Deborah L. Paul

Partner

New York +1 212 839 7326

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Biography

DEBORAH PAUL co-leads the firm’s global Tax practice and advises public and private companies, private equity firms, and other market participants on the tax aspects of complex corporate transactions. Her practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, spin-offs, and financial instruments, with extensive experience advising on both domestic and cross-border transactions.

Debbie regularly serves as the principal tax lawyer on significant strategic acquisitions, private equity transactions, divestitures, and corporate separations. She has advised clients on transactions across a wide range of industries, including media and entertainment, energy and natural resources, technology and data, consumer products, healthcare, financial services, and business services. She works closely with clients and their deal teams to navigate complex tax considerations and develop structures that support their strategic and commercial objectives.

Debbie is widely recognized for her work in corporate tax. She is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers USA for Tax in New York and has been ranked by Chambers USA for over 20 years (2004–2026). Debbie was designated by Legal 500 United States to its “Hall of Fame” for US Taxes: Non-Contentious (2026) and recommended for International Tax (2026). She has also been recognized by Lawdragon among its “500 Leading Dealmakers in America” (2026) and named a Who’s Who Legal “Global Elite Thought Leader” in Corporate Tax (2026).

In addition to her frequent speaking engagements at industry events, Debbie is a lecturer at Harvard Law School and a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School, teaching International Tax at both schools. Prior to joining private practice, Debbie was an assistant professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and an acting assistant professor at New York University School of Law.

Experience

Representative Matters

Warner Bros. Discovery in its US$110 billion acquisition by Paramount.
ConocoPhillips in its US$22.5 billion acquisition of Marathon Oil.
Jacobs in its “reverse Morris Trust” spin-off and combination of Jacobs’ Critical Mission Solutions and Cyber & Intelligence government services businesses with Amentum resulting in a combined company valued at US$7.85 billion.
FIS in the sale of a majority stake in its Worldpay Merchant Solutions business to GTCR in a transaction valuing Worldpay at US$18.5 billion.
S&P Global in its US$44 billion acquisition of IHS Markit, the US$650 million sale of its Leveraged Commentary and Data business to Morningstar, the sale of its CUSIP Global Services Business to FactSet and the US$1.15 billion sale of IHS Markit’s Oil Price Information Services, Coal and PetroChem Wire businesses to News Corp.
Apollo in its US$1.85 billion acquisition of U.S. Silica, US$7.1 billion acquisition of Tenneco, US$6 billion acquisition of Tech Data Corporation and US$760 million equity investment in Legendary Entertainment and in Tech Data’s US$7.2 billion merger with Synnex and Legendary Entertainment’s buyout of Wanda.
MDU Resources Group in the US$2.4 billion spinoff of Everus and US$1.6 billion spinoff of Knife River.
Core Scientific in its terminated acquisition by CoreWeave.
Capri Holdings in its US$1.375 billion sale of Versace to Prada.
STAAR Surgical in its terminated US$1.5 billion acquisition by Alcon.
Aramark in the US$2 billion spinoff of its Uniform Services business.
CONSOL Energy in its US$5.2 billion merger with Arch Resources.
Nielsen in its US$16 billion acquisition by Evergreen Coast Capital and Brookfield and the $2.7 billion sale of Nielsen’s Global Connect business to Advent International.
Terminix in its US$6.7 billion acquisition by Rentokil.
W.R. Grace in its US$7 billion acquisition by Standard Industries.
ServiceMaster Global Holdings in its US$1.5 billion sale of its ServiceMaster Brands businesses to Roark Capital.
Danone in its acquisition of Kate Farms, sale of its Horizon Organic and Wallaby businesses to Platinum Equity and sale of Vega to WM Partners.
New York Media in its sale to Vox Media.
Publicis Groupe SA in its US$4.4 billion acquisition of Alliance Data’s Epsilon business.

The above matters were handled prior to joining Sidley.

Community Involvement

Membership & Activities

Chair, Tax Section of the New York State Bar Association (2019)

Credentials

Admissions & Certifications

New York

Education

New York University, LL.M., 1994
Harvard Law School, J.D., 1989
Harvard University, A.B., 1986

Capabilities

News & Insights

Featured in, “Five Questions,” Bloomberg Law, July 24, 2026.
Author, “‘Double or Nothing’ and the Economic Substance Doctrine,” Taxes - The Tax Magazine, March 2026.
Co-author, “The One Big Beautiful Bill Act & M&A,” Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, July 15, 2025.
Author, “What’s Unrealized About the Tax Treatment of Partnership Capital Shifts,” Tax Notes Federal, September 19, 2022.

Speaker, “Current Issues in Divisive Strategies,” Tax Strategies for Corporate Acquisitions, Dispositions, Spin-Offs, Joint Ventures, Financings, Reorganizations & Restructurings, Practising Law Institute, New York, NY, October 20, 2026.
Speaker, “‘Relevance’ of the Economic Substance Doctrine after Liberty Global and Otay,” International Fiscal Association, Webinar, June 17, 2026.
Speaker, “The New Pro Rata Regime Under Section 951(a)(2),” International Tax Institute, Webinar, May 21, 2026.
Speaker, “Cross-Border M&A,” 2026 May Tax Meeting, American Bar Association, Washington, D.C., May 7-9 2026.
Speaker, “Preferred Partnership Interests – Perils and Possibilities,” Tax Planning for Domestic & Foreign Partnerships, LLCs, Joint Ventures & Other Strategic Alliances, Practicing Law Institute, New York, NY, May 4, 2026.
Speaker, “Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (CAMT) and M&A.” Understanding the Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax, Practicing Law Institute, New York, NY, April 23, 2026.
Speaker, “Cross Border M&A and Spin-Offs,” International Fiscal Association, USA Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, March 20, 2026.
Speaker, “‘Double or Nothing” and the Economic Substance Doctrine,” University of Chicago Law School Annual Federal Tax Conference, Chicago, IL, November 6-7, 2025.
Speaker, “Current Issues in Divisive Strategies & De-Leveraging Strategies in Divisive Transactions,” Tax Strategies for Corporate Acquisitions, Dispositions, Spin-Offs, Joint Ventures, Financings, Reorganizations & Restructurings, Practising Law Institute, New York, NY, October 2025.
Speaker, “Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (CAMT) and M&A.” Understanding the Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax, Practicing Law Institute, New York, NY, March 5, 2025.
Speaker, “Structuring Leveraged Buyouts (LBOs),” Tax Strategies for Corporate Acquisitions, Dispositions, Spin-Offs, Join Ventures, Financings, Reorganizations & Restructurings, Practising Law Institute, New York, NY, October 2024.
Moderator, “Moore v. United States: Key Issues and Potential Consequences,” New York State Bar Association Tax Section Annual Meeting, New York, NY, January 16, 2024.
Speaker, “Structuring Leveraged Buyouts,” Tax Strategies for Corporate Acquisitions, Dispositions, Spin-Offs, Join Ventures, Financings, Reorganizations & Restructurings, Practising Law Institute, New York, NY, October 2023.
Speaker, “Administrative Challenges,” How the Supreme Court Case Moore v. United States Could Alter the Tax Landscape, Urban Institute & Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center and NYU School of Law Tax Law Center, Washington, D.C., September 21 2023.
Speaker, “Private Equity, Venture Capital LBOs,” Tax Strategies for Corporate Acquisitions, Dispositions, Spin-Offs, Join Ventures, Financings, Reorganizations & Restructurings, Practising Law Institute, New York, NY, October 2022.
Speaker, “What’s Unrealized about the Tax Treatment of Capital Shifts,” Tax Forum and Tax Club, New York, NY, February and June 2022.
Speaker, “Private Equity, Venture Capital LBOs,” Tax Strategies for Corporate Acquisitions, Dispositions, Spin-Offs, Join Ventures, Financings, Reorganizations & Restructurings, Practising Law Institute, New York, NY, October 2021.