Legal Business

Debevoise and White & Case to battle out South Korea tax arbitration

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Corporate Debevoise & PlimptonWhite & Case
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Debevoise & Plimpton and White & Case are among firms drafted in to fight out an arbitration claim against South Korea from Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).

Two Dutch subsidiaries of IPIC, Hanocal and IPICI want to reclaim tax paid to South Korea when it sold its controlling stake in a national oil refinery for $2.2bn in 2010. According to domestic media, Hanocal filed a claim for 180 billion won ($165 million) in compensation.

The investment arm of the Abu Dhabi has brought the claim over tax paid on the sale of Hyundai Oilbank to the world’s largest shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries. The claim has been filed at the World Bank’s Washington DC-based arbitration court The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

South Korea’s government has instructed New York-based David Rivkin, co-head of dispute resolution at Debevoise and president of the International Bar Association, and London-based partner Sophie Lamb to defend the claim. They will be supported by a trio of partners at local law firm Kim & Chang: Byung-Chol Yoon, Liz Kyo-Hwa Chung and Chol-Won Lee.

IPIC has instructed renowned arbitration lawyer Carolyn Lamm, a partner at White & Case, to spearhead its claim. She is being supported by Washington DC-based colleagues, Andrea Menaker and Brian Gleicher, as well as Abu Dhabi-based partner Abdulwahid Alulama.

London-based Gary Born, chair of the international arbitration group at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr has been appointed to a three-person panel to hear the dispute by Hanocal and IPICI. South Korea has nominated William Park, a law professor Boston University and former vice-president of the London Court of International Arbitration, as its party-appointed arbitrator. The panel’s president is yet to be selected.

In 2009 Debevoise had acted alongside Bae, Kim & Lee to win $750m for Hyundai Heavy Industries after an arbitration panel ruled the IPIC had materially breached a shareholders’ agreement.

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk 

Legal Business

Revolving Doors: clutch of firms including Ashurst, Penningtons Manches and White & Case make key hires

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Strategic recruitment AshurstPenningtons ManchesWhite & Case
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A number of firms have made noteworthy appointments this month, including Ashurst, Squire Patton Boggs, Penningtons Manches, Dentons, White & Case and Eversheds who have all added to their teams.

Ashurst has strengthened its dispute resolution capability in Middle East by appointing Dyfan Owen to its Dubai office.

Managing partner of the Middle East, Joss Dare, said: ‘The disputes market in the Middle East has gone through a transformative period in the last few years. The level of mega-projects and infrastructure investments have been generating an increasing number of large, multi-jurisdictional disputes and we see this trend as continuing.’

White & Case has appointed Arlene Hahn as a partner in the firm’s global intellectual property practice, to work closely with the firm’s global mergers & acquisitions practice.

Meanwhile Eversheds has hired Nicholas Jew as a consultant in its employment team, from DLA Piper where he headed the Birmingham employment team.

Squire Patton Boggs has appointed Karim Maalioun as a partner in its Global Corporate Practice, to be based in Paris. Maalioun was the former general counsel (EMEA) for power business ContourGlobal. Christopher Wilde, managing partner of the Paris office said Maalioun adds major energy sector expertise to the firm’s established corporate team.

National firm Pennington Manches has added two new partners to its Cambridge office to strengthen its corporate and real estate teams. Ross McNaughton joins from Paul Hastings where he had been a partner since 2012 and Sarah Coates comes from Thomson Webb & Corfield where she had been a partner since 2013.

Herbert Smith Freehills has appointed former Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey as a consultant to its top-tier global energy group. As of September, Davey will work closely with the co-heads of the firm’s Global Energy Group, John Balsdon, Anna Howell and Rob Merrick, advising on thought leadership development in the energy and climate change sectors, and providing a unique understanding of both past, present and future UK and EU energy policy.

Over at Dentons, new capital markets partner Nikolas Colbridge is being welcomed to the firm from Skadden Arps.

Jeremy Cohen, Dentons UKMEA chief executive officer, commented, ‘We are particularly impressed by the work Nik has done on complex listings in Europe, emerging and developing markets, and across the world. His exceptional skill and depth of knowledge will be a real asset to our global practice.’

Finally, US firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has added Jonathan Bunge to its ranks, to join the Chicago office as managing partner. Bunge is an experienced first chair trial lawyer who has tried more than 40 jury and bench trials who was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis.

victoria.young@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

On trend: White & Case launches London white-collar practice with Dechert hire

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White & Case is preparing to meet the next wave of regulatory and enforcement investigation work as it launches its first City white collar practice with the hire of white collar and securities litigation partner Jonathan Pickworth from Dechert.

