Shearman & Sterling

Shearman & Sterling
Shearman & Sterling LLP. · Public domain · source
Name	Shearman & Sterling
Founded	1873
Headquarters	New York City
Founders	Thomas Shearman; John William Sterling
Num offices	18
Num attorneys	~800
Practice areas	Corporate, Litigation, Finance, M&A, Arbitration

Shearman & Sterling is an international law firm founded in 1873 in New York City by Thomas Shearman and John William Sterling. The firm is known for advising multinational corporations, financial institutions, sovereign states, and investment funds on complex transactions and disputes involving New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong, and other global financial centers. Its clients have included major actors from Standard Oil, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, BP plc, and state entities such as Republic of Argentina and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

History

Founded during the post‑Civil War expansion of United States finance, the firm represented early corporate clients tied to Erie Railroad, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and industrial consolidations involving Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the firm advised on international disputes linked to the Treaty of Paris (1898), transatlantic finance with Barings Bank, and transnational shipping matters related to Cunard Line and White Star Line. During the interwar and postwar eras partners worked on sovereign debt restructurings involving countries such as Argentina, Mexico, and Greece as well as international arbitration before tribunals influenced by the League of Nations and later the International Court of Justice. In the late 20th century the firm expanded into Tokyo and Hong Kong amid the rise of Mitsubishi, Mizuho Financial Group, and Nomura. In the 21st century the firm advised on cross‑border transactions involving Alibaba Group, LVMH, Siemens, General Electric, and multinational energy projects with ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell.

Practice areas and services

The firm provides corporate advisory services for mergers and acquisitions with counterparties such as Berkshire Hathaway, KKR, Blackstone Group, and Carlyle Group. Its finance practice covers capital markets and securitizations involving Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, Bank of America, and HSBC. The practice includes project finance and energy work for clients like TotalEnergies, Enel, Chevron, and sovereign wealth funds such as Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Qatar Investment Authority. Litigation and international arbitration teams appear before institutions including the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, London Court of International Arbitration, and national courts such as the United States Supreme Court and the High Court of Justice in England and Wales. The regulatory, compliance, and investigations group handles matters involving agencies like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S. Department of Justice, Financial Conduct Authority, and European Commission. The firm’s tax, intellectual property, employment, and antitrust practices work on mandates related to Microsoft, Apple Inc., Samsung, Facebook, and Google.

Global offices and organization

Shearman & Sterling maintains offices in major hubs including New York City, London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Munich, Brussels, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Sydney, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.. The firm is organized into global practice groups coordinating cross‑border work for clients across jurisdictions such as China, India, Brazil, Russia, South Africa, and members of the European Union. It collaborates frequently with international institutions like the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and regional development banks including the Asian Development Bank.

Notable transactions and cases

The firm has advised on landmark transactions such as major IPOs and cross‑border mergers involving Alibaba Group, Airbnb, and GlaxoSmithKline. It acted on sovereign debt restructurings for Argentina and complex insolvency matters tied to Enron-era litigation and post‑crisis restructurings with Lehman Brothers. The firm represented clients in high‑profile arbitration and dispute matters against states and corporations including cases before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes and commercial tribunals in London involving parties like Gazprom and Rosneft. In banking and finance, it has handled syndicated lending and bond issuances for JPMorgan Chase, Barclays, and UBS and advised on project financings for liquefied natural gas projects with Shell and Qatar Petroleum. In antitrust and regulatory matters the firm has represented clients in investigations conducted by European Commission directorates and the U.S. Department of Justice in cases involving Intel, Oracle Corporation, and Bayer.

Leadership and notable alumni

Leadership has included prominent partners who later held public or corporate roles connected to institutions such as the United States Department of the Treasury, Federal Reserve Board, and major corporations like Citigroup and Morgan Stanley. Alumni have gone on to serve as judges in federal courts including the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, diplomats at the United Nations, and in senior government positions under administrations of Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and Barack Obama. Notable former lawyers have joined or represented multinational entities such as Facebook, Amazon, Tesla, Inc., Nike, Inc., and cultural institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Awards and rankings

The firm appears regularly in rankings by directories and publications such as Chambers and Partners, The Legal 500, Latin Lawyer, Euromoney, and The American Lawyer. It has received recognitions for practices in financing, mergers and acquisitions, and international arbitration, and is frequently shortlisted for awards presented at events organized by GAR (Global Arbitration Review), IFLR (International Financial Law Review), and Who's Who Legal.

Category:Law firms