Ryan J. Dzierniejko

Mr. Dzierniejko regularly works with private companies to execute late-stage financings and strategically prepare for an IPO. Over the last three years, he has led over 20 IPOs for innovative and disruptive companies looking to access the U.S. capital markets. His IPO experience includes, among others, IPOs of Casper, Clearwater Analytics, Duolingo, Fiverr, IHS Markit, Lightspeed Commerce, Match Group, Monday.com, Riskified, Rivian, Shopify, Squarespace, Vertex, Vroom, XP and Zeta Global. He also has extensive experience representing companies and investment banks in high-yield and investment grade debt financings, leading over $200 billion of offerings to date. Additionally, he represents companies in restructurings and other significant corporate transactions, and advises on corporate governance, investor relations and stock exchange matters.

Mr. Dzierniejko has led some of the largest and most notable capital markets transactions in recent years, including:

• numerous “unicorn” pre-IPO financings, ranging from the largest seed financing ever completed (Binance.US) to some of the largest late-stage financings ever completed (e.g., WeWork);
• the best-performing IPO of the past decade (Shopify);
• the largest IPO of 2021 and the seventh-largest IPO ever completed (Rivian);
• the first direct listing ever completed by an East Coast company (Squarespace);
• the IPO of the most valuable Israeli company to access the U.S. capital markets (Monday.com);
• the IPO of the most valuable South American company to access the U.S. capital markets (XP);
• the largest equity offering ever completed by a Canadian company (Barrick);
• the largest debt offering ever completed by a Canadian company (Rogers);
• numerous inaugural debt offerings, including two of the largest inaugural bond offerings of the past decade (Meta and DowDuPont); and
• the second-largest high-yield debt offering ever completed (Valeant).

Mr. Dzierniejko is frequently recognized as a leading adviser in his field. In 2022, he was named as one of only five Law360 Capital Markets MVPs who “distinguished themselves from their peers.” He also was honored as FinTech Dealmaker of the Year by The Deal. Earlier in his career, he was the recipient of multiple Rising Star awards, including being named “Best in Capital Markets.” He is ranked as a leading lawyer in Chambers USA, Chambers Global, IFLR1000, Legal 500 and the Lawdragon 500. In Chambers, clients have noted that he “is super personable and ... comes up with really creative ideas for legally structuring a transaction with a business focus,” and that “he is an exceptional deal lawyer, who is the perfect blend of substance and practicality, and he is a true partner on deals, whether he is representing the underwriters or the issuer — his clients love him.”

Mr. Dzierniejko spent several years in Skadden’s Toronto office where he gained extensive experience representing Canadian and other foreign companies on cross-border transactions. With respect to Canadian companies, he has worked with more than one-third of the TSX 60. He is currently the co-head of Skadden’s U.S./Canada capital markets practice.

Mr. Dzierniejko graduated as the gold medalist in his law school class. He currently teaches Tech and VC Law at Columbia Law School.