The hire comes as blue-chip corporates continue to face greater scrutiny from global regulatory authorities from both the US and the UK. Pickworth has experience of advising clients on regulatory and internal investigations, compliance and risk – with a focus on corruption, market misconduct, fraud, tax fraud and money laundering.

A spokesperson for White & Case said:  ‘The addition of Jonathan strengthens our global white collar capabilities and enhances the firm’s position as a recognised leader in global investigations and corporate crime. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience at a time when the demand for his skills is increasing.’

He also has experience in the handling of investigations by government agencies including the Serious Fraud Office, the Financial Conduct Authority and HM Revenue & Customs, into allegations of market misconduct such as Libor and FX benchmark manipulation, insider trading and similar matters.

Pickworth joined Dechert in 2011 from DLA Piper, alongside fellow partner and former global co-head of litigation and regulation Neil Gerrard. Pickworth worked at DLA Piper for nearly 12 years where he was the EMEA head of corporate crime and investigations. Before this, he was an associate at Magic Circle firm Linklaters.

The hire comes as many City practices look to beef up their regulatory offering, especially after the government launched its long-awaited UK Anti-Corruption Plan – a disparate collection of initiatives aimed at improving the UK’s transparency, strengthening investigation powers and toughening enforcement options – which will mean an increasing workload for defence lawyers and further overhaul of companies’ compliance regimes.

In April, Ropes & Gray launched its City commercial litigation practice with the hire of K&L Gates disputes partner Thomas Ross, as the firm looked to Ross to advise clients on dispute-related issues in its government enforcement practice – particularly around regulatory and compliance issues, internal investigations and white collar crime – as well as support its transactional and business restructuring practices.

White & Case lost partner Charlie Lightfoot early this month who exited the firm after 16 years to head Jenner & Block’s litigation and arbitration practices in London. 

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Hardwicke Chambers and White & Case take barristers from soon-to-be-dissolved 11 Stone Buildings

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Hardwicke Chambers is the latest to take members from soon-to-be-dissolved London commercial and chancery set 11 Stone Buildings (11SB), confirming today it will take a junior barrister quartet and 11SB’s business development manager.

The set confirmed today that junior barrister quartet Amanda Eilledge, Alaric Watson, Sarah Clarke and Harriet Ter-Berg have all accepted offers from Hardwicke and ‘will join shortly’. White & Case has also invested in its advocacy offering with the hire of 11SB barrister Shawna Pasquale.

The four-strong team heading to Hardwicke are specialised in commercial litigation, corporate and partnership disputes, property and insolvency. The set has also hired 11SB business development director Sally Wollaston, a former solicitor who trained at Allen & Overy as a commercial litigator.

Hardwicke joint head of chambers Paul Reed QC said: ‘We are sorry to see the dissolution of such a pre-eminent set of chambers such as 11SB. However, we are delighted to be able to welcome our talented new colleagues, who will strengthen and enhance the service we give to our clients in the areas of commercial, property and insolvency work.’

Meanwhile White & Case’s disputes team has boosted its City ranks with barrister Shawna Pasquale, who regularly appears in the High Court and County Courts as sole advocate or led by senior counsel. Pasquale further undertook a five-month secondment in the general counsel division of the Financial Conduct Authority, during which she advised on the application of and compliance with Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, and related legislation.

These latest moves follows the news earlier this week that Wilberforce Chambers has taken 11SB silks Lexa Hilliard QC, Alan Gourgey QC and Marcia Shekerdemian QC alongside junior barristers Tim Penny, Max Mallin, Iain Pester, Tom Robinson and Laura Newton. Radcliffe Chambers also confirmed this week it will take on seven 11SB members including Jeremy Cousins QC, Gary Lidington, Tina Kyriakides, Adam Deacock, Christopher Boardman, Reuben Comiskey and Dawn McCambley.

Hilliard QC said that the members of 11SB ‘decided amicably, but with considerable regret to cease to operate as a set of chambers at 7pm on Friday 30 October 2015. Until then 11SB will remain fully operational as a set of chambers.’

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Called to the bench: White & Case partner Ian Forrester QC made an EU judge

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White & Case partner Ian Forrester QC has been appointed as the UK’s judge at the General Court of European Union, succeeding judge Nicholas Forwood QC. Forrester QC, who is based in Brussels will sit at the court based in Luxembourg from October of this year. 

The EU law specialist has worked in the fields of competition law, trade law, customs, internal market rules, intellectual property and constitutional human rights.

Hugh Verrier, White & Case’s chairman said: “It’s an important role that we know Ian will approach with the same wisdom and enthusiasm that have made him such a successful commercial lawyer and an authority in EU competition law.”

Forrester QC will be one of 28 judges forming the general court, which is responsible for the interpretation and application of the Treaties of the European Union and hearing appeals against acts of the European Commission particularly in antitrust and trade matters.

