Legal News

Skadden Names Eric Friedman, 43, as New Executive Partner

By Ashby Jones

Ambitious parents out there, ever have dreams of little Jack or Emma (the names that seem given to every child born between ‘00 and ‘07) someday running the most profitable law firm in the country? If so, pay attention to the path taken by Eric Friedman, who today was named as the new executive partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Friedman, 43, will take the reins next year from Robert Sheehan, who has led the firm since 1994.

Looks like Friedman’s path went like this: He did well enough as an undergrad at a good school (Michigan, ‘86), to get into an Ivy League law school (Penn ‘89). He did well enough in his first year at Penn to land a summer associate gig at Skadden in 1988. He did well enough as a summer associate at Skadden to land a full-time offer post-Penn. He accepted, choosing to focus on corporate work — M&A predominantly — it seems. He did well enough as an associate, presumably working some late nights and weekends along the way, to make partner. And as a partner, he, in the words of Sheehan, developed a reputation as “a superb lawyer, and . . . a highly respected colleague.”

Along the way, Friedman handled some big transactions, including the sale of Citigroup’s life insurance and annuities business to MetLife and NASDAQ’s initial public offering.

Congrats, Eric, and best of luck!

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on May 16, 2008 (boomark / email).