2026 ILLINOIS ATTORNEYS TO WATCH
“
Tyler is known for his exceptional legal skills and his willingness to always go the extra mile for his clients. ”
TYLER BORN
AGE: 39 FIRM : Willkie Farr & Gallagher LAW SCHOOL : University of Chicago Law School AREA(S) OF PRACTICE: Corporate and financial services
T yler Born has built a reputation for guiding his clients through high-stakes corporate transactions with a steady hand, even when unexpected events threaten to derail a deal. His peers credit this ability with making Born one of Chicago's rising corporate attorneys, one who works with his clients on some of the market's most complex mergers and acquisitions. A partner in the Corporate & Financial Services Department at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, Born concentrates his practice on structuring, negotiating and managing complex business transactions for private equity sponsors, publicly traded com- panies and privately held businesses. Born's client roster reflects how varied his practice is. He has advised businesses across industries ranging from logistics, manufacturing and transportation to life sciences, technology, insurance, financial and business services, infrastructure and real estate. Some notable deals he’s helped his clients close? He repre- sented Blue Wolf Capital Partners in its $1.2 billion take-private acquisition of LOGISTEC Corporation and the subsequent sale of LOGISTEC's marine terminal division to Enstructure. He also advised NanoString Technologies in the bankruptcy-supervised sale of its assets to Bruker Corporation and represented Bridge Growth Partners in its sale of Accedian to Cisco. And that’s just a small sampling of Born’s work. His fellow attorneys point not only to the complexity of Born's work but
also to his ability to keep transactions moving when unexpected surprises hit. One attorney recalls working alongside Born on the sale of a large family-owned company to a private equity buyer. After months of carefully managing a competitive auction process, the parties had reached agreement just as the COVID-19 pan- demic brought dealmaking to a near standstill. When financing markets froze and uncertainty threatened to scuttle the trans- action, Born remained calm, reengaged the parties and ulti- mately helped close the acquisition. His fellow attorney said that this deal showcased Born's ability to balance strategic thinking with practical problem-solving while keeping both clients and deal teams focused. Promoted to partner in 2024, Born has become a central figure in developing Willkie Farr & Gallagher’s Chicago trans- actional practice. He serves as a hiring partner overseeing re- cruitment for the office's transactional group, has co-led the firm's summer associate program for the past three years, and helped launch a corporate professional development program designed to accelerate associate training and mentorship. Craig C. Martin, Chairman, Americas of Willkie Farr & Gallagh- er, notes that, “Tyler is known for his exceptional legal skills and his willingness to always go the extra mile for his clients and his partners. He is an invaluable asset to our Chicago office and the broader Willkie platform.”
18 40 Under Forty 2026 CHICAGO LAWYER & CHICAGO DAILY LAW BULLETIN
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