Who?s Who: Part Three

The eye of the hurricane—that would be the Wachovia/Citigroup/Wells Fargo litigation standstill agreement—is stalled above BigLaw through at least tomorrow morning.  So, as Iceland crumbles, here is our third installment of Who’s Who Among the Wreckage (and please let us know in the comments if we’ve omitted anyone):

 

Shearman & Sterling: Shearman stepped up for Merrill Lynch last month as Bank of America scooped up the financial conglomerate for roughly $50 billion to create the largest brokerage house and consumer banking franchise in the United States.

 

Cravath, Swaine & Moore: While Merrill Lynch & Co. tapped Shearman & Sterling during its acquisition by B of A last month, the Mortimers and Randolphs on Merrill’s board turned to Cravath for counsel; the firm has represented the company’s board since October 2007, when former CEO Stanley O’Neal walked away from the foundering ship with a compensation package valued at roughly $161 million.  More recently, Cravath, led by corporate partner William Fogg, advised JPMorgan as it raised $10 billion via a common stock offering after it acquired WaMu in late September.

 

Debevoise & Plimpton: So far holding a relatively tangential role in this sordid mess, Debevoise counseled J.C. Flowers and Co. as the private equity firm advised B of A through its buyout of Merrill Lynch last month.

 

Skadden: A backup to Cadwalader on Team Bear Stearns back in March, Skadden is at the steering wheel in Citigroup’s tenuous agreement to buy a big piece of Wachovia (although with the past weekend’s happenings, the wheel may well be on the passenger side, glued to the dash).  In comparison, Skadden’s co-representation of Nomura last month during the holding company’s purchase of foreign Lehman Brothers assets now seems like a walk in the park.

 

Davis Polk & Wardwell: Davis Polk answered its country’s call last month, when it agreed to advise the treasury department as the government seized control of 80 percent of AIG in exchange for a bailout loan of $85 billion in taxpayer funds.  This month, the firm’s focusing on its private-sector clients—namely Citigroup in its endangered bid for Wachovia’s banking operations.

 

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft: A half-year after structured finance shark Dennis Block greased the Bear’s descent into insolvency (and a month after it continued to represent the fallen bank’s board in court), Cadwalader saw client Lehman turn into the largest garage sale in history, adding to the firm’s woes in a year that’s already brought more than its share of bad news.  

 

Osborne Clarke: Nary a month ago, U.K.-based Osborne Clarke helped Nomura buy up much of Lehman’s operations outside North America, teaming with Skadden and Linklaters on the September deal.                                                                                                                          

 

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer: Freshfields was one of several voices in Nomura’s ear as the company negotiated the deal that brought it Lehman’s investment banking holdings in Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East; corporate partners Stephen Revell and Mark Kalderon took the reins for the firm.

 

Boies, Schiller & Flexner: Since S&C’s H. Rodge apparently doesn’t provide sufficient star power (or could it be that Subprime Superman’s stretched thin?), Wachovia’s brought on partners David Boies and George Frampton to help it fend off Citigroup’s attempts to enforce last week’s disputed deal concerning Wachovia’s banking practice.

 

Gregory P. Joseph Law Offices: Chalk one up for the little man: Joseph et al. is representing Citigroup in the ongoing Battle for Middle Earth, a/k/a Wach vs. Citi with a threat of Wells.  Joseph, once Fried Frank’s litigation chief, and three other partners from his eponymous 14-lawyer Manhattan boutique are on the case. 

 

                                                                 - posted by ben fuchs