Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom

Encyclopedia : S : SK : SKA : Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom

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Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates (a.k.a. "Skadden, Arps", "Skadden", or "SASM&F"), founded in 1948, is one of the largest law firms in the world. Its headquarters is in New York City. The firm is considered one of the most prestigious in the world, consistently ranking in the top five of Vault's annual list of the top law firms.

Skadden has approximately 1,790 attorneys in 22 offices. The total number of employees is nearly 4,500. With US$1.58 billion in annual revenue, Skadden is the largest law firm in the U.S. in terms of revenue ^{[#endnote_revenue]}. The firm has held this position for nine years running and in 1999 became the first law firm to exceed US$1 billion in annual revenue. Its revenue also makes Skadden the third largest law firm in the world, behind two U.K. firms ^{[#endnote_world]}. In terms of the number of attorneys, Skadden is the largest law firm in the state of New York ^{[#endnote_ny]}, the fourth largest in the United States ^{[#endnote_us]} and the eighth largest in the world. Skadden ranks 205^th on Forbes's list of the largest U.S.-based private companies ^{[#endnote_forbes]}.

Among Skadden's main practice areas are mergers and acquisitions (M&A), litigation, securities law, and bankruptcy representation.

Key people

Partners

Skadden, Arps has approximately 400 partners. Among the more notable ones are:

• Joseph H. Flom was the firm's first associate and is the only living "name partner." He is recognized as a pioneer in the field of mergers and acquisitions.
• Robert C. Sheehan is the Executive Partner (equivalent to a CEO in a corporation).
• Roger S. Aaron is the senior partner in charge of all of the firm's corporate practice areas.
• William P. Frank is the firm's national litigation legal practice leader.
• Sheila Birnbaum, named by Fortune magazine as one of the "50 Most Powerful Women in Business," is considered the nation's leading expert on toxic torts.
• Scott Simpson leads the European M&A division from London and has represented Gucci Group and Arcelor during their attempts to repel high-profile hostile takeovers.
• Preeta Bansal represented Merrill Lynch before the Supreme Court in Merrill Lynch v. Dabit.

Non-attorneys

• Earle Yaffa is the Managing Director (the highest-ranking non-partner).
• Carol A. Sawdye is the Senior Director.
• Noah Puntus is the Finance Director (CFO).
• Laurel E. Henschel is the Director of Human Resources.
• Jodie Garfinkel is the Director of Attorney Development.
• Sally J. Feldman is the Director of Marketing and Business Development.

History

• 1948 - The firm was founded in New York by Marshall Skadden, John Slate and Les Arps.
• 1954 - Flom became a partner.
• 1959 - Bill Meagher joined the firm. Elizabeth Head, the firm's first female attorney was hired.
• 1961 - The firm's name became Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
• 1973 - The firm opened its Boston office, the firm's second.
• 1981 - Peggy Kerr became the first female partner.
• 1985 - Skadden became one of the U.S.'s three largest law firms.
• 1987 - The firm opened its first international office in Tokyo.
• 1988 - The firm founded the Skadden Fellowship Foundation.
• 2000 - New York City headquarters moved to Four Times Square, also called the Condé Nast Building.

Locations

North America

• New York, New York - Four Times Square (headquarters)
• Boston, Massachusetts - One Beacon Street
• Chicago, Illinois
• Houston, Texas
• Los Angeles, California
• Palo Alto, California
• San Francisco, California
• Washington, D.C.
• Wilmington, Delaware
• White Plains, New York (non-legal staff only; no attorneys)

• Toronto, Ontario

• Brussels, Belgium
• Frankfurt, Germany
• London, England (official name is Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP)
• Moscow, Russia
• Munich, Germany ^{[#endnote_munich]}
• Paris, France
• Vienna, Austria

• Beijing, China
• Hong Kong, China
• Singapore
• Sydney, Australia
• Tokyo, Japan - Izumi Garden Tower

Closed offices

Former firm offices no longer in operation include

• Newark, New Jersey, United States—closed June 2004
• Reston, Virginia, United States—2002–October 2003

Practice areas

The firm specializes in the following areas of law:

