Overview
Kristin Ornstein is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Dallas office, where she maintains a nationally recognized practice at the intersection of private investment funds and mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
Ms. Ornstein represents private equity sponsors, institutional investors, asset managers, family offices and established businesses in connection with complex fund formations and sophisticated M&A transactions across a range of highly regulated industries. Her practice reflects the full scope of the private capital life cycle, from initial fund structuring through portfolio company acquisitions, growth and exit.
Ms. Ornstein regularly advises sponsors on the formation and structuring of large-scale private investment funds, including flagship, co-investment and continuation vehicles, as well as feeder funds, fund-of-funds structures and secondary transactions. She counsels clients on carried interest arrangements, principal incentivization, management company economics and the negotiation of side letters and related governance matters. Her capital-raising experience encompasses the preparation of private placement memoranda, subscription materials and securities filings, and she routinely advises on regulatory considerations arising under broker-dealer and investment adviser frameworks. Ms. Ornstein brings a thorough understanding of the commercial and regulatory pressures that accompany institutional-scale fund operations, and her clients include sponsors and asset managers overseeing significant portfolios across multiple investment strategies.
On the transactional side, Ms. Ornstein represents buyers and sellers in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and strategic investments, with a concentration in complex, high-value and high-volume transactions involving advanced deal structures and multi-party negotiations. Her M&A experience spans leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, restructurings, roll-up strategies, carve-outs, spinoffs, and asset and equity purchase transactions. She also advises clients on joint ventures, platform acquisitions and add-on transactions that support long-term portfolio growth. Ms. Ornstein provides comprehensive, service-driven counsel on the vast dimensions of these matters, ensuring that deal architecture aligns with her clients' broader investment objectives and regulatory obligations.
Ms. Ornstein has developed significant industry depth across several sectors that are central to private capital deployment. In healthcare, she advises private equity sponsors, physician practice management companies and healthcare investors on growth strategies, acquisitions and the regulatory complexities unique to that industry. She has particular experience with dental service and veterinary service organizations, as well as plastic surgery, medical aesthetics, women's health, life sciences and biotechnology enterprises. Beyond healthcare, Ms. Ornstein maintains substantial practices in financial services, energy and natural resources, manufacturing, technology and telecommunications, transportation and infrastructure, and the rapidly evolving data center sector. This cross-sector experience enables her to serve as a trusted strategic advisor to clients whose portfolios span multiple industries and require counsel capable of navigating the distinct regulatory and commercial dynamics of each.
Ms. Ornstein is recognized for her ability to manage the demands of large, multifaceted engagements while maintaining the responsiveness and judgment that sophisticated institutional clients require. She works closely with sponsors and management teams to structure transactions and fund vehicles that are built for long-term performance, regulatory resilience and operational efficiency.
In addition to her legal practice, Ms. Ornstein regularly speaks at industry conferences and has been consistently recognized by peer organizations as a leading practitioner in private investment funds and M&A.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Ornstein was a partner at a leading national law firm in its Dallas office.
Credentials
- University of Houston Law Center, J.D., cum laude
- University of Houston, MBA
- University of Colorado Denver, B.A.
- Texas
- Colorado
- Women in DSO Inc., Chief Legal Officer, 2022-Present
- Junior League of Dallas, 2024-Present
- Texas Wall Street Women, 2024-Present
- Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Dallas/Fort Worth, 2024-Present
- The Best Lawyers in America guide, Corporate Law Ones to Watch, 2025, 2026; Mergers and Acquisitions Law Ones to Watch, 2025, 2026
- Rising Star, Texas Super Lawyers magazine, Business & Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions, 2024-2026