SHEARMAN & STERLING ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Through the Alumni Spotlight series, you can meet a few of our distinguished alumni to learn how they leveraged their time at the firm to advance their careers and what advice they would give to those looking to have similar success.

Richard Fischetti Vice President & General Counsel, Frontage Laboratories, Inc.

Richard Fischetti ‘07 (M&A, 2007–2020, New York City) began his tenure with Shearman & Sterling as a summer associate while at Rutgers Law School in New Jersey. He started as an associate in the Mergers & Acquisitions group in 2007 and worked his way to partner over his time with the firm. In 2020, he joined Frontage Laboratories, a full-service contract research organization (CRO) laboratory, as Vice President & General Counsel.

What is your favorite memory or story from your time at Shearman & Sterling?

One of the things I enjoyed most about working at Shearman was the team aspect of deal work. Being part of a deal team was rewarding because I could see how my contributions fit into a larger effort, and it was a great way to develop skills and knowledge by observing and interacting with other attorneys. There was also a special type of camaraderie that developed from working on challenging transactions with my Shearman colleagues. Signing those types of deals was particularly gratifying.

What skills or capabilities did you gain from your time at the firm that prepared you for future roles?

In addition to the sorts of technical skills that would be expected—drafting, negotiating, writing, deal experience, etc.—I learned the importance of approaching legal issues as a practical problem solver. It’s one thing to simply issue-spot, but it’s harder to know which issues really matter and how to resolve them in a commercial manner. The attorneys that mentored me at Shearman are very good at understanding a client’s goals and then focusing on the core issues. I think that process requires very strong communication skills with your client, which are also critical for an in-house lawyer.

In general, I believe my M&A background prepared me well for my role as General Counsel. Working on M&A transactions gave me an opportunity to learn about how businesses in different sectors work and what is important to them. In order to buy or sell a business, you need to understand it—and I was able to apply a lot of that knowledge to my new role.

What has been your career journey since leaving Shearman & Sterling?

I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to join Frontage Laboratories as General Counsel in 2020. Frontage is a contract research organization that provides a comprehensive range of research and development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and agrochemical industries. We currently operate in 23 facilities across three countries, have approximately 1,700 employees worldwide and are publicly listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Tell us about your current job. What do you enjoy most about your work?

As General Counsel, I oversee the legal function for the Frontage group. I really enjoy collaborating with my colleagues throughout the organization, and I’m very fortunate to work with a fantastic team in the legal department. There are any number of issues that a business can face, and the legal team takes a lot of pride in working together to address them. By partnering with stakeholders throughout the organization, we are able to ensure that the company is achieving its goals while mitigating potential legal risks.

What advice would you give to someone looking to have a similar career path?

It’s useful to use any opportunity to observe more senior lawyers and learn as much as you can about both substance and style. In my experience, presentation can sometimes be just as important as the content of your advice. Focus on using your substantive skills to develop meaningful relationships. Those relationships will likely have a significant impact on whatever path your career takes.