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Ronald M. Leibman

Partner, Transportation, Logistics & Supply Chain Management at McCarter & English, LLP

East Brunswick, New Jersey / New York, New York

RM
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Why they matter

A Band 1-ranked freight/logistics M&A lawyer with operator experience at ShopRite and Fortunoff's who just led the Transfix-NFI brokerage sale.

Background

Ronald M. Leibman chairs McCarter & English's Transportation, Logistics & Supply Chain Management practice, advising manufacturers, retailers, carriers, and 3PLs on freight, M&A, and supply chain matters. Before law, he spent years as a senior logistics executive at Wakefern Food Corp. (ShopRite) and Fortunoff's, giving him operator-level fluency in freight economics that few outside counsel have. He holds an MBA in Transportation & Distribution Management from Syracuse and a JD from Rutgers, and is consistently ranked Band 1 by Chambers USA for Transportation: Road (Carriage/Logistics), Nationwide.

Notable deals

  • 2024
    Led McCarter & English's representation of Transfix, Inc. in the sale of its freight brokerage business unit to NFI Industries
  • 2024
    Transportation/logistics counsel to Wind Point Partners on its corporate carve-out acquisition of Velocity Rail Solutions
  • 2025
    Represented Iron Mountain in its acquisition of IT asset lifecycle management firm Premier Surplus, Inc.

Call-prep brief

Ron Leibman — McCarter & English

Background

  • Chair, Transportation, Logistics & Supply Chain Management practice at McCarter & English
  • Rare hybrid profile: former senior logistics executive (Wakefern/ShopRite, Fortunoff's) turned deal lawyer — MBA in Transportation & Distribution Management (Syracuse) plus JD (Rutgers)
  • Chambers USA Band 1, Transportation: Road (Carriage/Logistics), Nationwide (2024–2026)

Current focus

  • Freight brokerage and 3PL M&A, including tech-enabled brokerage carve-outs and sales
  • PE-backed transportation carve-outs (rail services, ALM/logistics)
  • Digital freight platforms, TMS licensing structures, blockchain/smart contracts in supply chain

What he cares about

  • Deal structures that let sellers retain SaaS/tech IP while divesting brokerage ops (per his Transfix comments calling the structure "transformative")
  • Nationally resilient, secure supply chains (frequent commentator on this topic)
  • Client education — active in Law360's Transportation Editorial Advisory Board and industry associations

Recent moves

  • Led Transfix's sale of its freight brokerage unit to NFI Industries (June 2024)
  • Advised Wind Point Partners on the Velocity Rail Solutions carve-out (late 2024)
  • Represented Iron Mountain on the Premier Surplus acquisition (May 2025)

Potential sensitivities

  • Active client relationships with PE sponsors (Wind Point) and strategics (Iron Mountain, NFI) in freight/logistics — check for conflicts before discussing competing targets
  • As outside counsel, may be constrained in what he can share about deal terms or pipeline

Questions to ask

  • What structural lessons from the Transfix/NFI brokerage-vs-SaaS split apply to other asset-light freight brokers weighing a similar carve-out?
  • Which segments of freight brokerage/3PL are seeing the most PE-driven consolidation activity right now?
  • What regulatory or liability issues (e.g., broker/carrier misclassification) are creating diligence risk in current freight M&A deals?

Outreach draft

Subject
Freight brokerage M&A — quick call?
Hi Ron, I came across your work leading the Transfix sale of its freight brokerage unit to NFI, and your carve-out work for Wind Point Partners on Velocity Rail Solutions — both directly relevant to a freight brokerage/3PL thesis our team is building out. Given your background as both an operator (Wakefern/ShopRite) and a leading transportation M&A lawyer, I'd value 20-30 minutes to get your read on where consolidation and deal structuring in freight brokerage are headed, and any red flags you're seeing in diligence right now. Would you have time for a call in the next couple of weeks? Happy to work around your schedule. Best, [Name]

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