Law firm Gibson Dunn taps deal makers from Sullivan & Cromwell, Paul Weiss
By Sara Merken
June 25 (Reuters) -Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher added deal makers from two rival firms this week, including a longtime Sullivan & Cromwell partner who will be a leader of Gibson Dunn's mergers and acquisitions practice.
George Sampas, whose clients at Sullivan & Cromwell have included Enbridge, C&S Wholesale Grocers and Symbotic, joined Gibson Dunn as co-chair of its M&A practice and head of cross-border M&A, the Los Angeles-founded firm said on Tuesday.
On Monday, the 1,900-lawyer firm announced its hire of private equity partner Brian Scrivani from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York. Scrivani's clients have included Apollo Global Management.
A Sullivan & Cromwell spokesperson declined to comment on Sampas' departure. A Paul Weiss spokesperson said the firm wishes Scrivani well.
The three law firms all ranked within the top 10 spots in London Stock Exchange Group data on global M&A legal advisers in the first quarter of 2024. In rankings by principal advisers on announced M&A deals by value, Paul Weiss took the third spot, while Sullivan & Cromwell ranked eighth and Gibson Dunn came it at number 10.
Leading law firms advised on fewer deals in the first quarter compared to the prior year, but the combined value of those deals was larger, according to the LSEG data. The first quarter of 2024 represented the strongest start for U.S. dealmaking in three years.
Some M&A and private equity lawyers who have moved between large U.S. firms this year have said they anticipate deal volume to pick up in the months ahead.
"M&A and private equity are major drivers for many law firms in terms of bringing in revenue," said Jon Truster, a New York-based legal recruiter at Macrae. Even though M&A and private equity were slow last year, "it was really the practice area that was of most interest, because [law firms] know it's going to rebound."
Sampas, a 32-year veteran of Sullivan & Cromwell, said he will spend time in both New York and Florida, where he has lived for years. Neither New York-based Sullivan & Cromwell or Gibson Dunn currently has an office in the state.
Sampas has represented clients in the aviation, aerospace and defense sectors, as well as the energy and minerals sectors, where he anticipates continued deal activity.
He advised Australian company Alumina on its pending $2.2 billion acquisition by U.S. aluminum producer Alcoa, in a deal announced in February.
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