Piotr (Pete) E. Korzynski
Biography
Piotr (Pete) E. Korzynski is a partner in Baker McKenzie's Corporate & Securities Group in Chicago. Having advised on M&A and capital markets transactions involving in excess of an aggregate USD 100 billion in value, Pete counsels clients on public and private mergers and acquisitions, equity dispositions, corporate finance, SEC compliance matters and corporate governance.
Chambers USA recognizes Pete as among the best lawyers in the country for Corporate/M&A work, having recognized him as “Up and Coming” in 2025. He was highlighted by clients interviewed by Chambers USA as being “an exceptional lawyer,” with ”skills and experience [that] make a real difference when you need to solve complicated issues” and “practical and commercial in his understanding of what [a client] need[s] out of a deal.” He has also been recognized as a 2025 “Rising Star” by Law360, one of Law360’s top attorneys under 40, for his life sciences M&A work for clients like H. Lundbeck A/S, Olink Holding AB (publ), Abbott Laboratories and Bayer AG.
Pete has a distinguished pro bono record and previously served as the Chair of the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law's Professionals' Council, a volunteer board supporting the organization's national anti-poverty advocacy. He has represented the Shriver Center and asylum applicants in various US federal appellate matters, including in argument and briefing in Ferreira v. Lynch, 831 F.3d 803 (7th Cir. 2016) (which case clarified that adverse credibility findings against asylum applicants may not be based on trivial inconsistencies from, or on otherwise unreliable, preliminary interviews).
Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, Pete was an attorney in the corporate practice group of a New York-based international law firm. He also previously served as an extern to the Honorable Joan B. Gottschall, judge of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. While in law school, Pete served as a senior editor and articles committee member of the Stanford Law & Policy Review.
Practice Focus
Representative Legal Matters
Since joining the Firm, Pete has worked on the following selected matters, representing:
- Servier, an independent international pharmaceutical group, in its all-cash USD 2.5 billion acquisition of Day One Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing targeted therapies for pediatric cancers and other cancers with high unmet medical needs.
- H. Lundbeck A/S, a global pharmaceutical company focused on treatments for brain diseases, in its acquisitions of:
- Alder Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., a company focused on migraine treatment and prevention, in a transaction valued at USD 1.95 billion in cash and contingent value rights;
- Longboard Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a company focused on developing medicines for neurological diseases, in a transaction valued at USD 2.6 billion in cash; and
- Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc, a biopharmaceutical company focused on sleep disorders and the developer of LUMRYZ, for up to USD 2.4 billion in a combination of cash and contingent value rights through an unsolicited competing proposal that was ultimately not consummated.
- Resulticks Global Companies Pte Limited, a global real-time, AI-driven customer intelligence solutions company, on its all-stock sale to Diginex Limited in a transaction valued at approximately USD 1.5 billion.
- Marel hf., a global food processing company, in its EUR 3.5 billion sale to John Bean Technologies Corporation.
- Numab Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech company, in its USD 1.25 billion sale of its "NM26" program assets related to a treatment targeting atopic dermatitis to Johnson & Johnson.
- Olink Holding AB (publ), a global proteomics products and services company, in its USD 3.1 billion sale to Thermo Fisher Scientific.
- Cummins Inc., a global engine and power system manufacturer and distributor, in the global carve-out and USD 316 million IPO split-off of its filtration business through Atmus Filtration Technologies Inc.
- Abbott Laboratories, a global medical device company, in its acquisitions of:
- Cardiovascular Systems, Inc., a medical device company, for USD 890 million; and
- GLP systems GmbH, a lab automation company, from Sonic Healthcare and other minority shareholders.
- Bayer AG, a global life sciences company, in its acquisitions of:
- Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc., a gene therapy company, in a transaction valued at up to USD 4 billion, including potential milestone payments; and
- Vividion Therapeutics Inc., a pharmaceutical company focused on cancers and inflammatory diseases, in a transaction valued at up to USD 2 billion, including potential milestone payments.
- Zen-Noh Grain Corporation, a grain elevator operating company, in its US DOJ-mandated divestiture of US grain elevators to Viserion Grain LLC to permit its USD 300 million acquisition from Bunge Limited of 35 US grain elevators.
- Acorda Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies for neurological disorders, in its USD 185 million sale of substantially all of its assets to Merz Pharma GmbH & Co. KGaA through a sale process pursuant Section 363 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.
Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit~United States (2013)
- Illinois~United States (2012)
Education
- Stanford Law School (JD, with Pro Bono Distinction, Gerald Gunther Prize for Outstanding Performance in Constitutional Law I) (2012)
- University of Chicago (BA, with general honors, Phi Beta Kappa, Lee Family Prize) (2007)
Languages
- English
- Polish