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Corporate

Corporate Governance and Board Advisory

Corporate Governance and Board Advisory

Boards of directors and senior management regularly call upon Cravath’s highly regarded and sophisticated securities regulatory team in connection with their most sensitive matters. These engagements range from prospective counseling on risk management, disclosure or other compliance matters, including cybersecurity risk management and incident response, to guiding companies through restatement of their financial statements, to fact‑finding exercises with respect to potential violations of laws or regulations or shareholder demands, and to managing the client’s responses to investigations and enforcement actions by the SEC and other governmental authorities and related private litigation. For its acclaimed performance and reputation, Cravath has been ranked a top‑tier New York firm for corporate governance by Best Lawyers Best Law Firms for over a decade.

Cravath’s dedicated team of litigation and corporate partners includes lawyers who have spent portions of their careers at the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”), the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Our lawyers bring their experiences to bear in representing clients in investigations by those regulators and prosecutors, accounting and executive compensation issues, shareholder demands and derivative litigation, proxy contests and many other situations involving difficult governance issues. Not every engagement will require that all these skills be brought to bear, but our clients benefit from having a single advisor who can quickly understand and manage all the interrelated elements of a complex situation. In situations that require independent counsel to advise the client’s outside directors, our lawyers are committed to working cooperatively and constructively with management to minimize the disruption and inefficiencies that can otherwise result when outside lawyers are brought in to work directly with board members.

Cravath’s work in this area, most of which is not publicly disclosed, covers a wide variety of issues and clients. Recent matters have involved a broad range of potential accounting problems, auditor and director independence issues, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) issues, suspected violations of Medicaid, FDA and bank regulations, restrictions on trading with the enemy, insider trading, and advising several special committees of boards considering shareholder allegations of excessive executive compensation. We are also actively engaged in assisting clients in their efforts to review and revamp their risk management and executive compensation policies, internal controls, shareholder communications and other important corporate governance functions.

We regularly advise clients in connection with SEC and stock exchange compliance and have extensive experience advising senior management and boards when a crisis arises. Our representations include:

  • Assisting senior management and the board in fulfilling their respective duties while benefiting from all available legal protections;
  • Responding to and negotiating with all the branches of the SEC and with other enforcement agencies (such as U.S. Attorneys, the DOJ and state attorneys general);
  • Working with the client’s independent auditor and audit committee to resolve potential accounting issues;
  • Handling disclosure in a manner that is both responsive to applicable legal requirements and sensitive to the concerns of investors, employees and the media;
  • Conducting internal investigations to determine relevant facts quickly and accurately;
  • Working with existing and potential financing sources; and
  • Handling any civil litigation that may arise in these cases.

Our advisory clients range in size from Fortune 1000 to Fortune 10, are distributed across all industries and all regions of the world and include both regular, long‑time clients of the Firm, with whom we have broad relationships, and others who have come to us for the first time to handle a specific issue or situation. Whether large or small, new or old, every client receives the full attention of an experienced Cravath team that is dedicated to helping the client solve its most important and demanding problems.

Cravath’s dedicated team of litigation and corporate partners includes lawyers who have spent portions of their careers at the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”), the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Our lawyers bring their experiences to bear in representing clients in investigations by those regulators and prosecutors, accounting and executive compensation issues, shareholder demands and derivative litigation, proxy contests and many other situations involving difficult governance issues. Not every engagement will require that all these skills be brought to bear, but our clients benefit from having a single advisor who can quickly understand and manage all the interrelated elements of a complex situation. In situations that require independent counsel to advise the client’s outside directors, our lawyers are committed to working cooperatively and constructively with management to minimize the disruption and inefficiencies that can otherwise result when outside lawyers are brought in to work directly with board members.

Cravath’s work in this area, most of which is not publicly disclosed, covers a wide variety of issues and clients. Recent matters have involved a broad range of potential accounting problems, auditor and director independence issues, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) issues, suspected violations of Medicaid, FDA and bank regulations, restrictions on trading with the enemy, insider trading, and advising several special committees of boards considering shareholder allegations of excessive executive compensation. We are also actively engaged in assisting clients in their efforts to review and revamp their risk management and executive compensation policies, internal controls, shareholder communications and other important corporate governance functions.

