Mild mannered: Unprotected amides and sulfonamides containing aryl bromides and iodides undergo, in the presence of S-PHOS, smooth Negishi cross-couplings with various zinc organometallic reagents, allowing the preparation of pharmaceutically relevant molecules (see scheme; S-PHOS=2-dicyclohexylphosphino-2′,6′-dimethoxybiphenyl).