SLB Schlumberger Ltd

One of Wall Street's top law firms is losing one of its biggest deal makers.

Scott Barshay is leaving Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP to head up the mergers and acquisitions practice at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, the firm announced Sunday.

The move is a blow for Cravath, where Mr. Barshay, 50 years old, has spent his entire career and has cultivated a stream of large corporate clients. It is also somewhat rare: Unlike top M&A bankers, high-profile deal lawyers like Mr. Barshay rarely switch from one law firm to another.

"We wish him the best in his future endeavors," a Cravath spokeswoman said Sunday.

Last year, Mr. Barshay worked on nearly $300 billion in transactions during a record year for deal making. His recent deals include Cameron International Corp.'s $13 billion sale to Schlumberger Ltd. and Honeywell International Inc.'s unsuccessful attempt to buy rival United Technologies Corp. in what would have been a roughly $90 billion tie-up. Mr. Barshay also advised Anheuser-Busch InBev NV on its $100 billion-plus deal for SABMiller PLC.

Lately, Mr. Barshay has been busy advising hotel chain Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. during a bidding war between Marriott International Inc. and a consortium led by China's Anbang Insurance Group Co.

Mr. Barshay's clients include some prolific acquirers, such as Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital. He advised the Brazilian investment firm on its 2015 deal to merge Kraft and Heinz.

"Our clients world-wide will benefit from Scott's unparalleled expertise in public M&A representation and board-level strategic counsel," said Robert B. Schumer, chair of Paul, Weiss's corporate department, in a news release.

The move raises questions about the ability of law firms that tie partner compensation to seniority to retain top talent during an M&A boom. Cravath, like some other New York-based firms, pays its partners through a "lockstep" system based on seniority, while many other U.S. law firms tie compensation to performance. Paul Weiss follows a modified lockstep system that gives the firm "flexibility at the upper end for star performers," Brad Karp, the firm's chairman, said in an interview Sunday.

Paul Weiss advised Time Warner Cable Inc. on its pending $55 billion sale to Charter Communications Inc., and it recently advised private-equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC on its $7 billion leveraged buyout of ADT Corp.

In addition to representing corporate clients on M&A transactions, Mr. Barshay has advised a number of companies defending themselves against activist investors. Paul Weiss, which has selectively worked with activists in the past, won't be representing activists against public companies going forward, according to people familiar with the matter.

Write to Dana Mattioli at dana.mattioli@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 03, 2016 22:25 ET (02:25 GMT)

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