Linda Z. Swartz 

Partner – New York
T.+1 212 504 6062
linda.swartz@cwt.com
200 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10281 V-CARD

Linda Swartz, the longtime chair of Cadwalader's Tax Group and a former member of the firm's Management Committee, focuses her practice on structuring complex global mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs, joint ventures, and restructurings, and on foreign tax planning strategies. She also regularly advises clients on fund structures, financings and derivative transactions.

Linda is consistently recognized as one of the premier tax lawyers in the country, including recently receiving the Marquis Who’s Who “Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award” for her “achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes she has accrued in her field,” and her “reputation for excellence” in her practice. Linda has also been named one of 14 “Influential Women In Tax Law” by Law360, noted for her role as “a key architect on billion-dollar transactions involving major multinational companies” with clients describing her tax structuring expertise as “so strong that we don’t even go to the IRS to get a blessing from them. We go to Linda to get a blessing from her.” Dow Jones, reporting on Procter & Gamble’s Reverse Morris Trust transaction with Coty, noted that “it isn’t often you see a tax adviser credited on a deal, but that’s exactly what happened for Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in P&G’s complicated $12.5 billion unloading of its beauty business to Coty.” Linda was also recognized as “2017 Foreign Tax Planning Lawyer of the Year” by Finance Monthly.

Repeatedly recognized as a leading tax lawyer by industry publications, Linda has been named to the Legal 500 Hall of Fame, with clients describing her as “the gold standard for structured M&A transactions. Once a transaction is completed, Tax VPs and CFOs rest easy knowing that Linda’s meticulous planning details have minimized their risks,” with others quoted as saying “her knowledge of the law and how to apply the law to each client’s specific business is unequaled,” and that “[Linda] is the most trusted tax adviser that we have. . . it is not only her deep understanding of the tax law, rather it is also her deep understanding of our business model.” 

Chambers USA has described Linda as having a “vast reservoir of practical knowledge” and “a wealth of experience in tax matters, including those relating to bankruptcies and high-value corporate transactions,” with clients also highlighting her "unmatched ability to guide you through the tax law” and lauding her as "exceptional" with a "tremendous professionalism and technical ability" and “an expert on the law of today but cognizant of where the law might go in the future, allowing clients to make decisions which last for the next ten years.” Clients quoted by The Best Lawyers in America have described Linda as “the foremost U.S. tax advisor on structured acquisition and divestiture deals” and “a professional force of nature” with “extraordinary technical ability, coupled with fiercest and most trenchant deal negotiation skills of any transactional tax lawyer.”

Beyond her important body of legal work, Swartz’s long-time leadership and advocacy on diversity and inclusion initiatives supports the advancement of women and other diverse attorneys. She is the founder of the Cadwalader Taskforce for the Advancement of Women, co-chairs the firm’s Global Diversity Oversight Committee, a partner sponsor for the Cadwalader LGBT affinity network, and is an active member of the firm’s Women’s Leadership Initiative. Linda is also lead organizer for the firm’s four year-old Civil Rights Series, a program of year-round events that highlight civil rights issues featuring notable individuals and organizations at the forefront of today’s civil rights movement. As a testament to her leadership and demonstrated commitment to advancing the empowerment of women in law, Linda was honored with an ALM Corporate Counsel “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the 2020 Women, Influence & Power in Law Awards. In further recognition of these efforts, Linda was named to the 2022 and 2021 Crain’s New York Business “Notable LGBTQ Leaders” lists, in which she is acknowledged as a leader within the legal industry for both her “high-powered work” and professional achievements in corporate tax law and her significant impact in promoting greater diversity, equity and inclusion within the profession.

