Legal Business

White & Case to act for Russian government in $12bn Pugachev arbitration

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White & Case has won a lucrative instruction to defend the Russian government on the $12bn arbitration case taken against it by Sergei Pugachev, a tycoon once dubbed ‘Putin’s banker.’

Founder of Moscow-headquartered Mezhprombank, Pugachev took the decision to sue Russia when his business empire was carved up after falling out of favour with the country’s president Vladimir Putin. He alleges that government investigations against the bank were constructed because of ‘political motivations’.

Russia will be represented in the $12bn arbitration, filed in September 2015, by a team at White & Case fielded by London and Moscow partner David Goldberg (pictured). The case is filed at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the Netherlands on the basis of the France-Russia bilateral investment treaty.

Lazareff Le Bars is currently acting as counsel to Pugachev with partner Benoit Le Bars acting as lead counsel, having taken over from King & Spalding earlier this year.

Pugachev, who struck up a close friendship with Putin during his early years as president, was accused of embezzlement and fraud by Russian authorities and later fled to London after Mezhprombank collapsed.

An English court has since ordered Pugachev to give up his Russian and French passports and remain in the UK while the Russian government’s Deposit Insurance Agency case against him continues. Pugachev, who lives in Battersea with his socialite partner Alexandra Tolstoy, a descendent of the novelist Leo Tolstoy, has had his assets frozen.

Russian courts ruled that Pugachev along with several others should be held liable for the insolvency of Mezhprombank. They were ordered to pay nearly 75.6bn rubles in damages and Russia’s Supreme Court upheld the ruling in January this year.

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson was acting for Pugachev in litigation brought in the English courts by the Deposit Insurance Agency but stopped after Pugachev could no longer pay for the work. The DIA was represented by Hogan Lovells with a team led by partner Michael Roberts.

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

White & Case continues London investment by making a fifth of global promotions in the City

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White & Case has promoted 40 in an increased partnership round with eight made up in the City. This year’s bumper global round increased by 29% on the previous year when the firm made up 31, with eight made up in the City.

The New York-based firm introduced two each to its M&A practice and its commercial litigation practice in London with international arbitration, financial restructuring and insolvency, banking, project finance and the white collar practice all gaining one.

London promotions made up 20% of this year’s round, down slightly on last year’s 26%. EMEA took the lion’s share of promotion with 21 made up to partnership while 17 were taken on in the Americas and a modest two were promoted in the Asia Pacific region.

White & Case London head Oliver Brettle said: ‘We continue to have a strong cohort of talented lawyers who we look at individually. We look at the trajectory of the business and we feel promoting these partners is correct. If you look forward in time you can never be absolutely sure whether the trajectory of promotions will continue because we are always looking at the way the business is progressing and our capacity to promote further associates into partnership.’

The firm has been actively bulking up its London offering over the past month with the US firm picking up Clifford Chance’s global banks sector co-head Patrick Sarch, BNY Mellon’s EMEA regulatory head James Greig and Berwin Leighton Paisner’s Michael Wistow who will join as the firm’s co-head of its tax practice in EMEA.

The firm has also taken a ten-partner project finance team from Herbert Smith Freehills in Australia, launching two offices in Melbourne and Sydney, Legal Business revealed in September.

White & Case has been aggressive in the City, aiming to have more than 500 lawyers in London in four years as part of its 2020 strategy. Revenue wise moved ahead of Latham & Watkins in 2015, with around £2m more in revenues with its London office posting revenues of £185m while Latham was behind at £183m.

Brettle (pictured) added: ‘We will continue to look at areas within the practice in London in which we feel there is either a need for further strengthening of the bench of existing talent or areas where we feel that through internal promotions and the like, we’re unable to satisfy client demand from existing partners.’

The promotions take effect from 1 January 2017.

