White & Case has continued its rapid recruitment drive, hiring Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer real estate finance partner Jeffrey Rubinoff.
Rubinoff has a wide range of clients from private equity houses, property investors and listed property companies to banks, sovereign wealth funds, mezzanine debt funds, noteholder groups and special servicers.
With the firm open about its plan to build a 500-lawyer practice in the City by 2020, Rubinoff joins a string of hires White & Case has made in recent months. Just last month the firm announced the appointment of Ashurst’s former London head of disputes Mark Clarke and Hogan Lovells’ star corporate partner Guy Potel. White & Case has also added capital markets partner Jonathan Parry from Ashurst in April.
Rubinoff has recently been working on the refinancing of debt on Host Hotels’ London Le Meridien Piccadilly, has advised Bank of America Merrill Lynch on a €170m facility to finance Oaktree’s acquisition of FMS and Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG’s portfolio of non-performing loans and properties in Spain and Portugal, and has worked for JPMorgan and Lone Star on various portfolio acquisitions.
White & Case London executive partner Oliver Brettle said: ‘Real estate finance is a specialism that is increasingly in demand from our clients. It’s a testament to the strength of White & Case that we can attract partners of Jeffrey’s calibre to further expand practices such as real estate finance and to continue to provide our clients with advice and support of the very highest quality.’
White & Case became the first US firm to employ more than 400 lawyers in the City last year. The number of lawyers in its London office rose 19% to 420, with revenue up 22% to $266m bringing its City revenue above US rival Latham & Watkins.
As part of its expansion plans the firm also bumped up the number of training contracts it offers, which will increase its trainee intake from 30 a few years ago to 50. Lawyer numbers at the firm now sit ahead of the sizeable Baker & McKenzie and Dentons, which comprise the largest teams in the City.
madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk
