Sullivan & Cromwell
(The following information was supplied by the firm)
Firm Overview:
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP provides the highest quality legal advice and representation to clients worldwide. The firm’s record of success and unparalleled client service has set it apart for more than 130 years and made the firm a model for the modern practice of law. Today, S&C is a leader in each of its core practice areas and geographic markets. The firm advises a diverse range of clients on major domestic and cross-border M&A and corporate finance transactions, high-stakes litigation and corporate investigations and complex regulatory, tax and estate planning matters. S&C comprises approximately 875 lawyers who conduct a seamless, global practice through a network of 13 offices located in key financial centres in Asia, Australia, Europe and the United States.
Co-Chairs: Robert J. Giuffra Jr. and Scott D. Miller
Senior Chairs: H. Rodgin Cohen and Joseph C. Shenker
Number of partners worldwide: 175
Total number of lawyers worldwide: Approximately 875
International Offices: Beijing, Brussels, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Melbourne, Paris, Sydney, Tokyo
Office Overviews:
Los Angeles office:
Opened in 1984 as the Firm’s first West Coast office, Sullivan & Cromwell’s Los Angeles office is now more than 30 years old and an established presence in the California legal community. Today, the office houses approximately 40 corporate and litigation lawyers who carry out the sophisticated transactional, litigation, securities and financial services practices for which S&C is well-known.
The Los Angeles office is home to one of the pre-eminent merger-and-acquisition practices on the West Coast and boasts widely acknowledged expertise in the bank regulatory, leveraged finance and capital markets areas. The Firm’s litigators are known for their skill and judgment in handling bet-the-company and other complex business and securities litigations and investigations, including antitrust and intellectual property disputes.
The Los Angeles office operates in close coordination with its sister office in Palo Alto, giving S&C a nucleus of approximately 60 lawyers headquartered in California with the expertise and capability to handle the array of complex situations and challenges that face the Firm’s clients.A unique business environment thrives in Silicon Valley. At the same time, technology companies stand at an inflection point, facing the potential for increased government regulation of Big Tech and emerging technologies, growing cybersecurity and data privacy concerns, and constant pressure from new disruptors.
Palo Alto office:
Since Sullivan & Cromwell opened its Palo Alto office in 2000, we have integrated our leading worldwide practices in M&A, Antitrust, Intellectual Property, Capital Markets, Litigation, Corporate Governance, Tax, Fintech, Cybersecurity and Criminal Defense & Investigations into our work for clients here. Across decades we have advised on some of the most prominent transactions and litigation in the worlds of Technology, Media and Telecommunications.
We view ourselves first and foremost as business lawyers, assembling multi-disciplinary teams to help each client reach their strategic objectives. We work with our clients to find new ways to keep ahead of rapid developments and to navigate their businesses smoothly through continued change.
Key Contacts
Partner
Robert A. Sacks
[email protected]
+1 310 712 6640
Partner
Sarah P. Payne
[email protected]
+1 650 461 5669
Firm Rankings
Capital Markets
Band 1
9.0
Commercial Litigation
Band 3
6.0
Corporate/M&A
Band 1
9.0
IP: Patents: Transactions
Band 2
8.0
Litigation
Band 3
7.0
Private Equity
Band 2
8.0
Securities: Litigation
Band 3
7.0
Lawyer Rankings
Articles
A Leg to Stand on — Key Takeaways for Bondholders Seeking Direct Action Following the Cayman Grand Court Decision in Shinsun Holdings SUMMARY In the recent decision of Re Shinsun Holdings (Group) Co., Ltd. FSD 192 of 2022 (DDJ) (21 April 2023) (unreported), the ultimate beneficial owner of bonds held through Euroclear failed to evidence […]
In recent months, Florida and several other states enacted or proposed “anti-ESG” laws or policies, including those that are intended to restrict state funds from considering ESG factors in their investment decisions and/or to deter companies from “boycotting” on the basis of ESG factors. On the other hand, states such as California and New York […]
On April 26, 2023, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) simultaneously issued new guidance to banks concerning Authorize Positive, Settle Negative (“APSN”) transactions and related overdraft and other fees. Many banks historically have assessed APSN overdraft fees when a transaction was authorized against […]
On May 2, Florida enacted a wide-ranging “anti-ESG” law, which will become effective on July 1. Among other requirements, the law requires that all investment decisions regarding Florida state money be based “solely on pecuniary factors”, and prohibits state and local governments from issuing ESG bonds or considering ESG in their procurement and contracting process. In […]
Revisions Focus on Banks That Exhibit “Persistent Weaknesses” and Further Remarks Addressing the “Too Big to Manage” Problem On May 25, the OCC issued a revised version of its policies and procedures regarding bank enforcement actions. The revisions, which are found in a new Appendix C, address the OCC’s consideration of supervisory and enforcement actions […]
On March 31, 2023, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (the “OECD”) announced that a landmark modernisation package reforming the Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits (the “Arrangement”) had been agreed in principle by the participating countries. The Arrangement is self-described as a “gentlemen’s agreement” among its participants – Australia, Canada, the European Union, […]
ISSB announces transitional relief for Scope 3 and sustainability-related disclosures and prepares to consult on future projects, including amendments to SASB Standards. The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), which is finalizing standards for disclosure of climate- and sustainability-related financial information, announced that companies will have one-year transitional relief from Scope 3 and non-climate sustainability-related disclosure […]
Spring 2023 Update on the NAIC Initiative Applicable (but Not Exclusive) to Private Equity Ownership of Insurers and Insurer Investment Practices In August 2022, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) adopted a list of 13 regulatory considerations, constituting its action plan for addressing state insurance regulators’ concerns related to the increasing number of U.S. […]
