Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP - Who's Who Legal 70

What is the Who's Who Legal 70?

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP in Who's Who Legal

	Corporate Tax
	10

	Private funds
	3

	Project Finance
	7

	Environment
	3

	Internet & e-Commerce
	1

	Product Liability Defence
	4

	Insolvency & Restructuring
	3

	Public Procurement
	1

	Real Estate
	3

	Oil & Gas
	3

	Capital Markets
	11

	Corporate Governance
	6

	Capital Markets
	11

	Regulatory Communications
	1

	Commercial Litigation
	3

	Patents
	2

	Insurance & Reinsurance
	2

	Arbitration
	5

	Trade & Customs
	2

	Banking
	5

	Competition
	8

	Life Sciences
	2

	Business Crime Defence
	4

	Mergers & Acquisitions
	11

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom is one of the “biggest names in the practice of law”, with a reputation that extends across the globe for the quality of its lawyers and service to clients. Partners from the firm appear in 22 of our practice area chapters, and are listed 97 times in total.

Skadden has more nominees selected in our M&A research than any other firm and wins our Law Firm of the Year award in this area for 2011. Nine of the 13 partners featured are based in the US, with Roger Aaron one of a quintet of revered corporate lawyers in the New York office. Peter Allan Atkins is extensively experienced in advising and representing multinational corporations in a range of industries, and Lou Kling is hailed as “one of the best in the US” by our sources. The Chicago office is home to two highly rated transactional experts in William Kunkel and Charles Mulaney Jr, while in Los Angeles Brian McCarthy is viewed as “very talented” by those who have seen his work. Outside the US, Nicholas Norris in Hong Kong is co-head of the Asian corporate practice and very highly regarded, and in Paris Pierre Servan-Schreiber stands out as one of the most highly regarded experts on the continent. Two further nominees in the London office reflect the firm’s international strength in this area, an impression further underlined by the presence of seven lawyers in the corporate governance section, including four of the aforementioned M&A nominees.

Thirteen partners are included from the corporate tax practice. Eleven are based in the US, with Paul Oosterhuis described as “a cut above” by our sources. Pamela Olson is a former assistant secretary for tax policy at the Treasury Department and Hal Hicks is also extremely highly rated. In Chicago, Louis Freeman is “tremendously experienced” in federal tax planning and dispute work, while head of the European tax practice Tim Sanders is selected in London and Philippe Derouin is rated a “five star practitioner” in Paris. The firm is also well known for its bankruptcy and restructuring work, with Jack Butler in Chicago picked out as “one of the leading experts in the US”.

The nine nominees in the competition chapter are split between New York, DC and Brussels. In Brussels, the “superb” James Venit is one of the most highly regarded practitioners in the world, and Frederic Depoortere also scores highly. The firm’s EU capability was further enhanced when Simon Baxter joined in 2010. In DC, John Nannes comes “very highly recommended” and Steven Sunshine has a “fantastic reputation”, and there are three further inclusions in New York.

Skadden is internationally recognised for its representation of underwriters, issuers, investors and credit enhancers, and earns nine listings in our capital markets research. Phyllis Korff in New York is “quite brilliant”, and Jonathan Stone in Hong Kong is “one of the leading experts in Asia”. The firm’s presence in this chapter extends to Brazil, France and Canada.

Six lawyers are selected for their project finance expertise. Martin Klepper in DC is one the most highly nominated individuals in our research overall, and Douglas Nordlinger stands out in London.

Sheila Birnbaum is “a wonderful legal strategist” and one of the leading lights of our product liability research. John Beisner in DC is “great”, and further nominees appear in San Francisco and New York.

Five nominees are selected in the arbitration chapter. In New York, Barry Garfinkel is “immensely respected” by his peers, and John Gardiner was repeatedly recommended. Karyl Nairn in London is an “absolutely wonderful lawyer”, while Paul Mitchard QC in Hong Kong is very well known throughout the region.

With further inclusions across a range of further areas, Skadden should be considered among the global elite of international law firms.