Profile: White & Case LLP

White & Case LLP - Who's Who Legal '70'

What is the Who's Who Legal '70'?

White & Case’s single largest contingent is in the project finance chapter, where 19 partners are featured. The nominated partners are spread across 10 countries, with the majority in either the US or England. Arthur Scavone in New York is a “phenomenal lawyer”, recognised for his infrastructure and industrial projects expertise. Troy Alexander is “one of the best in town” for energy work. Eugene Goodwillie is regarded as “one of the deans of the New York bar”, with “significant experience” on international and domestic natural resource projects. Alexander Kritzalis completes the strong quartet from New York and his skill in handling Middle Eastern projects was noted. Edward Neaher in Washington DC, is said to be “right up there with the best”. Victor DeSantis is “absolutely first-rate, an outstanding lawyer” and George Crozer’s “expert knowledge” of the Asian market also attracted admiring comments.

A quartet of lawyers appear from the firm’s London office, led by Philip Stopford, who has an “awesome practice”. Peter Finlay and Craig Nethercott also appear, and John Bellhouse is recognised for his infrastructure expertise – he also features in this book as a leader in construction law. In Turkey, Asli Basgoz’s nomination was a “certainty”, according to sources. Witold Jurcewicz topped the research in Poland and Paule Biensan in Paris is also highly rated.

Hugh Verrier is the newly elected chair of the firm and is also the most highly nominated lawyer in the Russia research for both banking and project finance. Brian Miller in Singapore was described by one source as “the best power lawyer in Asia”, and the Beijing office is led by Xiaoming Li, whose “terrific credentials” impressed our sources. John Janks is among the most highly nominated lawyers in South Africa, and Ariel Ramos in Mexico is noted for his infrastructure work.
Unsurprisingly, White & Case also prospered in the research for related practice areas such as oil and gas. Arthur Scavone appears again in New York, while Hendrik Gordenker leads the research in Japan, where he is said to be “absolutely top for LNG”. Brad Roach in Singapore is similarly well regarded, and the firm was also recognised in Russia. In South Africa, Tanneke Heersche appears as an expert in mining law and is a “quite brilliant transactional lawyer”.

FINANCIAL AND CORPORATE
The firm represents more than 90 banks around the world, and has a client list that includes Bank of America, Citibank, Crédit Lyonnais and UBS. Nine of the firm’s lawyers appear in this chapter; they practise in seven countries. The firm’s two most highly nominated lawyers are based in New York. Eric Berg is global head of bank finance within the firm and is “phenomenally skilled”. Former managing partner Duane Wall stands out, and he is highly rated by both domestic and international respondents.

The banking research identifies two Mexican “pillars of the local legal community”. Alberto Sepúlveda Cosío is “one of the deans of the Mexican bar” (he appears in four chapters). He is a well-known outside counsel for a number of major banks, financial institutions, domestic companies and local subsidiaries of foreign companies across a wide variety of industries. His colleague Thomas Heather is similarly highly rated, and appears as an expert in three chapters – together they are the only partners from the firm to appear in the corporate governance chapter, and both also appear in the M&A section.
Elsewhere in the banking chapter, White & Case has a strong presence in Poland, led by Jacek Czabanski, head of the banking practice in Warsaw, and in Finland where Petri Haussila appears. Haussila, like Sepúlveda Cosío, is also fêted for his capital markets expertise. Lawyers from the firm also appear in Hungary, Italy and England.
White & Case was also identified as “the cream of the crop” for insolvency and restructuring matters, and four partners feature in the chapter. Andrew DeNatale in New York “gets straight to the heart of the issue”. Sven-Holger Undritz in Germany is “excellent”, while Lech Gilicinski in Poland is recognised for his role as as principal legal adviser in the implementation of the new local law on insolvency and restructuring. Bertie Mehigan is based in Singapore and lauded for his work on behalf of both creditors and debtors across Asia.

The firm is also strong for corporate work. Thomas Heather and Alberto Sepúlveda Cosío have already been mentioned. They are joined in the M&A chapter by leading practitioners from Moscow, Prague and Stockholm – Claes Zettermarck in Sweden makes one of four appearances here. Two further inclusions in the private funds chapter underline the depth and breadth of the firm’s expertise, and James Stillwaggon in New York gives the firm a presence in the corporate immigration chapter, while the corporate tax chapter sees further nominees from the Warsaw and Tokyo offices.

