Mr Shaun Mathew > Kirkland & Ellis LLP > New York, United States > Lawyer Profile
Kirkland & Ellis LLP Offices

601 LEXINGTON AVENUE
NEW YORK, NY 10022
NEW YORK
United States
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Mr Shaun Mathew

Position
Shaun is a corporate partner and a leader of Kirkland’s Shareholder Activism & Hostile Takeover Defense practice. He counsels public companies and their boards of directors on shareholder activism and hostile takeover response and preparedness, investor engagement, and corporate governance matters, including those related to diversity, sustainability and other ESG related issues. In addition, Shaun is a member of Kirkland’s Crisis Response practice, counseling clients on governance and communications considerations in high-profile crisis situations.
His recent experience includes defending public companies and private equity sponsors in several of the most high profile challenges to M&A transactions, and he has defended clients against campaigns mounted by a number of activist investors including Elliott Management, Carl Icahn, Starboard Value, JANA Partners, and Engaged Capital.
Shaun is a frequent speaker on shareholder activism, corporate governance and ESG topics and has guest lectured at Harvard Law School and the University of Michigan Law School, among others. His articles have been featured in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, and he has been quoted in leading publications including The Wall Street Journal and The Deal.
Education
Harvard Law School, J.D., cum laude; New York University, B.A., Economics & Politics, summa cum laude
Lawyer Rankings
United States > M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism
(Leading lawyers: Advice to boards)The New York office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP houses a shareholder activism and hostile takeover defense team that is well regarded for handling some of the most complex and high-profile matters in the US market. The firm draws on its wider strength across related departments in M&A, capital markets, ESG, litigation and restructuring to provide strategic advice to prevent costly proxy fights. However, the team is experienced when those contests do arise and has been one of the firms at the forefront of contests under the SEC’s new universal proxy rules. Shaun Mathew is ‘efficient, thoughtful, creative and aggressive‘ in his counsel to a range of well-known companies and board members, with Sarkis Jebejian being another key figure to note. Daniel Wolf is particularly strong in matters arising from M&A. Eric Schiele  has left the firm.
Lawyer Rankings
- Leading lawyers: Advice to boards United States > M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism
- Shareholder activism United States > M&A/corporate and commercial
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Media, technology and telecoms > Advertising and marketing: litigation
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- International trade and national security > CFIUS
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Government > Government relations
- Intellectual property > Copyright
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Energy > Energy litigation: oil and gas
- Energy > Energy transactions: electric power
- Energy > Energy transactions: oil and gas
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Tax > International tax
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Real estate > Real estate
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Intellectual property > Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: litigation
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
Firm Rankings
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Antitrust > Cartel
- Energy > Energy regulation: electric power
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Investment fund formation and management > Mutual/registered/exchange-traded funds
- Media, technology and telecoms > Outsourcing
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (International Trade Commission)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: automotive/transport
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: pharmaceuticals and medical devices
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort
- Real estate > Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
- Energy > Renewable/alternative power
- Government > State attorneys general
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- Tax > US taxes: contentious
- Dispute resolution > E-discovery
- Environment > Environment: litigation
- Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation
- Insurance > Insurance: non-contentious
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: litigation
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional
- Finance > Project finance
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: non-contentious (including prosecution, portfolio management and licensing)
- International trade and national security > Customs, export controls and economic sanctions
- Energy > Energy regulation: oil and gas
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)
- Finance > Commercial lending
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism