General Information
Year founded:
1948
This is the year the firm (or its earliest predecessor entity) was founded.
Overview
Content is provided by the firm.
The traits that fueled Skadden’s rise from a New York startup to a global powerhouse — innovative, collaborative, client-centric — continue to define our firm culture. We remain focused on developing an inclusive complement of extraordinary attorneys who work together as a team to deliver the highest quality advice and best outcomes for clients.
Founded by Marshall Skadden, Les Arps and John Slate on April Fools’ Day in 1948, Skadden began as a scrappy upstart among a sea of established “white shoe” law firms in New York. Joe Flom was hired as the firm’s first associate later that year, and litigator Bill Meagher, the fifth partner to lend his name to the firm’s letterhead as it appears today, joined in 1959.
Our first two decades were marked by slow and steady growth of our client base as we set out to establish ourselves as the go-to firm for our clients’ most complex legal problems. Our willingness to handle proxy fights in the 1950s and early 1960s — matters deemed unseemly by white shoe firms — positioned us to ultimately become the firm of choice for the hostile takeovers that dominated the M&A landscape beginning in the 1970s.
Recognizing the value of providing full-service advice to clients, from day one we sought to develop a range of complementary practices, like litigation, tax and antitrust. Client needs led us to open offices in other cities beginning in 1973, and the volume of work we were handling fueled exponential growth in the number of attorneys at the firm in the 1980s. That growth included a significant expansion of the practices we offered to clients, including restructuring, finance, real estate, mass torts and securities litigation, as well as the opening of offices in Europe and Asia.
In the decades since, we’ve built on that platform to provide advice to clients around the world on their most important matters. Our core values reflect the ideals of our history, and we remain committed to providing excellent lawyering and unrivaled client service in all our work.
Rankings
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is nationally ranked in 34 practice areas and metro ranked in 40 practice areas. Best Law Firms rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process.
Read how Best Law Firms ranks firms"Law Firm of the Year" Awards
2025 "Law Firm of the Year" in Commercial Litigation
2025 "Law Firm of the Year" in Litigation - Securities
National Rankings
Tier 1
Tier 1 for Antitrust Law
Tier 1 for Banking and Finance Law
Tier 1 for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
Tier 1 for Commercial Litigation
Tier 1 for Corporate Law
Metro Rankings
Boston
Tier 1 for Bet-the-Company Litigation
Tier 1 for Commercial Litigation
Tier 1 for Litigation - Securities
Tier 1 for Litigation and Controversy - Tax
Tier 1 for Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Highlighted Client Comments
All client comments represent the opinions of the people who provided them. All potential clients are urged to remember that no two cases are ever completely alike and that the result in one case does not guarantee a similar result in another case.
Litigation - Mergers and Acquisitions
Strong from top to bottom.
Rolin Bissell
– Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP
Insurance Law
Bob Sullivan of Skadden Arps is the most prepared, engaged, and solution-focused lawyer we use. He is an exceptional negotiator who understands how to get a deal done. Skadden has strong bench and exceptional turnaround time.
Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Skadden Arps is one of the best in mergers & Acquisitions law.
Antitrust Law
Skadden has unparalleled expertise and counseling in Antitrust Law.
Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
Ken Ziman and Mark McDermott of Skadden Arps make a great team, and are very effective at guiding a company through a restructuring. Their ability to navigate complex business issues while diplomatically achieving the best result for the company is very impressive. I would highly recommend them.
Tax Law
The Skadden Arps law firm is quite knowledgeable in the REIT area.
Commercial Litigation
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom is the go-to firm for bet-the-company commercial litigation. Their level of expertise, client commitment, and attention to detail is without equal.
David Hickey
– American Discovery
Litigation - Securities
The securities litigators at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom have literally written the playbook on handling challenges to mergers and acquisitions. They are the team to see to get a deal over the line after a challenge.
David Hickey
– American Discovery
Rankings
"Law Firm of the Year" Awards
2025 "Law Firm of the Year" in Commercial Litigation
2025 "Law Firm of the Year" in Litigation - Securities
National Rankings
Tier 1
Tier 1 for Antitrust Law
Tier 1 for Banking and Finance Law
Tier 1 for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
Tier 1 for Commercial Litigation
Tier 1 for Corporate Law
Tier 1 for Criminal Defense: White-Collar
Tier 1 for Information Technology Law
Tier 1 for Insurance Law
Tier 1 for International Arbitration - Commercial
Tier 1 for Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law
Tier 1 for Litigation - Antitrust
Tier 1 for Litigation - Bankruptcy
Tier 1 for Litigation - Intellectual Property
Tier 1 for Litigation - Mergers and Acquisitions
Tier 1 for Litigation - Real Estate
Tier 1 for Litigation - Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy)
Tier 1 for Litigation - Securities
Tier 1 for Litigation and Controversy - Tax
Tier 1 for Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants
Tier 1 for Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Tier 1 for Securities / Capital Markets Law
Tier 1 for Sports Law
Tier 1 for Tax Law
Tier 1 for Trusts and Estates
Tier 2
Tier 2 for Employment Law - Management
Tier 2 for Health Care Law
Tier 2 for Litigation - Patent
Tier 2 for Mutual Funds Law
Tier 2 for Private Funds / Hedge Funds Law
Tier 2 for Project Finance Law
Tier 2 for Real Estate Law
Tier 2 for Securities Regulation
Tier 2 for Securitization and Structured Finance Law
Tier 3
Tier 3 for Energy Law
Regional Rankings
Boston
Tier 1 for Bet-the-Company Litigation
Tier 1 for Commercial Litigation
Tier 1 for Litigation - Securities
Tier 1 for Litigation and Controversy - Tax
Tier 1 for Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Tier 1 for Tax Law
Tier 2 for Litigation - Antitrust
Tier 3 for Insurance Law
Chicago
Tier 1 for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
Tier 1 for Commercial Litigation
Tier 1 for Corporate Governance Law
Tier 1 for Corporate Law
Tier 1 for Litigation - Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy)
Tier 1 for Litigation - Securities
Tier 1 for Litigation and Controversy - Tax
Tier 1 for Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Tier 1 for Tax Law
Tier 2 for Criminal Defense: White-Collar
Delaware
Tier 1 for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
Tier 1 for Commercial Litigation
Tier 1 for Corporate Governance Law
Tier 1 for Corporate Law
Tier 1 for Litigation - Mergers and Acquisitions
Tier 1 for Litigation - Securities
Tier 2 for Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Houston
Tier 1 for Litigation - Mergers and Acquisitions
Tier 1 for Litigation - Securities
Tier 2 for Corporate Law
Los Angeles
Tier 1 for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
Tier 1 for Corporate Compliance Law
Tier 1 for Corporate Governance Law
Tier 1 for Corporate Law
Tier 1 for Criminal Defense: White-Collar
Tier 1 for Litigation - Bankruptcy
Tier 1 for Litigation - Securities
Tier 1 for Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Tier 1 for Securities / Capital Markets Law
Tier 1 for Sports Law
Tier 2 for Entertainment Law - Motion Pictures and Television
Tier 2 for Health Care Law
New York City
Tier 1 for Antitrust Law
Tier 1 for Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
Tier 1 for Bet-the-Company Litigation
Tier 1 for Commercial Litigation
Tier 1 for Corporate Governance Law
Tier 1 for Corporate Law
Tier 1 for Criminal Defense: White-Collar
Tier 1 for Employment Law - Management
Tier 1 for Information Technology Law
Tier 1 for Insurance Law
Tier 1 for International Arbitration - Commercial
Tier 1 for Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law
Tier 1 for Litigation - Antitrust
Tier 1 for Litigation - Bankruptcy
Tier 1 for Litigation - Intellectual Property
Tier 1 for Litigation - Real Estate
Tier 1 for Litigation - Securities
Tier 1 for Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants
Tier 1 for Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Tier 1 for Private Funds / Hedge Funds Law
Tier 1 for Real Estate Law
Tier 1 for Securities / Capital Markets Law
Tier 1 for Sports Law
Tier 1 for Tax Law
Tier 1 for Trusts and Estates
Tier 2 for Banking and Finance Law
Tier 2 for Energy Law
Tier 2 for Litigation - Patent
Tier 2 for Mutual Funds Law
Tier 2 for Securitization and Structured Finance Law
San Jose
Tier 1 for Commercial Litigation
Tier 1 for Corporate Law
Tier 1 for Litigation - Intellectual Property
Tier 1 for Litigation - Securities
Tier 1 for Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Tier 1 for Securities / Capital Markets Law
Tier 1 for Securities Regulation
Tier 2 for Corporate Governance Law
Tier 2 for Criminal Defense: White-Collar
Tier 3 for Employment Law - Management
Washington, D.C.
Tier 1 for Antitrust Law
Tier 1 for Corporate Governance Law
Tier 1 for Health Care Law
Tier 1 for Litigation - Antitrust
Tier 1 for Litigation and Controversy - Tax
Tier 1 for Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants
Tier 1 for Mergers and Acquisitions Law
Tier 1 for Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
Tier 1 for Project Finance Law
Tier 1 for Securities / Capital Markets Law
Tier 1 for Tax Law
Tier 2 for Criminal Defense: White-Collar
Tier 2 for Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law
Tier 3 for Appellate Practice
Practice Areas
The below are areas of legal specialty volunteered by the firm and do not designate a specialty in which a Best Law Firms ranking is held.
- Advertising Law
- Antitrust Law
- Appellate Practice
- Arbitration
- Banking and Finance Law
- Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law
- Bet-the-Company Litigation
- Commercial Litigation
- Communications Law
- Corporate Compliance Law
- Corporate Governance Law
- Corporate Law
- Criminal Defense: General Practice
- Criminal Defense: White-Collar
- Derivatives and Futures Law
- Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
- Employment Law - Management
- Energy Law
- Environmental Law
- Equipment Finance Law
- FDA Law
- Financial Services Regulation Law
- Government Relations Practice
- Health Care Law
- Information Technology Law
- Insurance Law
- International Arbitration - Commercial
- International Arbitration - Governmental
- International Trade and Finance Law
- Labor Law - Management
- Leveraged Buyouts and Private Equity Law
- Litigation - Antitrust
- Litigation - Banking and Finance
- Litigation - Bankruptcy
- Litigation - Environmental
- Litigation - Intellectual Property
- Litigation - Labor and Employment
- Litigation - Mergers and Acquisitions
- Litigation - Patent
- Litigation - Real Estate
- Litigation - Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy)
- Litigation - Securities
- Litigation - Trusts and Estates
- Litigation and Controversy - Tax
- Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants
- Mergers and Acquisitions Law
- Mutual Funds Law
- Natural Resources Law
- Oil and Gas Law
- Private Funds / Hedge Funds Law
- Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
- Project Finance Law
- Real Estate Law
- Securities / Capital Markets Law
- Securities Regulation
- Securitization and Structured Finance Law
- Sports Law
- Tax Law
- Trusts and Estates
Individuals Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America®
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP has 128 lawyers recognized for individual performance in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in
America®.
By receiving this Best Lawyers recognition from their peers for their professional excellence, these lawyers made Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP eligible for evaluation for Best Law Firms rankings.
For almost two decades, Best Lawyers has awarded these singular accolades, making them the foundation of our Best Law Firms awards.
Read more about our Best Lawyers process here.
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Client Comments
All client comments represent the opinions of the people who provided them. All potential clients are urged to remember that no two cases are ever completely alike and that the result in one case does not guarantee a similar result in another case.
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Awards
Awards are self-reported by firms and are not verified by the Best Law Firms rankings.
- All Awards and Rankings may be found here: https://www.skadden.com/the-firm/rankings/
Main Location
New York,
NY
One Manhattan West
New York, NY 10001-8602
United States
212-735-3000
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Office Locations
Los Angeles,
CA
300 South Grand Avenue, Suite 3400
Los Angeles, CA 90071
United States
213-687-5000
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Palo Alto,
CA
525 University Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301
United States
650-470-4500
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Washington,
DC
1440 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20005
United States
202-371-7000
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Wilmington,
DE
One Rodney Square
920 North King Street
Wilmington, DE 19801
United States
302-651-3000
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Chicago,
IL
320 South Canal Street
Chicago, IL 60606
United States
312-407-0700
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Boston,
MA
500 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02116
United States
617-573-4800
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Houston,
TX
1000 Louisiana Street, Suite 6800
Houston, TX 77002
United States
713-655-5100
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Brussels,
BE
Avenue Louise 480
Brussels 1050
Belgium
322 639 0300
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São Paulo,
BR
Av. Brigadeiro Faria Lima, 3311 - 7º andar
São Paulo 04538-133
Brazil
55 11 3708 1820
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Toronto,
ON
222 Bay Street, Suite 1750
P.O. Box 258
Toronto, ON M5K 1J5
Canada
416-777-4700
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Beijing,
CN
30/F, China World Office 2
No. 1, Jian Guo Men Wai Avenue
Beijing 100004
China: Global Firms
86 10 6535 5500
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Shanghai,
CN
JingAn Kerry Centre, Tower II
46th Floor
1539 Nanjing West Road
Shanghai 200040
China: Global Firms
86 21 6193 8200
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Frankfurt/Main,
DE
TaunusTurm
Taunustor 1
Frankfurt/Main 60310
Germany
49 69 742 20 0
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Munich,
DE
Maximilianstrasse 2
Munich 80539
Germany
49 89 244 495 0
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Paris,
FR
68, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré
Paris 75008
France
33 1 55 27 11 00
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London,
GB
22 Bishopsgate
London EC2N 4BQ
United Kingdom
44 20 7519 7000
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Hong Kong,
HK
42/F, Edinburgh Tower, The Landmark
15 Queen's Road Central
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
852 3740 4700
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Tokyo,
JP
Izumi Garden Tower, 37th Floor
1-6-1 Roppongi
Minato-ku
Tokyo 106-6037
Japan
81 3 3568 2600
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Seoul,
Gangnam-gu
26F, Gangam Finance Center
152 Teheran-ro, Gangam-gu
Seoul, Gangnam-gu 135-984
South Korea
82 2 6177 3000
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Singapore,
SG
6 Battery Road
Suite 23-02
Singapore 049909
Singapore
65 6434 2900
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