North America - United States • Labor and employment

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

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Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP fields a ‘truly top-notch’ team, renowned for its expertise in public and private M&A, private equity deals, and IPOs. The group excels in advising on management equity, employment arrangements, and compensation plans, as well as corporate governance and ERISA-related matters. Heading the team, Gregory Grogan has notably represented Microsoft in its $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and is celebrated for his work in executive retention and motivation. Jamin Koslowe specializes in equity-based incentive plans, deferred compensation, and benefits issues in spin-offs and securities offerings. Brian Robbins, at the helm of the firm’s Title I ERISA practice, is adept at negotiating employment and termination agreements for high-profile executives. Laurence Moss lends his expertise to the employee benefits aspects of leveraged buyouts, while Andrew Blau focuses on structuring employment contracts, deferred compensation schemes, and management participation in new ventures. Jeannine McSweeney is well regarded for her guidance on incentives, retirement plans, and severance agreements in the context of M&A, IPOs, and joint ventures. All lawyers mentioned are in New York.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • 'Simpson's ECB practice is truly top-notch.'

  • ‘Jamin Koslowe is our go-to for all matters of executive compensation. Smart, succinct, and creative with a keen business judgment, we can ask for no more!’

  • 'Gregory Grogan is extremely client focused, highly practical and a truly excellent advisor in even the most difficult of circumstances.'

Key clients

  • American Family Insurance
  • Blackstone
  • BMC Stock Holdings
  • BrightView
  • CBRE
  • Cisco
  • Change Healthcare
  • Dell Technologies
  • Dorman Products
  • GardaWorld
  • Hilton Grand Vacations
  • Hilton Worldwide
  • Ingersoll Rand
  • ITC Holdings
  • Johnson Controls
  • JPMorgan Chase
  • Mars, Incorporated
  • Mass Mutual
  • Mattress Firm
  • MB Aerospace
  • McKesson Corporation
  • Melrose Industries
  • Microsoft Corporation
  • NN, Inc.
  • Patricia Industries
  • People’s United Bank
  • PetSmart
  • SK Telecom
  • SunPower Corporation
  • Teleflex Incorporated
  • Toronto-Dominion Bank
  • TransUnion
  • Twitter
  • US Bank
  • Vivint Smart Home
  • Yahoo

Work highlights

  • Represented Microsoft Corporation in its $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
  • Represented Portfolio Advisors in its merger with FS Investments, creating a $73 billion alternative investment firm.
  • Represented the Board of Directors of Twitter, Inc. in the acquisition by an entity wholly owned by Elon Musk, for $54.20 per share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately $44 billion.

Lawyers

Hall of Fame

The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.

Gregory Grogan

Gregory Grogan

Hall of fameSimpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Head of Simpson Thacher’s Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Practice specializing in executive retention and motivation in M&A transactions and IPOs with a private equity focus. Significant engagements include 150+ Blackstone acquisitions, divestitures and IPOs (Hilton, Bumble, Ancestry, Refinitiv, SeaWorld, Vivint, Invitation Homes, Equity Office, Motel 6); LBOs of PetSmart, ADT and Nortek; and multiple transactions for AIG, Centerbridge, Cisco, Mars, Microsoft (Activision Blizzard, LinkedIn, Skype, GitHub, ZeniMax, Nuance), New Mountain, Silver Lake Partners, SiriusXM, PPL and Johnson Controls/Tyco, as well as the Board of Directors of Twitter, Inc. in its sale to Elon Musk. Greg regularly advises boards regarding C-level succession matters. Experienced in PBGC negotiations.

Brian Robbins

Brian Robbins

Hall of fameSimpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Partner, former Head of the Firm's Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Practice Group and current leader of the Firm’s Title I ERISA practice. Practice includes participation in complex mergers and acquisitions, private equity fund formation and structuring, securities and commercial banking transactions involving issues arising under ERISA and related provisions of the Internal Revenue Code; the structuring and implementation of management equity arrangements, and other executive compensation, employment and severance programs; and advice with respect to tax, accounting and securities law issues related thereto.

Next Generation Partners

Andrew Blau

Andrew Blau

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

A Partner in the Firm’s Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Practice, Andrew Blau focuses his practice on compensation and benefit-related issues that arise in connection with mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, new and joint ventures and other corporate transactions. He has extensive experience in structuring employment agreements, equity compensation, performance incentives, deferred compensation, change in control protections, and management participation in buyouts and new ventures. His experience includes domestic and international M&A across a variety of sectors. Andrew also advises on the applicability of securities and tax laws to executives and employers, disclosure obligations in respect of employee benefits and executive compensation arrangements, corporate governance issues and general employment-related matters.

Jeannine McSweeney

Jeannine McSweeney

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Partner in the Firm’s Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits Practice. Jeannine advises clients on executive compensation and employee benefit arrangements, including equity-based incentives, cash-based incentives, deferred compensation, retirement plans and employment, retention and severance agreements. Jeannine works closely with the Firm’s corporate clients on compensation and benefits matters related to mergers and acquisitions and a variety of capital markets and securities transactions. She has experience representing clients in a wide range of industries including financial services, energy, industrials and manufacturing, technology and healthcare.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Gregory Grogan

Other key lawyers

Brian Robbins, Andrew Blau, Jeannine McSweeney, Erica Rozow, George Gerstein, Jamin Koslowe, Laurence Moss, David Rubinsky, Caitlin Lucey