Linda received her J.D. from University of Pennsylvania Law School, and her B.A. from Bucknell University, where she graduated magna cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Awards and Honors

Linda is consistently recognized as one of the leading tax lawyers in the country by numerous publications and associations, including:

  • Law360 Tax Authority – Named as one of the 14 Influential Women in Tax Law
  • Marquis Who's Who – Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Lawdragon – Selected as one of the 500 Leading Dealmakers in America for three consecutive years
  • Euromoney’s Best of the Best USA 2021 and 2019 – Named as one of the Top 30 Tax Practitioners
  • Tax Directors Handbook – Named as one of the 16 Top U.S. Tax Advisors
  • Chambers USA – Selected as a Leading New York Tax Lawyer
  • The Legal 500 – Named to Hall of Fame
  • International Tax Review – Selected as a Leader in U.S. and International Tax
  • World Tax – Selected as a Leading New York Tax Lawyer
  • International Who's Who – Selected as a Leading Corporate Tax Lawyer
  • Euromoney Publications – Selected as a Leading U.S. Tax Lawyer
  • Expert Guides – Selected as a Leading U.S. Tax Lawyer (Best of the Best) and Woman in Business Law
  • Finance Monthly – 2018 Foreign Tax Planning Law Firm of the Year (USA)
  • Guide to the World's Leading Women in Business Law: Tax
  • ICFM – Selected as one of the Top 500 Global Lawyers
  • Lawyers Worldwide Awards Magazine – Innovative Lawyers 2017
  • Super Lawyers – Selected as one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in New York City
  • American Registry – Selected as one of the Top Women Attorneys in the New York Metro Area
  • Avenue Legal Elite – Selected as one of New York City's Top Women Attorneys
  • U.S. News Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” – Selected as a Leading Lawyer
  • Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders 2019 – Corporate Tax Advisory
  • Who’s Who Legal: Corporate Tax
  • Who's Who in the World
  • Who's Who of American Women
  • Who's Who in American Law
  • Martindale Hubbell (AV-rated)

Articles, Publications and Speaking Engagements

Linda is widely regarded as a thought leader in the industry and is frequently asked to speak and write on a wide range of transactional tax issues. In 2018, Linda launched a new digital Cadwalader monthly newsletter, called BrassTax, to which she regularly contributes articles that provide clear and concise insights on important tax developments. In 2023, she was recognized with a Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing for the article “Digital Taxation Is Necessary, But Tough To Manage,” originally published by Law360. In addition, recent articles that Linda has authored also include:

  • Tax-Free Acquisitions: Rules of the Road
  • Virtual Taxation

She also authors the chapters on Debt Exchanges in Collier on Bankruptcy Taxation (Matthew Bender) and Securities Lending Transactions in Taxation of Financial Institutions (Clark Boardman Callaghan). In addition to writing, she speaks on a broad range of topics, including each year at the PLI conferences on corporate, partnership, and real estate tax issues.

Professional Affiliations

  • Executive Committee Member, New York State Bar Association Tax Section
  • Former Chair, Tax-Free Reorganizations, Corporations, Bankruptcy, Consolidated Returns, Real Property, and Tax Accounting and Basis Committees, New York State Bar Association Tax Section

Notable Experience

Linda played a leading role on behalf of her clients in the following high-profile transactions, representing:

  • Procter & Gamble Co. in:
    • its $11.5 billion split-off and tax-free merger of its Specialty Beauty business with Coty Inc. in a Reverse Morris Trust transaction.
    • its $56 billion acquisition of The Gillette Co.
    • its $3 billion tax-free exchange of its Duracell business for P&G shares held by Berkshire Hathaway.
    • its $3 billion tax-free distribution and immediate acquisition of its Folgers Coffee business by the J.M. Smucker Company.
    • its proposed $2.5 billion tax-free distribution and acquisition of its snack business by Diamond Foods Inc.
    • its $3.5 billion sale of the Pringles Group to Kellogg.
  • Pfizer Inc. in:
    • its $68 billion acquisition of the Wyeth Corporation.
    • its $63.5 billion acquisition of Pharmacia, Inc.
    • its $3.6 billion acquisition of King Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
    • its $114.5 billion hostile takeover of Warner-Lambert Co.
    • its $16.6 billion sale of its consumer healthcare business to Johnson & Johnson.
    • its $2.4 billion sale of its Capsugel business to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.
  • Pershing Square Tontine Holdings, Ltd. in its agreement to acquire 10% of the outstanding Ordinary Shares of Universal Music Group B.V. (“UMG”) from Vivendi S.E. for approximately $4 billion, representing an enterprise value of €35 billion (approximately $40 billion) for UMG.
  • Forbes Global Holdings in its proposed $630 million business combination with Magnum Opus Acquisition Limited and related $200 million strategic investment from Binance.
  • Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. in:
    • its $15.6 billion acquisition by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc.
    • its terminated combination with Cosmo Technologies, a subsidiary of Cosmo Pharmaceuticals, to form Salix Pharmaceuticals, plc.
  • The Medicines Company in:
    • its $792 million sale of three of its marketed cardiovascular products and related assets to Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A.
    • its $270 million sale of its infectious disease business to Melinta Therapeutics, Inc. and royalty payments on net sales of the pharmaceutical products sold to Melinta in the transaction.
  • one in its $2.1 billion business combination transaction with Markforged, Inc.
  • Corindus Vascular Robotics in its $1.1 billion acquisition by Siemens Healthineers AG.
  • Cybereason in its receipt of $275 million in crossover financing led by Liberty Strategic Capital.
  • AngioDynamics, Inc. in:
    • the sale of its Dialysis product portfolio and BioSentry Tract Sealant System Biopsy product to Merit Medical Systems, Inc.
    • its acquisitions of RadiaDyne, the BioSentry assets of Surgical Specialties, Navilyst Medical, Microsulis Medical, Vortex Medical and Clinical Devices.
    • its sale of its NAMIC® fluid management portfolio to Medline Industries, Inc.
  • Inteva Products in the $800 million sale of its roof systems design and assembly business to CIE Automotive.
  • Monocle Acquisition Corporation in its merger with AerSale Corp.
  • Community Bank System, Inc. in:
    • its $98 million acquisition of Steuben Trust Corporation.
    • its $93.4 million acquisition of Kinderhook Bank Corp.
    • its $352 million acquisition of Merchants Bancshares, Inc.
    • its $140 million acquisition of Northeast Retirement Services, Inc.
  • Genpact in its acquisitions of Barkawai Management Consultants, OnSource and TandemSeven.
  • Sompo International in its acquisition of the operating subsidiaries of Lexon Surety Group LLC.
  • New Mexico Health Connections in the sale of its commercial health insurance business to Evolent Health, Inc.
  • Towers Watson & Co. in its acquisitions of Acclaris and Extend Health Inc.
  • The Pasha Group in its acquisition of the Hawaii trade-lane business of Horizon Lines.
  • Acorda Therapeutics in its $525 million acquisition of Civitas Therapeutics.
  • CVC Capital Partners Group on its proposed acquisition of Barclays' iShares unit.
  • Élan Corporation, PLC in its tax-free distribution of its stock of Prothena.
  • JPMorgan in Dell Inc.'s $24.4 billion acquisition by Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners.
  • Vertis Holdings in connection with its section 363 sale to Quad/Graphics.
  • Quest Software, Inc. Chairman and CEO Vincent Smith in the $2.4 billion sale of Quest Software to Dell Inc.
  • Dayton Power and Light in its $3.5 billion sale to AES Corporation.
  • Vincent's Catholic Medical Centers in its chapter 11 reorganization case.
  • Icahn Global Enterprises as secured lender in the Blockbuster chapter 11 cases.
  • LyondellBasell Chemical Company as lead debtor's counsel in its chapter 11 case.
  • United States Treasury Department in restructuring CIT.
  • U.S. Department of Treasury counsel to the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry, including advising on the bankruptcy filings of General Motors and Chrysler.
  • JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. in the Centro Properties restructuring and in the Stations Casino chapter 11 cases.
  • Xerium Technologies, Inc. in its prepackaged chapter 11 cases.
  • Caribbean Petroleum Corporation in its chapter 11 cases.
  • Auto Task Force on General Motors' exposure to Delphi Corporation.
  • Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Truvo USA LLC and its affiliates.

She has also represented Agilent Technologies, The Boeing Company, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Brunswick Corporation, CBS, Conseco, Del Laboratories, Dreamworks, Dow Jones, ITT Corporation, Mack-Cali, McKesson, Olin Corporation, Palm Inc., TIAA-CREF, Time Warner, Toys ‘R' Us, US Industries and each major investment bank.

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Linda Z. Swartz 

Admissions

  • New York

Education

  • University of Pennsylvania Law School
    J.D., 1987
  • Bucknell University
    B.A., 1984, magna cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa