Based in New York, the experienced team at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP assists high-profile investment funds and large companies with a wide range of matters, such as takeover preparedness, campaigns and activism-related litigation and investigations. Practitioners also handle activism defense for public companies. Kerry E Berchem leads the team, which includes key litigator Douglas A. Rappaport. Jeff Kochian and Gerald Brant joined Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in late 2021.

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP is one of a few full-service firms with vast experience of acting for both activists and boards. In 2020, highlights included acting for Senator Investment Group on its proposed unsolicited offer, along with Cannae Holdings, to take CoreLogic private; this matter represented the first large hostile takeover attempt worldwide during the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, the firm advised Sachem Head on the addition of managing partner Scott Ferguson to the company’s board. Richard Brand, who is ‘smart, flexible and always has inventive solutions‘, leads the practice with William Mills. Stephen Fraidin‘s work ranges from proxy contests to special committees. Areas of focus for the group include financial services and REITs. All named practitioners are based in New York.

At Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, ESG matters have emerged as an increasingly important area of work for the multidisciplinary group, which works with all major activists and represents clients in the chemical, utilities, and logistics sectors. Robert Townsend III leads the M&A team for North America with corporate department head Mark Greene. They are supported by Keith Hallam, whose practice focuses on M&A and activist defense work. All named practitioners are based in New York.

Goodwin excels in devising defense strategies against activists of all sizes and from industries such as life sciences, technology and real estate. The 'solid, highly responsive and extremely hard-working' team has extensive experience of proxy contests and conducts annual board self-assessments and education sessions for clients. Practising from both Boston and New York, Andrew Goodman contributes to the team’s corporate governance offering in the life sciences and technology sectors. Joseph Johnson III  and Sean Donohue are also recommended.

Hogan Lovells US LLP has a dedicated shareholder activism taskforce, which is integral to the wider securities and corporate governance practice. It advises many of the world’s largest and best-known public companies on all aspects of types of activist scenarios. Joseph Gilligan, who is based in Washington DC, exemplifies the team’s ability to also work with privately held companies. Lillian Tsu departed the firm for Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in September 2021.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP has experience of defending several high profile M&A challenges, such as Bristol Myers-Celgene’s $90bn deal vs. Starboard/Wellington. Its team also has expertise in advising on takeover preparedness, typifying its holistic approach to activism defense. Of particular note, the group advised Nikola Corporation on a high profile activist short attack. Key contacts in the group are Shaun Mathew and Sarkis Jebejian. Mathew has led the defense in over 50 significant activism mandates since joining Kirkland in 2018. Corporate partner Jebejian counts Accenture and Bain Capital among key clients. Eric Schiele and Daniel Wolf are also noted for their work on proxy fights. All named practitioners are based in New York.

Latham & Watkins LLP's ‘incredibly talented and dedicated’ team has a strong track record advising public company boards and management teams on takeover planning and defence. The firm advises clients on prevention strategies against activist campaigns and vulnerability analysis, as well as the execution of their defense plans.  Former M&A group chair Mark Gerstein leads the activism task force out of the Chicago office and has achieved notable success in defeating active proxy solicitations and negotiating workable settlement arrangements. In Chicago, Chris Drewry's public company clients range in scope from Fortune 100 corporates to small-cap companies. Josh Dubofsky's recent work included defending QEP Resources against Glazer Capital's attack on the client's acquisition of Diamondback. He splits his time between New York and Silicon Valley.

The ‘thoughtful, creative, and extremely responsive‘ activist and equity investment team at Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP acts for the most prolific activist shareholders in the US. Kenneth Mantel  is noted for his involvement in activist campaigns on behalf of Elliott Management (of which the firm has been involved in ten to date). Building upon its history of success in proxy contests, and following on from its representation of Starboard Value in a significant proxy contest in 2020, the team represented Starboard in connection with its key proxy contest at Box, Inc in 2021.  Steve Wolosky is known as a pioneer in shareholder activism and is praised as ‘one of the most knowledgeable, accessible, and helpful lawyers in the activist space‘. He co-heads the team with Andrew Freedman, who has become the firm’s go-to advisor for newly launched activist investor firms. Elizabeth Gonzalez-Sussman is one of few women acting for hedge funds and other large investors in shareholder activist situations. Ryan Nebel advised a number of high-profile activists in 2021, including GameStop. All named practitioners are based in New York.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is a strong choice for advice on avoiding or mitigating the impact of activist campaigns. Its team acts for clients in a number of scenarios, including those where the investor’s goal concerns management or board changes, stock buybacks or a shift in strategy. The chairman of the corporate department in New York is Scott Barshay, who ‘uses his team well‘ to handle high volumes of work from prominent, well-known companies undertaking significant campaigns. In addition to Barshay, Robert Schumer is another name to note.

Ropes & Gray LLP is able to leverage strengths across a number of disciplines to handle a broad spectrum of work for international brands, such as Dunkin’ Brands and Planet Fitness; it draws upon the expertise of practitioners operating in areas such as M&A, litigation, capital markets and corporate governance. Led by Jeffrey Katz in Boston, the team advises on shareholder communications and activist engagement, as well as proxy contests and ESG benchmarking, compliance and reporting. Also notable is that the group is experienced in acting for investors on their engagement with management.

According to a client, Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP‘s team in New York is ‘the best legal team for shareholder activism in terms of providing corporate advice, along with the tax, fund formation, litigation and regulatory counsel that an investor would require.’ The firm advises on campaign strategies, corporate governance proxy rules, antitrust, securities, spin-offs and co-investments. In 2021, it was notably active representing large hedge funds in contentious proxy fights. Names to note include Michael Swartz, who is ‘one of the best litigators in the activist area.’ Leading the department are Marc Weingarten and ‘practical and pragmatic‘ attorney Eleazer Klein.

The team at Vinson & Elkins LLP is 'innovative in its thinking and seemingly available to its clients 24/7'. It defends boards of public companies against an increasing wave of activism. The work, which is often high-profile, includes proxy contests, vote no campaigns, hostile takeover attempts, merger contests, short attacks, and other activist challenges. The New York-based group is headed up by Lawrence Elbaum and Patrick Gadson. Elbaum has a 'pristine track record of success', due to his experience as a trial lawyer, as well as acting as a business advisor to counsel. Also unique is the group’s approach to D&O liability insurance as a funding mechanism in corporate defense, helping clients recover millions of dollars in fees annually.

Based in New York, the group at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP has experience of acting for activist shareholders, as well as boards of directors and special committees of large public companies; this makes it particularly well-placed to advise clients on activist campaigns and proxy contests. The group is led by Russell Leaf, litigation department chair Tariq Mundiya, and Robert B. Stebbins, former general counsel for the SEC, who rejoined the firm in 2021. Jared Fertman is also a key individual.