Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates, typically shortened to Skadden, is an American multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. The company is known for its work on company mergers and takeovers.[8]

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
HeadquartersOne Manhattan West
New York City
United States[1]
No. of offices21
No. of attorneysc. 1,700[2]
No. of employees3,500 (estimate, including partners)
Major practice areasTransactions, litigation/controversy and regulatory[3]
Key peopleEric J. Friedman (executive partner)[4]
Claudia I. Joyce (executive director/strategy)[5]
Noah J. Puntus (CFO)[4]
RevenueUS$3 billion (2021)[6][7]
Date foundedApril 1, 1948 (April 1, 1948)
Company typeLimited liability partnership
Websiteskadden.com

History

The firm was founded in 1948 in New York by Marshall Skadden, John Slate and Les Arps.[9] In 1959, William R. Meagher joined the firm and Elizabeth Head, the firm's first female attorney, was hired. In 1960, the firm's name became Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.[9] In 1961, Peter Mullen, who later served as Skadden's first executive partner, joined the firm.[10]

In 1973, the firm opened its second office in Boston.[9] In 1981, Peggy L. Kerr became Skadden's first female partner.[11] In 1985, Skadden was ranked as one of the three largest law firms in the United States.[9]

In 1987, the firm opened its first international office in Tokyo.[9] In 1988, the Skadden Fellowship Foundation was created. Skadden's New York City headquarters moved to 4 Times Square, the "Condé Nast Building" in 2000.[9] Together with the City College of New York, Skadden launched the Skadden, Arps Honors Program in 2008, with the goal of increasing diversity in law schools and the legal profession.[12] As of June 2022, Skadden has 21 offices worldwide.[13]

Key people

In February 2011, there were 432 Skadden partners worldwide.[14] As of December 2016, there were 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.[15] In January 2020, there were 349 partners worldwide.[16] Notable partners include:

Rankings
Skadden's former headquarters at the 4 Times Square building, also known as the Condé Nast building

In 2015 and 2016, Skadden was the fourth largest law firm in the U.S. by revenue. In the 2015 Global 100 survey by The American Lawyer, Skadden ranked as the fourth-highest grossing law firm in the world.[24] In 2016, Skadden had approximately 1,700 attorneys in 22 offices;[24] in 2011, the firm had approximately 1,900 attorneys in 23 offices.[25] Measured by the number of attorneys, Skadden is the fifth largest law firm in New York and 12th largest in the United States.[24][26] In 2016, Skadden was 187th on Forbes' list of America's Largest Private Companies by revenue.[27] Previously, the firm ranked 335th[28] in 1995, 194th[29] in 2003 and 213th in 2010.[30] In 2015, Skadden became the first law firm ever to handle more than $1 trillion in M&A deals in a single year[31][32] and, for the third time in six years, the Financial Times' "Innovative Lawyers" report named Skadden the most innovative law firm in North America.[33][34]

Other work

Russia and Ukraine

Skadden has a history of representing clients with ties to the Vladimir Putin regime in Russia, such as Alfa Bank, Roman Abramovich, and Viktor F. Yanukovych's pro-Russian regime in Ukraine. In 2020, the firm paid a $4.6 million settlement for misleading U.S. authorities regarding its lobbying on behalf of a Russia-aligned Ukrainian government.

In 2012, Skadden took as a client Viktor F. Yanukovych, who was a pro-Russian president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014. Paul Manafort helped arrange for the hiring of Skadden.[35] One of company's actions on Yanukovych's behalf was to produce a report justifying Yanukovych's imprisonment of former prime minister Yulia V. Tymoshenko (who was pro-European) and denying that the action had been a political prosecution, although many Western countries characterized it as such. Later that year a team of American lawyers commissioned by the government of Ukraine concluded that Tymoshenko's trial had not been fair and her rights had been violated.[36] After Yanukovych lost power in Euromaidan and fled to Russia, Skadden's work on his behalf led to several federal investigations. One Skadden attorney, Alex van der Zwaan, was convicted of lying to the FBI about his work on Yanukovych's behalf and served 30 days in jail.[37][38] In 2019, Skadden lawyer Gregory B. Craig was indicted on charges of lying to federal prosecutors about the work he did at Skadden on behalf of the Yanukovych, but was acquitted in a jury trial.[39]

Tymoshenko made plans to sue Skadden, and in May 2020 it was revealed that Skadden had paid at least $11 million to settle the case before a lawsuit could be filed.[40]

Skadden, along with Mercury Public Affairs and the Podesta Group, was investigated by the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) for possible lobbying violations regarding former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.[41] In 2019, Skadden agreed to pay a $4.6 million settlement to the Department of Justice over the firm's failure to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agent Registrations Act.[42]

Skadden has been involved in representing Russian groups in corporate deals worth around $90 billion.[43] Skadden has represented Alfa Bank, a Russian bank closely associated with Russian oligarchs and the Vladimir Putin regime.[44][45] After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and amid heavy sanctions against Alfa Bank, Skadden said it was "in the process of ending our representations of Alfa Bank."[44] Skadden has a long-standing relationship with Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich – Skadden refused to say whether it still represented him in 2022.[44][43]

Political contributions

Skadden partners and employees tend to support and contribute more to Democratic political candidates than to Republicans.[46] Prominent lawyers at the firm endorsed and financially supported John Kerry in his campaign to become president of the United States in 2004.[47][48] In the run-up to Super Tuesday 2008, Skadden hosted a phone bank in support of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.[49][50]

According to OpenSecrets, Skadden was one of the top law firms contributing to federal candidates during the 2012 election cycle, donating $1.98 million, 76% to Democrats.[51] From 1990 through 2008, Skadden contributed $11.93 million to federal campaigns; between 2000 and 2008 the firm spent $2.2 million on lobbying.[52]

