Joseph C. Shenker

Joseph "Joe" C. Shenker is an American attorney. He is Senior Chair and a partner of Sullivan & Cromwell in New York, and is a member of their management committee.

Personal life and education
Shenker grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Shenker earned his bachelor's degree from the City University of New York. Shenker graduated from Columbia Law School in 1980. He is an ordained Orthodox Rabbi.

Career
Shenker began his legal career at Sullivan & Cromwell in 1980 at the age of 23. By the age of 29 Shenker became the firm's youngest ever partner. His early success is credit to his work with Wall Street firms on the securitization of the real estate market. In 1991, Shenker was promoted to the head of the firm's commercial real estate practice. In 2006, he was selected by Chairman Rodge Cohen to be Vice Chair and heir apparent. Shenker was elevated to chair in 2010, a position he held until 2021.

After stepping down, Shenker became the firm's second-ever Senior Chair. In 2023, in response to the 2023 Israel-Hamas war, Shenker, along with Senior Chair Rodge Cohen and current co-Chairs Robert Giuffra and Scott Miller, distributed a firm-wide email condemning the violence and soliciting donations for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Israel Emergency Fund run through the UJA-Federation New York. Shenker led an industry coalition against the perceived increase in antisemitism in U.S. academia, authoring a letter signed by over eighty large law firms hundreds of law schools about disciplining antisemitic speech and actions. In 2024, Shenker implemented new screening procedures in Sullivan & Cromwell's hiring policies to highlight applicants who had engaged in campus protest.