We regularly advise clients in connection with SEC and stock exchange compliance and have extensive experience advising senior management and boards when a crisis arises. Our representations include:

  • Assisting senior management and the board in fulfilling their respective duties while benefiting from all available legal protections;
  • Responding to and negotiating with all the branches of the SEC and with other enforcement agencies (such as U.S. Attorneys, the DOJ and state attorneys general);
  • Working with the client’s independent auditor and audit committee to resolve potential accounting issues;
  • Handling disclosure in a manner that is both responsive to applicable legal requirements and sensitive to the concerns of investors, employees and the media;
  • Conducting internal investigations to determine relevant facts quickly and accurately;
  • Working with existing and potential financing sources; and
  • Handling any civil litigation that may arise in these cases.

Our advisory clients range in size from Fortune 1000 to Fortune 10, are distributed across all industries and all regions of the world and include both regular, long‑time clients of the Firm, with whom we have broad relationships, and others who have come to us for the first time to handle a specific issue or situation. Whether large or small, new or old, every client receives the full attention of an experienced Cravath team that is dedicated to helping the client solve its most important and demanding problems.

  • Deals & Cases
  • Recent News & Insights

Deals & Cases

June 04, 2025

Flowserve’s $19 Billion Merger of Equals with Chart

On June 4, 2025, Flowserve Corporation (“Flowserve”) and Chart Industries, Inc. (“Chart”) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to combine in an all-stock merger of equals, creating a differentiated leader in industrial process technologies. The combined company is expected to have an enterprise value of approximately $19 billion based on the exchange ratio and the closing share prices for Flowserve and Chart as of June 3, 2025. Under the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of each company, at the closing of the transaction Chart shareholders will receive 3.165 shares of Flowserve common stock for each share of Chart common stock owned. Following the close of the transaction, Flowserve shareholders will own approximately 46.5% and Chart shareholders will own approximately 53.5% of the combined company, on a fully diluted basis. Cravath is representing Flowserve in connection with the transaction.

Deals & Cases

May 07, 2025

Costamare’s Spin‑Off of Costamare Bulkers

On May 7, 2025, Costamare Inc. (“Costamare”) announced that it has completed the spin‑off of its dry bulk business into a standalone public company, Costamare Bulkers Holdings Limited (“Costamare Bulkers”). Each holder of Costamare common shares received one common share of Costamare Bulkers for every five Costamare common shares held as of the close of business on April 29, 2025. Cravath represented Costamare in connection with the transaction.

Deals & Cases

February 18, 2025

Light & Wonder’s Acquisition of Grover Gaming’s Charitable Gaming Assets

On February 18, 2025, Light & Wonder, Inc. (“Light & Wonder”), the leading cross‑platform global games company, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the charitable gaming assets of Grover Gaming, Inc. and G2 Gaming, Inc. (together, “Grover Gaming”), a leading provider of electronic pull‑tabs for charitable gaming in the U.S., for total consideration of $850 million cash, subject to customary purchase price adjustments, and a four‑year revenue based earn‑out of up to $200 million cash. Cravath is representing Light & Wonder in connection with the transaction.

Deals & Cases

February 03, 2025

Outbrain’s Acquisition of Teads

On February 3, 2025, Outbrain Inc. (“Outbrain”), a technology platform, announced the closing of its acquisition of Teads, a global omnichannel platform, from Altice. The two companies will merge their offerings to create an omnichannel outcomes platform for the open internet, and will operate under the name Teads. Outbrain, Altice and Teads have amended the previously announced share purchase agreement. Under the terms of the revised agreement, Outbrain will be paying a total consideration of approximately $900 million, consisting of $625 million upfront cash and 43.75 million shares of common stock of Outbrain valued at approximately $263 million. Cravath is representing Outbrain in connection with the transaction.

Deals & Cases

January 06, 2025

Disney’s Combination of its Hulu + Live TV Business with Fubo

On January 6, 2025, The Walt Disney Company (“Disney”) and FuboTV Inc. (“Fubo) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Disney to combine its Hulu + Live TV business with Fubo, forming a combined virtual MVPD company of which Disney will become the majority owner.

Activities

June 18, 2025

Paul Zumbro Speaks at ABI’s 2025 New York City Bankruptcy Conference

On June 17, 2025, Cravath partner Paul H. Zumbro participated in the American Bankruptcy Institute’s 2025 New York City Bankruptcy Conference. The conference convened insolvency and restructuring professionals to discuss the challenges of the evolving insolvency landscape. Paul spoke on a panel entitled “Distressed Corporate Governance,” which reviewed current topics and challenges facing boards and other fiduciaries of distressed companies, including risks, pitfalls and best practices for directors, boards and their counsel, the potential impact of recent Delaware General Corporation Law amendments and other key trends and legal developments.

Activities

June 13, 2025

Lawdragon Names 18 Cravath Partners to Its Inaugural List of Global Leaders in Crisis Management

On June 13, 2025, Lawdragon announced the inclusion of 18 Cravath partners in its inaugural list of “500 Global Leaders in Crisis Management.” The list, assembled based on research and vetting by peers, recognizes “the world’s leading minds in the art of calming, managing, defusing and ‘handling’ matters that threaten an institution, whether a global corporation, powerful individual, nonprofit or other entity.” 

Activities

June 12, 2025

Michael Arnold Speaks at PLI’s ESG 2025: What It Means for Boards, Management, and Counsel Program

On June 10, 2025, Cravath partner Michael L. Arnold participated in “ESG 2025: What It Means for Boards, Management, and Counsel,” a program presented by the Practising Law Institute in New York. The program hosted a number of experts, including company management and in‑house and outside counsel, to review recent trends in the sustainability landscape and best practices for governance. Michael spoke on a panel entitled “Board Oversight of ESG,” which reviewed ESG developments and changes over the past year in board‑level oversight of ESG and gave advice to boards of directors in fulfilling their duties while navigating the ESG landscape.

Publications

June 12, 2025

SEC Solicits Public Comment on the Eligibility Criteria for Foreign Private Issuer Status

On June 11, 2025, Cravath prepared a memo for its clients entitled “SEC Solicits Public Comment on the Eligibility Criteria for Foreign Private Issuer Status.” The memo examines a concept release recently published by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to seek public comment on whether to revise the “foreign private issuer” definition in light of shifting trends in the characteristics of the FPI population.

Activities

June 06, 2025

Chambers USA Ranks Cravath in Top Tier for 2025 Across Corporate, Litigation and Tax Practice Areas

The 2025 edition of Chambers USA ranked Cravath in the top tier nationally in seven areas: Antitrust; Capital Markets (Investment Grade Debt – Issuer Counsel); Capital Markets (Investment Grade Debt – Manager Counsel); Corporate/M&A (The Elite); Securities (Litigation); Securities (Regulation – Advisory); and Tax (Corporate & Finance). In New York, the Firm was ranked in the top tier in eight areas: Antitrust; Bankruptcy/Restructuring (Highly Regarded); Corporate/M&A (The Elite); Environment (Mainly Transactional); Litigation (General Commercial: The Elite); Litigation (Securities); Media & Entertainment (Corporate); and Tax. Fifty‑four Cravath lawyers were ranked across 23 practice categories.

Deals & Cases

June 04, 2025

Flowserve’s $19 Billion Merger of Equals with Chart

On June 4, 2025, Flowserve Corporation (“Flowserve”) and Chart Industries, Inc. (“Chart”) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to combine in an all-stock merger of equals, creating a differentiated leader in industrial process technologies. The combined company is expected to have an enterprise value of approximately $19 billion based on the exchange ratio and the closing share prices for Flowserve and Chart as of June 3, 2025. Under the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of each company, at the closing of the transaction Chart shareholders will receive 3.165 shares of Flowserve common stock for each share of Chart common stock owned. Following the close of the transaction, Flowserve shareholders will own approximately 46.5% and Chart shareholders will own approximately 53.5% of the combined company, on a fully diluted basis. Cravath is representing Flowserve in connection with the transaction.

Deals & Cases

May 07, 2025

Costamare’s Spin‑Off of Costamare Bulkers

On May 7, 2025, Costamare Inc. (“Costamare”) announced that it has completed the spin‑off of its dry bulk business into a standalone public company, Costamare Bulkers Holdings Limited (“Costamare Bulkers”). Each holder of Costamare common shares received one common share of Costamare Bulkers for every five Costamare common shares held as of the close of business on April 29, 2025. Cravath represented Costamare in connection with the transaction.

Deals & Cases

February 18, 2025

Light & Wonder’s Acquisition of Grover Gaming’s Charitable Gaming Assets

On February 18, 2025, Light & Wonder, Inc. (“Light & Wonder”), the leading cross‑platform global games company, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the charitable gaming assets of Grover Gaming, Inc. and G2 Gaming, Inc. (together, “Grover Gaming”), a leading provider of electronic pull‑tabs for charitable gaming in the U.S., for total consideration of $850 million cash, subject to customary purchase price adjustments, and a four‑year revenue based earn‑out of up to $200 million cash. Cravath is representing Light & Wonder in connection with the transaction.

