Olshan's No. 1 Ranked Shareholder Activism Practice Profiled in Law360 Story

Olshan’s Shareholder Activism Practice was featured in a recent Law360 article. (subscription required). The article spotlights the achievements of Olshan’s Shareholder Activism Practice, which led more than double the activist campaigns than any other firm in 2018, with 100 campaigns advised on between October 2017 and October 2018, over 42 campaigns by the second most-active firm. The article highlights the recent partnership promotions of Kenneth Mantel, Ryan Nebel, and Meagan Reda.   Andrew Freedman, Co-Head of Olshan’s Shareholder Activism Practice, stated the following regarding the recent promotions: “Olshan, from the top down, has a very innovative approach and a very thoughtful approach to succession planning. It's about ensuring that the culture of success here, in terms of how we approach our day-to-day practice with our clients, sort of lives on with our attorneys. We're a very tight-knit bunch and now, with planting the seeds for the future with our new and talented partners, it really positions us and solidifies us as leading the march not just this year and next, but well into the future.” On the practice itself, he commented, “There's a lot of organic growth in the practice. The shareholder activism practice is so unique from any other practice area of law. You really need to hone the right skill sets and have the right people and personalities. It's all involved in the making of a successful partner in our group.” The group’s strength, he maintains, stems from the way in which more junior attorneys are made conversant with the key aspects of an activist campaign, preparing them from the outset for how best to facilitate a particular client’s needs: “There's a deep-seated involvement and learning that begins from Day One, where you can really cultivate young attorneys into being successful in our practice area. Our younger associates and colleagues are just getting a critical mass of experience through real-life situations that they are just able to evolve their skill sets much quicker than their counterparts at other firms.” The piece also notes Olshan’s work on some of the most historically significant campaigns to date, including Starboard Value’s successful campaign in 2014 to oust the entire board of directors at Darden Restaurants Inc. or H Partners Management LLC’s effort to ensure a leadership change at Tempur Sealy International Inc. by dint of a withhold campaign, not to mention the growing number of international campaigns the practice handles. Due to the volume of campaigns on which the group has worked, their range of experience is vast: “Just because so many campaigns we touch gives us an unparalleled experience in terms of seeing issues, we're rarely looking at an issue for a first time.” The practice’s preeminence in the activist space is largely attributable to industry pioneer and Co-Head of Olshan’s Shareholder Activism Practice Steve Wolosky, a point that Mr. Freedman is quick to corroborate, asserting, “Steve is known in circles as sort of the godfather of activism. He kind of teed things up going back 20, 25 years and beginning to advise in this area.” He elaborates, “For a while, there was only a handful of firms that had a dedicated shareholder activism practice. Most of the bigger firms had the fear of conflicts and how it would be perceived by their large company clients. We were able to pull away from the pack in terms of how we grew our client bases.” Mr. Freedman concludes by emphasizing the unique commitment that Olshan attorneys have to their clients: “It all harks back to the fact that we wear many hats, not just a legal hat. We help our clients achieve their objectives with their public company investments in a holistic manner that goes well beyond just serving as their attorneys.”