NEW YORK (April 16, 2015) — Susman Godfrey’s New York office will be welcoming back attorney Stephen Shackelford on May 1st. Most recently the GE Capital Executive Counsel for Litigation, Shackelford joined Susman Godfrey in 2007 and was later elected into the partnership in 2010. While at the firm he tried three cases with founder Steve Susman, including winning a jury verdict of $178 million (with the case later ending in a confidential settlement while on appeal). “I am thrilled Stephen is coming back to the firm and joining our New York office,” said firm founder, Steve Susman, “he is a first-rate trial lawyer who will make what I think is New York’s best assembly of trial lawyer talent even stronger.” Shackelford also argued numerous motions as well as several appeals, including before the Fifth Circuit, Indiana Court of Appeals and Indiana Supreme Court.
Shackelford left the partnership in early 2012 to become Special Counsel to the General Counsel for the General Electric Company, Brackett Denniston. Shackelford worked on a variety of projects for Denniston in areas as diverse as privacy law, regulatory reform, corporate governance, and simplification and streamlining of the legal function at GE. Shackelford also continued to spend as much as half his time on litigation-related work, contributing to the defense of GE in some of GE’s most significant cases.
In early 2014, with his stint as Denniston’s Special Counsel nearing its end, Shackelford transitioned to a pure litigation role at GE Capital. As Executive Counsel for Litigation, Shackelford was responsible for managing GE Capital’s defense in some of GE’s biggest litigation exposures.
By early 2015, however, Shackelford missed his old practice and his old partners. “I’ve loved my time at GE,” said Shackelford. “It’s a wonderful company, and I am very grateful for the chance I got to work there. But I’m ready to get back in the trenches.”
Shackelford graduated first in his class from Harvard Law School in 2005. He went on to clerk for then-Chief Judge Michael Boudin on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and Associate Justice Stephen Breyer of the U.S. Supreme Court. When he joins Susman Godfrey’s New York office this week he will be one of four former Supreme Court clerks working out of the office and one of seven at the firm.
Read more about Shackelford’s return to Susman Godfrey in The American Lawyer’s People on the Move.
