Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

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 has approximately 1,750 attorneys in 21 offices. The total number of employees is nearly 4,500. With US$1.33 billion in annual revenue, Skadden is the largest law firm in the U.S. in terms of revenue ^{[1] (http://www.legalmarketinfo.com/firmprofile.php?id=279)}. 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 second largest law firm in the world ^{[2] (http://www.bmacewen.com/blog/pdf/Global100.2004.pdf)}. In terms of the number of attorneys, Skadden is the largest law firm in the state of New York ^{[3] (http://www.nylawyer.com/adgifs/1213Mag.pdf)}, the fourth largest in the United States ^{[4] (http://www.law.com/jsp/law/lawChartNLJ250.jsp?id=1100137001971)} and the eighth largest in the world. Skadden ranks 205^th on Forbes's list of the largest U.S.-based private companies ^{[5] (http://www.forbes.com/finance/lists/21/2004/LIR.jhtml?passListId=21&passYear=2004&passListType=Company&uniqueId=B9G3&datatype=Company)}.

The firm has first-rate bankruptcy and securities practices and is a leader in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) work.

Contents

1 Key Personnel 1.1 Partners 1.2 Others 2 History 3 Locations 3.1 United States of America 3.2 Canada 3.3 Europe 3.4 Asia/Pacific 3.5 Closed Offices 4 Practice Areas 5 Recognition and Rankings 6 Notable Alumni 7 Trivia 8 Further Reading 9 See also 10 External links 10.1 Data

Key Personnel

Partners

Skadden, Arps has approximately 380 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.

Others

• Earle Yaffa is the Managing Director (the highest-ranking non-partner).
• Carol A. Sawdye is the Director of Finance (equivalent to a CFO in a corporation).
• Laurel E. Henschel is the Director of Human Resources

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. The firm participated in the RJR Nabisco buyout, the largest such deal to date. Partner Peter Atkins led the Skadden team, which advised the RJR board of directors as to the financial soundness of the respective bids.
• 2000 - New York City headquarters moved to Four Times Square, also called the Condé Nast Building.

Locations

United States of America

• New York, New York (headquarters)
• Boston, Massachusetts
• 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)

Canada

• Toronto, Ontario

Europe

• Brussels, Belgium
• Frankfurt, Germany
• London, England (official name is Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP)
• Moscow, Russia
• Munich, Germany ^{[6] (http://www.legalweek.com/ViewItem.asp?id=22100)}
• Paris, France
• Vienna, Austria

Asia/Pacific

• Beijing, China
• Hong Kong, China
• Singapore (official name is Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (International))
• Sydney, Australia (official name is Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (International))
• Tokyo, Japan

Closed Offices

Former firm offices no longer in operation include

• Newark, New Jersey—closed June 2004
• Reston, Virginia—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 the July/August issue of Corporate Board Member magazine, Skadden was named as the top corporate law firm in America, as selected in a survey of 2,152 corporate directors. ^{[7] (http://www.boardmember.com/about_us/release_061004.shtml)}
• Vault, Inc. ranked Skadden fourth on its "Top 100 Most Prestigious Firms - 2005", a survey which asked law firm associates to rank the prestige of various firms. ^{[8] (http://www.vault.com/nr/lawrankings.jsp?law2005=2&ch_id=242&top100=1)}
• Skadden's ranking on Forbes's list of America's Largest Private Companies consistently increased between 1995 and 2003 but fell in 2004. ^{[9] (http://www.forbes.com/finance/lists/21/2004/LIR.jhtml?passListId=21&passYear=2004&passListType=Company&uniqueId=B9G3&datatype=Company)}:
  • 2004: 205th
  • 2003: 194th
  • 2002: 200th
  • 2001: 224th
  • 2000: 230th
  • 1999: 245th
  • 1998: 269th
  • 1997: 297th
  • 1996: 310th
  • 1995: 335th
• Skadden ranked first in the number of worldwide mergers and acquisitions and second in the aggregate value of such transactions for the first three quarters of 2004, according to the latest M&A rankings released by Global Securities Information, Inc. ^{[10] (http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20041015005430&newsLang=en)}
• It was number one of Worldwide Announced M&A legal advisors and number one of US completed M&A legal advisors during 2003.

Notable Alumni

Amomg former Skadden attorneys are

• Eliot Spitzer, New York State Attorney General
• Silda Wall, Spitzer's wife

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 $140,000, not including the annual discretionary bonus. ^{[11] (http://www.law.com/jsp/law/lawChartNLJ250.jsp?id=1100137001971)}
• The firm endorsed and financially supported John Kerry in his campaign to become president of the United States in 2004. ^{[12] (http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_15/b3878044.htm), [13] (http://www.sptimes.com/2004/08/05/Business/Business_leaders_for_.shtml)}
• Bruce Buck, a partner based in London who oversees all European offices, is chairman of the Chelsea Football Club.

Further Reading

• Skadden: Power, Money, and the Rise of a Legal Empire, by Lincoln Caplan (ISBN 0374524246)

See also

• Thomson Financial League Tables

External links

• Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Web Site (http://www.skadden.com/)

Data

• Yahoo! - Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Company Profile (http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/41/41499.html)
• Hoover's Online report on Skadden, Arps (http://www.hoovers.com/skadden,-arps/--ID__41499--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml)
• Vault.com report on Skadden, Arps (http://www.vault.com/companies/company_main.jsp?co_page=1&product_id=418&ch_id=242)
• American Lawyer Media rankings (http://www.martindale.com/xp/Martindale/Lawyer_Locator/Search_Lawyer_Locator/alm_info.xml?alm_id=279&flid=503480)