The American Lawyer Recognizes Dechert and its Lawyers Among the Industry’s Best

Dechert and its lawyers have been recognized for legal excellence across multiple categories in The American Lawyer’s 2026 Industry Awards, earning finalist recognition on a national stage in an award program that honors those who have contributed significantly to the advancement of the legal profession in the past year.

In the “Best Law Firm of the Year” category, Dechert has been named a finalist for a strategic transformation led by co-chairs Mark Thierfelder and David Forti. Under their leadership, the firm sharpened its focus on serving asset managers, private equity sponsors and financial institutions across the capital stack, posting record financial results in 2025 and subsequently attracting an unprecedented lateral recruitment wave. At the same time, the caliber of the firm's legal work matched its strategic ambition, with Dechert lawyers orchestrating precedent-setting structured finance and private credit transactions and securing landmark appellate and complex commercial litigation outcomes. 

Two individual Dechert lawyers also received finalist recognition in The American Lawyer awards:

• Global finance partner Jay Alicandri has been named a finalist in the “Corporate Lawyers of the Year: Capital and Solutions” category. Mr. Alicandri, co-chair of Dechert’s corporate and securities practice, co-head of its permanent capital and private credit teams and a member of its global policy committee, commands pivotal roles at the firm and in the wider U.S. financial sector, serving many of the private credit industry’s most consequential sponsors.
• Securities litigation partner Angela Liu, a boardroom-focused litigator known for driving results for public and private companies, boards and senior executives in high-visibility corporate disputes, has been named a finalist in the “Best Mentor: Law Firm” category. Ms. Liu, current president of the University of North Carolina Law Alumni Association, has made mentorship central to her practice throughout her career, building a Mentoring Circle Program at Dechert and co-founding the national Women in Securities Litigation network that fosters collective mentorship.

Honorees and winners in The American Lawyer's Industry Awards will be recognized at a ceremony in New York on November 12.

About Dechert 

Dechert is the law firm that helps business leaders lead.

For more than 150 years, we have advised clients on critical issues – from high-stakes litigation to first-in-market transaction structures and complex regulatory matters. Our nearly 1,000 lawyers in commercial centers worldwide are immersed in the key sectors we serve – financial services, private capital, real estate, life sciences and technology.

Dechert delivers unwavering partnership so our clients can achieve unprecedented results.