Ms Saeed, currently deputy presiding partner, will take over from incumbent firm-wide boss Allen Parker after his three-year stint at the helm comes to a close later this year. Dealmaking royalty at one of the most presitgous firms on Wall Street, Ms Saeed’s book of business includes clients like Time Warner, Bacardi, Morgan Stanley, Starbucks and DreamWorks Animation, among others. Her appointment to the helm comes after a 25 year-career at Cravath which has included some of the most prolific M&A deals in recent history, including DreamWorks’ $4bn sale to Comcast and the $37bn sale of Precisions Castparts to Berkshire Hathaway. She also helped defend Time Warner from an unwanted takeover bid by media mogul Rupert Murdoch. As Cravath’s presiding partner, Ms Saeed will be joining a very small elite group of women who have made it to the top of major US firms. Women account for just 18 per cent of equity partners at American law firms; last year, only three firms in the nation’s top-200 had women at the helm.
Sources: The Lawyer; New York Times
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