WASHINGTON, DC - February 17, 2017: Morgan Lewis was ranked No. 3 among all law firms for shareholder activism defense in the full year 2016 Global Shareholder Activism Scorecard compiled by Thomson Reuters. The ranking is as of February 13, 2017 and is based on the number of publicly-disclosed activism defense matters that Morgan Lewis has advised on.
Morgan Lewis was also ranked near the top in the 2016 year-end shareholder activism league tables published by FactSet SharkRepellent and Activist Insight. FactSet Shark Repellent’s 2016 Shareholder Activism Review, published on February 1, 2017, ranked Morgan Lewis as the No. 2 legal advisor in 2016 for shareholder activism defense. Activist Insight, a leading UK-based publication focused on shareholder activism, has also ranked Morgan Lewis as the No. 2 legal advisor in 2016 for shareholder activism defense. Both rankings are based on the number of publicly disclosed activism defense matters that Morgan Lewis has advised on.
Since 2014, Morgan Lewis's market-leading and rapid-response shareholder activism defense practice, led by Morgan Lewis corporate partner Keith Gottfried, has advised numerous public companies, based in the United States and abroad, in a wide array of industries, including, among others, apparel, automotive, banking, casual dining, consumer goods, healthcare, energy, life sciences, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, real estate, retail, shipping, software, technology and waste management, with respect to preparing for and/or responding to high-profile proxy contests, special meeting demands, withhold campaigns, shareholder proposals and other activist shareholder campaigns as well as contests for corporate control and contested M&A situations. Morgan Lewis’s shareholder activism defense practice also advises public companies on the latest techniques for lessening a company’s vulnerability to activist shareholders and unsolicited takeover offers, strategic communications, board composition enhancement programs, corporate governance matters as well as strategies and best practices for engaging with shareholders.