Andrew M Felner has joined the New York office of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as a partner in the firm's Corporate practice group.
Felner joins from FDX Capital LLC/FDX Offshore LLC, where he was co-founder and managing partner of the financial advisory firm and affiliated merchant bank, and where he will remain as a board member. In addition to private practice, Felner spent 10 years at Citigroup Inc., where he was Deputy General Counsel, overseeing all proprietary M&A activity and several other key legal practice groups for the global bank, including securities issuance and SEC reporting.
"Andy has had an impressive legal career, which includes private practice and serving as top corporate counsel at one of the world's leading financial institutions. He is well known and respected in the legal industry and in dealmaking circles. Andy's practice dovetails well with our corporate and other practices in New York and firmwide," says Guy N Halgren, chairman of the firm.
Felner was the senior-most corporate and transactional lawyer at Citigroup, chief counsel to the CFO and the bank's M&A, Finance, Operations and Communications functions, and managed more than 75 lawyers and staff. He was one of small group of top Citi lawyers on the legal management committee, reporting directly to the company's General Counsel. At Citi, Felner led the legal team on more than USD100 billion of proprietary M&A transactions, divestitures, investments and joint ventures, in more than 25 countries. He also helped lead all of Citi's recapitalization efforts during the financial crisis, including all legal aspects of the sovereign wealth investments and TARP.
Most recently, Felner ran an innovative transactional advisory business principally focused on direct investment transactions involving high net worth family offices in partnership with Family Office Exchange (FOX), the leading peer-to-peer network for ultra-wealthy families. Among other transactions, he advised on a USD100 million joint venture between a specialty finance firm and an ultra-high net worth family office, as well as a USD120 million public company carve-out by a private equity investor backed by several family offices.
Felner also founded and co-managed an affiliated merchant bank, FDX Offshore, concentrating on maritime and energy opportunities. Among other achievements, he led FDX Offshore's partnership with a leading shipping pool operator, which has encompassed recently completed and successful investments in the crude tanker market.
"I am excited about coming back to private practice at Sheppard Mullin. I have been very impressed with all Sheppard Mullin has done to grow its corporate practice on the East Coast, and with the breadth and depth of the firm's capabilities. I look forward to participating in the firm's efforts to continue its expansion in the critical New York market and work with a first-rate team of lawyers," says Felner. "I am impressed with the opportunity and camaraderie at the firm, which will be a terrific platform for building my practice and helping to grow related practice areas."
"Andy joins Sheppard Mullin as part of our ongoing strategic goal to continue building our transactional capabilities in New York and firm wide. He is an accomplished M&A attorney and dealmaking insider. We have gained significant market share on the East Coast over the past several years and Andy's decision to join us is terrific evidence of our momentum," says Shon Glusky, co-chair of Sheppard Mullin's Corporate practice group.
