Susan Webster is a partner in Cravath’s Corporate Department and serves as the Leader of its General Corporate practice, which includes the Corporate Governance and Board Advisory group. Ms. Webster regularly represents companies in connection with merger and acquisition transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs, strategic alliances and joint ventures. She has extensive experience counseling senior management and Boards of Directors in connection with a wide variety of general corporate issues including public reporting and compliance obligations, corporate and board governance issues and crisis management. Ms. Webster also has significant experience advising clients on financial statement restatements and other financial crises.
Recent notable transactions include representing Bristol-Myers Squibb in connection with its $2.4 billion acquisition of Medarex and Ashland Inc. in connection with the $980 million sale of its global distribution business to TPG Capital and its $3.2 billion acquisition of International Specialty Products, Inc.
Among other general corporate assignments, Ms. Webster represented the non-management directors of Merrill Lynch from October 2007 until its acquisition by Bank of America. Since September 2010, she has advised Bank of America with respect to its periodic reporting and compliance obligations. Ms. Webster recently advised the non-management directors of Huron Consulting Group, Inc. in connection with the restatement of certain of its historical financial statements and related issues. She recently advised Tronox Inc. in connection with certain issues related to its periodic reporting and compliance obligations.
Ms. Webster was recognized for her securities law advisory work by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business in 2011.
Ms. Webster is a member of the Fordham Law School Alumni Advisory Board and a member and Secretary of the St. Bernard’s School Board of Trustees in New York City. She is a Trustee Emerita of Wesleyan University having served as a Trustee for twelve years. While on the Wesleyan Board, she chaired the Audit Committee and served as Secretary of the Board.
Ms. Webster was born in Hartford, Connecticut. She received a B.A. from Wesleyan University in 1977, an M.S. in Accounting from New York University Graduate School of Business in 1978 and a J.D. cum laude from Fordham University School of Law in 1984, where she was Editor-in-Chief of the Fordham Law Review. Ms. Webster joined Cravath in 1984 and became a partner in 1991.
Ms. Webster may be reached by phone at 212-474-1660 or by email at swebster@cravath.com.