„Geoff Burgess is a strong advocate who has worked extensively in emerging markets, including Africa, and brings business acumen to closing deals.“ Katten has extensive experience in exchange-traded and OTC derivatives and serves both sell and buy clients. He is an important advisor on regulatory issues in both Europe and the United States, particularly where regulatory systems overlap. She has extensive knowledge of the Dodd-Frank Act, the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR), the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR), the Market Abuse Regulation and the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive. Carolyn Jackson, former director of the New York trading desk of several investment banks and former managing director of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc., Nathaniel Lalone and Neil Robson are the lead regulatory partners in the London capital markets. „James Coiley provides sound and commercially realistic legal advice. James has a lot of experience and is always happy to jump on a call and give a steer. Jamine Tiw has extensive experience in structured products. Mukund Dhar is the senior partner in W&C`s London office, with whom we work. He is an exceptionally brilliant lawyer. Not only does he have a deep understanding of the legal, regulatory and contractual risks associated with contracts, but his business knowledge and deep expertise are of an exceptional standard. He is extremely diligent and is always willing to go the extra mile and burn midnight oil to meet the deadlines requested by the client. It is always a pleasure and a very rewarding experience to work with him. „Beth Collet is always available, commercial, pragmatic and reliable – she is really the driving force behind capital market processes.
Jennie Chilton leads the evaluation processes and always finds a solution to difficult problems and tight deadlines. Kristi Green – Managing Associate – is very efficient and always there to drive processes Beth Lindsey – Associate – very pragmatic and effective in terms of problem solving. Baker McKenzie has „a very good team with many years of experience in the financial markets.“ In the area of sovereign debt and emerging markets, the firm frequently manages large and complex transactions, including the US$500 million issuance by the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority as part of its green bonds. Key Partner Roy Pearce, who „has extensive experience in emerging markets, a deep understanding of clients, client needs, culture and potential requirements of local laws,“ partnered with private equity expert Megan Schellinger to manage the transaction. He also worked with Schellinger to assist the Georgian Ministry of Finance with a $550 million loan offer. Adam Farlow, who is qualified in both New York and English law, leads the practice and, while he focuses primarily on high-yield transactions, he has an extensive DCM practice. He worked with Schellinger on the issuance of $75 million of Tier 1 capital by JSC TBC Bank in Georgia. Maxim Khrapov, Senior Partner, is also a key advisor on standalone Eurobonds, debt programs, liability management and restructuring transactions. Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP focuses primarily on North America, Latin America and Europe and employs impressive teams of U.S. securities lawyers in New York and London. The work is slightly focused on debt issuance, which is associated with the company`s excellent financial practices.
The Capital Markets Group also benefits from the firm`s extensive regulatory expertise at the SEC. Andrew Pitts leads the North American Capital Markets team and has extensive experience in key bond issuances for well-known global companies. Craig Arcella is Co-Head of the Financial Group and has a high bond rating for a number of international issuers. David Mercado has an exceptional track record of dealing from Europe and Latin America. Scott Bennett is another key member of the team. „Ed Fife is exceptional in terms of legal documentation, but beyond that, his deep commercial understanding of transactions was so great that it seemed to us that we had not only our advisor, but another investment manager on the team. This was a great advantage with such a diabolically complicated funding structure. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has a large number of partners who manage commercial and financial transactions in developing markets around the world. The firm has a strong borrower-side practice serving emerging market companies and one of the world`s leading sovereign wealth fund practices.
Sam Bagot and Nallini Puri, London-based M&A partners, worked for Goldman Sachs, the largest shareholder in Indian energy company ReNew Power, when ReNew was listed as part of a business combination with RMG Acquisition Corporation II, a specialist acquisition company. Michael Preston and Michael James, also from M&A Group, worked for TPG Rise Climate on investing in Tata Motors` electric vehicle and infrastructure businesses. Tihir Sarkar, who focuses on cross-border M&A transactions as well as private equity and restructuring transactions, and capital markets partners David Gottlieb and Sebastian Sperber are also heavily involved in emerging markets. Simon Witty, a specialist in public and private securities issuance and mergers and acquisitions, leads the practice of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and advises issuers and underwriters on a range of capital markets transactions. The firm covers domestic transactions for London-listed companies and pan-European capital markets transactions, and assists UK and European companies listed in the US. Another key name on the team is Connie Milonakis, a lawyer, whose strengths include debt and equity advice on complex transactions. „Morrison & Foerster`s Derivatives & Structured Products practice provides world-class legal advice and drafting on complex and large derivatives transactions that require a thorough understanding of all aspects of the transaction, including hedging strategies and trading requirements.“ Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP stands out for its capital markets expertise on the East and West Coasts. It consistently ranks among the top issuer and underwriter exposure companies in stock issuance rankings based on the number and value of transactions. He was also at the forefront of the PSPC wave and continued to impress in growth areas such as direct enrolments; He represented Squarespace, the website design and e-commerce company, during its $2 billion direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Michael Zeidel leads the Capital Markets practice of the Americas and David Goldschmidt leads the global group, while Ryan Dzierniejko is another prolific advisor on equity issuances, including those involving Canadian issuers. Yossi Vebman is also known for his issuance of US stocks by Israeli issuers. Laura Kaufmann Belkhayat is another important name, as is Gregg Noel in Palo Alto.
All persons mentioned are based in New York, unless otherwise stated. Shearman & Sterling LLP`s close ties with major investment banks as well as the well-known international brand and coverage make Shearman & Sterling LLP an impressive player in global offerings, particularly on the debt side. From its headquarters in New York, the Capital Markets Group has an established portfolio of offerings from Canada, Latin America and Europe. Jason Lehner, a partner based in New York and Toronto, leads Canadian investments and recently advised underwriters on CDP Financial`s $2.5 billion 144A/Reg S investment-grade bond offering.