Borrowers and lenders entering into loan transactions that are marketed or intended to qualify as ESG loan transactions from March 9 onwards will likely be expected to align with recent updates to the Green Loan Principles, Social Loan Principles and Sustainability-Linked Loan Principles (collectively, the “2023 Principles”) developed by the Loan Market Association (“LMA”), Loan […]
David Rein and Eric Andrews Author Article on Civil Litigation Risks for Non-U.S. Companies Listed in the United States for Financier Worldwide David Rein, Deputy Managing Partner of S&C’s Litigation Group, and Eric Andrews, a litigation associate, authored an article for Financier Worldwide, “Key Litigation Risks and Mitigation Strategies for non-US Companies Listed in the US.” The […]
Introduction of New Due Diligence Obligations on ESG Matters That May Affect German Companies and International Organizations Based on Their Business Activities in Germany SUMMARY On January 1, 2023, the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz – the “Act”) came into effect. The Act requires certain German companies and foreign […]
Review of Significant ESG Developments and Additional Considerations for 2023 As U.S. financial institutions assess their ESG risks, opportunities, policies and procedures for 2023, key considerations include the numerous significant ESG developments in 2022—in particular, recent proposals and initiatives announced by financial regulators with respect to climate-related risk management and disclosures—and overarching regulatory, political, investor […]
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive Will Apply to Public and Private Companies, Including Many Non-EU Companies SUMMARY The European Union has finalized the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (“CSRD”) that will introduce more detailed sustainability reporting requirements for EU companies, non-EU companies meeting certain thresholds for net turnover in the EU and companies with securities listed on […]
Senior M&A Partner Frank Aquila spoke to Reuters about the outlook for M&A activity in 2023 given the market turndown in 2022. Frank said he expected an uptick in cross-border M&A activity. “It is likely that we are going to see significant M&A activity in the U.S. in 2023; not only U.S. companies making acquisitions, but also […]
The SEC’s Proposed Rules Would Result in the Most Fundamental Changes to Securities Trading and Market Structure Regulation Since Regulation NMS In 2005. On December 14, the SEC voted to propose new rules and rule amendments relating to four aspects of U.S. equity market structure: (1) a new proposed rule under Reg NMS regarding order […]
Press Releases
The Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) prevailed in its motion for judgment on the pleadings seeking to dismiss a proposed class action brought by investors who accused BNS and other banks of conspiring to fix silver prices. On May 22, U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni of the Southern District of New York dismissed the […]
Sullivan & Cromwell announced today that Dalia Blass, former Director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Investment Management and more recently Global Head of External Affairs at BlackRock, will be joining the firm as partner, enhancing our investment management regulatory, compliance and enforcement capabilities. As the former top regulator for asset management, […]
Payment processing company Stripe raised $6.5 billion in its Series I preferred stock private placement, which valued the company at over $50 billion and marked one of the largest private stock sales in U.S. history. Primary investors include existing Stripe shareholders—Andreessen Horowitz, Baillie Gifford, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, MSD Partners and Thrive Capital—as well as […]
In Japan’s largest IPO since 2018, Rakuten Bank completed its 89.5 billion JPY (US$666.7 million) initial public offering. The transaction, which values the Japanese digital bank at 238.0 billion JPY (US$1.7 billion), consisted of a registered global public offering in Japan and an international offering outside Japan in reliance on Rule 144A and Regulation S. […]
On April 3, the Delaware Court of Chancery held as a matter of law that Merck & Co., Inc. cannot shift to Bayer AG liability for consumer talc product claims related to certain foot powder products, including Dr. Scholl’s, and dismissed Merck’s contrary claims with prejudice. The April 3 ruling rests on the legally correct interpretation […]
Credit Suisse completed the initial closing of its sale of a significant portion of its Securitized Products Group and other related financing businesses to affiliates of Apollo Global Management on February 8. The divested business and assets are now operated as a new standalone credit firm, Atlas SP Partners, which is focused on asset-backed financing […]
J.P. Morgan has agreed to acquire Aumni, a leading investment analytics company that serves clients in the venture capital industry that have invested in more than 17,000 portfolio companies. The acquisition by J.P. Morgan complements its recent launch of Capital Connect and its acquisition of Global Shares, and will provide Aumni with the resources to […]
Rita O’Neill, a partner in S&C’s M&A Group and Co-Head of the Firm’s Global Private Equity Group, discussed some of the challenges in the M&A market, including financing and regulatory scrutiny as well as diversity, during the “Leading Women Dealmakers” panel presented by Expert Webcast. The discussion was featured in a Law360 article, “Female M&A Panel Says […]
BP West Coast Products obtained the dismissal of two coordinated antitrust class actions seeking billions of dollars in damages based on alleged price fixing in the California gasoline market. Following the district court’s dismissal of the actions in September 2022, the Plaintiffs appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. […]
On January 23, OpenAI announced the third phase of its long-term partnership with Microsoft through a multi-year, multibillion-dollar investment by Microsoft to accelerate AI breakthroughs to ensure these benefits are broadly shared with the world. This agreement follows Microsoft’s previous investments in OpenAI and extends their ongoing collaboration across AI supercomputing and research and enables […]
HONG KONG – Sullivan & Cromwell LLP announced today that Partner Chris Beatty has relocated to the Asia-Pacific market to bolster the firm’s finance, special situations and private credit practice in the region. Sullivan & Cromwell has maintained its practice in Asia-Pacific for nearly a century, providing U.S., Hong Kong and English law advice to international clients […]