Binta Niambi Brown is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group of the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. She has represented corporate clients in connection with merger and acquisition transactions, public and private debt and equity offerings, and secured debt financings. Fortune Magazine listed her on its list of busi- ness’s 40 under 40 “hottest rising stars,” and the World Economic Forum honored her as a Young Global Leader in early 2012. Binta was the only lawyer in private practice in North America honored as a Young Global Leader in 2012, and is the only lawyer in private practice on the October 2012 Fortune 40 under 40 list. She was also named as one of the 2011 “40 Under 40” professionals in Crain’s New York Business, and the National Organization for Women recognized her as a “Woman of Power and Influence” in June 2011.

Binta has also advised general counsel and other senior management officials of Fortune 500 companies with respect to corporate governance matters and other special situations. In addition, she provides general corporate advice to early- and growth-stage businesses, including Fonderie 47 (where she is also a member of its Board of Advisers), the Daily Muse (Adviser), Day One Response, and numer- ous other technology businesses. Binta also supports the start-up and angel communities in New York, San Francisco, Mumbai, London and Washington, D.C., as a frequent judge of business plan competitions (including the William James Foundation), as a mentor through several incubators, and as a regular public speaker. Binta spoke at the inaugural TEDxScottAFB, the first TEDx event organized and sponsored by any branch of any military.

She was an informal national security adviser to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign, where she focused in particular on human rights and international institutions. In 2006, she served on Governor Eliot Spitzer’s transition team as a member of his Transportation Policy Advisory Committee. In 2010, Binta served on Governor Andrew Cuomo’s transition team, again as a member of his Transportation Policy Advisory Committee. Binta is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Truman National Security Fellow. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Barnard College, Columbia University, the New York City Parks Foundation and the American Theatre Wing, and is a member of the Board of Directors of Human Rights First.

Her pro bono practice has included advocating on behalf of women and girls, assisting with democratic institution-building and rule-of-law reforms, and engaging in other human rights matters throughout the world. She is currently co-lead- ing an initiative recommending rule of law reforms to Myanmar to facilitate capital flows and foreign investment there. In 2005, the U.S. Army and the Fifth Division of the Iraqi Army honored Binta for her pro bono support of a military operation that resulted in securing emergency medical care in the U.S. for a young Iraqi civilian.