Most Powerful Women of 2017
27.Faiza Saeed
Photo credit: Peter Doyle
Presiding partner, Cravath Swaine & Moore
Age: 51
2016 REVENUE $738 million
NYC IMPACT Partnership for NYC, Women’s Forum of N.Y. and the New York chapter of the March of Dimes
In January Faiza Saeed took the reins as presiding partner of 500-lawyer firm Cravath Swaine & Moore, becoming the first woman to lead the white-shoe practice in its 200-year history. This makes her just one of a handful of women running a top U.S. law firm, according to the National Association of Women Lawyers.
The move was a natural one for Saeed, who is accustomed to having top executives look to her for advice and counsel. As head of Cravath’s mergers and acquisitions practice for nearly four years, she orchestrated some of the largest deals of the period—most recently as lead attorney for Time Warner in its $109 billion acquisition by AT&T last year. Also in 2016 she represented Yahoo in negotiating its $4.8 billion purchase by Verizon and led the legal team for DreamWorks Animation in its $4.1 billion tie-up with NBCUniversal. In January The Hollywood Reporter named Saeed to its Top 20 Dealmakers list. These transactions helped the firm increase revenue by nearly 11% over 2015.
Previous 2007 honoree (unranked)
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