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

Global promotions in full:

EMEA

London

Paul Brumpton – Global International Arbitration Practice

Katja Butler – Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice

Amanda Cowell – Global Commercial Litigation Practice

Ben Davies – Global Financial Restructuring and Insolvency Practice

Joanna Dimmock – Global White Collar Practice

Emma Foster – Global Banking Practice

Gareth Hodder – Global Project Finance Practice

Jarlath McGurran – Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice

Frankfurt

Rebecca Emory – Global Capital Markets Practice

Hendrik Röhricht – Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice

Markus Stephanblome – Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice

Paris

Grégoire Karila – Global Capital Markets Practice

Kirsten Odynski – Global International Arbitration Practice

Brussels – Muriel Alhadeff – Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice

Milan – Leonardo Graffi – Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice

Hamburg – Justus Herrlinger – our Global Antitrust Practice

Prague – Jan Linda – Global Banking Practice

Riyadh -Ivan Paskal – Global Project Finance Practice

Abu Dhabi – Luke Robottom – Global International Arbitration Practice

Warsaw – Michał Subocz – Global Commercial Litigation Practice

Madrid – Yoko Takagi – Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice

AMERICAS

New York

Raymond Azar – Global Project Finance Practice

Michael Deyong – Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice

Binoy Dharia – Global Banking Practice

Steven Gee – Global Tax Practice

Kim Haviv – Global Commercial Litigation Practice

Bibiana Jaimes – Global Capital Markets Practice

Thomas MacWright – Global Financial Restructuring and Insolvency Practice

Damien Nyer – Global International Arbitration Practice

Kerry O’Rourke Perri – Private Clients Group

Andrew Weisberg – Global Capital Markets Practice

Washington DC

John Donaldson – Global Antitrust Practice

Brody Greenwald – Global International Arbitration Practice

Jane Rueger – Global Project Finance Practice

Kristen Young – Global International Arbitration Practice

Silicon Valley

Heather Burke – Global Antitrust Practice

Eric Lancaster – Global Intellectual Property Practice

Boston – Kate Dyson – Global White Collar Practice

ASIA-PACIFIC

Hong Kong – Melody Chan – Global Commercial Litigation Practice

Tokyo – Seiji Matsuzoe – Global Banking Practice

Legal Business

White & Case makes major corporate play with Clifford Chance partner Sarch

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White & Case has continued its rapid expansion in London with the firm set to bring in Clifford Chance (CC) corporate partner Patrick Sarch, head of the Magic Circle firm’s global banks sector team.

Sarch advises on a broad range of matters including corporate finance, M&A, and takeover code issues.

A partner for ten years, Sarch has advised on a range of major deals including Barclays on its £6bn rights issue, EADS on its proposed €38bn merger with BAE Systems and Kraft Foods on its unsolicited £11.9bn takeover of Cadbury.

Yesterday (12 October) it was announced BNY Mellon’s EMEA regulatory head James Greig was joining White & Case’s financial services team. The US firm also added to its global tax practice last month with the addition of London-based Michael Wistow as co-head of the firm’s tax practice in EMEA from Berwin Leighton Paisner.

In further strategic moves, it was revealed in September the US firm had taken a ten-partner project finance team from Herbert Smith Freehills in Australia, launching two offices in Melbourne and Sydney.

White & Case has been aggressive in the City, aiming to have more than 500 lawyers in London in four years as part of its 2020 strategy. By revenue it inched ahead of Latham & Watkins last year in 2015, with around £2m more in revenues. White & Case posted London revenue of £185m while Latham was behind at £183m.

Going the other way, CC benefited from the hire of Olswang’s co-head of life sciences Stephen Reese which was announced last month. 

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Middle East moves: Corporate heavyweight Steedman to exit White & Case

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Winston & Strawn has hired Middle East M&A heavyweight Campbell Steedman from White & Case to head up the firm’s practice in the region.

As well as being head of the firm’s Middle East office, Steedman is also responsible for M&A, ECM and corporate finance work across the Middle East, Indian sub-continent and sub-Saharan African regions.

Steedman has 25 years’ experience of working in emerging markets and was previously senior partner of Norton Rose legacy Middle East offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Having moved to White & Case after 13 years at Norton Rose in 2011, Steedman spent five years at the US firm. He has worked on corporate finance work across the Middle East, central Europe, Africa and India.

He takes on the role of Middle East managing partner just over a year after Winston & Strawn swooped for a series of mass hires. The firm launched in the Middle East in March 2015 with the appointment of Stephen Jurgenson from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman as part of a 15-lawyer hire from the firm. Winston & Strawn also added London-based energy and infrastructure partner James Simpson and New York-based projects head Jeffrey Stern.

Steedman was Norton Rose’s senior Middle East partner until 2011 when the firm suffered a series of departures with four exits from its Abu Dhabi and Dubai offices. Dominic Harvey and Jonathan Brufal both left for Vinson & Elkins and Anthony Pallett also left for Latham & Watkins that year.

