Shearman & Sterling
Shearman & Sterling LLP
| Shearman & Sterling LLP | |
 | |
| Headquarters |  New York City |
|---|---|
| No. of Offices | 20 |
| No. of Attorneys | 900 |
| Major Practice Areas | General practice |
| Revenue | ▼ $876 million (2008) |
| Date Founded | circa 1873 |
| Company Type | LLP |
| Slogan | Aligned for excellence |
is a law firm headquartered in New York City with 20 offices located in major financial centers around the world founded in 1873. It is well known for both its litigation and transactional capabilities, especially in International Arbitration, Capital Markets, Finance, and Mergers & Acquisitions. As of 2006, it was the 17th largest law firm in the world as measured by 2006 annual revenue. Shearman & Sterling is considered a white shoe firm, the equivalent of Magic Circle in the UK.
History
Today Shearman & Sterling has grown from its New York Wall Street beginnings with 7 staff members to embrace a worldwide presence of some 1000 attorneys in 20 offices.
[edit]Wall Street origins
Shearman & Sterling was founded in 1873 by Thomas Shearman and John William Sterling, who concentrated on litigation and transactional matters respectively. The young firm represented financier Jay Gould, industrialist Henry Ford and cultivated a number of important business ties that would evolve into long-standing client relationships, such as with the Rockefeller family and the predecessor banks to Citigroup andDeutsche Bank.[1]
[edit]Postwar global expansion
The firm experienced international expansion in the post-World War II era under the direction of Boykin C. Wright, a senior partner who joined the firm from Cahill Gordon & Reindel with a group of attorneys, briefly leading the firm to add his name to the letterhead.[2] The firm's first international office was established in Paris in 1963.
In postwar Germany, Shearman & Sterling assisted German companies such as Siemens and BASF restructure their debts and re-emerge as credible exporters to the United States. The firm was once given the moniker "German & Sterling" for its ability to cultivate long-term client relationships with blue chip German companies. Shearman lawyers assisted Daimler in its listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 1993, the first such listing by German company that prompted other major companies to follow suit.[3] The firm then represented the German automaker in its purchase and subsequent sale of Chrysler.
The firm is well known for its ability to compete in key legal markets, particularly in Germany where its mergers and acquisitions practice is preeminent and in the United Kingdom, where it fields one of the largest London offices of a non-UK law firm.[4]
Elsewhere, the firm played an important role in the establishment of state-owned oil & gas companies, including Sonatrach in Algeria and throughout the Middle East. In 1979, Shearman & Sterling lawyers represented Citibank during the intense negotiations that ensued during theIranian Hostage Crisis, after the US government froze all Iranian assets in US banks.[5]
Shearman & Sterling has been involved in Latin America for decades. The firm's attorneys helped restructure the debts of many Latin American nations in the 1980s in the Brady transactions. It also won mandates in the privatization of numerous state-owned entities. In 2004, the firm launched an office in Sao Paulo, Brazil and has since represented Brazilian companies in a number of important transactions.
In East Asia, Shearman & Sterling was one of the first firms to grasp the future strategic importance of the Asia-Pacific region, establishing offices in Hong Kong in 1978, followed by Beijing, Singapore and Shanghai.
[edit]Offices (with year of establishment)
Abu Dhabi (1975)
Beijing (1993)
Brussels (2001)
Düsseldorf (1991)
Hong Kong (1978)
London(1963)
Menlo Park (1998)
Milan (2010)[6]
Paris (1963)
São Paulo (2004)
Singapore (1995)
Tokyo (1987)
Toronto (1995)
[edit]Closed offices
Algiers
Budapest (1991)(closed in 1997)
[edit]Recognition
Shearman & Sterling is has attained recognition in a number of legal publications and industry rankings for its work in the United States and internationally across a range of practices areas, including: dispute resolution/litigation, international arbitration, project finance, public international law, capital markets and mergers and acquisitions. [7][8] [9]
[edit]Pro Bono
Shearman & Sterling has an active pro bono practice. Globally, the firm is pro bono counsel to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda(ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania. Shearman routinely assists the ICTR through seconding one attorney there per month to work on particular projects. The firm also assists FINCA International, the pioneering microcredit and village banking non-profit organization. Other pro bono initiatives include asylum, Violence Against Women Act petitions, criminal appeals and art law representations. Shearman also representsGuantanamo Bay detainees.
