Mr Eric Hilfers > Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP > New York, United States > Lawyer Profile
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP Offices

Two Manhattan West
375 Ninth Avenue
New York 10001
United States
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Mr Eric Hilfers

Work Department
Executive Compensation and Benefits
Position
Eric W. Hilfers is Head of Cravath’s Executive Compensation and Benefits Department. Mr. Hilfers’ practice focuses on executive compensation and employee benefit matters faced by the Firm’s clients, principally in connection with mergers and acquisitions and other business transactions. Clients value his “expansive knowledge” and “comprehensive understanding of the business and legal challenges and opportunities” in compensation and benefits matters, leading one to affirm, “he’s not just a lawyer—I view him more as an adviser.”
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
(Hall of Fame)Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is a market leader in executive compensation and employee benefits, particularly in high-stakes M&A and private equity transactions. The New York-based team advises on incentive structuring, tax implications, and SEC and ERISA compliance. Recent highlights include advising Paramount’s special committee on its pending $28bn merger with Skydance Media and EchoStar on its $26bn combination with DISH Network. The practice also excels in cross-border deals, such as WestRock’s $20bn merger with Smurfit Kappa, which required navigating jurisdictional complexities. Headed by Eric Hilfers
, the firm remains a key adviser on management retention strategies and shareholder approvals, particularly in private equity-backed transactions. Key figures include Jonathan Katz focusing on delivering key advice on employee agreements and incentive programs, Amanda Hines Gold specializes in negotiating severance packages, SEC filings, and the administration of equity incentive plans. Meanwhile Matthew Bobby, who is experienced in structuring compensation packages for high-value deals with strong emphasis on executive employment contracts and SEC disclosure intricacies.
Lawyer Rankings
- Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional United States > Labor and employment
- Hall of Fame United States > Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: global offerings
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Finance > Commercial lending: Advice to bank lenders
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Tax > International tax
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
Firm Rankings
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Finance > Fintech
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: transactions
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- Finance > Commercial lending
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: litigation
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Energy > Renewable/alternative power
- Finance > Financial services regulation
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense