Stephen M. Kessing is Co-Head of Cravath's Banking and Credit Practice. He advises financial institutions, corporate borrowers and private equity sponsors on a broad range of finance transactions, including complex syndicated loan and direct lending transactions, capital markets transactions, restructurings and debtor‑in‑possession financing, as well as mergers and acquisitions.
Kessing has extensive experience representing U.S. and international companies across such diverse industries as aerospace (AerCap, Alliant Techsystems, Atlas Air, SMBC Aviation Capital, Tenax Aerospace), consumer (Anheuser‑Busch InBev, ASOS, British American Tobacco, Unilever, Vista Outdoor, Worldstrides), financial services (Element Financial, Lazard, White Mountains), healthcare (Akorn, AmerisourceBergen, HLS Therapeutics, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis), hospitality and leisure (Starwood Hotels, Universal Orlando), industrials (AdvanSix, Honeywell, J.M. Huber, Martin Marietta, Minerals Technologies, Olin, Stanley, Synthomer), information technology (Conduent, Genpact, Xerox), media and entertainment (Cox Enterprises, Graham Holdings, Hasbro, Reservoir Media Management, Univision), technology (D+H, FactSet, IBM, JD Power, Orbotech, Zotec Partners), telecommunications (altafiber, CyrusOne, Frontier) and utilities (PG&E).
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Dealmakers in America | 2026 | Banking & Finance |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Dealmakers in America | 2025 | Banking & Finance |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Dealmakers in America | 2024 | Banking & Finance |
| The 2022 Lawdragon 500 Leading Dealmakers in America | 2022 | Banking & Finance |
| Lawdragon 500 Leading Dealmakers in America | 2021 | Banking & Finance |
Kessing has also represented J.P. Morgan, Citibank, Bank of America, Jefferies, Wells Fargo, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs in syndicated loan, equity, high‑yield bond and leveraged acquisition transactions. He has advised on financings involving teams in each of the major sporting leagues. His private equity clients have included Eurazeo, NTC Group and Sound Point Capital.