Alternative dispute resolution Antitrust Asia Australia and New Zealand Banking and institutional investing Brazil Canada China Communications Complex mass torts and insurance litigation Consumer financial services enforcement and litigation Corporate compliance programs Corporate finance Corporate governance Corporate restructuring Derivative financial products, commodities and futures Employee benefits and executive compensation Energy and project finance Environmental Europe European Union Financial institutions Financial services Gaming Government enforcement Health care India Information technology and e-commerce Insurance Intellectual property and technology

International arbitration International law and policy International trade Investment management Israel Italy Japan Labor and employment Latin America Lease financing Life sciences Litigation Mergers and acquisitions Patent and technology litigation, prosecution and counseling Political law Private investment funds Privatizations Products liability Public policy Real estate Russia and C.I.S. Securities litigation Sports Structured finance Tax Trademark, copyright, advertising and internet litigation and counseling Trusts and estates UCC and secured transactions Utilities mergers and acquisitions White collar crime

Recognition and rankings

• In 2005, Corporate Board Member Magazine named Skadden the top corporate law firm in America, according as selected by 1,483 directors and 284 general counsel of publicly traded companies. Skadden has held the top slot for five years. ^{[#endnote_cbm]}
• Vault, Inc. ranked Skadden fourth on its "Top 100 Most Prestigious Firms – 2006", a survey which asked law firm associates to rank the prestige of various firms. The Vault survey also ranked eight of Skadden's individual practice areas among the nation's ten best: Antitrust (tie, 8th); Bankruptcy (2nd); Corporate (3rd); Litigation (5th); Mergers & Acquisitions (2nd); Real Estate (4th); Securities (3rd); Tax (2nd).^{[#endnote_vault]}
• Skadden's ranking on Forbes's list of America's Largest Private Companies consistently increased between 1995 and 2003 but fell in 2004.^{[#endnote_forbes2]}:
• *2004: 205th
• *2003: 194th
• *2002: 200th
• *2001: 224th
• *2000: 230th
• *1999: 245th
• *1998: 269th
• *1997: 297th
• *1996: 310th
• *1995: 335th

Notable alumni

Former Skadden attorneys include:

• Eliot Spitzer, New York State Attorney General, and his wife, Silda Wall
• Leo Strine, Vice Chancellor, Delaware Court of Chancery

Trivia

• "Meagher" is pronounced "mar", not "mee-gur".
• The salary for a first-year associate (i.e., fresh out of law school) is widely reported to be $145,000, not including the annual discretionary bonus. ^{[#endnote_salary]}
• Prominent lawyers at the firm endorsed and financially supported John Kerry in his campaign to become president of the United States in 2004. ^{[#endnote_busweek] [#endnote_sptimes]}
• Bruce Buck, a partner based in London who oversees all European offices, is chairman of the Chelsea Football Club.

Further reading

See also

• Thomson Financial League Tables

External links

• [Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Web Site]
• [Yahoo! - Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Company Profile]
• [Hoover's Online report on Skadden, Arps]
• [Vault.com report on Skadden, Arps]
• [American Lawyer Media rankings]
• [LawPeriscope Profile]

References

1. ↑ ["US firms’ profits reach all-time high on back of M&A bonanza"] from TheLawyer.com
2. ↑ ["The Am Law Global 100"] from The American Lawyer November 2005 (free registration required)
3. ↑ ["NYLJ 100 Largest Private Law Offices"] from New York Law Journal Magazine December 2004 (PDF)
4. ↑ [2004 The National Law Journal 250] from law.com (free registration required)
5. ↑ ["Forbes Largest Private Companies 2004] from Forbes.com
6. ↑ ["Skadden launches in Munich with heavyweight Bakers team"] from Legal Week November 11 2004
7. ↑ ["Directors and General Counsel Rank Best Corporate Law Firms in America"] from Corporate Board Member Magazine June 13 2005
8. ↑ ["Top 100 Law Firms- 2006"] from Vault Inc.
9. ↑ ["Forbes Largest Private Companies 2004] from Forbes.com
10. ↑ ["Skadden matches NY rivals with salary rise"] from ''Legal Week" March 2 2006
11. ↑ ["The New Fat Cats"] from Business Week Online April 12 2004
12. ↑ ["Business leaders for Kerry"] from St. Petersburg Times August 5 2004

 

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