McDermott Will & Emery Announces Jeffrey E. Stone and Peter J. Sacripanti Elected as Firm Leaders
CHICAGO (April 3, 2009) — McDermott Will & Emery LLP announced today that two of its most dynamic partners have been elected to lead the Firm effective January 1, 2010. Jeffrey E. Stone will chair McDermott’s 21-member Management Committee and Peter J. Sacripanti will chair the Firm’s Executive Committee. They will succeed Harvey W. Freishtat, who has served as Chairman at McDermott for the past six years. Freishtat is stepping down at the end of the year in accordance with age limitations contained within the Firm’s partnership agreement.
Stone, 52, has been applauded by Chambers USA for his “impeccable judgment and counseling skills” and is described as “an articulate and persuasive trial lawyer” with “poise and sophistication before a judge and jury.” Sacripanti, 53, is also ranked among the country’s top lawyers by Chambers USA, noting “if you want to have a fight and win, he is your man.”
With 32 years combined experience at McDermott, Stone and Sacripanti have a deep knowledge of the Firm and its culture. They are long-time members of the Executive and Management Committees. Stone, based in the Chicago office, has served as Chair of the Trial Department since 2005. Sacripanti serves as Partner-in-Charge of the Firm’s New York office, a position he has held since 2001. They have a demonstrated history of building teams across offices and practice areas and have been closely involved in the development of a new strategic plan for the Firm, designed to foster growth, client service and practice excellence.
“We’re honored to lead the Firm through these exhilarating and challenging times, particularly in our 75th anniversary year. We are in an excellent position thanks to a solid financial footing and both geographic and practice diversity,” Stone said. Sacripanti added, “McDermott opened its first office in the middle of the Great Depression. We understand that prospering in tough economic times requires focus. This is a time of opportunity for the Firm.”
Freishtat commented, “Jeff and Peter are proven firm leaders. I am convinced they have the appetite to lead change and their commitment to our future is substantial and unwavering.”
Peter J. Sacripanti has significant experience defending major corporations and industry groups on complex business and environmental disputes, including class action litigation, products liability litigation and multi-party mass tort matters. His clients include a multinational petroleum company for which he has served as national trial counsel in more than 100 environmental and products liability disputes.
In 2001, Sacripanti was awarded the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Past Medalists include six Presidents, as well as Nobel Prize winners and leaders of industry, education, the arts, sports and government. Sacripanti was also a recipient of the Pace Law School Alumni Leadership Award in 2001. He shared the distinguished honor with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Sacripanti began his career as a federal prosecutor with the United States Department of Justice, where he was recruited as part of the prestigious Attorney General’s Honors Program. A strong advocate for education, Sacripanti serves as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the President's Council at Fordham University, The Jesuit University of New York. Sacripanti also serves as a member of The Columbus Citizens Foundation, a non-profit organization in New York City committed to fostering an appreciation of Italian-American heritage and achievement.
He is a member of the New York, District of Columbia and New Jersey bars and has been admitted to practice before state and federal courts across the United States.
Jeffrey E. Stone concentrates his practice in white-collar criminal defense, complex commercial litigation, internal investigations and RICO. Prior to joining McDermott in 1991, Stone served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago for five years, where he tried numerous federal jury trials in the area of white-collar crime, focusing on complex financial crime, fraud, public corruption and tax prosecution. He has also argued numerous cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Stone is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has served as outside counsel to the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board, an agency which investigates alleged acts of misconduct and impropriety by members of the Illinois judiciary.
He is currently National Chairman of the Stanford Fund, a member of the Stanford Board of Trustees Development Committee and served as Vice Chair of Stanford's $1 billion Campaign for Undergraduate Education. In 2006, Stone was the inaugural recipient of the Stanford Medal, an award honoring volunteer leaders with 20 years of distinguished and significant service to Stanford University.
Stone is a member of the national Board of Governors for the American Jewish Committee, served as Board President of Jewish Child and Family Services, Chicago and was a Board Member of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.
A frequent lecturer, Stone taught trial advocacy at Harvard Law School, Northwestern University School of Law and at the United States Attorney General's Advocacy Institute in Washington, D.C. He is ranked in general commercial litigation and white collar criminal defense by Chambers USA and is admitted to practice before the Illinois bar, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (trial bar), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States.
