Adam Hakki is global head of Shearman & Sterling’s Litigation Group and a member of the firm’s nine-partner Policy Committee. Adam has extensive experience representing clients in class action and shareholder derivative litigation, as well as in civil and criminal investigations and proceedings brought by the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodities Futures Trading Commission, FINRA and state attorneys general concerning disclosure, securities, antitrust, insider trading, derivatives, commodities, financial products, financial reporting, accounting, ERISA, conflicts of interest and major corporate transactions. Adam has acted as lead counsel to major financial institutions and investment management firms in the most significant and high-profile litigations and government investigations affecting those industries in recent years. Adam has secured numerous important and precedent-setting courtroom victories on behalf of clients and successfully resolved many government and regulatory investigations. Adam frequently counsels companies and boards of directors on corporate crises, compliance, governance and ethics.

Adam has been recognized for many years as a national leader in both securities litigation and white collar/regulatory enforcement by leading client publications, including Chambers USA, The Legal 500, PLC Which Lawyer?, the Benchmark Guide, Law360 and LawDragon. He has been described in these publications by clients and peers as: the “complete package,” “among the most polished and professional litigators in America,” “a force to be reckoned with,” “amazingly bright, with excellent strategic judgment,” “extraordinary,” having “the rare balance of being incredibly smart and effectively confident,” “a great lawyer with a practical bent that is somewhat rare,” “a very smart and practical lawyer, who is on top of all of the cutting edge issues,” “very strong with senior management,” “among the best partners [then] under 40 in America,” “quick, well prepared and responsive,” a “superb writer, savvy and great in meetings,” “always the most calm and composed person in the room,” a “great writer [who] is great at making oral presentations,” “works extremely hard,” able to “persuade on his feet,” “having a vast and loyal cadre of investment banks, hedge funds and mutual funds” as clients, “an absolute pleasure to work with,” and a litigator to whom “big banks turn frequently for important matters.”

In both 2011 and 2012, Adam was selected by Law360 as one of only five “rising stars” in the United States in the area of securities litigation.