DISPUTES, CONSTRUCTION AND REAL ESTATE
White & Case is regarded as “first class for disputes work”, an analysis based in part on its strength in commercial arbitration – nine partners appear in that chapter. Stephen Bond in Paris is the most highly nominated individual from the firm and is said to be the “crème de la crème”. Christopher Seppälä is spoken of as the “leading construction arbitration specialist in Paris”, and also appears in the construction chapter. The “excellent” Michael Polkinghorne completes the Parisian trio and is prominent for energy and infrastructure disputes. Outside France’s capital, White & Case lawyers from the United Kingdom, United States, Sweden and Hong Kong are included. In the US, the firm is said to have “one of the leading arbitration practices”. Carolyn Lamm in DC is a “first-rate international arbitrator” about whom people “can’t say enough good things”. Her nomination as president-elect nominee of the American Bar Association was recently announced. Abby Cohen Smutny also features prominently in the Washington, DC research, and Paul Friedland in New York is said to be “fantastic”. Kim Rooney has a high profile in Hong Kong and “gets interesting instructions”. In Sweden, Claes Zettermarck’s arbitration practice is regarded as “definitely top tier”. He also garnered sufficient nominations to be ranked as a leader in the commercial litigation research, where he appears alongside Olof Rågmark from the same office. Further featured experts in the business crime and product liability defence chapters underline the firm’s proficiency for disputes work.

Four of the five White & Case partners in the construction chapter also appear as leaders in other fields. John Bellhouse and Christopher Seppälä have already been mentioned, and Claes Zettermarck appears once again owing to the “excellence” of his disputes practice in this area. Ellis Baker is head of the construction and engineering practice group in the London office. Baker comes praised for his “truly international practice”. He is joined by Phillip Capper, a lateral hire from Lovells in 2008 and a “major addition to the practice”. One of the most highly regarded individuals in the construction research overall, Capper is also extremely well regarded for his arbitration work, appearing in the corresponding chapter. The three partners in the real estate chapter hail from Helsinki, Tokyo and Moscow, and Eric Michailov in Russia stood out for his “first-class client base”; he also earns a place in the regulatory communications section.

TRADE AND COMPETITION
The firm’s international trade practice received high praise. In the figure of Walter Spak in DC it boasts one of the industry’s “major players”. He is joined on the following pages by his brother, the “first-rate” Gregory Spak, whose knowledge of Latin American markets was noted, and William Clinton also puts in a strong performance. The “outstanding” Christopher Corr was lead counsel in one of the first NAFTA panel dispute resolution cases and cements White & Case’s excellent reputation in the US capital. Brendan McGivern is a director of White & Case International (Trade) in Geneva and possesses “excellent knowledge of the WTO”, and he appears alongside Jasper Wauters, formerly of the WTO and a “heavy hitter” according to rivals.

The competition practice is similarly well regarded with five featured partners. White & Case’s antitrust group is one of the world’s 10 largest competition practices, and five partners feature in this book, spread around offices in the US, Belgium and France. Ian Forrester QC was described to researchers as “the king of antitrust”, and he has acted for clients such as the BBC, Canon, DuPont and GlaxoSmithKline. Respondents were “very impressed with the work” of Mark Powell, his colleague in the Brussels office, who also appears as an expert regarding the regulation of communications. Mark Gidley in DC is “rapidly becoming a dean of the antitrust bar”, and Elaine Johnston in NY is said to be “excellent”. Jean-Patrice de La Laurencie features from the Paris office.

IP AND E-COMMERCE
The firm’s contingent in the aviation chapter reflects the geographical breadth of its performance overall – six partners appear in four countries. Thomas McDonald is a “finance expert” and the most frequently nominated aviation lawyer in France, while Justin Benson in London was also highly praised for his aviation finance work. The “very knowledgeable” Robert Grondine gives the firm a presence in Japan. Three further partners appear in the US; the “first-rate” Richard Smith is executive partner of the Los Angeles office and is acting for aircraft lessors in the continuing United Air Lines bankruptcy. Michael Smith and James Hayden in New York were both given “top marks” from respondents. In addition, the firm appears in the shipping chapter through the inclusion of Bengt Åke Johnsson in Stockholm.
Four further White & Case partners appear in two chapters. David Llewelyn was highly recommended in the trademark research, and is joined by Christian Rohnke, a “leading figure in Germany”. The internet and e-commerce chapter brings with it two more nominees from the firm. William Sloan Coats is in charge of the firm’s Silicon Valley office and counts Pioneer Corporation, Toshiba and Lucasfilm among his clients, while chair of the global privacy group Ashley Winton appears in our London listing.