Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP

Presiding Partner: Faiza J Saeed
Number of partners worldwide: 90
Number of other lawyers worldwide: 441

Firm Overview:
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP has been known as one of the premier US law firms for over two centuries. Each of the firm’s practices is highly regarded, and Cravath lawyers are recognized for their commitment to the representation of their clients’ interests in the US and throughout the world.

Main Areas of Practice:

Corporate:
Cravath’s work with many of the world’s most significant companies has enabled it to develop a broadbased corporate practice. Clients repeatedly choose Cravath for their largest and most complex matters. The firm’s corporate lawyers represent companies and boards in their most critical needs across the full spectrum of corporate transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs, joint ventures and strategic investments, as well as in high-stakes corporate situations, including hostile takeovers, proxy fights and shareholder activist campaigns. The firm has one of the most respected capital markets practices in the world. The practice is balanced between representing issuers and underwriters on debt, equity and convertible offerings, both domestically and internationally. Cravath’s banking and credit lawyers regularly represent market-leading financial institutions and borrowers in their financings, ranging from routine working capital facilities to complex multi-currency, multi-jurisdictional and highly structured financings. The firm provides corporate governance advice to clients facing difficult choices and evaluates complex and often unprecedented transactions under the most demanding circumstances. The financial restructuring and reorganization practice addresses a wide range of issues triggered by financial distress or insolvency. Cravath’s highly regarded environmental lawyers advise on matters related to a broad range of contexts that includes corporate transactions and environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. The firm’s IP lawyers advise clients in many corporate contexts, including acquisitions and divestitures, multiparty joint ventures and strategic investments, licensing agreements and portfolio development and exploitation.

Tax:
Cravath’s tax department designs tax-efficient structures for an array of complex US and non-US transactions, including mergers, spin-offs, joint ventures and private equity acquisitions. Its lawyers also advise on the tax aspects of all types of capital markets and banking and credit transactions. Clients rely on Cravath’s tax lawyers for their extensive legal knowledge, sound business judgment and ability to explain complicated issues in a clear and understandable way.

Executive Compensation & Benefits:
Cravath’s ECB department brings experience and judgment to clients’ executive compensation and benefits matters. Its ECB lawyers advise companies, boards, compensation committees and members of senior management in a variety of compensation and benefit arrangements, as well as legal compliance concerns.

Litigation:
Clients turn to Cravath to handle their most significant and sensitive disputes and investigations across a broad range of practice areas and industries. The firm’s litigators are routinely called upon to represent clients in trials and appeals in federal and state courts, in domestic and international arbitrations, before administrative agencies and regulatory authorities, and in many other types of proceedings, including internal and government investigations and enforcement actions. The firm has extensive experience in such diverse areas of the law as antitrust, bankruptcy, corporate governance, employment, general commercial, IP, M&A, securities, tax and white collar criminal defense. Companies, boards and board committees regularly rely on the firm to handle contested transactions and guide them through the intricacies of shareholder litigation and investigations, as well as complying with applicable laws and regulations. In addition to handling antitrust litigation, the firm advises on business conduct or potential investments to ensure compliance with antitrust laws and represents clients in securing regulatory approvals. With respect to IP, the firm handles critical litigation involving patents, trade secrets, copyright and trademarks in industries as wide-ranging as technology, pharmaceuticals and financial services. Cravath also frequently advises clients on national and worldwide IP strategy and the identification of IP assets that can be used effectively for offensive or defensive purposes. In the area of securities litigation, the firm is widely recognised for handling complex and often precedent-setting cases. Our white collar team of seasoned litigators and corporate advisory lawyers brings extensive experience from the government and private sectors to a wide variety of investigations, disputes and corporate matters.

Trusts & Estates:
Cravath’s trusts and estates lawyers have served as legal counsel, advisors and trustees to several generations of families who built many of the world’s most important businesses. The firm’s lawyers work closely with US and non-US private clients to realize their estate planning and philanthropic goals by advising them on the creation and administration of trusts, estates and charitable foundations.

International Capabilities:
Cravath is committed to an international practice of the highest quality. Its lawyers regularly advise clients based outside the US on a wide range of international transactions, including cross-border mergers and acquisitions, international capital markets and bank financings, and general corporate and SEC compliance matters. The firm’s investigations team has expertise conducting cross-border internal and government investigations involving companies subject to multiple government authorities operating under differing regulatory regimes. Cravath represents international clients in litigation in US courts and in arbitrations, investigations and other disputes conducted throughout the world.