Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

The ‘calm, yet authoritative demeanor’ of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP’s M&A litigators allows them to secure favorable results for companies, their directors and officers and private equity sponsors in pre-merger suits and post-closing appraisal proceedings and claims for damages. Spearheading the firm’s efforts are Jonathan Youngwood, who represented Paramount Global in defense of a suit brought by Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island, which suspected breaches of fiduciary duty in the former’s proposed merger with Skydance Media, and Lynn Neuner, who was able to secure a settlement between Pfizer and former Mylan shareholders in relation to Mylan’s merger with Pfizer’s Upjohn division. Fraud specialist Peter Kazanoff assisted the Special Committee of General Growth Properties in reaching a settlement with shareholders who alleged the Special Committee had breached its fiduciary duties while overseeing the company’s sale to Brookfield Property Partners. Palo Alto’s Stephen Blake merges expertise in M&A and regulatory litigation, and in 2024 represented Microsoft against a claim launched by a stockholder who alleged that Microsoft aided and abetted breaches of fiduciary duty by Activision and certain directors in the companies’ 2023 merger. All lawyers named are New York-based unless otherwise specified.