Winston & Strawn’s latest financials saw the firm increase global turnover by 4% for 2015/16, up to $818.5m.

matthew.field@legalease.co.uk

Read more on the region in: ‘Running on empty – how to survive in the Middle East in the era of cheap oil’

Legal Business

White & Case goes in-house for latest hire from BNY Mellon

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Ever-expanding White & Case has bulked up its London financial services team, taking on BNY Mellon’s EMEA regulatory head.

James Greig is also a member of the bank’s European operating committee and sat on a various senior risk and regulatory committees for BNY Mellon (International), the company’s London-based UK bank and The Bank of New York Mellon, the firm’s Brussels-based European bank.

Prior to his time at BNY Mellon, Greig was a partner in PwC’s financial services regulatory group in London. Greig made the move to PwC from New York where he was a partner at WilmerHale servicing clients on both buy-side and sell side.

White & Case head of global financial institutions advisory practice Kevin Petrasic described Greig as an ‘experienced and highly-regarded senior lawyer’ who would ‘help anchor our EMEA practice’ in the wake of the Brexit vote.

He added: ‘The volume and pace of regulatory change since the financial crash remains substantial, and we continue to experience strong and growing client demand for regulatory advice in the UK and EU across all areas of our practice, including capital markets, corporate, private equity, banking, M&A and restructuring matters.’

White & Case has expanded heavily in recent months with the firm taking on a ten-partner project finance team from Herbert Smith Freehills in Australia, launching two offices in Melbourne and Sydney.

The US firm also added to its global tax practice last month with the addition of London-based Michael Wistow as co-head of the firm’s tax practice in EMEA from Berwin Leighton Paisner. His practice is focused on corporate, finance and real estate industry-based transactions and clients.

White & Case has been aggressive in the City, aiming to have more than 500 lawyers in London in four years as part of its 2020 strategy. By revenue it inched ahead of Latham & Watkins last year in 2015, with around £2m more in revenues. White & Case posted London revenue of £185m while Latham was behind at £183m.

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

White & Case opens Australia practice with ten-partner project finance raid on HSF

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Simultaneous Melbourne and Sydney launches filled with former Freehills lawyers

White & Case is to open two offices in Australia with the hire of a ten-partner project finance team from Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), and there are plans to continue growing in the country.

Legal Business

White & Case pulls off £20m team hire with HSF Asia project finance group

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US firm White & Case has landed a 10-partner project finance team from Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF), led by the firm’s Asia head of finance Brendan Quinn, in one of the largest legal moves ever in the Asian market.

Melbourne-based Quinn has led the move of a large group of HSF lawyers switching over to White & Case as the US firm accelerates its growth in Asia.

Big-billing HSF partners in Melbourne including Andrew Clark, Josh Sgro and Alan Rosengarten join Quinn in moving to White & Case.

A further four partners have resigned from HSF across Australia, with Tim Power, Jared Muller and Joanne Draper quitting in Melbourne and Joel Rennie exiting in Sydney to link up with White & Case. The US firm, which includes project finance as one of the pillars of its practice, has also hired Fergus Smith in Hong Kong and Matthew Osborne in Singapore.

A senior partner at White & Case has indicated that the team controls around £30m of business, while HSF put the figure at around £20m when calculated using an average of the team’s billings over three years.

The move sees White & Case launch in Australia, although Legal Business understands the US firm’s strategy is to add project finance capability in Asia, rather than to open in Australia and begin competing for local work.

Mark Rigotti and Sonya Leydecker, co-chief executives of HSF, said in a statement:

‘We can confirm the resignation of 10 partners from our Australian and Asian offices yesterday. We are disappointed at this decision. We continue to have a strong 100-partner infrastructure and projects practice globally. This is an exceptionally talented team of partners and lawyers, in Australia, Asia and around the world. Their focus is on our clients and delivering the top-quality work that those clients expect. When it comes to big-ticket, complex projects, project finance and infrastructure work, we remain the firm to beat in this market and globally.’

White & Case chairman Hugh Verrier said: ‘This move will cement our position as the leading law firm in project finance globally. It adds further strength to our client offering and underlines our commitment to providing the highest quality advice to our clients on a global basis.’

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Casino investors move chips from White & Case to Quinn as they sue Mexico for $100m

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A group of US investors have instructed disputes powerhouse Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan to bring a $100m arbitration claim against Mexico after the government seized and closed all their casinos in 2014.

B-Mex and nine investors have filed a $100m claim against Mexico at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) after their six casinos across the country were seized and closed two years ago.

