Sam Butler, former longtime presiding partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore who worked on some of the largest M&A deals in the 1980s and 1990s, died on Saturday at the age of 94, the firm confirmed.

Butler was the firm’s third longest-serving leader. He served as presiding partner for 18 years, from 1980 through 1998. He retired from the firm in late 2003.