Stephen L. Burns is a partner in Cravath’s Corporate Department. His practice focuses on representing issuers and investment banking firms in connection with public and private offerings of securities, as well as representing various corporations on general corporate matters, including corporate governance and M&A matters.
Mr. Burns’s clients have included Crown Castle International Corp., Flowserve Corporation, Stanley, Inc., Time Warner, Time Inc., Turner Broadcasting, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan. He recently advised Crown Castle with its $2.4 billion acquisition of the rights to approximately 7,100 T‑Mobile towers and on over $5.0 billion in debt financings during 2012. Mr. Burns also represented the underwriters in connection with recent offerings by American Axle, Chesapeake Energy, Dollar Financial, Expedia, Goodyear, Gulfmark, Ocean Rig, Petco, Ply Gem, TeamHealth and USG Corp.
Mr. Burns has been repeatedly cited as one of the country’s leading practitioners in securities law by, among others, Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business from 2007 through 2012; Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business from 2008 through 2013; The Legal 500 from 2007 through 2012; IFLR1000: The Guide to the World’s Leading Financial Law Firms from 2007 through 2013; and The Best Lawyers in America from 2007 through 2013. He was also recognized by The Legal 500 for his skill in M&A: Mega‑Deals in 2008.
Mr. Burns was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He received a B.B.A. with distinction from the University of Oklahoma in 1987 and a J.D. with honors from the University of Texas School of Law in 1990, where he was named to the Chancellor’s honor society and was an Associate Editor of the Texas Law Review. He joined Cravath in 1990 and became a partner in 1998.
Mr. Burns may be reached by phone at 212‑474‑1146 or by email at sburns@cravath.com.