Partner, Simpson Thacher
Kirsten Jensen is a leading mergers and acquisitions attorney with more than 25 years of experience advising companies and their boards. A founding member of Simpson Thacher’s Palo Alto office, she has been at the forefront of many game-changing Silicon Valley deals over the years.
Kirsten provides her clients with practical advice and solutions to help them achieve their goals as they engage in complex transactions. Her expertise spans the full range of M&A, including public and private acquisitions and dispositions, joint ventures, minority investments, carve-outs and activist defenses. Her experience covers a broad range of industries including tech, biotech, pharmaceutical, healthcare, renewable energy, finance, consumer products, media, real estate, aerospace and light industrial.
Kirsten also spent several years as in-house counsel at Warner-Lambert Company (prior to its acquisition by Pfizer), through which she gained additional perspective on best practices when serving in the role of outside counsel and further insights into ways to maximize her value-add to clients.
Some of her prior accolades include being named a Women Leader in Tech Law by The Recorder, a Top Women Lawyer by the Daily Journal, and a Top 50 Women Lawyer by the California Diversity Council.
Kirsten is currently a member of the board of directors of Mercury Orchestra, a Houston-based organization celebrating the power of music through teaching, sharing and performing.
Kirsten received her B.A. from Yale in 1988 and her J.D. from Harvard in 1991, and she is admitted to practice in New York, California and Texas.