US firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft is focusing its restructuring practice on Europe with the hire of partners Holly Neavill and Louisa Watt, who have joined the firm’s London office.
Neavill was previously a partner at Latham & Watkins London office, although she began her career in the US. She has worked on some high profile restructurings and distressed M&A deals, including advising the committee of bondholders in the restructuring of the publicly-listed Italian directories business SEAT Pagine Gialle last year.
Watt joins the firm from Richards Kibbe & Orbe where she was a partner and a member of the firm’s executive committee. Her experience includes the transfer of distressed debt and claims in the secondary market within Europe, Asia and the United States, and she is an active participant in the Loan Market Association. She is known for setting the standard trading documentation for Icelandic and MF Global claims back in 2011.
‘The European market continues to present its challenges, with creditors looking for practical and innovative solutions for cross-border restructuring. Holly and Louisa have proven track records,’ said Gregory Petrick, managing partner of the firm’s London office and co-chair of the financial restructuring department.
‘This is an exciting time of growth for our restructuring practice, and these are the right attorneys. Adding Holly and Louisa to our team of Yushan Ng and Richard Nevins catapults Cadwalader’s London restructuring team to the top of the market,’ he added.
Coming in 81st place in last year’s LB100, Cadwalader – with an annual turnover last year of $448m and figures from The American Lawyer indicating that this year’s revenue is around $466.5m – has been investing in its London restructuring team for some time, adding Ng and special counsel Karen McMaster from Linklaters earlier this year.
david.stevenson@legalease.co.uk
