Shearman & Sterling's Brad Sabel was named one of The American Lawyer's "Dealmakers of the Year" for his work on the creation of ICE Trust, a clearinghouse for credit default swaps. Sabel is one of just 17 lawyers in the US cited by The American Lawyer for 2009.

The American Lawyer article suggests that most AmLaw "dealmakers of the year" can claim that they sealed an important deal for a client or industry. Sabel can claim that and this too: "He helped create an entity that could help forestall another financial crisis," says the article.

It was quite the accomplishment, the article suggests. The key was getting regulatory approval for International Exchange, Inc. (ICE) to acquire The Clearing Corporation (TCC), which held the technology needed to monitor risk in credit default swaps. "As a bank regulatory lawyer, it was a bit daunting to get a call from ICE about creating a type of bank to do something that a bank had never done before," Sabel told The American Lawyer. "I had to get educated very quickly."

He also had to move quickly. To get the clearinghouse on line, Brad—supported by a team of nearly 50 lawyers, including, among others, partners Peter Lyons, Barney Reynolds, Abigail Arms, Russell Sacks, Dale Collins, Michael Shulman and Geoffrey Goldman—had to orchestrate simultaneous discussions with five different regulators. And he got those approvals at a time when the industry needed this new clearinghouse most.

The article claims that the new system has been very successful to date, with about $3 trillion worth of swaps trading through the clearinghouse.