Benesch Expands in Chicago, Adding Private Equity Dealmaker Geoff Rahie as Partner

Benesch, one of the fastest-growing firms on the AmLaw 200 list, welcomes partner Geoff Rahie to its Chicago office. Rahie will co-lead the firm’s Private Equity Group.

Rahie concentrates his practice in private equity, representing middle-market sponsors in buyout transactions, divestitures, recapitalizations and other corporate transactions. He has worked as lead counsel with some of the most active middle-market private equity sponsors in the country in a broad variety of sectors, including manufacturing, healthcare, food & beverage, business services, consumer products and industrial services.

Representing private equity firms has long been one of Benesch’s core competencies. With attorneys around the country regularly serving dozens of the world’s leading middle-market funds, the firm is active in the acquisition, financing, operation, and ultimate disposition of various assets across a range of industries and in the formation and ongoing operation of the funds themselves.

“Geoff’s extensive experience as a dealmaker is very much aligned with Benesch’s strategic focus on expanding our private equity practice. We are excited to add him to our team,” said Benesch Managing Partner Gregg Eisenberg. “His experience in managing complex transactions across a range of industries is a great fit for our growth-minded clients and his entrepreneurial and commercial approach is a great fit for our firm culture.”

Before making the move to Benesch, Rahie was a partner at Winston & Strawn. In Benesch’s Chicago office, he joins bet-the-company litigators Erik Connolly and Nicole Wrigley, who came to Benesch from Winston in 2018.

“My practice is centered on fueling growth for my clients, so, naturally, I’m thrilled to be joining a firm that has made growth a hallmark of its own strategy,” said Rahie. “The Benesch team combines professional excellence with an entrepreneurial spirit and an openness to working in new ways. Benesch is focused on continuing the expansion of its middle-market private equity practice both in Chicago and other key markets. I am excited to be part of that expansion and to see what possibilities it will open for our clients.”

Since launching a national growth strategy in 2015 and entering the Chicago market in 2016, Benesch has consistently ranked as one of the nation’s fastest-growing law firms. In seven years, the Chicago office has grown from an initial core of three lawyers to 115 lawyers, making it the firm’s second-largest office. So far this year, the firm has added 68 lateral hires nationwide.