Rohan Weerasinghe, a former Shearman & Sterling senior partner who became global general counsel of Citigroup, has rejoined the New York-based law firm as of counsel ahead of its proposed merger with Allen & Overy, the firm said Tuesday.
Weerasinghe left Shearman in 2012 as a senior partner to go to Citigroup after a 35-year career at the firm. Weerasinghe’s arrival back at Shearman comes as the firm is preparing for a vote in October on the proposed merger with Allen & Overy.
On the move, Weerasinghe, based in New York, said in a statement that he is looking forward to being part of the A&O Shearman upon completion of the merger. The firm said he will focus “on client relationship development and counseling clients at the highest levels.”
“I am very pleased to be returning to the firm at such an exciting time, and I am eager to assist the firm’s partners in developing key client relationships and to provide advice and counsel to senior executives and general counsel worldwide,” said Weerasinghe. “Law is a global business, and I am particularly excited about the prospect of being part of A&O Shearman upon consummation of the planned merger.”
Weerasinghe served as global general counsel of Citigroup from 2012 to 2022, where he led its legal function worldwide and counseled the bank’s executive officers and board of directors.
Previously during his decades-long career at Shearman, he handled corporate and securities matters and was elected as senior partner in 2005, where he remained until his departure in 2012.
Adam Hakki, Shearman & Sterling’s senior partner, said in a firm statement that Weerasinghe’s “network of relationships” will be “invaluable” to the firm and A&O Shearman after closing the merger.
“His extraordinary combination of experience as general counsel of one of the world’s largest financial institutions and a preeminent lawyer in private practice will position him exceptionally well to offer our clients an outstanding level of counsel,” Hakki said.
Senior partners at Shearman and Allen & Overy have been on a roadshow in recent months to field questions before the October vote, which will have a threshold for approval of 75% at both firms.
A select number of top law firm partners made the transition from private practice to in-house like Weerasinghe.
Weerasinghe’s predecessor to the senior partner role at Shearman, David Heleniak, had left the firm to become vice chairman at Morgan Stanley. Others who have made similar moves include C. Allen Parker who went from Cravath, Swaine & Moore to Wells Fargo and Gregory Jordan left Reed Smith to lead legal at PNC Bank.
More recently, other lawyers have switched back from the banking world to Big Law, most notably Morgan Stanley rainmaker Robert Kindler, who announced in June his move from the investment bank to Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.
Source: law.com
