Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom

Timeline

Locations

As of December 2016, Skadden has 22 offices worldwide.

Key people

In February 2011, there were 432 Skadden partners worldwide. As of December 2016, there are 381 partners worldwide. Unlike some firms that have introduced two-tier partnerships with equity and non-equity partners, Skadden maintains a one-tier partnership, in which all partners are equity partners and share ownership of the firm. Among the more notable partners, of counsel and counsel are:

Rankings

In 2015 and 2016, Skadden was the fourth largest law firm in the U.S. by revenue. In the 2015 Global 100 survey by The American Lawyer, Skadden ranked as the fourth highest grossing law firm in the world. In 2016, Skadden had approximately 1,700 attorneys in 22 offices; in 2011, the firm had approximately 1,900 attorneys in 23 offices. Measured by the number of attorneys, Skadden is the fifth largest law firm in New York and 12th largest in the United States. In 2016, Skadden was 187th on Forbes' list of America's Largest Private Companies by revenue. Previously, the firm ranked 335th in 1995, 194th in 2003 and 213th in 2010. Based on the 2017 Vault Law 100 survey of law firm associates by Vault.com, Skadden is the third most prestigious U.S. firm at which to work. The NYSE Governance Services and advisory firm FTI Consulting named Skadden the top U.S. law firm in 2016, a position held by the firm since 2001; the annual findings are published by Corporate Board Member in its list of "America's Best Corporate Law Firms." In 2015, Skadden became the first law firm ever to handle more than $1 trillion in M&A deals in a single year and, for the third time in six years, the Financial Times' "Innovative Lawyers" report named Skadden the most innovative law firm in North America. In the 2016 edition of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Skadden received the most top rankings among law firms, including 67 Band 1 attorney rankings, 35 Band 1 practice rankings and five Star Individual rankings.

Skadden Fellowship Foundation

Through the Skadden Fellowship Foundation, the firm sponsors law school graduates who wish to practice public interest law. The foundation was established in 1988 in honor of the firm's 40th anniversary. The Los Angeles Times has called the program "a legal Peace Corps." Fellows work with a sponsoring organization that provides legal services to the poor, elderly, homeless, disabled and disenfranchised. Skadden pays fellows a salary of $52,000 (as of 2016), plus all the fringe benefits the sponsoring organization offers its employees. Through 2016, the firm has awarded 791 fellowships. Since the program's inception, nearly 90 percent of its fellows have remained in public interest or public sector work.

Political contributions

Skadden partners and employees tend to support and contribute more to Democratic political candidates than to Republicans. Prominent lawyers at the firm endorsed and financially supported John Kerry in his campaign to become president of the United States in 2004. In the run-up to Super Tuesday 2008, Skadden hosted a phone bank in support of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Skadden was one of the top law firms contributing to federal candidates during the 2012 election cycle, donating $1.98 million, 76% to Democrats. By comparison, during that same period Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld donated $2.56 million, 66% to Democrats and oil conglomerate ExxonMobil donated $2.66 million, 88% to Republicans. From 1990 through 2008, Skadden contributed $11.93 million to federal campaigns; between 2000 and 2008 the firm spent $2.2 million on lobbying.

Notable alumni

In addition to numerous professors and partners at other firms, some of the more notable former Skadden attorneys include: