Skadden plugs Sao Paulo gap with Shearman hire

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom has snared a Shearman & Sterling partner to lead its Brazilian office.

The Lawyer can exclusively reveal that Sao Paulo-based Shearman finance specialist Dick Aldrich will join Skadden as a partner to lead his new firm’s efforts in the jurisdiction.

Late last year The Lawyer revealed that Skadden had lost its only partner in the newly launched office when Jonathan Bisgaier defected to Brazilian investment firm Banking and Trading Group (BTG) (10 September 2008)

The head of Skadden’s Latin America practice Paul Schnell said: “Dick has a fantastic reputation in the region. He is a terrific lawyer and is the right person to lead our office.”

The firm currently has five associates based permanently in the Brazilian office. The Latin America practice also operates in the New York office with partners Andrea Nicolas, Alan Myers and Schnell leading a team in the firm’s headquarters.

Schnell added: “It has only been a short while that we have been without a partner in the Sao Paulo office but it is excellent that we now have someone of great standing on the ground permanently.”

Aldrich’s move comes after Linklaters snared M&A partner Alberto Luzzarraga from Shearman last year (30 Oct 2008). Shearman has since been actively staffing up its Sao Paulo office, moving over finance partner Rob Ellison.

Shearman partner Sao Paulo head, Andrew Janszky said: “Dick had been travelling between New York and Sao Paulo for a while now. Over the last few months we have been working on a succession plan for some time moving Rob down here. We are very happy with our capabilities in the region.”

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