Skadden - Playbook

Want to stand out in your Skadden Vacation Scheme application? Here’s a new Playbook to help you impress.

This Playbook covers
🧠 Skadden's strategy for growth
👥 Insights from recent hires
🌍 Office expansion insights
📊 Must know financial data
💼 Key clients and deals

🧠 Practice Area Strategy

In short: Skadden is playing to its strengths in M&A and disputes while expanding in growth sectors like energy and tech. Recent mega deals and lateral hires show a clear focus on high value transactions, especially private equity and infrastructure, elite litigation and arbitration, and finance and fintech.

M&A and Private Equity

Skadden remains a global M&A powerhouse. In 2025 it advised on the largest merger of the year, representing Union Pacific in its proposed $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern, a transcontinental railroad deal. The firm also handled major private deals such as Air Lease Corporation’s $28.2 billion take private sale to Apollo Global Management and partners. These headline transactions, spanning railroads to aviation finance, underscore Skadden’s focus on complex, high value M&A. Notably, Skadden’s corporate team is deep in private equity, for example advising BlackRock on its £2.55 billion acquisition of Preqin, a UK data company.

Energy and Infrastructure

A significant strategic focus is on energy sector work, as Skadden anticipates a surge in global infrastructure and renewables transactions. The firm made multiple hires to bolster this area. In Houston, Skadden added two seasoned partners from White & Case to guide energy and infrastructure clients on M&A, private equity investments and joint ventures. It also brought in former Vinson & Elkins partner Steve Gill earlier in the year to its Houston M&A team. This matters because energy transition and infrastructure investment are booming worldwide, and Skadden is ensuring it can capture that work.

Litigation and Arbitration