Robert Mundheim

Robert H. Mundheim is an internationally renowned attorney whose 65-year career has spanned roles in the federal government, major law firms, publicly held corporations and academia. 

Mundheim is of counsel for Shearman & Sterling, a global law firm based in New York City, and a professor of corporate law and finance in the James E. Rogers College of Law.  

From 1992-1999, Mundheim was general counsel for the investment bank Salomon Inc. Before that, he spent nearly 30 years at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was the University Professor of Law and Finance and, from 1982-1989, dean. He has also held visiting professor roles at various law schools including at Duke University, Harvard University and UCLA. 

Mundheim was general counsel for the U.S. Treasury Department from 1977 to 1980 and played a substantial role in negotiating the release of U.S. hostages in Iran. Mundheim has also been special counsel for the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Mundheim fled Nazi Germany with his parents and brother when he was 5 years old. He was lucky; his first cousins were not and were killed with his aunt in a concentration camp. His experience created a sense that he had much to be thankful for and that he had an obligation to give back. He has given substantial time to a variety of public service organizations and activities. One of his proud achievements as dean was leading the way in making a period of public service mandatory as a condition for graduation from Penn Law.  

Mundheim's awards and honors include the American Bar Association's Michael Franck Professional Responsibility Award, the Lifetime Achiever Award from The American Lawyer magazine, the Distinguished Service Award from the American Law Institute, the John Phillips Award from Phillips Exeter Academy and the Human Relations Award from the Anti-Defamation League. He also received the Treasury Department's Alexander Hamilton Award, the department's highest honor, which recognizes "outstanding and unusual leadership in the work of the Department of the Treasury." In 2007, Mundheim received the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, recognizing the recipients' service to the nation.  

Mundheim graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and has an honorary Master of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania and an L.L.B. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. He also was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from The New School in New York City.