Morgan Stanley on Wednesday named a senior mergers and acquisitions lawyer as a rainmaker and top legal counsellor as it comes under fire for missteps in recent regulatory actions and lawsuits. The world's largest securities firm named Shearman & Sterling's senior partner and top M&A lawyer, David Heleniak, as vice chairman in charge of all legal and regulatory affairs. Heleniak, 59, becomes the 15th member of Morgan Stanley's management committee and reports to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Philip Purcell.
The hire comes as the firm's long-time chief legal officer, Donald Kempf, comes under criticism for his past handling of lawsuits and regulatory actions. Kempf, 69, had reported to Purcell but now will report to Heleniak.
Kempf has told management he intends to retire upon the conclusion of a Florida trial of a lawsuit filed by financier Ron Perelman, a source familiar with the situation said.
As head of Shearman's M&A group, Heleniak represented Citicorp in its 1998 merger with Travellers Group and Viacom's purchase of Paramount and Blockbuster, among a slew of other major deals over the span of 31 years.
Comments
Comments are closed.