Ira J. Coleman

Ira Coleman is the chairman of McDermott Will & Emery. Since Ira took on this role in 2017, the Firm has embraced a new strategic direction focused on being indispensable to clients, enhancing performance and nurturing a happy, fun culture.

Under his leadership, McDermott has also adopted the unofficial mantra of #AlwaysBetter, representing the Firm’s commitment for constant improvement with the goal of delivering ever-greater value for our clients, people and communities. With this as a foundation, the Firm has experienced strong growth—outperforming the industry average across all key metrics—expanding across practices and geographies, and recruiting top talent.

Prior to taking on this role, Ira led the Corporate & Transactional Practice Group and served as the managing partner for the Firm’s Miami office.

He focuses his practice on all aspects of representing major private and publicly held corporations. In particular, he advises clients in navigating M&A and controversy matters that have “bet the company” implications. His other areas of focus include health, private equity and compliance.

Ira also serves as the general counsel for the Healthcare Private Equity Association (HCPEA). He presents regularly at private equity, national health care and leadership-focused conferences on a variety of subjects. He has authored and been quoted in numerous articles on private equity, health law, diversity and inclusion, and leadership.