Sonia K. Nijjar

A leader in top technology deals, Sonia K. Nijjar, a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates, was busy in late April, handling one of the biggest stories in the world.

Nijjar was part of a team from the firm representing billionaire tech executive Elon Musk in his acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion. It's one of the many high-profile, billion-dollar technology deals that Nijjar has negotiated in recent years.

Most recently, she represented Activision Blizzard for the video game publisher's $75 billion acquisition by Microsoft in January 2022.

Her deal roster also includes data-based health coaching program Livongo's $18.5 billion acquisition by Teladoc in October 2020; Credit Karma's $7.1 billion acquisition by Intuit in December 2020; semiconductor company Xilinx's $35 billion acquisition by AMD in February 2020; and semiconductor manufacturing company Broadcom's $37 billion sale to Avago in 2015.

For Nijjar, billion-dollar deals are just another day on the job.

"I just find it to be an incredibly exciting profession," she said. "I love that when I get out of bed in the morning that I don't know what the day is going to bring in terms of legal challenges for us because these are such dynamic deals and companies that they really have that high level of excitement and complexity to them."

Nijjar specializes in highly complex cross-border deals, which she's been handling since her days as a junior associate. Tackling complex cases is one reason why she became a lawyer, Niijar said, adding that she couldn't do it without her tremendous team at Skadden.

"I think I've always been someone who likes solving issues," she said. "In M&A specifically, I really love that we're always negotiating to solve something because we're all trying to get a deal done and meet the goals of our client."

While women are underrepresented in tech, and especially in tech law, Nijjar said she's now seeing more women lawyers coming to the negotiating table.

"I think it's terrific and we should all continue to make strides to increase representation," she said. "It's a great mission for all of us in the industry."

- Kelly Puente