Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates

Headquarters	4 Times Square New York City United States[1]
No. of offices	22
No. of attorneys	Approximately 1,700 [2]
No. of employees	3,500 (estimate, including partners)
Major practice areas	Transactions, litigation/controversy and regulatory[3]
Key people	Eric J. Friedman[4] Executive partner Claudia I. Joyce[5] Executive director / Strategy Noah J. Puntus[6] Executive director / CFO
Revenue	US$ 2.41 billion (2015) [7]
Date founded	April 1, 1948
Founder	Marshall Skadden, John Slate, and Les Arps
Company type	Limited liability partnership
Website	skadden.com

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates, commonly known as Skadden or sometimes Skadden Arps, is an international law firm based in New York City. Skadden is one of the highest-grossing law firms in the world^[8], one of the largest in the United States (by number of lawyers), and is widely considered to be one of the most esteemed; the firm ranks third on the Vault Law 100 list of Most Prestigious Law Firms,^[9] and has maintained a position near the top of the list since ranking began in 2007. Forbes magazine has called Skadden "Wall Street's most powerful law firm."^[10] The firm has been ranked "America's Best Corporate Law Firm" in Corporate Board Member's survey of public company directors every year since 2001.^[11]

Timeline

• 1948 — The firm is founded in New York by Marshall Skadden, John Slate and Les Arps.^[12]
• 1959 — William Meagher joins the firm. Elizabeth Head, the firm's first female attorney, is hired.^[12]
• 1960 — The firm's name becomes Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.^[12]
• 1961 — Peter Mullen, who will later serve as Skadden's first executive partner, joins the firm.^[13]
• 1973 — The firm opens its second office, in Boston.^[12]
• 1981 — Peggy L. Kerr becomes Skadden's first female partner.^[14]
• 1985 — Skadden ranks as one of the U.S.'s three largest law firms.^[12]
• 1987 — The firm opens its first international office, in Tokyo.^[12]
• 1988 — The firm founds the Skadden Fellowship Foundation.^[12]
• 2000 — Skadden's New York City headquarters moves to 4 Times Square, the "Condé Nast Building."^[12]
• 2008 — With the City College of New York, the firm launches the Skadden, Arps Honors Program, to increase diversity in law schools and the legal profession.^[15]
• 2011 — Joseph Flom, the last living name partner, dies.^[16]
• 2014 — The firm opens its 23rd office, in Seoul.^[17]
• 2015 — Skadden becomes the first law firm to advise on more than $1 trillion worth of deals in a single year.^[18]

Locations

As of December 2016, Skadden has 22 offices worldwide.^[19] It plans to move its Manhattan headquarters from 4 Times Square to the Manhattan West complex near Hudson Yards.^[20]

Key people

In February 2011, there were 432 Skadden partners worldwide.^[21] As of December 2016, there are 381 partners worldwide. Unlike some firms that have introduced two-tier partnerships with equity and non-equity partners, Skadden maintains a one-tier partnership, in which all partners are equity partners and share ownership of the firm.^[22] Among the more notable partners, of counsel and counsel are:

• Eileen T. Nugent,^[23] co-global leader of the firm's transaction practices
• Scott V. Simpson,^[24] co-global leader of the firm's transaction practices
• David M. Zornow,^[25] global leader of the firm's litigation/controversy practices
• David M. Rievman,^[26] global leader of the firm's regulatory practices
• Thomas H. Kennedy,^[27] global leader of the firm's Knowledge Strategy
• Gregory B. Craig, former White House counsel to President Barack Obama^[28]
• Judge Stephen C. Robinson, former federal district court judge sitting in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York; former U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut^[29]
• Patrick B. Fitzgerald, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; as special counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel, the federal prosecutor in charge of the investigation of the Valerie Plame Affair^[30]
• Fred T. Goldberg, Jr., commissioner of Internal Revenue 1989–92, Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy in the United States Department of the Treasury in 1992^[31]

