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.

Peter Kozlowski Head of Enforcement and Investigations, Bank of New York Mellon

Peter Kozlowski (Litigation, 1997–2001, New York City) worked in Shearman & Sterling’s Litigation group for almost three and a half years after majoring in Criminal Justice at Stonehill College in Massachusetts and earning a Juris Doctor from Seton Hall University School of Law in New Jersey. After leaving the firm, he worked in a variety of regulatory and litigation roles at Credit Suisse over a tenure of almost 20 years. He is now the Head of Enforcement and Investigations in the legal department at the Bank of New York Mellon, where he has been for almost three years.

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

I don’t think there is one particular story that sticks out. I’d say it was the overall experience of working at a premier global firm on significant matters with numerous colleagues who are still some of my best friends today. It was a different time; there were no iPhones and everything was done in person. We spent most of our waking hours at the firm together. It was almost like it was an extension of school. It was an invaluable experience for me and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’m not sure the experience for junior or mid-level associates is the same today because of the remote work opportunities. That’s not a bad thing. We just didn’t have the capabilities to work from home in the late ’90s, so we were in the office for a tremendous amount of hours and it was quite an experience. My memories are of the camaraderie and the all-consuming nature of the work, but in an overall positive way.

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

I learned how to do things the right way. At Shearman & Sterling, everything had to be perfect and we had the luxury of an incredibly large staff and support system to help us do that. Quite frankly, I was learning from some of the best litigators in the world. Every footnote in every brief, every comma in every memo had to be perfect. I learned to become a better writer, a better communicator, and how to identify issues and get to the point more quickly. I’m biased, but I think the training to be a litigator helps you with all those things. These are skills that can help you outside the legal profession, as well.

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

After leaving Shearman, I spent almost 20 years at Credit Suisse in a variety of litigation and regulatory enforcement roles. I worked on matters arising from the tech bubble burst around the turn of the century, involving the many IPO and research analyst issues. I had to deal with the major corporate frauds of the early 2000s: ENRON, WorldCom, Adelphia, and so on. I then worked on matters relating to mortgage-backed securities arising out of the 2008 financial crisis. With Credit Suisse being a large global financial institution with a significant investment banking presence at the time, we, like pretty much all our peers, were involved some way or another in these matters. They were interesting and quite unprecedented times.

I’ve been at the Bank of New York Mellon now for almost three years. I started the job during the COVID pandemic, so it took almost two years for me to actually get into the office and see my colleagues in person.

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

I’m the head of Enforcement and Investigations in the legal department. I have global responsibilities, which is something I never had at Credit Suisse, although I worked on many international matters there. This is the first time in my career where there hasn’t been a civil litigation component to my position, which took up the majority of my time at Credit Suisse. This role has been helpful for me in terms of rounding out my overall skillset in the litigation and government/regulatory enforcement area. I also enjoy working with a great group of people. The businesses I deal with are, for the most part, very different from the businesses I was supporting at Credit Suisse. It’s been fun to learn new things and meet new people after almost 20 years.

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

I would advise them to put in the time early on in their career. It’s not at all easy. It’s not always fun. But it’s worth it. Ideally, I’d recommend spending at least some time at a firm like Shearman & Sterling to learn how to work hard and do things the right way. I don’t think there’s any substitute for that and it will benefit you in the future in anything you choose to do.