Shearman & Sterling LLP

Senior Partner: David Beveridge
Asia Regional Managing Partners: Lorna Chen and Masahisa Ikeda
Number of partners: 200+
Number of lawyers: 850+
Languages:The firm has over 850 lawyers around the world speaking more than 64 languages and practising US, English, French, German, Italian, Hong Kong, OHADA and Saudi law. Nearly half of the firm’s lawyers practice outside the United States.

Firm Overview:
As one of the first law firms to establish a presence in key global markets, Shearman & Sterling has led the way in serving clients wherever they do business for more than 145 years. From major financial centres to emerging markets, the firm has the global presence and diverse perspectives needed to partner with its clients to provide solutions to their most complex worldwide business needs.

Main Areas of Practice:
■ Antitrust
■ Capital Markets
■ Compensation, Governance & Erisa
■ Derivatives & Structured Products
■ Emerging Growth
■ Finance
■ Financial Institutions Advisory & Financial
■ Regulatory
■ Financial Restructuring & Insolvency
■ Intellectual Property Transactions
■ International Arbitration
■ Investment Funds
■ Litigation
■ Mergers & Acquisitions
■ Privacy & Data Protection
■ Private Client
■ Project Development & Finance
■ Public International Law
■ Real Estate
■ Tax

Capital Markets:
Shearman & Sterling’s attorneys have represented clients in some of the most sophisticated and innovative capital-raising transactions for over 100 years. The lawyers advise clients on all types of securities transactions, regulatory compliance, and corporate governance issues, including: public and private securities offerings; structured products and hybrid securities.

Finance:
Shearman & Sterling’s Asia finance practice is an integral part of the firm’s global finance practice, providing on the ground support to global and regional clients on debt financing transactions. The team has the capability to execute transactions under English, Hong Kong and New York law under one roof. Its core areas of focus complements the firm’s strong capital markets, funds and corporate coverage in the region and includes: leveraged and acquisition finance, acting for lenders and sponsors; structured finance solutions including bank/ bond financings, bridge to bond financings, convertible and exchangeable notes and direct lending by credit funds; real estate finance transactions in Europe, US and the PRC; subscription/capital call facilities and other fund financing products for clients of the firm’s leading Asia funds practice; and corporate lending transactions, acting for corporate borrowers and lenders. In 2019, the team advised subsidiaries of Joyvio Group on financings to support its $880 million tender offer for all of the shares of Australis Seafoods S.A., a leading Chilean salmon producer.

International Arbitration:
The firm’s 100-lawyer international arbitration team handles international commercial and investment disputes throughout the world. The practice, renowned for its thorough knowledge of arbitration processes and comparative law, is widely viewed as one of the world’s finest.

Investment Funds:
By combining multidisciplinary knowledge with a globally integrated approach, the firm’s full-service investment funds team provides a comprehensive range of investment funds services to clients on a worldwide basis. The team has extensive experience assisting fund sponsors and investors across the Americas, Asia, Europe and Africa in finding innovative solutions to the challenges they face. They are also skilled at reconciling complex regulatory and tax regimes with the competing requirements of fund sponsors, their investment strategies and their target investors.

Litigation:
Shearman & Sterling’s litigation practice represents clients in their most high-stakes litigation matters. The practice benefits from the firm’s vast geographic footprint and can draw on its global resources to provide seamless cross-jurisdictional service in a dynamically changing regulatory environment. The firm’s litigators are recognised leaders in a wide range of practice areas.

Mergers & Acquisitions:
The firm is consistently ranked as a global leader in large complex M&A transactions, including leverage acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances and minority investments. Attorneys advise public and private entities involved in a broad range of industries spanning multiple jurisdictions, including Asia, Europe and the Middle East, North America and Latin America, offering not only M&A legal advice but also corporate and complementary business guidance to help clients realise their commercial goals.

Private Equity:
Shearman & Sterling has a strong focus on private equity regularly advises private equity funds, venture capital funds, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and family offices in complex transactions and financings in various jurisdictions worldwide, including Asia, Europe and the Middle East, North America and Latin America. The firm is distinguished by its exceptional depth of experience that ranges from leverage buyouts and complex control transactions to co-investments, pre-IPO investments and minority investments. The firm’s has a leading PE practice and its PE partners are recognized as market leaders in their region.

Project Development & Finance:
Shearman & Sterling has an unrivalled track record advising on a number of complex, innovative and significant project development and project finance transactions counseling all types of clients, including lenders, sponsors, project companies, private commercial and investment banks, placement agents, underwriters, export credit agencies, multilateral lending institutions, PRI providers, suppliers, contractors, off-take purchasers and advisors. Utilizing a multidisciplinary approach, our projects lawyers work together with lawyers from the firm’s bank finance, mergers and acquisitions and capital markets groups, and other essential corporate law disciplines, to provide clients with integrated counsel on all aspects of their most important business objectives.