The new judge had joined White & Case in 1998 when Forrester Norall & Sutton merged with the firm in Brussels. He has acted as head of the White & Case’s international pro bono practice and is a noted public speaker. 

victoria.young@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Jenner & Block hires White & Case’s Charlie Lightfoot to front London launch

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Strategic recruitment Jenner & BlockWhite & Case
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As Jenner & Block ramps up its City presence, the US litigation firm has hired White & Case partner Charlie Lightfoot to lead its charge on the London litigation market.

With US disputes powerhouses Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Boies, Schiller & Flexner having launched City offices in 2008 and 2013 respectively, Chicago outfit Jenner & Block joins a growing band of litigation firms expanding into London.

Entering the City with a lower profile launch than Quinn Emanuel and Boies, Lightfoot leaves White & Case after 16 years to head Jenner & Block’s litigation and arbitration practices in London. He will link up with a four-lawyer team that arrived from Dechert earlier this year to launch the office, with senior associate Christian Tuddenham making partner through the switch that also saw special counsel Kelly Hagedorn and associates Victoria Fitzpatrick and Tracey Lattimer move across in April.

Lightfoot, who became a partner in 2010 and acts for telecomms, defence, energy and financial services clients, said, ‘leading the disputes practice for a firm like Jenner & Block in its new London office is a wonderful opportunity’.

Fellow partner Tuddenham specialises in banking and financial services disputes, particularly those with links to Asia, and was joined in London recently by partners Peter Pope and Nancy Jacobson, who relocated from the US to push the firm’s white-collar play. Pope, who co-chairs the firm’s white-collar defence and investigations practice, is a former New York prosecutor.

Terrence Truax, Jenner & Block’s managing partner, said: ‘Bringing a high-calibre UK-based talent like Charlie into our new London office is a major step forward in the strategic buildup of our cross-border litigation and international arbitration practices. Charlie is an outstanding lawyer, a gifted natural leader and the right choice to lead our disputes practice in London. We are thrilled to have him with us.’

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Revolving doors: Global 100 firms expand in Europe as Hill Dickinson hires a captain

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Strategic recruitment Hill DickinsonWhite & Case
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Last week saw Global 100 firms building their presence in Europe, with White & Case bolstering its private equity (PE) practice and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton expanding its competition offering in Brussels. Meanwhile Hill Dickinson hired two partners for its Asia offering including Captain Joe Quain and K&L Gates benefitted from Dentons’ Singapore office closure.

Having hired nine partners into its PE practice since the start of 2014, White & Case expanded its footprint in Europe with the addition of partner Johan Steen in Stockholm. Steen joins from Nordic firm Vinge, where he advised both Nordic and international sponsors on M&A, fund raising and financial restructuring. He has also worked as associate general counsel at Altor Equity Partners – a Scandinavian private equity firm.

White & Case partner Richard Youle, co-head of the firm’s EMEA PE group said: ‘Johan is an entrepreneurial lawyer with a rounded practice as a proven advisor to private equity clients and to clients on restructurings, distressed investment situations and complex investment structures. His arrival is another important strategic step in the ongoing growth of the firm’s EMEA private equity practice.’

Also in Europe, Cleary recruited Bernd Langeheine, former deputy director-general for mergers at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition to its Brussels and Cologne offices. Joining as a senior consultant, Langeheine will help bolster the firm’s European competition practice having long served at the commission, first in its legal service then as head of trade in Washington and director for telecoms policy between 2002 and 2011.

Meanwhile Hill Dickinson made two appointments in Asia with Bryan O’Hare joining as a disputes partner in the Hong Kong office, having been senior counsel with Hogan Lovells in the city, and solicitor and master mariner Quain who joins in Singapore.

Quain’s arrival brings the total number of master mariners at Hill Dickinson to six. Tony Goldsmith, partner and master mariner who heads the Singapore office, commented: ‘As a solicitor and master mariner of 20 years experience, Joe’s expertise in all aspects of admiralty work can only strengthen our existing commitment to provide our clients with the highest standard of legal advice.’

K&L Gates also added to its ranks in Singapore by hiring banking and asset finance partner Markus Blenntoft from Dentons. Blenntoft joins from the Dentons UKMEA member of the Verein firm and brings experience covering Islamic finance and outbound work for Indian banks.

The move comes as Dentons closes down its legacy Singapore offering ahead of its merger with Dacheng which will see the Singapore market be serviced by the Dacheng Wong Alliance – a joint venture between Dacheng and Singapore firm Wong Alliance.

michael.west@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Dealwatch: Weil and White & Case lead on Ukraine’s $18bn debt restructure

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London teams at Weil, Gotshal & Manges and White & Case were selected as the lead advisers as Ukraine struck a debt-relief deal yesterday on its $18bn sovereign debt pile in a bid to rebuild its fragile economy.

