Shearman & Sterling LLP

Shearman & Sterling LLP, a global law firm based in New York, operates as a prime contractor providing specialized legal advisory services to federal agencies on infrastructure financing, transportation, energy, and environmental programs, competing exclusively in full-and-open competitions without set-aside designations. The firm holds no subcontractor relationships and self-performs all contracted work across its federal portfolio.

The firm's core capability centers on transactional and advisory counsel for complex infrastructure financing programs. Representative work includes a $6.2 million no-cost time-and-materials delivery order from the Federal Highway Administration (issued August 2025) for legal advisory services on the I-285 East Express Lanes project, running through February 2030; a $1.99 million delivery order from the Department of Transportation's Immediate Office of the Secretary (January 2026) for time-and-materials legal counsel on the Brightline West High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail Project; and a $1.77 million firm fixed-price delivery order from the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water (January 2022) for Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) legal advisory support services. The firm also delivered counsel on Department of Energy loan guarantee applications and transactional support for rural infrastructure financing through the Office of Loan Programs.

Customer concentration is pronounced and split between two major federal customer blocks. The Department of Transportation's Immediate Office of the Secretary dominates the portfolio by both award count and dollars, with 36 awards carrying $72.3 million in combined potential value (49% of the total footprint). The Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water ranks second with 21 awards valued at $42.2 million (28% of potential value). Together, these two customers account for 92% of recent awards. The Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, Federal Railroad Administration, and the Department of Energy Office of Loan Programs provide secondary volume. The two rankings track closely on concentration; no material tension exists between volume and dollars.

Shearman & Sterling holds a $11.45 million multiple-award indefinite-delivery contract with the Department of Transportation's Immediate Office of the Secretary for Build America Bureau Legal Advisory Services, running through February 2029. This IDIQ, awarded March 1, 2024, anchors the firm's transportation infrastructure work and supports specialized legal counsel for Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) and Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) credit programs. The firm places 14 task orders under this IDIQ for $7.4 million in combined potential value. The firm also holds seats on three additional EPA and DOT indefinite-delivery vehicles (Indefinite Delivery Contract EPC17029 with 20 task orders for $17.2 million potential value, Indefinite Delivery Contract 693JJ324D000003 with 11 task orders for $14.4 million, and Indefinite Delivery Contract DTFH6112D00025 with 11 task orders for $9.9 million), positioning it as a recurring legal services provider across federal infrastructure financing initiatives.

Activity has declined year over year from nine awards each in 2021 and 2022 to three awards in each of 2025 and 2026, though the source covers only a partial fiscal-year view for the latter period. Six awards carrying $6.3 million in combined potential value reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and therefore face recompete risk. SCI-reported invoiced revenue declined from $2.2 million in FY2022 to $600 thousand in FY2025, with the contractor's federal services workforce dropping from 2.6 FTEs to 0.2 FTEs over the same span. On SCI-reportable prime contracts, Shearman & Sterling self-performed all work with zero subcontractor engagement; median government-paid hourly rates ran around $439.89 per hour, with senior labor pricing extending through $2,350.99 per hour, consistent with high-end legal counsel positioning. The firm's primary NAICS coding (Offices of Lawyers) and PSC (Support-Professional: Legal) reflect its specialized legal-services focus across infrastructure and energy financing.