About

The timing of Michael Sosso’s arrival at BP is worth noting: it was June 2011, and the company was embarking on a divestment program to pay off debts associated with the 2010 oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico. His appointment proved to be a major coup on BP’s part, as Sosso has considerable flair for closing M&A deals, and it is to his credit that the FTC cleared Tesoro’s purchase of BP’s Carson refinery in the relatively short space of time that it did. ‘It is as a commercial lawyer and negotiator where Michael has had such an influence beyond his sphere of day-to-day responsibilities’, explains Thomas McGrath of Linklaters. The divestment program saw M&A activity at BP pick up from just one transaction in 2010 to seven in 2011, and even more in 2012. This has been part of the attraction for Sosso, who says that although he enjoyed his previous role at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP, he is now relishing the opportunity to be a ‘more of a team player with lots of interaction in the business. I’m no longer a “reactive” lawyer, which is what outside counsel essentially is’.