Firm Profiles
IN-DEPTH RESEARCH REPORT
on Shearman & Sterling LLP
- - Financial Information
- - Compensation
- - Billing Rates
- - Lateral Partner Moves
- - Pro bono
- - Key Contacts
Shearman & Sterling
- Designation: International
- Head Count: 842
- Gross Revenues: $752,000,000
- Revenue Per Lawyer: $895,000
- Profits Per Partner: $1,520,000
- Year Over Year Change: 1
Shearman & Sterling isn’t just one of the nation’s oldest and most distinguished law firms, it’s also one of its most resilient. How else to describe a firm that took so many hits during the recession—by 2011, its net income, gross revenue, profits per partner, and head count lagged 2007 levels—yet still earned a spot on The American Lawyer’s A–List for 2011, a designation limited to just 20 premier firms?
It wasn’t Shearman’s first time on the list, either. Unlike many of its New York peers, the firm has built a reputation as a well–rounded legal powerhouse: While there is an emphasis on hard work—and a lot of it—the firm also regularly posts above average grades for pro bono (eighteenth in 2011), diversity (twenty–ninth in 2011), and associate satisfaction (sixtieth of 126 firms in 2011, but remember, this is Manhattan). Its scores dropped a bit during the downturn, but that they still managed to top so many firms—even as Shearman placed seventy–third of 84 firms on The American Lawyer’s Recession Performance Index—is a significant achievement.
Of course, when you’ve been around since 1873, you’ve had some experience with hard times. You also have a track record, too, and Shearman’s is compelling: It helped The Ford Motor Company go public, represented Cadbury in its $19.4 billion acquisition by Kraft, and advised Suncor Energy in its $15.8 billion merger with Petro–Canada. One upside to the economic meltdown was that it kept Shearman’s litigators busy. Indeed, their work representing the remnants of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., in litigation over its merger with Bank of America Corporation and in ERISA class actions helped earn the firm an honorable mention in The American Lawyer’s 2010 Litigation Department of the Year contest. Shearman’s numbers may have flagged during the recession but its status as one of the country’s top law firms remained firmly intact.
—Updated as of 1/1/12
Firm Rankings
| Survey | Rank | Year Over Year Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Am Law 100 | 35 | 1 | Gross revenue |
| Am Law 200 | 35 | 1 | Gross revenue |
| NLJ 250 | 34 | 1 | Lawyer head count |
| The A-List | 18 | no change | Overall excellence |
| Pro Bono Scorecard | 18 | 8 | Pro-bono commitment |
| Diversity Scorecard | 21 | 8 | Minority head count |
| Midlevel Associates Survey | 60 | 19 | Job satisfaction |
| Summer Associates Survey | 75 | 12 | Summer programs |
In the News
Personal Notes on Lawyers
: New York Law Journal : May 10, 2013
Shearman & Sterling has added Jeremy Dickens as a partner; Day Pitney has added Jeffrey Held as a partner; and other moves.
Fed Criminal Chief Under Haag Leaving
Vanessa Blum : The Recorder : May 9, 2013
After 2 1/2 years, Miranda Kane is leaving the U.S. attorney's office.
Asia Deal Digest: May 9, 2013
Tom Brennan : The Asian Lawyer : May 9, 2013
* Linklaters takes the lead on Sumitomo Mitsui's $1.5 billon Indonesia acquisition* Three firms on New Zealand's largest-ever IPO* The world's first publicly traded law firm is raising $64 million to fund U.K. expansion
Latham Adds Four Shearman Partners for Düsseldorf Launch
Julie Triedman : The Am Law Daily : May 8, 2013
Two weeks after Shearman & Sterling announced plans to close two of its three offices in Germany, four of its remaining 14 partners based in the country are jumping to Latham & Watkins.
O'Melveny Snags Cadwalader Bankruptcy Leaders
Brian Baxter : The Am Law Daily : May 7, 2013
John Rapisardi and George Davis—who joined Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft six years ago in a high-profile lateral move from Weil, Gotshal & Manges—are leaving the firm to cohead the global financial restructuring practice at O'Melveny & Myers.
MOVERS
: The National Law Journal : May 6, 2013
Jeffrey Held joins Day Pitney's real estate, environmental and land use department as partner in the New York office. Plus more law firm movers in this week's column.
VOLS Firms Meet Pro Bono 2012 Pledge
Bill Lienhard : New York Law Journal : May 3, 2013
Ex-Shearman Lawyer Tapped to Head Arbitration Center
Brendan Pierson : New York Law Journal : May 2, 2013
Alexandra Dosman, a former senior associate at Shearman & Sterling, has been named as the first executive director of the New York International Arbitration Center, a new venue for international arbitration set to open next month.
Asia Deal Digest: May 2, 2013
Tom Brennan : The Asian Lawyer : May 2, 2013
* Cravath and Corrs help ADM make a big move Down Under* Sinopec goes back to Skadden for another multibillion-dollar bond offering* Alibaba taps Simpson for $586 million Weibo investment
Big Wins
Jan Wolfe : The American Lawyer : May 1, 2013
- Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
- Allen & Overy
- Andrews Kurth
- Ashurst
- Bancroft
- Bingham McCutchen
- Bracewell & Giuliani
- Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft
- Chadbourne & Parke
- Chavez & Gertler
- Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
- CMS Cameron McKenna
- Covington & Burling
- Crowell & Moring
- Davis Polk & Wardwell
- Denton Wilde Sapte
- Dewey & LeBoeuf
- DLA Piper
- Downey Brand
- Duane Morris
- Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge
- Edwards Wildman Palmer
- Freehills
- Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
- Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
- Fulbright & Jaworski
- Goulston & Storrs
- Herbert Smith
- Hogan Lovells
- Holland & Knight
- Husch Blackwell
- Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro
- Jones Day
- K&L Gates
- Katten Muchin Rosenman
- Keker & Van Nest
- Kilpatrick Townsend
- King & Spalding
- Kirkland & Ellis
- Kutak Rock
- Lathrop & Gage
- Lewis and Roca
- Linklaters
- Locke Lord
- Loeb & Loeb
- Manatt, Phelps & Phillips
- McDonald Hopkins
- Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy
- Minter Ellison
- Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
- Morrison & Foerster
- Munger, Tolles & Olson
- Norton Rose
- O'Melveny & Myers
- Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
- Patton Boggs
- Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
- Porter & Hedges
- Proskauer Rose
- Reed Smith
- Robbins, Russell, Englert, Orseck, Untereiner & Sauber
- Ropes & Gray
- Shearman & Sterling
- Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton
- Sidley Austin
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
- Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
- Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal
- Squire, Sanders & Dempsey
- Stephenson Harwood
- Steptoe & Johnson LLP
- Sullivan & Cromwell
- Sullivan & Worcester
- Susman Godfrey
- Thompson Hine
- Ulmer & Berne
- Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
- White & Case
- Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon
- Williams & Connolly
- Willkie Farr & Gallagher
- Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
