BakerHostetler Deepens Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity Bench With Addition of Four Partners in New York

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 16, 2025--

BakerHostetler:

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Key takeaways

Why this matters
BakerHostetler is pleased to announce the firm has added a significant team of four partners in New York to its Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Equity and Debt Finance teams.

The group’s arrival adds significant depth to BakerHostetler’s Business Practice Group in New York and its firmwide Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity teams. The group continues BakerHostetler’s focus on offering top-of-class representation of financial and strategic buyers and sellers in middle-market M&A transactions.

Key quotes
“Increasing our transactional capabilities in key markets like New York is a strategic firm priority. We are delighted to welcome this sophisticated team of partners that will add to our market-leading M&A, Private Equity and Debt Finance teams in New York,” said Paul Schmidt, chairman of BakerHostetler.

“The addition of these exceptional lawyers to our Business Practice Group demonstrates the substantial investment the firm continues to make in our New York Office,” said George Stamboulidis, managing partner of BakerHostetler’s New York office. “We’ve added more than 100 lawyers to our ranks in New York in the past 15 years.”

“BakerHostetler advises on hundreds of middle-market deals each year for our private equity and strategic clients. Our teams are currently very busy as the middle market has significantly picked up in the second half of 2025. We are thrilled to add Andy, Steve, Josh and Henry’s practices to our existing M&A and Private Equity teams as we continue to expand our team of partners that delivers top-of-market client services and handles our clients’ most complex transactions,” said John Allotta, chair of BakerHostetler’s Business Practice Group.

“Andy, Steve, Josh and Henry are widely respected and talented dealmakers, and this group of partners will be a terrific addition to our practice. We are committed to providing quality and nuanced advice to our clients as they navigate a rapidly shifting business environment. The group’s impressive history of successfully managing complex transactions enhances our position as one of the premier middle-market M&A firms in the U.S.,” added Steven Goldberg, co-leader of BakerHostetler’s Mergers and Acquisitions team.

Arsiotis is an accomplished corporate attorney who focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, private investment funds and corporate finance matters for private equity funds, family offices, venture capital entities and their portfolio companies. Clients across the manufacturing, technology and software, financial services and health care industries seek his counsel in a broad spectrum of commercial transactions, such as joint ventures, partnerships, private equity deals, business combinations, leveraged buyouts, mezzanine debt financings, startup formations, financing activities and corporate restructurings. He is also adept at guiding clients through equity and debt investments and corporate governance issues.

Arsiotis earned a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and a B.A. from Stony Brook University.

For more than two decades, Rockoff has been advising both borrowers and lenders across a broad spectrum of domestic and cross-border debt financing transactions, with a strong focus on representing private equity firms, financial sponsors, corporate borrowers, family offices, banks, hedge funds and other financial institutions. Steve is well-versed in handling matters involving leveraged buyouts and acquisition financings; senior secured lending, including first and second lien credit facilities and asset-based lending; mezzanine debt; working capital facilities; and term loans.

Rockoff earned a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and a B.A. from Stony Brook University.

Saidlower has a broad corporate practice, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financing and general corporate matters for clients in the technology, manufacturing, distribution, construction, health and wellness, and financial and professional services industries. He represents buyers and sellers in private mergers and acquisitions transactions, including auction sales; assists businesses (including startups and growth-stage companies) with capital raises and strategic investments; negotiates credit facilities, including term loans, revolving lines of credit and mezzanine debt financings; and selects and negotiates representation and warranty insurance policies.

Saidlower earned a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and a B.A. from Queens College.

A former assistant general counsel at a private equity firm, Zangara represents sponsors of and investors in private equity and other alternative asset investment funds, as well as family offices, focusing on mergers and acquisitions, equity finance, fund formation and general corporate counseling. He has worked on transactions across a variety of industries, including health and active living, retail, consumer products and services, manufacturing, and technology, and has aided investment management clients in connection with fund formation activities and secondary transfers. In addition to his private equity work, Zangara has extensive experience guiding operating companies and various founder and other owner groups as they navigate the process of buying and selling their businesses.

Zangara earned a J.D. from Boston University School of Law and an A.B. from Brown University.

BakerHostetler’s Business Practice Group handles thousands of corporate transactions each year. The full-service team, consisting of more than 280 attorneys in offices across the U.S., has extensive experience closing all varieties of transactions – including mergers and acquisitions and private equity, real estate, debt finance, capital markets and securities, health care and regulatory, restructuring and bankruptcy, emerging companies and venture capital, commercial transactions, and other matters central to a company’s success. A national group with a global reach, BakerHostetler’s Business Practice Group is consistently named a go-to firm by both Chambers USA and Legal 500. For more information, visit bakerlaw.com/services/business/. Connect with us on LinkedIn at @BakerHostetler, @PaulSchmidt, @JohnAllotta, @StevenGoldberg, @GeorgeStamboulidis, @AndrewArsiotis, @StevenRockoff, @JoshuaSaidlower or @HenryZangara or on the social platform X at @BakerHostetler.

About BakerHostetler
BakerHostetler helps clients around the world address their most complex and critical business and regulatory issues. Our highly ranked attorneys deliver sophisticated counsel and outstanding client service. We have six core practice groups – Business, Digital Assets and Data Management, Intellectual Property, Labor and Employment, Litigation, and Tax – and more than 1,000 lawyers coast to coast. For more information, visit bakerlaw.com.

Henry Zangara

Joshua Saidlower

Steve Rockoff

Andrew Arsiotis

Iran's top judge hinted at fast trials and executions for those who were detained in nationwide protests against the country's theocracy, even as activists said Wednesday that the death toll rose to levels unseen in decades, with at least 2,571 people killed so far.

Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, made the comments about trials and executions in a video Tuesday, despite a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump that he would “take very strong action” if executions take place.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said the number of dead climbed to at least 2,571 early Wednesday. The figure dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

After Trump was informed of the number of deaths, he warned Iran's leaders that he was terminating any negotiations and would “act accordingly.”

Details of the crackdown began emerging Tuesday as Iranians made phone calls abroad for the first time in days after authorities severed communications countrywide when the protests broke out.

Here is the latest:

Tens of thousands of mourners thronged the streets near Tehran University for the funeral of more than 300 security forces and civilians on Wednesday.

Many held Iranian flags and identical photos of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and their relatives. The caskets, covered in Iranian flags, were stacked at least three high in the backs of trucks and covered with red and white roses and framed photographs of people who were killed. The crowd chanted and beat their chests in response to an emcee speaking from a stage.

One man in the crowd held up a photo of U.S. President Donald Trump during the Pennsylvania assassination attempt, emblazoned with: “The arrow doesn’t always miss!”

India's Embassy in Tehran urged Wednesday all Indian nationals to leave Iran, citing what it called an “evolving situation” in the Islamic Republic.

The statement, posted on X, also advised Indian citizens to remain highly vigilant and avoid areas where protests are taking place.

German police said Wednesday the two climbed over a fence into embassy grounds and tore down an Iranian flag. Both wanted to hoist two pre-Islamic Republic flags but failed, German news agency dpa reported.

They left the grounds when guards used pepper spray and were detained on the sidewalk outside.

The incident happened late Tuesday.

Major Middle East governments were discouraging the Trump administration from waging a war with Iran, fearing “unprecedented consequences” in the volatile region, an Arab Gulf diplomat said Wednesday.

The Cairo-based diplomat, who was given anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media, said major governments in the region, including Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, have been “in constant contact” with the U.S. administration over a potential American strike on Iran that could explode into a “full-blown war.”

Such a war will “certainly” have dire repercussions “not only on the Middle East but also on the global economy," he said.

Iranian state television said Wednesday’s mass funeral in Tehran would include 300 bodies of security force members and civilians. The funeral is expected to take place at Tehran University under heavy security.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said the crackdown killed at least 2,571 people. It said 2,403 of the dead were protesters and 147 were government-affiliated. Twelve children were killed, along with nine civilians it said were not taking part in protests. More than 18,100 people have been detained, the group said.

Gauging the demonstrations and the death toll from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll, given the communications being disrupted in the country.

Melanie Lidman contributed from Jerusalem.

Trump’s decision to impose a 25% tariff on countries that trade with Iran could impact India, an expert said, as New Delhi already faces existing 50% U.S. trade levies due to its purchases of Russian oil.

Abhijit Mukhopadhyay, a senior economist at the Chintan Research Foundation in New Delhi, said the bigger risk is not India-Iran trade, but India’s access to the U.S. market, as its exports to Iran are modest.

India mainly exports rice, tea, sugar, pharmaceuticals and electrical machinery to Iran, while importing dry fruits and chemical products. Textiles and garments, gems and jewelry and engineering goods are likely to be the most vulnerable sectors, he said.

Trump’s latest move also could affect India’s investments in Iran, including the strategically important Chabahar port, which gives India a trade route to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Europe while bypassing Pakistan, Mukhopadhyay said.

Iran’s judiciary chief signals fast trials and executions for those detained in nationwide protests.

Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei made the comment in a video shared by Iranian state television on Wednesday.

He emphasized the need for swift action, saying delays would lessen the impact.

His remarks challenge Trump, who warned Iran about executions in an interview aired Tuesday.

Trump stated the U.S. would take strong action if Iran proceeded with executions. The situation highlights escalating tensions between the two countries over the handling of the protests.

Dozens of Pakistani students studying in Iran have returned home through a remote southwestern border crossing, a Pakistani immigration official said Wednesday.

Federal Investigation Agency spokesperson in Quetta city, Samina Raisani, said about 60 students crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday through Gabd border in Balochistan province with valid travel documents.

More students were expected to return through the same crossing later Wednesday, she said.

Mudassir Tipu, Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran, said Tuesday that Iranian universities had rescheduled exams and permitted international students to leave the country.

The satellite internet provider Starlink now offers free service to people in Iran who have access to the company's receivers, activists said Wednesday.

Mehdi Yahyanejad, a Los Angeles-based activist who helped get the units into Iran, told The Associated Press that the free service had started. Other activists also confirmed in messages online that the service was free.

Starlink has been the only way for Iranians to communicate with the outside world since authorities shut down the internet Thursday night as nationwide protests swelled and they began a bloody crackdown against demonstrators.

Starlink did not immediately acknowledge the decision.

This frame grab from videos taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdown on the outskirts of Iran's capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (UGC via AP)