O’Melveny & Myers has announced that Michael Schiavone is joining the firm’s partnership in New York from Sherman & Sterling, where he led the capital markets-Americas group. Hiring Schiavone, who will serve as co-head of O’Melveny’s capital markets practice group, is part of a broader effort by the firm to bolster its transactional practice, especially in New York. “Mike’s addition is an execution of our strategic plan,” said San Francisco-based C. Brophy Christensen, who will co-lead the capital markets groups with Schiavone. “Getting him on board is just the beginning.”
Schiavone represents large investment banks in capital markets offerings. In an interview, he said he wasn’t looking to move his practice when Brophy and other O’Melveny leaders contacted him: “This is an opportunity that found me.” Schiavone, who has been practicing for 22 years, said he warmed to the idea of joining O’Melveny after learning more about the firm and how he and his expertise would fit into its larger strategic plan. “The strategy is a sound one,” he said. “There is already a strong platform to begin with on the transactional side and a lot of great opportunity that is generated from other practices.”