Rankings

Skadden's world headquarters in the Condé Nast Building

In 2015 and 2016, Skadden was the fourth largest law firm in the U.S. by revenue.^[32] In the 2015 Global 100 survey by The American Lawyer, Skadden ranked as the fourth highest grossing law firm in the world.^[33] In 2016, Skadden had approximately 1,700 attorneys in 22 offices;^[33] in 2011, the firm had approximately 1,900 attorneys in 23 offices.^[34] Measured by the number of attorneys, Skadden is the fifth largest law firm in New York and 12th largest in the United States.^[33][35] In 2016, Skadden was 187th on Forbes' list of America's Largest Private Companies by revenue.^[36] Previously, the firm ranked 335th^[37] in 1995, 194th^[38] in 2003 and 213th in 2010.^[39] Based on the 2017 Vault Law 100 survey of law firm associates by Vault.com, Skadden is the third most prestigious U.S. firm at which to work.^[40] The NYSE Governance Services and advisory firm FTI Consulting named Skadden the top U.S. law firm in 2016, a position held by the firm since 2001; the annual findings are published by Corporate Board Member in its list of "America's Best Corporate Law Firms."^[41][42] In 2015, Skadden became the first law firm ever to handle more than $1 trillion in M&A deals in a single year^[43][44] and, for the third time in six years, the Financial Times' "Innovative Lawyers" report named Skadden the most innovative law firm in North America.^[45][46][47] In the 2016 edition of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Skadden received the most top rankings among law firms, including 67 Band 1 attorney rankings, 35 Band 1 practice rankings and five Star Individual rankings.^[48][49]

Other work

Notable alumni

In addition to numerous professors and partners at other firms, some of the more notable former Skadden attorneys include:

• Amelia Boone, obstacle racer, 2012 Spartan Race World Champion and three-time Tough Mudder champion
• Bruce M. Buck, chairman of Chelsea Football Club
• George B. Daniels, judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (2000–)
• Robert Del Tufo, former New Jersey Attorney General and U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey
• John Feerick, former dean of Fordham University School of Law
• Chip Flowers, first African-American elected official in Delaware (state treasurer) and co-chair, National Democratic State Treasurers (2010-2014)^[62]
• Greg Giraldo, lawyer turned comedian and roast master
• Keith Gottfried, general counsel for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (2005–)
• Laura Ingraham, Fox News Anchor
• Judge Judith S. Kaye, longest-tenured chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, serving 1993-2008
• Robert Lighthizer, current United States Trade Representative (2017–)
• Robert S. Pirie, co-chairman and CEO of Rothschild, North America, senior managing director of Bear Stearns & Co., and vice-chairman of Investment Banking at SG Cowen Securities Corporation
• Douglas Rediker, executive chairman of International Capital Strategies; former U.S. alternate executive director, International Monetary Fund (2010–2012)
• Irving S. Shapiro, former CEO, DuPont
• Mary L. Smith, principal deputy director and acting agency head of Indian Health Service; former official, United States Department of Justice Civil Division; former nominee, assistant attorney general, United States Department of Justice, Tax Division
• Leo Strine, chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court (2014–present); previously chancellor (2011–2014) and vice-chancellor (1998–2011) of the Delaware Court of Chancery
• Robert W. Sweet, judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (1978–1991, senior status 1991–)
• William H. Timbers, former judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (1971–1981, senior status 1981–1994); Chief Judge (1964–1971), judge (1960–1971), U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut
• Alex van der Zwaan, attorney, charged with lying to federal investigators about his interactions with Rick Gates in an investigation in Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.
• Stephen Vaughn, former acting United States Trade Representative (USTR) and USTR general counsel^[63]
• Harold M. Williams, former chair, Securities and Exchange Commission (1977–1981)

See also

• Timeline of investigations into Trump and Russia (2018)

References

Further reading

• Caplan, Lincoln (1993). Skadden: Power, Money, and the Rise of a Legal Empire. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. ISBN 0-374-26566-6.
• "How Skadden Does It", Andrew Longstreth, The American Lawyer, May 2006.

External links

• Official website
• Skadden Fellowship Foundation
• Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom companies grouped at OpenCorporates