[edit]Recent Notable Mandates
- Ongoing representation of shareholders of Yukos Oil Company in arbitration proceedings against the Russian Federation stemming from the bankruptcy and subsequent nationalization of the Yukos company. The compensation sought by the claimants exceeds $33 billion.[10]
- Represented underwriters Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, China International Capital Corporation Ltd. and ICEA Capital Ltd. in connection with the $22 billion initial public offering and dual listing of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange. [11]
- Advised the Dow Chemical Company in its $18 billion acquisition of specialty chemicals manufacturer Rohm & Haas, the subsequent restructuring of that deal and then the sale of Morton Salt.[12]
- Counseled Merrill Lynch in its sale to Bank of America for $50 billion.[13]
- Advised Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company in its acquisition of the Hummer brand from General Motors for an undisclosed sum.[14]
- Represented Societe Generale in its €4.8 billion equity offering, proceeds of which were used to repay the French state for its support during the financial crisis.[15]
- Advised ADNOC in its US$10 billion joint venture with ConocoPhillips to develop the Shah gas field in the United Arab Emirates.[16]
[edit]Notable Alumni
- Bob Woodruff, former associate and ABC News journalist
- Clark T. Randt, Jr., formerly Shearman & Sterling's China Managing Partner served as U.S. Ambassador to China from 2001-2009.
- Melody Barnes, former associate and presently senior domestic policy adviser to President Barack Obama
[edit]See also
[edit]References
- ^ Hoffman, Paul (1973) Lions of the Eighties: The Inside Story of the Powerhouse Law Firms, New York: Doubleday.
- ^ Stewart, James (1983) The Partners: Inside America's Most Powerful Law Firms, New York: Simon & Schuster.
- ^ Miriam Wildman, 'Daimler's NYSE Listing Piques German Interest,' New York Times November 19, 1994.
- ^ Berris, Julia (2007) The Lawyer, "Shearman & Sterling: Empire State." http://www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=129772
- ^ Bruce van Voorst et al., 'Iran Hostages: How the Bankers Did it,' Time Magazine, February 2, 1981.
- ^ "Shearman apre a Milano," Top Legal (In Italian), October 22, 2009. Accessed October 23, 2009.http://www.toplegal.it/news_shearmanapreamilano_6802.aspx.
- ^ Vault (2008) Top 100 Firm Rankings, http://www.vault.com/companies/company_main.jsp?co_page=1&product_id=416&ch_id=242
- ^ Chambers & Partners (2008) Chambers Global Rankings, http://www.chambersandpartners.com/global/rankings36.aspx?fid=3654&solbar=1
- ^ www.legalbusinessonline.com.au
- ^ Yevgeny Kiselyov, 'Yukos Could Bankrupt the Kremlin’s Reputation,' St. Petersburg Times, April 24, 2009, http://www.sptimesrussia.com/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=28839.
- ^ Tom Young, 'China's first dual listing sets important precedent,' International Financial Law Review, November 15, 2006,http://www.iflr.com/Article/1983863/Chinas-first-dual-listing-sets-important-precedent.html.
- ^ Jack Kaskey, 'Dow Chemical to Buy Rohm & Haas for $15.4 billion', Bloomberg, July 10, 2008, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aBpn4BK5U2Sg&refer=home.
- ^ Sofia Lind, 'Wachtell, Shearman head up $50b Merrill sale,' Legal Week, September 15, 2008, http://www.legalweek.com/legal-week/news/1168770/wachtell-shearman-head-usd50bn-merrill-sale.
- ^ Sofia Lind, 'Shearman in top gear on GM's Hummer sell-off,' Legal Week, June 3, 2009, http://www.legalweek.com/legal-week/news/1184532/shearman-gear-gm-hummer-sell.
- ^ Jeremy Hodges, 'Shearman takes lead role for SocGen on €4.8bn cash call,' Legal Week, October 6, 2009, http://www.legalweek.com/legal-week/news/1557595/shearman-takes-lead-role-socgen-eur4-8bn-cash.
- ^ Julia Berris, 'Shearman strikes rich vein of work in Abu Dhabi,' The Lawyer, July 20, 2009, http://www.thelawyer.com/shearman-strikes-rich-vein-of-work-in-abu-dhabi/1001415.article.
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