The eastern European nation, home to 45 million people, has sealed an agreement with its creditors to cut up to 20% of its outstanding sovereign debt and extend its repayment period. The haircut on the 14 sovereign and sovereign-guaranteed Eurobonds could be worth up to $3.6bn, with creditors agreeing an upside if the country’s GDP growth recovers between 2021 and 2040.

The arrangement to lower its debt costs saw Weil advise the ad hoc creditors’ committee, which contains Franklin Advisers, BTG Pactual Europe, TCW Investment Management Company and T Rowe Price Associates, on the deal that will allow recession hit Ukraine to fulfil the terms of its International Monetary Fund bailout agreed in March.

The Weil team was led by former Goldman Sachs European head Andrew Wilkinson and restructuring partner Alex Wood in London. The pair fielded an 11-lawyer team on the deal, with City restructuring partner Paul Bromfield, disputes partner Jamie Maples, European high-yield head Patrick Bright and capital markets partner Todd Chandler all working on the restructuring.

One of the biggest debt restructurings carried out by a European government in the last decade, White & Case was selected as international legal counsel by the government with a team led by London-based capital markets partner Ian Clark. Support came from partner Michael Doran, who is well known for his work on the €206bn restructuring of Greek sovereign debt in 2012, and partner Francis Fitzherbert-Brockholes.

Ukraine’s finance minister, Natalie Jaresko, said: ‘This agreement is a very important milestone for Ukraine. It is the outcome of negotiations that were difficult but conducted in good faith. Ukraine gets a very immediate and very significant debt reduction worth up to $3.6bn while maintaining its status in capital markets, a significant plus for our economy and our banking system. We get some $11.5bn financing for our IMF-supported programme, giving us the necessary financial breathing space. Importantly, we align our interests with our creditors.’

tom.moore@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

On a roll: BPP picks up another client as White & Case switches from ULaw

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In a further blow to its client roster, White & Case has ended its training contract deal with The University of Law (ULaw) and switched to rival BPP Law School.

Under its previous contract, ULaw took on 30 trainee solicitors per year to earn a Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) and the Legal Practice Course (LPC) over a period of two years.

Ulaw is undergoing a period of transition after being sold in June by Montagu Private Equity to Global University Systems (GUS), less than three years after the private equity house acquired it, and after ULaw’s chief executive John Latham departed the institution by ‘mutual consent’, with chief operating officer David Johnston stepping in as his replacement from 1 August.

The school is also trying to recover from losing several law firm clients including Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy and Baker & McKenzie who switched to BPP at the end of last year.

On a more positive note, Linklaters – which acted for Montagu on the ULaw sale while Eversheds advised buyer GUS and Travers Smith represented ULaw management – renewed its partnership for five years with ULaw providing an increase in business management modules.

Mayer Brown also teamed up with ULaw to offer a ‘direct to solicitor’ apprenticeship in June, while the school also won Shearman & Sterling and Trowers & Hamlins this summer, and counts Ashurst as key clients.

ULaw now faces fierce competition from key rival BPP after it was revealed yesterday [25 August] that Kaplan Law School is set to close at the end of 2016 after several clients turned to other legal practice course providers.

White & Case declined to comment on the switch.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

White & Case follows project finance clients to launch in Seoul

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South Korea is continuing to prove its attraction for Global 100 firms as White & Case launches an office in Seoul with plans to relocate three partners and build on relationships with project finance clients.

The office, which is the firm’s seventh in Asia and number 39 globally, will be headed by James Lee, who leads the Korea practice group and will relocate to Seoul from Los Angeles.

Lee specialises in cross-border commercial litigation and has been working with Korean clients for more than 15 years. He will be joined initially by Mark Goodrich, a construction partner in London who will also transfer to Seoul, and Hong Kong partner Kyungseok Kim, who recently joined the firm’s M&A practice from Linklaters where he was an associate.

‘We are thrilled to announce the opening of our new office in Seoul,’ said Eric Berg, head of Asia for White & Case. ‘This allows us to provide local support with UK and US law capability for our Korean clients, which include a broad spectrum of organizations and government agencies. It is a natural next step for the firm.’

The firm has serviced clients in Korea for the past 20 years but the new outpost will provide ‘on-the-ground support for our clients in their complex, cross-border work’, adds White & Case chairman Hugh Verrier. The aim is to advise existing project finance clients while broadening out into M&A, private equity, commercial litigation and international arbitration. 

Other firms interested in the Seoul market include, Latham & Watkins, which in June tasked a group of partners to review its Asia strategy ahead of a push in the region. Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy opened in the city in February this year.

EY Law enhanced its Asia-Pacific presence in March after forming an alliance with South Korean firm Apex Legal, in a bid to align its advisory and legal businesses throughout the region.

jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk