Cravath Elects Faiza J. Saeed as its Next Presiding Partner

New York, July 14, 2016 – Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP announced today that it has elected Faiza J. Saeed as its next Presiding Partner, effective January 1, 2017. Ms. Saeed will serve as Deputy Presiding Partner of the Firm until January, at which point she will succeed current Presiding Partner, C. Allen Parker, at the conclusion of his term.

Ms. Saeed will be Cravath’s sixteenth Presiding Partner. The Firm will celebrate its bicentennial anniversary in 2019.

Ms. Saeed said, “It is an honor to be chosen by my partners to succeed Allen as our Presiding Partner.  He has taken the Firm to new heights of success over the last ten years, and he has provided remarkable leadership to our entire Firm.”

Ms. Saeed joined Cravath in 1991 and was elected a partner in 1998.  She has served as Co-Head of the Firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions practice since 2013.  Ms. Saeed advises public companies, boards of directors and special committees in connection with M&A, takeover defense, corporate governance, activism and crisis management.  Her extensive experience spans numerous industry sectors, with significant depth in the media, technology, biotechnology and consumer products sectors.  She has led major cross-border deals across many jurisdictions.

The World Economic Forum (Davos) designated Ms. Saeed a “Young Global Leader” in 2006. The New York Times named Ms. Saeed one of “Wall Street’s 100 Masters of the New Universe” and Crain’s New York Business one of the “100 Most Influential Women in NYC Business” in 2007. She was recognized by The American Lawyer as a “Dealmaker of the Year” in 2000, 2005 and 2011, and named to its “45 Under 45” list in 2003. Chambers and Partners honored Ms. Saeed with the “Outstanding Contribution to the Legal Profession Award” in 2010.

Mr. Parker said, “Faiza has been a trusted advisor to a broad range of clients in high-stakes M&A transactions for nearly two decades.  Having both worked side-by-side with her and benefited from her advice and judgment, I know how fortunate we are to have her leading the Firm.”

Ms. Saeed’s recent matters include advising DreamWorks Animation in its pending $4.1 billion acquisition by Comcast, Yahoo’s strategic review committee, Precision Castparts in its $37 billion acquisition by Berkshire Hathaway, Time Warner in its response to the unsolicited proposal from 21st Century Fox, InterMune in its $8.9 billion acquisition by Roche, Sapient in its $3.7 billion acquisition by Publicis and Amblin Partners in the formation of a new studio among Steven Spielberg, Participant Media, Reliance and Entertainment One.

Ms. Saeed was born in Walnut Creek, California and received a B.A. in Economics and Molecular Biology with Highest Distinction from the University of California at Berkeley in 1987, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1991.

Ms. Saeed is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and she served on the Visiting Committee for Harvard Law School from 2006 to 2011.  She speaks frequently on developments in M&A, including as a guest lecturer at Harvard Law School and a panelist at Tulane University’s Corporate Law Institute and the International Bar Association’s International M&A Conference.  Ms. Saeed also serves on the Board of Directors of the March of Dimes (NY Chapter).

Mr. Parker, who has extensive experience in corporate advisory matters as well as in a broad range of finance and banking matters, has served in the role of Presiding Partner since 2013.  He previously served as Deputy Presiding Partner since 2007.  Mr. Parker will return to counseling clients full-time.

Mr. Parker was born in Jacksonville, Florida and received a B.A. magna cum laude from Duke University in 1977, after which he earned an M.A. from the University of Chicago in 1980.  He earned a J.D. magna cum laude from Columbia Law School in 1983, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and Notes and Comments Editor of the Law Review.  Mr. Parker also served in a clerkship with Hon. Amalya Kearse of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP was founded in 1819 and is widely recognized as one of the world’s premier law firms.  The Firm has 471 lawyers in New York City and London.