Michael L. Arnold is a member of Cravath's Corporate Governance and Board Advisory Practice. Arnold counsels clients with respect to their most sensitive and highest‑risk matters, advising boards of directors and senior management on a broad range of corporate governance, public reporting, disclosure and compliance matters, including in connection with restatements and other financial crises, as well as cybersecurity incidents. He also advises companies on matters relating to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues, particularly with respect to investor engagement, ESG shareholder proposals and activism, voluntary and mandatory ESG reporting and ESG‑related governance processes.
Arnold’s sophisticated understanding and insights into legal and business risks are derived from his broad experience across multiple corporate practices, including capital markets and mergers and acquisitions. Arnold has represented corporate clients and major financial institutions in public and private offerings of equity and debt, including initial public offerings and first‑time issuances, as well as in arranging financing for U.S. and international acquisitions. He has advised public and private companies in connection with mergers, acquisitions, dispositions and complex commercial agreements, including joint ventures, minority investments, supply agreements, strategic collaborations and licensing transactions.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Dealmakers in America | 2026 | Corporate Governance |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Dealmakers in America | 2025 | Corporate Governance |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Cyber Lawyers | 2025 | Corporate Governance, inc. Cybersecurity |
| The Lawdragon 500 Global Leaders in Crisis Management | 2025 | Corporate Governance, Compliance |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Environmental Lawyers – The Green 500 | 2025 | Corporate Governance, ESG |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Cyber Lawyers | 2024 | Corporate Governance, inc. Cybersecurity |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation | 2024 | Corporate Governance, ESG |
| The Lawdragon Green 500: The 2024 Leaders in Environmental Law | 2024 | Corporate Governance, ESG |
| Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation | 2023 | Corporate Governance, ESG |
| The Lawdragon Green 500: Leaders in Environmental Law | 2023 | Corporate Governance, ESG |
Arnold is a frequent speaker and author on legal developments impacting the areas of corporate governance and ESG. He has moderated or spoken on panels hosted by the American Bar Association, the University of Delaware’s Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance, the American College of Governance Counsel, the Council of Institutional Investors and the Practising Law Institute (PLI), as well as at events such as the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law’s Securities Regulation Institute and Ray Garrett / Corporate Counsel Institute, among others. Arnold has also spoken at events hosted by TechGC, the Florida Bar Association and Cornell Law School, among others. His writings on corporate governance‑related topics have been published by outlets including the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, Columbia Law School’s Blue Sky Blog and Wolters Kluwer’s Insights: The Corporate & Securities Law Advisor. Arnold currently serves as Chair of the American Bar Association’s Federal Regulation of Securities Committee in the Business Law Section. He served as Co‑Chair of the drafting committee for the Federal Regulation of Securities Committee in their comment letter on the SEC’s climate change disclosure rulemaking proposal.