Seward & Kissel LLP is home to a team of experienced dealmakers, with practice strengths including deals in investment management and the shipping industry, with clients praising the team for its ability to ‘combine technical excellence with exceptional judgment, responsiveness, and a truly commercial mindset.’ The practice is co-led out of New York by Craig Sklar who advises public and private companies, private investment funds, and financial institutions in M&A related activity, and James Abbott who offers a wealth of knowledge advising on cross-border transactions. Other key names include Nick Katsanos, who offers expertise in the media and entertainment sector, and Danielle Lemberg whose strengths lie in venture capital, joint ventures, and seed investment deals.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘What makes the individuals we work with stand out is that they consistently combine technical excellence with exceptional judgment, responsiveness, and a truly commercial mindset. They are not just strong lawyers, they are pragmatic advisers who understand how deals and businesses actually operate, and they tailor their advice accordingly.’
- ‘Seward & Kissel has a tremendous team of professionals who genuinely care about their clients. They have the right skills for the job and knowledgeable attorneys. Their can do attitude always gets the deal done! They take businessman's view of the transaction and make sure it succeeds. ’
- ‘They are incredible problem solvers. We are fortunate to work with Craig Sklar and Nick Katsanos on our engagements. ’
- ‘Our experience with the Seward & Kissel team has been that they operate much more like an embedded business partner than traditional outside counsel. They are highly practical, fast, and commercial in their advice, and they consistently focus on the points that actually matter to getting a deal done or mitigating real risk, rather than creating process for process’ sake. That combination of technical strength and operational pragmatism is what makes the practice stand out.’
Key clients
- AlTi Global, Inc.
- Pangaea Logistics Solutions
- Growth Catalyst Partners
- Mission Wealth
- Stable Rock Solutions, LLC
- CMB.TECH N.V
- Marex Group plc
- Delinian
- Kudu Investment Management
- iM Global Partner
Work highlights
Advised $10.7 billion AUM wealth manager Mission Wealth on its sale of a minority equity stake to private equity firm Great Hill Partners.
Advised global Belgium-based shipping company CMB.TECH NV (NYSE:CMBT) on its merger with Golden Ocean Group Limited (NASDAQ:GOGL) to create one of the world’s largest diversified maritime groups with a combined 250 vessel fleet.
Advised UK-based Delinian (formerly Euromoney Institutional Investor) on a series of divestitures.
Lawyers
Hall of Fame
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Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Practice head
Craig Sklar; Jim Abbott
Other key lawyers
Nick Katsanos; Danielle Lemberg