Norton Rose Fulbright announced that John Boelter has joined the firm’s Chicago office as a partner in the corporate, M&A, and securities practice, further strengthening its transactional capabilities and expanding its services for clients in the life sciences and pharmaceutical industries.
Boelter represents private and public companies, financial institutions, funds, and investors on domestic and cross-border initiatives, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, financings, and joint ventures. He joins a US team of more than 400 partners and 700 other deal lawyers, becoming the firm’s twelfth US lateral partner in 2026.
Coming from Mayer Brown, Boelter represents clients in strategic, venture, and private equity investments, financings, mergers, acquisitions and dispositions, recapitalizations, and reorganizations across the life sciences, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, industrial, technology, sports, media and entertainment, and financial services sectors. He is the sixth transactions-focused partner to join the Chicago office in the last 18 months, following Adam Arnett and Gordon Klein in private equity, Kyle Gann in M&A, Seth Aigner in finance, and Virginia Duong in tax.
Norton Rose Fulbright’s latest Global M&A Trends and Risks report, developed with Mergermarket, found that more than half of respondents expect global dealmaking to increase in 2026, with the United States identified as one of the strongest markets and continued momentum in technology and life sciences.
Boelter earned his law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota.
KEY QUOTES:
“John has a well-rounded practice counseling clients across the full lifecycle of M&A projects, which aligns closely with our approach to supporting transactions at every stage. His experience guiding deals in highly regulated sectors, where we are seeing sustained activity and continued investment, enhances our corporate offering in the US and globally.”
Jeff Cody, Global and US Managing Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright
“John’s arrival reflects the significant growth and market momentum we are experiencing in Chicago and across our transactional practices. We continue to attract leading partners because of the strength of our platform, the quality of our clients and the opportunities created by an increasingly complex and active deal environment.”
Sameer Ghaznavi, Chicago Office Partner-in-Charge, Norton Rose Fulbright
“Norton Rose Fulbright has a top-tier global corporate platform that is investing in the life sciences sector and the complementary intellectual property and regulatory capabilities that complex deals in this space demand. The firm’s collaborative approach and focus on strategic growth made it an ideal fit for my practice and my clients.”
John Boelter, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright
