In “Surprising” Move, Shearman & Sterling Eliminates GC Position

[WSJ_law_blog]

Is Shearman & Sterling swimming against the tide? The firm has eliminated the job of its full-time general counsel, John Shutkin, the former GC at KPMG, for purposes of firm “realignment,” according to a spokesman. But New York Law School prof Elizabeth Chambliss says that Shutkin’s ouster surprised her, especially since the “full-time professional model [for a general counsel], where it’s a separate job, is taking hold.” Here’s the story from AmLaw’s Susan Beck.

When Shearman hired Shutkin from KPMG in 2004, the firm’s then-senior partner David Heleniak, who’s since moved to Morgan Stanley, said that the new job would include overseeing “the areas of risk inherent in operating as a global institution.” But now, according to Shearman spokesperson Ron Brandsdorfer, Shearman is “returning to the more traditional structure of partner oversight over risk management.” Overseeing risk will fall to litigation partner Henry Weisburg, who will maintain his practice.

“To put it differently,” writes Beck “risk management at Shearman — which, according to the latest Am Law 100 report, is a $921,000,000 firm spread across four continents, with 857 lawyers — will become a part-time job.”

Reached at Shearman on Friday, Shutkin referred all questions to the firm’s spokesman. But he had earlier told The Lawyer that he did not want to leave. “If it were up to me I’d stay here,” he said. “I’m leaving because they’ve decided to eliminate the position.”