Ms Kelly Smercina > Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP > New York, United States > Lawyer Profile

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP has a reputation for advising on landmark and highly-complex debt offerings, including those linked to acquisitions and spin-off transactions. The wide-ranging practice covers  investment grade, high-yield, convertible and exchangeable debt deals, with the team acting for issuers and underwriters. Ryan Patrone and Kelly Smercina were recently elected to the partnership, expanding the capital markets team’s senior ranks. It frequently advised blue-chip issuers along with the most active underwriters and initial purchasers in big-ticket offerings. Craig Arcella, Andrew Pitts and Nicholas Dorsey are top members of the team, with Michael Mariani making a further impression in investment grade debt offerings. William Fogg and Stephen Burns are also senior members of the practice. Named individuals are all based in New York.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP‘s international reputation sees it act for a large number of foreign issuers, including those from Canada, Europe and Latin America. It represented AerCap Holdings in three equity offerings and two debt offerings in 2023 with a total value of $8.81bn. It also advised Nestlé Holdings on two 144A/Reg S notes offerings, worth $4.5bn. Craig Arcella has a strong reputation for global deals, as do Andrew Pitts and Nicholas Dorsey . Kelly Smercina and Ryan Patrone were promoted to the partnership in January 2023. All are based in New York.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is consistently active in high-yield debt offerings, both for issuer and underwriter engagements. The firm has continued to be engaged in headline and challenging deals, including those linked to acquisitions and spin-offs. Joseph Zavaglia has made a further impression in major transactions, along with longstanding leader Craig Arcella. Andrew Pitts, William Fogg and Scott Bennett  are also prominent. Douglas Dolan is an up and coming name, having led a number of significant deals. The team has also looked to expand its partner ranks with the recent promotion of Ryan Patrone and Kelly Smercina to the partnership. All are based in New York.