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June 08, 2015
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP today announced that Richard Brand has joined the Firm’s New York office as a partner in its Corporate Department.
“Richard is an exceptionally talented lawyer, and we are pleased that he has decided to bring his extraordinary depth of experience to Cadwalader,” said Christopher Cox, Chairman of Cadwalader’s Corporate Department. “Traditional M&A, corporate preparedness and shareholder activism are becoming increasingly intertwined in a way that is enormously consequential for corporations, their boards and their investors. Richard is one of the few lawyers with experience in playing both offense and defense. His unique perspective and leading reputation in representing both corporate boards and hedge funds in activist campaigns, contests for corporate control and proxy contests will enable Cadwalader to provide distinctive advice and insight to our diverse base of clients, allowing them to maintain flexibility and maximize outcomes in this rapidly evolving landscape.”
Brand is widely recognized as a leading advisor to public companies, hedge funds, private equity firms and investment banks. His experience includes mergers and acquisitions, takeover preparedness and defense, shareholder activism and defense, general corporate advisory work and securities offerings. Brand’s recent representations include The Macerich Company in connection with Simon Property Group’s $23 billion unsolicited takeover offer and subsequent settlement with two activist investors; 3G Capital in its $28 billion acquisition, together with Berkshire Hathaway, of H. J. Heinz Company; Peter J. Solomon Co. as financial advisor to Office Depot in its pending $6 billion merger with Staples; activist investor Bill Ackman's hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management in its partnership with Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. to make a $54 billion unsolicited takeover bid for Allergan, Inc.; and Sachem Head Capital Management in its acquisition of a 9.8% stake in CDK Global, Inc.
“I am excited to join Cadwalader’s deep bench of outstanding attorneys,” Brand said. “The Firm has been at the forefront of the evolving M&A market for several years now. The confluence of traditional shareholder activism by hedge funds, the increasingly active role taken by large, long-only investors, and the growing focus on shareholder-director engagement is creating a new paradigm. I fully expect Cadwalader will remain at the leading edge of this evolution and I look forward to working with Chris Cox and the Firm’s other attorneys. Cadwalader’s 200-year reputation for providing its clients with the most innovative and effective counsel makes the Firm a terrific platform for my practice.”
“Richard’s practice is the perfect complement to our growing Corporate Department,” said Patrick Quinn, Cadwalader’s Managing Partner. “Like our other practices, the Corporate team focuses on long-term client relationships and providing our clients with strategic counsel that enables them to address their most complex matters. Richard’s stellar reputation and experience will help us continue to distinguish ourselves in M&A, activism and defense work.”
Before joining Cadwalader, Brand was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and, previously, an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and a staff writer for The Miami Herald.
Brand holds a B.A. from Princeton University and received his J.D., cum laude, from New York University, where he served on the New York University Journal of International Law and Politics.