Deals & Cases

February 03, 2025

Outbrain’s Acquisition of Teads

On February 3, 2025, Outbrain Inc. (“Outbrain”), a technology platform, announced the closing of its acquisition of Teads, a global omnichannel platform, from Altice. The two companies will merge their offerings to create an omnichannel outcomes platform for the open internet, and will operate under the name Teads. Outbrain, Altice and Teads have amended the previously announced share purchase agreement. Under the terms of the revised agreement, Outbrain will be paying a total consideration of approximately $900 million, consisting of $625 million upfront cash and 43.75 million shares of common stock of Outbrain valued at approximately $263 million. Cravath is representing Outbrain in connection with the transaction.

Deals & Cases

January 06, 2025

Disney’s Combination of its Hulu + Live TV Business with Fubo

On January 6, 2025, The Walt Disney Company (“Disney”) and FuboTV Inc. (“Fubo) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Disney to combine its Hulu + Live TV business with Fubo, forming a combined virtual MVPD company of which Disney will become the majority owner.

Activities

June 18, 2025

Paul Zumbro Speaks at ABI’s 2025 New York City Bankruptcy Conference

On June 17, 2025, Cravath partner Paul H. Zumbro participated in the American Bankruptcy Institute’s 2025 New York City Bankruptcy Conference. The conference convened insolvency and restructuring professionals to discuss the challenges of the evolving insolvency landscape. Paul spoke on a panel entitled “Distressed Corporate Governance,” which reviewed current topics and challenges facing boards and other fiduciaries of distressed companies, including risks, pitfalls and best practices for directors, boards and their counsel, the potential impact of recent Delaware General Corporation Law amendments and other key trends and legal developments.

Activities

June 13, 2025

Lawdragon Names 18 Cravath Partners to Its Inaugural List of Global Leaders in Crisis Management

On June 13, 2025, Lawdragon announced the inclusion of 18 Cravath partners in its inaugural list of “500 Global Leaders in Crisis Management.” The list, assembled based on research and vetting by peers, recognizes “the world’s leading minds in the art of calming, managing, defusing and ‘handling’ matters that threaten an institution, whether a global corporation, powerful individual, nonprofit or other entity.” 

Activities

June 12, 2025

Michael Arnold Speaks at PLI’s ESG 2025: What It Means for Boards, Management, and Counsel Program

On June 10, 2025, Cravath partner Michael L. Arnold participated in “ESG 2025: What It Means for Boards, Management, and Counsel,” a program presented by the Practising Law Institute in New York. The program hosted a number of experts, including company management and in‑house and outside counsel, to review recent trends in the sustainability landscape and best practices for governance. Michael spoke on a panel entitled “Board Oversight of ESG,” which reviewed ESG developments and changes over the past year in board‑level oversight of ESG and gave advice to boards of directors in fulfilling their duties while navigating the ESG landscape.

Publications

June 12, 2025

SEC Solicits Public Comment on the Eligibility Criteria for Foreign Private Issuer Status

On June 11, 2025, Cravath prepared a memo for its clients entitled “SEC Solicits Public Comment on the Eligibility Criteria for Foreign Private Issuer Status.” The memo examines a concept release recently published by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to seek public comment on whether to revise the “foreign private issuer” definition in light of shifting trends in the characteristics of the FPI population.

Activities

June 06, 2025

Chambers USA Ranks Cravath in Top Tier for 2025 Across Corporate, Litigation and Tax Practice Areas

The 2025 edition of Chambers USA ranked Cravath in the top tier nationally in seven areas: Antitrust; Capital Markets (Investment Grade Debt – Issuer Counsel); Capital Markets (Investment Grade Debt – Manager Counsel); Corporate/M&A (The Elite); Securities (Litigation); Securities (Regulation – Advisory); and Tax (Corporate & Finance). In New York, the Firm was ranked in the top tier in eight areas: Antitrust; Bankruptcy/Restructuring (Highly Regarded); Corporate/M&A (The Elite); Environment (Mainly Transactional); Litigation (General Commercial: The Elite); Litigation (Securities); Media & Entertainment (Corporate); and Tax. Fifty‑four Cravath lawyers were ranked across 23 practice categories.

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Celebrating 200 years of partnership. In 2019, we celebrated our bicentennial. Our history mirrors that of our nation. Integral to our story is our culture.

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