S&C makes rare London hire with top A&O Shearman regulatory partner

Sullivan & Cromwell has hired top financial regulation partner Barney Reynolds from A&O Shearman in London, marking a rare lateral move for the traditionally conservative Wall Street firm.

Reynolds is one of only a handful of lateral partner hires Sullivan & Cromwell has made in London over the past decade. He joins as a partner in the firm’s financial services group, with a long track record advising banks and other financial institutions on regulatory and cross-border matters. He was a partner at Shearman & Sterling before the A&O merger last year.

His client roster includes the likes of Bank of America, Barclays and Morgan Stanley. He was heavily involved in guiding several financial institution clients through the 2008 financial crisis, the 2010 eurozone crisis, and more recently the Silicon Valley Bank collapse in 2023.

What they said

S&C co-chairs Robert Giuffra and Scott Miller said: "Barney is a leader in advising financial institutions in UK and EU regulatory and transactional matters", adding "Barney’s addition will allow us to provide full-service advice to our clients around the globe, including from London, which remains a key growth priority for our firm".

Reynolds said: "S&C is known around the world for its premier financial institutions practice. I’m honored to become part of a global team that is the best in the business".

More exits at A&O Sheaman

The move is also a blow to A&O Shearman. The firm has seen a string of recent departures since its headline-making transatlantic merger with Shearman & Sterling went live last year. Those include the exit of an 11-lawyer structured finance team to Latham & Watkins earlier this month.

Last year, a major post-merger restructuring saw around 10% of equity partners cut as it moved to a single all-equity partnership model. In April, Law.com reported that more than 60 A&O Shearman partners had exited the firm in the eight months since the restructuring was announced.