Schulte Roth & Zabel

Schulte Roth & Zabel, LLP (often shortened to "SRZ") is a full service law firm with offices in New York, Washington, D.C., and London.

Schulte Roth & Zabel, LLP
Headquarters919 Third Avenue
New York City
No. of offices3
No. of attorneysApproximately 320
Date founded1969
Company typeLLP
Websitewww.srz.com

The firm provides legal services to some of the world’s largest hedge funds and thousands of investment funds globally.[1] Serving the financial services sector, the firm’s attorneys advise clients on investment management, corporate, and transactional matters, as well as providing counsel on regulatory, compliance, enforcement, and investigative issues.[2] The number of attorneys practising at this firm globally is approximately 320 as of 2020,[3] down from approximately 375 attorneys in 2013.

The firm's practices include investment management; regulatory & compliance; securities & capital markets; bank regulatory; business reorganization; distressed investing; distressed debt & claims trading; mergers & acquisitions; employment & employee benefits; environmental; finance; individual client services; intellectual property, sourcing & technology; litigation; real estate; shareholder activism; structured products & derivatives; and tax.[4]

History

The firm was founded in 1969 by seven attorneys under the age of 35. William D. Zabel, Daniel S. Shapiro, and Paul N. Roth met as associates at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. Roth had worked on a transaction with Stephen J. Schulte, who was an associate at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, and through Schulte, the others met Charles Goldstein, also an associate at Fried Frank. Additionally, Schulte connected the group to Thomas Baer, who was in private practice; and John G. McGoldrick, who was a partner at Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler. Burton Lehman, the eighth partner in the new firm, joined the original seven from Cleary Gottlieb shortly after they opened their doors.[5]

The firm's first name was Baer & McGoldrick.[6] In 1977, the name of the firm was changed to Schulte & McGoldrick following Baer's departure. Following McGoldrick's departure in 1981 to become counsel to then-Governor Hugh Carey, the name of the firm was changed to Schulte Roth & Zabel.[5]

The firm's London office, offering American and English law capabilities, launched in 2002.[7] The firm opened its Washington, D.C. office in 2008.[8]

Schulte Roth & Zabel's New York headquarters at 919 Third Avenue, New York, NY

Recognitions & rankings

Chambers Global ranked SRZ as a Band 1 law firm in Investment Funds (Hedge Funds, Global-wide).[9] Chambers USA recognized SRZ in Investment Funds (Hedge Funds, Nationwide), Capital Markets (Structured Products, Nationwide), Bankruptcy/Restructuring (New York), Corporate/M&A (New York), Real Estate (Mainly Corporate & Finance, New York) and Tax (New York).[4]

It was also named "Best Onshore Law Firm – Client Service" at the HFMWeek US Hedge Fund Services Awards[10] and its hedge fund practice was recognized for its "commercial significance" by the Hedge Fund Insight "The Hedge Fund Hot 100" list in 2013.[11]

Pro bono

SRZ works on behalf of pro bono clients, including Partners In Health – provision of health care in underdeveloped countries such as Haiti, Peru and Rwanda,[12] The Innocence Project – exonerating the wrongfully convicted,[13] Sanctuary for Families – defending battered women[14] and Hedge Funds Cares – raising money to support abused children.[15] The firm also represents immigrants in asylum cases. The non-litigation support ranges from business transactions to intellectual property, real estate, tax, employment and general corporate matters.[16]

The firm received the 2013 Beacon of Justice Award from The National Legal Aid & Defender Association for its work with the New York Civil Liberties Union Foundation (NYCLU).[17]

Notable representations

The firm advised Albertsons LLC, Cerberus Capital Management LP and the investor group, which includes Kimco Realty Corporation, Klaff Realty LP, Lubert-Adler Partners LP, and Schottenstein Stores Corporation in the $9 billion acquisition the Safeway Inc. SRZ also advised Cerberus Capital Management LP when SUPERVALU INC. unveiled a $3.3 billion deal to sign over its five biggest store chains and a stake in its remaining business to a group of investors led by Cerberus.[18]

The firm represented the joint venture, The Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group, in developing Hudson Yards, a $15 billion project, in closing nearly $1.4 billion in equity investments and debt financing for the center's first tower on New York City's West Side.[19]

The firm secured a reorganization plan for Quigley Co. in an asbestos-related Chapter 11 case that discharged at least $5.6 billion of current and future asbestos liability.[20]

The firm represented Wayzata Investment Partners in the formation of Wayzata Opportunities Fund III, which closed with approximately $2.7 billion of committed capital.[21]

The firm represented Marlin Equity Partners in its $891 million all-cash acquisition of Tellabs and also represented Marlin Equity Partners in its acquisition of Nokia Siemens Networks' optical networks business to form Coriant.[22]

