A&O Shearman is the newly combined entity composed of US-based Shearman & Sterling and UK-headquartered Allen & Overy, both of which were individually global powerhouses even prior to the merger, giving the new arrangement a massive global footprint. Within the States, the firm is called upon most often for its experience and acumen with matters of the securities and white-collar and enforcement variety and is quickly developing a leading profile in the antitrust space as well. A&O Shearman’s domestic operations showcase litigation star power in its offices in New York, DC and increasingly Texas.
New York’s Adam Hakki has long been a perennial peer favorite and remains one, with glowing reviews offered on a unanimous basis. Hakki’s practice is largely focused on, but not limited to, the securities, antitrust and governance fields, with experience in both the criminal and civil capacities. “Adam is very, very good, especially for the underwriters,” testifies a peer. Another contemporary remarks, “Adam just seems to be in everything, and is very involved all the time. He doesn’t just pop in and out on a surface level, he gets in the trenches.” Hakki secured a complete victory on behalf of Barclays in a class action litigation arising out of the mining operations of Brazilian mining giant Vale’s “Iron Quadrangle,” which has one of the largest concentrations of iron ore deposits in the world. The plaintiffs, Brazilian homeowners and municipalities, alleged that US banks, including Barclays were strictly liable for various environmental damage caused by Vale’s mining activity by providing over $17 billion in financing to Vale despite their alleged awareness of the environmental risks. The complaints exclusively brought claims arising pursuant to Brazilian law. In September 2024, the Southern District of New York granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint on forum non conveniens grounds, concluding that these cases must be litigated in Brazil. Hakki, along with
Agnès Dunogué and Lyle Roberts, obtained a significant victory on behalf of PayPal Holdings in a putative securities class action alleging that PayPal made material misstatements and omissions related to a metric the company uses to track net increases to the number of active PayPal accounts, which, through incentive campaigns, allegedly gave rise to fraud and led to the creation of illegitimate accounts, causing the company’s stock to trade at artificially inflated prices. In January 2025, the court dismissed all of the claims. “Agnes is terrific, I see her a lot,” confirms a peer. Hakki, along with Richard Schwed and DC-based star Todd Stenerson, also represented PayPal in an antitrust capacity in a case in which plaintiffs allege that PayPal uses illegally restrictive merchant contracts that insulate its high transaction fees from competition and inflate online retail prices for consumers. “Todd is a fantastic antitrust lawyer,” declares one peer of Stenerson’s. “He’s creative and he's a trial lawyer! You don’t always have trial lawyers in antitrust cases – so many of them
settle!” White-collar-focused John Nathanson led a team that represented crypto exchange KuCoin in a DoJ criminal indictment and CFTC and NYAG civil enforcement matters, all of which claim that the client and its two China-based founders failed to implement anti-money laundering protocols and thus allowing suspicious transactions associated with substantial sums to flow through its trading platform. A team composed of Hakki, Dunogué and
Thad Behrens obtained a significant victory representing the underwriters of seven note offerings for Norfolk Southern. The plaintiffs alleged that the offering materials for these note offerings failed to disclose alleged material facts and trends related to safety risks that eventually materialized with train derailments in February and March 2023, after which the prices of these dropped significantly. In July 2024, that defendants obtained a partial motion to dismiss. Behrens, based in Texas, is called “just a brilliant lawyer” by a peer, who testifies, “and he can try anything. He is building out that [A&O] office in Dallas.”
