April 16, 2012 6:11 PM

O'Melveny Adds Top Capital Markets Partner from Shearman in New York

Posted by Drew Combs

O’Melveny & Myers announced Monday that Michael Schiavone is joining the firm's partnership in New York from Shearman & Sterling, where he led the capital markets-Americas group.

Hiring Schiavone, who will serve as cohead of O'Melveny's capital markets practice group, is part of a broader effort by the firm to bolster its transactional practice, especially in New York. "Mike's addition is an execution of our strategic plan," says San Francisco–based C. Brophy Christensen, who will co-lead the capital markets groups with Schiavone. "Getting him on board is just the beginning."

As reported in "A Fresh Start" in the December 2011 issue of The American Lawyer, O'Melveny chair Bradley Butwin has made augmenting the litigation-centered relationships the firm has with financial institutions with more transactional engagements one of his main goals. Butwin underscored that point in a statement announcing the Schiavone's hiring, saying, "We represent many of the world's leading financial institutions, and having Mike on our team will increase our capacity to serve those clients as underwriters in capital markets deals."

Schiavone's practice focuses on representing large investment banks in capital markets offerings. Interviewed Monday, he said he wasn't looking to move his practice when Brophy and other O'Melveny leaders contacted him: "This is an opportunity that found me."

Schiavone, who has been practicing for 22 years, warmed to the idea of joining O'Melveny after learning more about the firm and how he and his expertise would fit into its larger strategic plan. "The strategy is a sound one," he said. "There is already a strong platform to begin with on the transactional side and a lot of great opportunity that is generated from other practices."

According to The American Lawyer's previous reporting, O'Melveny & Myers's profits per equity partner and revenue per lawyer rose 13.1 percent (to $1.73 million) and 10.2 percent (to $1.02 million), respectively in 2011. At the time, Butwin attributed the increases in part to an uptick in demand for litigation work by clients including financial institutions such as Bank of America Corp.

Make a comment

Comments (0)
Save & Share: Facebook | Del.ic.ious | | Email |

Reprints & Permissions

The comments to this entry are closed.