Notable alumni

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

See also

References
  1. "New York". Skadden. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  2. "Forbes America's Largest Companies". Forbes. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  3. "Practices". Skadden.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-02. Retrieved 2014-02-08.
  4. Seal, Ben. "Forbes Profile: Skadden". Forbes. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  5. "Bloomberg Profile: Claudia Joyce". Bloomberg. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  6. "The 2022 Am Law 100 Ranked by: Gross Revenue". The American Lawyer. 20 April 2022.
  7. Allen, Michael (29 April 2022). "A Detailed Breakdown Of The 2022 Am Law 100 Rankings". Above the Law.
  8. Fisher, Daniel. "Wall Street's Most Powerful Law Firm". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-03-26.
  9. "History Skadden". www.skadden.com. Retrieved 2017-01-03.
  10. Walsh, Mary Williams (2011-10-18). "Peter Mullen, a Force Behind Skadden Arps, Dies at 83". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
  11. "For Women Lawyers, An Uphill Struggle". New York Times Magazine. March 6, 1988.
  12. "Unique Partnership - CCNY". CCNY. 2013-03-07. Retrieved 2017-01-04.
  13. "Offices". Skadden. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
  14. "Skadden > Attorneys". Archived from the original on February 3, 2007.
  15. "How Skadden Does It" Archived 2012-04-17 at the Wayback Machine, Andrew Longstreth, The American Lawyer, May 2006
  16. "Skadden". Law.com. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  17. "Professionals: Stephen C. Robinson". Skadden. Retrieved 2015-05-01.
  18. "Professionals: Patrick Fitzgerald". Skadden. Retrieved 2015-05-01.
  19. "Fred T. Goldberg | Professionals". Skadden, Arps. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  20. "Mark N. Kaplan". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  21. "Mark N. Kaplan | Professionals". Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  22. "Former Counterterrorism Official and Defense Industry Executive Michael Leiter Joins Skadden as a Partner in Its DC Office | News & Rankings | About | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP". www.skadden.com. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
  23. "Michael E. Leiter | Professionals | Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP". www.skadden.com. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
  24. "Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher". www.americanlawyer.com. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  25. "IRL Largest 250 Law Firms in the U.S." Retrieved November 12, 2003.
  26. "ILRG Largest 350 Law Firms in the US". www.ilrg.com. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
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  28. "Forbes Largest Private Companies 2003". Forbes. December 10, 2008. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  29. "Forbes Largest Private Companies 2003". Forbes. December 11, 2008. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008.
  30. "#213 Skadden, Arps - Forbes.com". www.forbes.com. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  31. Hoffman, Maureen Farrell and Liz. "Trillion Dollar M&A Milestones". WSJ. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  32. "With DuPont Deal, Skadden Breaks $1 Trillion M&A Barrier for 2015". The American Lawyer. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  33. "Financial Times, 2012 U.S. Report" (PDF). Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  34. "North America Innovative Lawyers". www.ft.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-10. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  35. Ewing, Philip; Johnson, Carrie (2019-04-11). "Greg Craig, Onetime White House Counsel, Charged In Ukraine Case". NPR. Retrieved 2022-03-26.
  36. Herszenhorn, David M.; Sanger, David E. (December 13, 2012). "Failings Found in Trial of Ukrainian Ex-Premier". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  37. Voreacos, David; Larson, Erik (3 April 2018). "Lawyer Who Lied to Mueller About Russian Spy Gets 30 Days". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  38. "Trump-Russia inquiry: Dutch lawyer Alex van der Zwaan sentenced to 30 days". BBC News. 2018-04-03. Retrieved 2022-03-26.
  39. Ryan Lucas, Jury Finds Ex-White House Counsel Craig Not Guilty Of Lying To Government, NPR (September 4, 2019).
  40. Vogel, Kenneth P. (May 11, 2020). "Skadden Said to Have Paid $11 Million to Settle Ukraine Dispute". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  41. Larry Buchanan; Karen Yourish (May 20, 2019). "Tracking 29 Investigations Related to Trump". The New York Times. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  42. Vogel, Kenneth P.; Goldstein, Matthew (2019-01-17). "Skadden Arps Agrees to $4.6 Million Settlement in Ukraine Lobbying Case". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-01-18.
  43. Beioley, Kate (2022-03-05). "Lawyers cut ties with Kremlin-linked clients as reputational risks mount". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2022-12-10. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  44. Goldstein, Matthew; Vogel, Kenneth P.; Drucker, Jesse; Farrell, Maureen; McIntire, Mike (2022-03-09). "How Western Firms Quietly Enabled Russian Oligarchs". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  45. Benner, Katie (2022-03-02). "Justice Dept. Announces Task Force to Go After Russian Oligarchs". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  46. "Fundrace 2008 Campaign Donations, Huffington Post
  47. "The New Fat Cats" Archived 2012-02-26 at the Wayback Machine from Business Week Online April 12, 2004
  48. "Business leaders for Kerry" from St. Petersburg Times August 5, 2004
  49. "Barack Obama : : Change We Can Believe In | Event | Times Square Phone Bank". My.barackobama.com. 2013-01-01. Archived from the original on 2014-02-24. Retrieved 2014-02-08.
  50. "Barack Obama : : Change We Can Believe In | Event | Times Square Phone Bank - LAST PUSH". Newyork.barackobama.com. 2013-01-01. Archived from the original on 2008-12-08. Retrieved 2014-02-08.
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  52. "Organizations: Skadden, Arps et al". OpenSecrets.org. OpenSecrets. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  53. "Greg B. Craig | Professionals". Skadden, Arps. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  54. Chile, Patricio (August 29, 2019). "Former Skadden Partner Greg Craig Takes Stand". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  55. http://www.chipflowers.com; http://www.flowerscounselgroup.com/index.php?page=the-honorable-chipman-flowers-jr-esq
  56. Palmer, Doug (April 27, 2017). "Stephen Vaughn, the Hamiltonian at USTR". Politico. Retrieved May 11, 2017.

Further reading
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