The Legal 500

Founded in New York in 1879, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP comprises approximately 800 lawyers conducting a global practice through 12 offices on four continents. The firm offers clients the benefits of a global and multidisciplinary partnership that relies primarily on internally generated growth. S&C’s lawyers dedicate themselves to providing clients with consistently high-quality legal services.

Main Areas of Practice

Capital markets: S&C’s prominent capital markets practice leads global rankings in both volume and value of offerings, and on its ability to structure novel and effective transactions in the representation of issuers, underwriters, selling and controlling shareholders, and other market participants around the world.

Financial institutions: S&C remains the leading global law firm on transactional, regulatory, enforcement and other matters affecting financial institutions. The firm’s expertise extends to clients in the banking, broker-dealer, commodities, futures and derivatives, insurance, and investment management sectors. The firm has continued to work with its clients on achieving their strategic business objectives despite the challenges of an unpredictable and often difficult global economic climate. In an increasingly complex regulatory environment, S&C has been at the forefront in educating clients about legislative and regulatory developments.

M&A: S&C mobilizes teams of lawyers worldwide for clients on their largest and most important domestic and cross-border M&A transactions. S&C has been the leading firm in global M&A over the past five years, advising principals in more than $1.4tn in announced transactions from 2006 to 2010. The firm has advised parties in seven of the ten largest announced deals worldwide during that time frame.

Litigation: the firm’s litigation group takes a global, multidisciplinary approach to every matter and is regularly chosen as lead counsel in many of the highest profile and most complex matters before courts, arbitration panels and regulators. The strength of its practice is regularly chosen as lead counsel in many of the highest profile and most complex matters before courts, arbitration panels and regulators. The strength of its practice is reflected in independent rankings, including top rankings, by Chambers for dispute resolution, general commercial, securities, white-collar crime and government investigations litigation. The firm maintains a strong record of success in its intellectual property and technology practice, and in its labor and employment practice.

Project development and finance: S&C’s strength in corporate finance, including project, leveraged and infrastructure finance, is widely recognized. The firm is a noted leader in natural resource projects and PPP structures for infrastructure in developed and emerging markets, and its projects lawyers have advised on many award-winning projects worldwide.

Real estate: S&C’s global real estate group combines public/private market expertise and innovative deal-making skills to assist clients in purchasing, selling, developing and financing real estate companies and assets worldwide, and represents clients in restructuring real estate and other assets to facilitate generational transition and/or resolve disputes. The practice includes bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, financial institutions, M&A, private equity, securities, structured finance and professional sports-related transactions.

Tax: S&C’s highly regarded tax group has a global reputation for innovative tax planning, the successful resolution of important tax controversies, as well as providing pivotal tax advice on corporate transactions. S&C plays a significant role in structuring new, tax-advantaged financial instruments and complex M&A transactions, and represents prominent industrial and commercial enterprises in US, French, UK and cross-border tax matters.

Senior Chairman H Rodgin Cohen

Chairman Joseph C Shenker

Other Offices:
Beijing
Frankfurt
Hong Kong
London
Melbourne
Paris
Tokyo
Sydney

Number of Partners: 172
Number of Other Fee-earners: 615