Dennis J. Block serves as the Senior Chairman of Greenberg Traurig’s Global Mergers & Acquisitions practice, located in the New York office. Greenberg Traurig boasts approximately 2,750 attorneys across 48 U.S. and international offices, with a global corporate practice comprising over 500 lawyers. Mr. Block’s practice spans both national and international dimensions.
He is renowned for his involvement in precedent-setting transactions, which include:
- Pfizer Inc.’s $68 billion acquisition of Wyeth, marking the largest M&A transaction of 2009;
- P&G’s acquisition of Gillette;
- Westinghouse’s acquisition of CBS Corp;
- Bear Stearns Companies Inc.’s acquisition by JPMorgan Chase; and
- US West’s acquisition of Continental Cablevision, along with its subsequent split-off and joint venture with Time-Warner, culminating in the sales of US West (to Qwest Communications) and Media One (to AT&T).
Mr. Block has also represented Pfizer, Inc. in several significant transactions, including its:
- $100 billion hostile acquisition of Warner-Lambert, the largest domestic hostile takeover to date;
- $60 billion acquisition of Pharmacia;
- Acquisition of King Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; and
- Sale of the Capsugel business to KKR.
In 2010, he was recognized for the third time as an American Lawyer Dealmaker of the Year for his role as counsel to Pfizer in its acquisition of Wyeth. He has consistently been ranked among the leading corporate/M&A lawyers by Chambers and Partners in both its U.S. and global editions. Mr. Block advises a diverse range of clients, including companies, boards of directors, and special committees on matters related to corporate governance, M&A, and more. Before entering private practice, he was a branch chief for enforcement in the New York Regional Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mr. Block has served as co-chairman of the Committee on Corporate Counsel and has been a member of the Council of the Section of Litigation of the American Bar Association. From 1993 to 1998, he was a member of the Committee on Corporate Laws of the Section of Business Law of the American Bar Association.
He co-authored The Business Judgment Rule: Fiduciary Duties of Corporate Directors (5th ed. 1998 and Supp. 2000) and wrote a monthly column for the New York Law Journal. Additionally, he co-edited The Corporate Counsellor’s Deskbook (5th ed. 1999) and has been part of the editorial boards for various legal publications.
Mr. Block frequently lectures on topics such as mergers and acquisitions, the business judgment rule, corporate governance, federal securities law, corporate litigation, the attorney-client privilege, and indemnification and insurance for corporate officials.
He is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School, where he also taught advanced corporate law as an adjunct professor, and he holds a BA from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
