Sabastian V. Niles
Education
- University of Maryland, B.S./B.S./B.A. 2003
- Harvard Law School, J.D. 2006
Sabastian V. Niles
Sabastian V. Niles is a Partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz where he focuses on rapid response shareholder activism and preparedness, takeover defense and corporate governance; risk oversight, including as to cybersecurity and crisis situations; U.S. and cross-border mergers, acquisitions, buyouts, investments, divestitures and strategic partnerships; and other corporate and securities law matters and special situations.
Sabastian advises worldwide and across industries, including technology, financial institutions, media, energy and natural resources, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, construction and manufacturing, real estate/REITs and consumer goods and retail.
He has counseled boards of directors and management teams on self-assessments, engagement with institutional investors and proxy advisory firms and navigating activist situations involving Barry Rosenstein/JANA Partners, Bill Ackman/Pershing Square, Carl Icahn, Daniel Loeb/Third Point, David Einhorn/Greenlight Capital, Glenn Welling/Engaged Capital, Jeff Smith/Starboard Value, Jeffrey Ubben/ValueAct, Jonathan Litt/Land & Buildings, Keith Meister/Corvex, Mick McGuire/Marcato, Nelson Peltz/Trian, Scott Ferguson/Sachem Head, Paul Singer/Elliott Management, Relational Investors and Tom Sandell/Sandell Asset Management, among many others.
In addition to serving as Consulting Editor for the New York Stock Exchange’s Corporate Governance Guide, Sabastian writes frequently on corporate law matters and has been a featured speaker at corporate strategy and investor forums. His speaking engagements have addressed topics such as Shareholder Activism; The New Paradigm of Corporate Governance; Hostile Takeovers; Strategic Transactions and Governance; M&A Trends; Board-Shareholder Engagement; Confidentiality Agreements in M&A Transactions; Negotiating Strategic Alliances with U.S. Companies; Current Issues in Technology M&A; Corporate Governance: Ethics, Transparency and Accountability; and Developments in Cross-Border Deals.
Sabastian received his juris doctorate from Harvard Law School, where he co-founded the Harvard Association of Law and Business (and continues to serve on the Advisory Board) and won the U.S. National ABA Negotiation Championship representing the Harvard Program on Negotiation. He received B.S., B.A. and B.S. degrees in Finance, Economics and Decision & Information Sciences, respectively, from the University of Maryland, where he won two National Championships and four Regional Championships in intercollegiate mock trial.
Recent Publications
- Getting Board Ready: Shareholder Activism, Corporate Governance and the Hunt for Long-Term Value,
in Ethical Boardroom, Spring 2018.
- The State of Shareholder Activism,
in C-Suite Vol. 2, Issue 2, 2015.
- Passive investments, not passive governance,
in Activism Monthly, Volume 5 Issue 3, April 2016.
- The Coming Impact of ESG on M&A,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, February 20, 2020.
- Accelerating ESG Disclosure - WEF Task Force Releases Preliminary Framework Centered on Mainstream Reporting Aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, February 10, 2020.
- State Street Global Advisors Sharpens Voting Push on Financially Material ESG Matters,
in Columbia Law School’s Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets, February 4, 2020.
- Foundational Principles in an Evolving Governance Environment,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, January 29, 2020.
- Dealing with Activist Hedge Funds and Other Activist Investors,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, January 20, 2020.
- Accelerating ESG Disclosure - BlackRock Nudges Companies Toward a Common Standard (SASB + TCFD),
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, January 18, 2020.
- Embracing the New Paradigm,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, January 16, 2020.
- REIT M&A in 2020,
January 6, 2020.
- Risk Management and the Board of Directors,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, November 20, 2019.
- ISS and Glass Lewis Announce Final 2020 Voting Policies,,
in Columbia Law School’s Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets, November 15, 2019.
- Shareholder Activism and Governance in France: Proposed Reforms,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, October 8, 2019.
- Stakeholder Governance - Some Legal Points,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, September 20, 2019.
- SEC Provides New Guidance on Institutional Investors’ Proxy Voting Responsibilities and Use of Proxy Advisory Firms,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, August 22, 2019.
- The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Corporate Governance,
co-editor and author of U.S. chapter, Global Legal Group Ltd., London, Twelfth ed. 2019 (Eleventh ed. 2018).
- Corporate Governance, Investor Stewardship and Engagement,
in The International Comparative Guide to: Corporate Governance, Global Legal Group, London, Twelfth ed. 2019 (Eleventh ed. 2018).
- Board Development and Director Succession Planning in the Age of Shareholder Activism, Engagement and Stewardship,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, June 7, 2019.
- Corporate Purpose - Stakeholders and Long-Term Growth,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, May 29, 2019.
- The New Paradigm and the EU Shareholder Rights Directive II,
in Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, May 11, 2019.
- The Corporate Governance Review,
U.S. chapter, Law Business Research, London, Ninth ed. 2019 (Eighth ed. 2018, Seventh ed. 2017, Sixth ed. 2016, Fifth ed. 2015).
- Corporate Board Diversity Requirements Expand: Guidance for Corporations,
in The Lexis Practice Advisor Journal, Winter 2018.
- The Shareholder Communications Proxy Rules and Their Practical Effect on Shareholder Activism and Proxy Contests,
in A Practical Guide to SEC Proxy and Compensation Rules (Wolters Kluwer, 6th ed. 2018).
- Market Trends: Proxy Enhancements and Shareholder Proposals,
in Lexis Practice Advisor, February 2018.
- Shareholder activism meets corporate governance,
in Corporate Secretary, June 16, 2016.