with Stacy and Mike to build on this legacy while moving boldly forward – in this moment of accelerated global change – to serve our clients and our workforce.”
During the last eight-plus years Segerdahl and Caccese, who will both continue as practising partners at the firm when their terms end, have overseen a period of significant growth at K&L Gates. Under their leadership, the firm has grown to more than 1,300 lawyers and expanded into new markets including Dublin, Luxembourg, Nashville and Kansas City.
The firm has more than doubled its revenue and profitability and tripled net income in the past decade, generating turnover of nearly $2.4bn and profit per equity partner of $5.9m in 2024, according to data published by American Lawyer.
The firm’s management committee thanked Segerdahl for his service in a statement: “We are grateful for Jim’s tireless dedication to the firm. He is not only a determined consensus builder and a steadying hand but also a savvy leader who is laser-focused on client success. We are all better off having had him as our global managing partner.”
Email your news and story ideas to: [email protected]