The group of investors, which includes former investment banker Gordon Burr, founded B-Mex (also known as Exciting Games) in 2005 and rapidly built up a portfolio of casinos in Mexico. A showcase casino in Naucalpan launched in 2006 with 830 slot machines, a restaurant and music venue, and more sites followed.

The US investors claim Mexico ignored court orders preventing the state from ‘from impeding or otherwise hindering operation’ and invalidated a 25-year casino permit through arbitrary, non-transparent administrative actions by the gaming authority and arbitrary, non-transparent judicial proceedings. The group argue that Mexico’s gaming authority has allowed other Mexican casino companies in like circumstances to continue operating their casinos, while the Mexican government implemented retaliatory and discriminatory measures aimed at harassing and extracting profits.

The investors had originally instructed White & Case to handle the dispute, but ahead of bringing the claim at ICSID switched to Quinn Emanuel. David Orta, who heads Quinn Emanuel’s international arbitration practice in Washington, DC and Latin America, has been instructed by the US investors alongside Daniel Salinas.

Mexico has not yet appointed outside counsel.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

White & Case UK and Africa accounts show another bumper year for expansive firm

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White & Case increased its turnover in 2015 by 39% across its UK and Africa offices with figures jumping by £60m to £214.9m. The revenue leap follows a strong 2014 when the firm posted a 12% top line increase.

The firm’s most recent limited liability partnership (LLP) filed at Companies House yesterday (August 15) show operating profit jumped to £88.9m for the year ended 31 December 2015, up from £59.6m in 2014.

The accounts also provide a breakdown of fees derived from limited liability branches based in UK and Africa. UK figures show the region earned £210.7m, another significant leap from £152.45m the year before. The firm posted £4.2m in turnover from Africa, up from £1.9m the year prior.

The report shows that for 2015 the firm had 371 fee earners, up 28% from the year prior, with total staff headcount reaching 600. Accounts show the firm spent £54.5m in wages and salaries, up from £48.4m the year earlier.

Following the announcement of White & Case’s global results for 2015, London executive partner Oliver Brettle said the City office’s figures were ‘strong, and reflect, as you would expect, continued investment.’ The firm posted a 1% increase in global revenues for 2015 to $1.523bn, which followed a 4% rise from 2013 to 2014. PEP came in at $2.02m, up slightly from $2.007m.

A spokesperson said: ‘As a truly global law firm, with lawyers advising clients across borders and jurisdictions, only our global results matter. While we do not announce or discuss financial results from individual offices or regions, London once again made an important contribution during 2015 that had a very positive impact on the firm’s global financial performance.’

Meanwhile, the firm has closed its Almaty office in Kazakhstan. The closure leaves the firm with one office in the country based in the capital Astana.

White & Case has also established a best friend alliance with its Turkish relationship firm Cakmak Avukatlik Burosu in July. The move will allow the Turkish firm to become more independent after it was previously expected to operate like an office of White & Case for internal purposes under its association with the US firm. White & Case also has an association with Istanbul-based Cakmak-Gokce Avukatlik Burosu.

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Heading down under: White & Case to launch in Australia

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Expansive US firm White & Case is preparing to launch in Australia after putting together a war chest to take partners from rival firms.

White & Case has plans to first launch the firm in Australia with an office in Melbourne, with Sydney also in the firm’s sights. The firm, which has a strong brand in the project finance and infrastructure arena, will hang its launch on projects, infrastructure and finance work.

Law firms have been unperturbed by the commodities crash in Australia in 2014, which followed a decade-long boom dubbed the ‘super cycle’ for the resource-rich nation driven by rapid economic growth of China.

Hogan Lovells, which opened in Sydney and Perth last year, was the last major firm to launch in the country.

Nonetheless, the slowdown has put an end to a run of UK-Australia law firm mergers, with Herbert Smith tying up with Freehills, Ashurst marrying Blake Dawson and SJ Berwin combining with King & Wood Mallesons in the early 2010s. The exception is Dentons, which has gone on a global merger spree as it seeks to reshape the legal market and is in the process of finalising its combination with Australian firm Gadens.

A spokesperson for White & Case said the firm was ‘not going to comment on speculation’.

Legal Business understands Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) is expected to lose a big-billing team to White & Case in the region. However HSF produced a similar statement. It read: ‘We’ve heard the speculation too. I wouldn’t want to comment on market rumours, except to say we don’t believe there’s any truth to them.’

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk