January 24, 2011
Brian V. Breheny ’96
Partner,
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
“St. John’s is
like my home away from home.”
For Mr.
Brian Breheny attending St. John’s Law was a logical extension of
his education. His undergraduate experience at St. John’s was so
positive that when he decided to study the law, he did not apply to
any law school other than St. John’s Law.
While an undergraduate student at St.
John’s University, Mr. Breheny served as the President of the Student
Government and as a member of the
President’s Society. Exemplifying the St. John’s values of
leadership, service and academic excellence, these scholars are
considered members of the President’s personal staff and have the
honor of attending major University events throughout their senior
year.
For Mr. Breheny, these values of
leadership, service and academic excellence carried over to Law
School where Mr. Breheny graduated cum laude,while serving
as Editor of the St. John’s Journal of Legal Commentary
and as President of the Student Bar Association. He was also a
Member of the New York International Law Review.
Prior to joining Skadden in 2010, Mr.
Breheny held a number of leadership positions in the Division of
Corporation Finance at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC). Most recently he served as Deputy Director, a member of the
senior staff of the Commission with responsibility for the
Division’s legal and regulatory policy support offices which
included: Chief Counsel, Chief Accountant, Mergers and
Acquisitions, International Corporate Finance, Rulemaking, Small
Business Policy and Enforcement Liaison.
Before joining the
SEC, Mr. Breheny worked in the New York and London offices of
Clifford Chance US LLP. During his seven years at Clifford
Chance, he specialized in mergers and acquisitions and corporate
finance matters and he also served for four years on the firm’s
Personnel Committee. Mr. Breheny worked for four years as a
Certified Public Accountant with KPMG LLP prior to attending St.
John’s Law School.
Mr. Breheny is an Adjunct Professor at
Howard University School of Law and from 2004-2008 served on the
faculty of Georgetown University Law Center as an adjunct for
securities law. At present, Mr. Breheny is a member of the St.
John’s Board of Governors, as well as a member of
The Loughlin Society. He is a former member of St.
John’s School of Law Alumni Association Board of Directors and
served as President of the Washington, D.C. Alumni Chapter. In
celebration of his exemplary legal career, his devotion to alma
mater and the 20th anniversary of his undergraduate
graduation, St. John’s University recently presented the Pietas
Medal to Mr. Breheny.
Reflecting upon his career
progression, Mr. Breheny counsels students to, “give yourself an
edge through hard work, a commitment to excellence and leveraging
your applied experience. All of the situations that you find
yourself in may not be the best, but take the best of these
experiences and learn from them. Recognize that you must crawl
before you walk – all experiences contribute to the making of a
great lawyer. In a horse race, the fastest horse out of the gate is
not always the winner – envision where you wish to be in the future
and work continuously and incrementally to get there.”