NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 27, 2025--
Sterlington PLLC announced today that Michael Gilligan, an exceptional corporate partner with more than 25 years of experience advising on complex transactions, has joined the firm in its Corporate practice. Gilligan’s arrival further strengthens Sterlington’s fast-growing corporate bench, bolstering its expertise across M&A, private equity transactions, and governance matters.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250827062857/en/
“Michael is a trusted advisor who has spent his career helping boards and executives navigate their most critical deals,” said Christopher S. Harrison, managing partner of Sterlington. “His ability to pair technical excellence with practical judgment makes him a standout addition to our corporate team and a strong partner for our clients.”
Over the course of his career, Gilligan has steered clients through high-stakes negotiations, cross-border transactions, and multi-jurisdictional restructurings. He has executed buy-side and sell-side M&A across industries, advised on dispositions and private placements, and guided companies through proxy contests and joint ventures. He also regularly advises boards and senior executives on corporate finance, governance, and disclosure matters.
Before joining Sterlington, Gilligan was a partner at WilmerHale, Schulte Roth & Zabel (now McDermott Will & Schulte), Hogan Lovells, and Allen & Overy (now A&O Shearman). He earned his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.
Gilligan’s arrival is part of Sterlington’s continued strategic growth. In recent months, the firm has welcomed a series of notable lateral partners across corporate, litigation, arbitration, and intellectual property practices, including a 10-member private wealth team from Morgan Lewis.
About Sterlington
Sterlington PLLC is a full-service law firm focusing on complex corporate, litigation, executive compensation, and private wealth matters. As a firm, we focus on the economic as well as the legal aspects of our matters.
Among other strengths, Sterlington is the ultimate law firm for private capital, family offices, founders, and senior executives, as well as their related businesses.
We provide generous compensation to our equity partners, and empower partners to serve clients in a dynamic, collaborative environment of like-minded, ambitious professionals, with top tier associate and white glove professional support. We want partners to come to a place where they feel connected, feel supported, and can grow their business.
Visit us at www.sterlingtonlaw.com.
Michael Gilligan
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media that the U.S. Coast Guard had boarded the Motor Tanker Veronica early Thursday. She said the ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”
U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”
Noem posted a brief video that appeared to show part of the ship’s capture. The black-and-white footage showed helicopters hovering over the deck of a merchant vessel while armed troops dropped down on the deck by rope.
The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.
The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, it was partially filled with crude.
The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.
According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Galileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for moving cargoes of illicit Russian oil.
As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”
However, other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear that they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.
Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.
This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro's capture.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)