The firm secured dismissals on behalf of Tullett Prebon plc in a series of lawsuits and data cases brought by affiliates of rival inter-dealer broker BGC Partners Inc.[23]

The firm represented Cerberus Capital Management LP in its sale of Chrysler Financial to TD Bank Group for cash consideration of approximately $6.3 billion. TD Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of TD, acquired Chrysler Financial in the U.S. and Canada.[24] The deal was named the biggest deal of 2010 in The Globe and Mail's list of "Biggest Canadian Mergers, Acquisitions and Restructurings."[25]

The firm represented the estate of the late philanthropist Jeffry Picower, who was the target of various civil suits,[26] in reaching a landmark settlement with the Department of Justice and the trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC relating to claims arising out of the Madoff Ponzi scheme. The $7.2 billion settlement allowed Barbara Picower, the executor of her husband's estate, to return all monies her husband received from the Madoff Ponzi scheme and donate the vast bulk of his remaining fortunes to charity.[27]

The firm represented figures connected to the Madoff investment scandal, including J. Ezra Merkin, the financier and money manager targeted in various civil lawsuits by investors and Irving Picard, the trustee of Bernand Madoff Investment Securities LLC.[28]

Notable attorneys
  • Daniel J. Eisner, leading private equity lawyer with over 20 years of experience [29]
  • Richard A. Davey, Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation
  • Beryl A. Howell, Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
  • Brian P. Kavanagh, member of the New York State Assembly
  • James M. Peck, Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (retiring)[30]
  • Sung-Hee Suh, Criminal Division Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the United States Department of Justice[31]
  • Ben Quayle, former member of the United States House of Representatives, son of Former Vice President of the United States Dan Quayle

See also

References
  1. "Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP - The Inside View".
  2. "Schulte Roth & Zabel Law firm Overview". IFLR1000. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  3. "Homepage". Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  4. "Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP". Chambers and Partners. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  5. Harper, Timothy (April 1984). "Sprouting Law Firm Keeps Spirit Lively". Legal Times of New York.
  6. "Tom Baer". The Huffington Post. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  7. "Schulte Roth & Zabel: New London hires". The Hedge Fund Journal. April 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  8. Brian Baxter (July 2, 2008). "Schulte Roth & Zabel to Open Office in D.C." The American Lawyer. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  9. "Investment Funds - Global-wide". Chambers & Partners. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  10. "US Hedge Fund Services Awards 2012". HFM Week. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  11. "The Hedge Fund Hot 100". Hedge Fund Insight. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  12. "Partners in Health Major Supporters". Partners in Health. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  13. "New Evidence Suggests Cameron Todd Willingham Prosecutor Deceived Board of Pardons and Paroles About Informant Testimony in Opposition to Stay of Execution". The Innocence Project. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  14. "Sanctuary honored by Schulte Roth & Zabel". Sanctuary for Families. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  15. "Local Supporters". Hedge Fund Cares. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  16. "Pro Bono". Schulte Roth & Zabel. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  17. "Beacon of Justice Award Winners Announced Today". National Legal Aid & Defender Association. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  18. MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED and WILLIAM ALDEN. "Cerberus in $9 Billion Deal for the Safeway Grocery Chain". The New York Times. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  19. "Company of the Month: Schulte Roth & Zabel's real estate group celebrates landmark year: Behind some of New York's significant developments and acquisitions". New York Real Estate Journal. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  20. "Quigley Co". The Deal Pipeline. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  21. "Wayzata Investment Partners Closes Fund with $2.716 billion". Wayzata Investment Partners. May 21, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  22. "Marlin Equity Partners Completes Acquisition of Tellabs". Securities and Exchange Commission. May 21, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  23. Jan Wolfe (November 20, 2013). "Schulte Roth Preserves Arbitration Award in Broker Trade Secrets Fight". The Litigation Daily. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  24. Carolina Bolado (December 21, 2010). "Simpson Thacher Reps TD Bank In $6.3B Chrysler Deal". Law360. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  25. BOYD ERMAN (March 3, 2011). "Mergers are back in a big way". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  26. Brian Baxter, 'Lawsuits Against Picower Will Move Forward,' Am. Law Daily, October 26, 2009. Accessed November 1, 2009. http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/amlawdaily/2009/10/jeffrey-picower-dies-civil-suits.html.
  27. PETER LATTMAN (December 17, 2010). "The Man Behind the $7.2 Billion Madoff Settlement". The New York Times. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  28. "Merkin's Lawyers Are Still Waiting to Be Paid". The New York Times. March 27, 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  29. https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2019-08-06/leading-private-equity-lawyer-daniel-eisner-joins-schulte-roth-zabel
  30. Checkler, Joseph (December 17, 2013). "Bankruptcy Judges Peck and Gropper to Retire". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  31. Ensign, Rachel Louise (September 9, 2014). "People Moves: Exiger, Justice Department, Milbank". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
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