M&A, joint ventures and corporate reorganizations

A&O Shearman has one of the world’s leading M&A practices, with a top-tier reputation and a team spanning more than 40 countries. 

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Our culture of excellence – on every matter, large and small – enables us to deliver exceptional outcomes to our clients.

A team built for market-shifting cross-border transactions

We stand alone for the strength and scale of our M&A group, with leading practitioners in the United States, the U.K., Continental Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.

We have more than 1,200 corporate and M&A lawyers globally who together have led on deals worth more than $2.2tn over the past five years. We act on buyouts, mergers, divestitures, joint ventures, reorganizations, spin-offs and complex carve-outs. Our team is particularly renowned for its deep expertise in public M&A, including takeover defense situations.

Exceptional counsel across the investment cycle 

Our wider transactional group comprises top-tier practitioners in key disciplines such as governance, antitrust, foreign investment controls, tax, data privacy, cybersecurity, employment, environmental, intellectual property, capital markets, sanctions, and litigation. The combined strength of our M&A and finance practices globally is unmatched and enables us to provide exceptional counsel across the investment cycle.

This, coupled with our sophisticated knowledge of industries including financial services, energy, life sciences, technology and industrials – and a stellar private capital practice that delivers a sophisticated, end-to-end service to the world’s leading investment funds – is why our clients turn to us for their business-critical matters.

We are known for our collaborative approach and invest in understanding our clients' businesses, strategies and cultures, building long-term relationships as trusted advisors. 

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Our lawyers have the skills and experience to handle our clients' most complex challenges. Meet them below.

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