After 10 years at the helm, Rodgin Cohen is stepping down as chairman of New York’s Sullivan & Cromwell. Corporate real estate partner Joseph Shenker will take over the management of the 800 lawyer firm as of January 1.
Cohen has been a force in mergers and acquisitions of some of the largest banks and companies in recent years, representing Wachovia when it was purchased by Wells Fargo, and JP Morgan when it purchased Washington Mutual. He also represented AIG when the government invested in it.
Shenker joined the firm straight out of law school in 1980, made partner at age 29 and joined the leadership committee at 39. He is a veteran of large corporate real estate deals including the purchase of Canary Wharf and the building of a football stadium in The Meadowlands, New Jersey.
