Shearman & Sterling

What Shearman & Sterling does

Shearman & Sterling, founded in 1873, was a US-headquartered global law firm advising corporations, financial institutions, governments, and governmental organizations on complex cross-border matters. In 2024 it merged with Allen & Overy to form A&O Shearman, a combined entity operating under a unified partnership structure with nearly 4,000 lawyers and specialists globally, including more than 1,000 finance attorneys across major financial centers, and approximately 40 offices spanning North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.

The firm operates six core practice areas: Advisory and Regulatory, Capital Markets, Corporate and M&A, Disputes, Finance, and Legal Innovation. Service offerings span high-end transactional work (M&A, joint ventures, corporate reorganizations, debt and equity capital markets, project finance, structured finance), contentious matters (international arbitration, securities litigation, white-collar defense, investigations), and advisory mandates (antitrust, sanctions, foreign investment/CFIUS, data privacy, AI governance, sustainability, restructuring). Legal Innovation is delivered through the Fuse platform and the Markets Innovation Group, which together provide dedicated innovation capability, flexible specialist resourcing, and new product development for capital markets and adjacent practice areas.

Revenue is generated almost exclusively through professional services on enterprise engagements, with custom quote-based pricing tied to matter complexity and scope, billed across hourly, fixed-fee, or hybrid arrangements. Go-to-market is direct and enterprise-led, with reach extended through the global office network and relationships with leading local law firms in jurisdictions where the firm does not maintain a direct office. Marquee mandates include the representation of Sasol Limited on a USD750 million bond issuance and concurrent tender offers and the representation of Stellantis Financial Services US Corp. on a USD2.5 billion notes offering. The firm markets its expertise through published insights, podcasts, global industry outlooks, and client events.

Name

Shearman & Sterling

Legal name

A&O Shearman

Website

https://shearman.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

A&O Shearman (formed in 2024 from the merger of Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling, founded 1873) is a global law firm with nearly 4,000 lawyers advising corporations, financial institutions, governments, and investment funds on cross-border M&A, capital markets, finance, disputes, and regulatory matters across approximately 40 offices worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

akta.pro primary industry

Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) & Securities Law (BPAHAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Distressed M&A & Special Situations Advisory (BPAHADAN)

Keywords

• Corporate and M&A
• Capital markets law
• Finance legal services
• Dispute resolution
• Regulatory advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Legal Advisory Services: Revenue generated from providing legal counsel across corporate and M&A, disputes, finance, capital markets, and advisory and regulatory practices. Services are provided to companies, investment funds, and financial institutions globally.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Shearman & Sterling (now A&O Shearman following its 2024 merger with Allen & Overy) is a global law firm providing legal advisory services to corporations, financial institutions, governments, and governmental organizations. It delivers expertise across corporate and M&A, capital markets, finance, disputes, and advisory and regulatory practices.

Product overview

A&O Shearman is a global law firm formed in 2024 through the merger of Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling. The firm operates as a unified platform offering comprehensive legal services across six core practice areas: Advisory and Regulatory, Capital Markets, Corporate and M&A, Disputes, Finance, and Legal Innovation. Within Legal Innovation, the firm has developed Fuse as its innovation initiative to advance service delivery. The portfolio includes specialized expertise in energy, life sciences, technology, financial services, and private capital industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Fuse: Innovation offering under the legal innovation practice
• Markets Innovation Group

Products and services

• Corporate and M&A Legal counsel on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and corporate reorganizations for market-leading companies and investment funds across jurisdictions.
• Capital Markets Legal services covering debt and equity capital markets, securitizations, sovereign debt, and structured finance for financial institutions and corporates.
• Finance Finance legal advisory including asset finance, derivatives, fund liquidity solutions, and structured debt, delivered by a team of more than 1,000 attorneys in major financial centers.
• Disputes Dispute resolution, litigation, and international arbitration services including corporate and commercial litigation, securities litigation, and white-collar defense.
• Advisory and Regulatory Advisory and regulatory services including antitrust, cybersecurity, data privacy, sanctions and international trade, tax, and financial services regulatory advice.
• Fuse A legal innovation initiative by A&O Shearman focused on finding innovative ways to deliver legal services and exceed client expectations, creating cutting-edge products, services and technologies for legal service delivery.
• Markets Innovation Group Specialized group focused on innovation in capital markets products and services.

Named customers2 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• White & Case: Global law firm with strong finance and capital markets practices; competes for the same cross-border financing, M&A, and project finance transactions A&O Shearman serves.
• Clifford Chance: Magic Circle global law firm with comparable headcount, geographic reach, and core strengths in cross-border M&A, capital markets, and finance — the most direct competitor to A&O Shearman in elite transactional work.
• Linklaters: Magic Circle law firm with overlapping practice mix in M&A, capital markets, and finance; competes head-to-head for the same multinational corporate and financial institution mandates globally.
• Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer: Magic Circle global law firm with comparable scale and elite M&A practice, frequently competing with A&O Shearman in cross-border takeovers and strategic transactions.
• Latham & Watkins: Leading US-headquartered global law firm with comparable revenue scale and elite practices in M&A, capital markets, and finance; closest US-headquartered competitor to the combined firm.
• Kirkland & Ellis: World's largest law firm by revenue with dominant practices in private equity, M&A, and finance; directly competes with A&O Shearman for high-value transactional work and is a key retention threat for lateral partners.
• Sullivan & Cromwell: Elite US law firm with premier M&A and capital markets practices; competes directly for the same cross-border transactional mandates A&O Shearman targets.
• Davis Polk & Wardwell: Elite US-headquartered firm with leading practices in M&A, capital markets, and finance transactions; a key competitor for the same top-tier mandate profile.
• Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz: Premier US M&A law firm; competes at the highest-value end of large public-company M&A transactions A&O Shearman targets via its corporate and M&A practice.
• Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom: Major global law firm with strong M&A and capital markets practices; frequently competes with A&O Shearman on the same cross-border transactional mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInuk.linkedin.com/company/aoshearman
• Xx.com/shearmanlaw
• Facebookfacebook.com/shearmanandsterlingllp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shearman & Sterling