Linklaters LLP - Who's Who Legal 70

What is the Who's Who Legal 70?

Linklaters LLP in Who's Who Legal

	Capital Markets
	25

	Management Labour & Employment
	3

	Capital Markets
	25

	Corporate Governance
	5

	Trademarks
	1

	Oil & Gas
	2

	Construction
	1

	Environment
	2

	Project Finance
	8

	Real Estate
	11

	Patents
	3

	Mergers & Acquisitions
	10

	Real Estate
	11

	Mergers & Acquisitions
	10

	Insurance & Reinsurance
	1

	Commercial Arbitration
	1

	Corporate Tax
	7

	Mining
	2

	Insolvency & Restructuring
	3

	Life Sciences
	2

	Commercial Litigation
	4

	Business Crime Defence
	2

	Public Procurement
	3

	Aviation
	2

	Private funds
	5

	Competition
	14

	Banking
	12

The firm is represented in 23 chapters.

Corporate and International Finance
Twenty-two Linklaters lawyers from its "outstanding capital markets practice" are listed in the corresponding chapter. The firm is also the winner of Who's Who Legal's capital markets law firm of the year award.

Eleven jurisdictions are represented in this chapter with London home to seven members of this contingent. Nick Eastwell is "really quite exceptional" and is joined by Lachlan Burn who was consistently praised by interviewees and Stephen Edlmann, who led the team advising Citigroup Global Markets Limited and Credit Suisse as joint lead managers on the €2.3 billion guaranteed subordinated mandatory convertible bond by Bayer.

James Rice is described by peers as "outstanding" and recently advised Barclays Bank as arrangers and the programmed dealers on the establishment of Norway's first covered bond. Meanwhile, Keith Thomson boasts a strong emerging markets practice. Charles Clark continues the firm's strong showing in London, which is completed by the inclusion of Jane Brown, who led the team advising JP Morgan and HSBC on one of Dubai's largest listings.

Linklaters boasts two inclusions in this chapter from Germany - Herbert Harrer and Berthold Franz Kusserow. Harrer led the team advising a banking syndicate including Dresdner Bank, JP Morgan Securities Limited, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) and Cazenove on the IPO of Homag Group.

From the Brussels office, Frédéric Falla and François De Bauw are considered to be two of the firm's leading lights. One of Luxembourg's most respected practitioners is the "excellent" Tom Loesch who boasts a broad corporate practice.

Head of Linklaters' capital markets practice in Lisbon, Antonio Soares, is "top tier, without a shadow of a doubt", according to one interviewee. He led a team advising banks on the €10.7 billion hostile takeover bid of Portugal Telecom by Sonacom Group, the largest ever hostile takeover in Portugal at the time. The firm's capital markets practice is also listed in Italy where Luigi Sensi in Rome is highly recommended and led the team acting on the IPO of Piaggio, the Italian scooter company.

Also recommended is Peter Högström, who heads the M&A and corporate department in Sweden and Dmitry Dobatkin who is "number one in Moscow". Dobatkin advised on Russia's largest and second-largest IPOs - those of Rosneft and Sberbank. In Spain Iñigo Berricano is also "highly recommended".

Linklaters' Asia offices are home to several practitioners with capital markets expertise, with partners from Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and China listed in this chapter. Andrew Malcolm in Hong Kong heads the firm's Asian capital markets practice and is featured in this chapter along with consultant Mary Matson, who heads the Hong Kong securitisation team.

In Tokyo, Paul Kruger was recommended for his securitisation and derivatives practice. Singapore-based Kevin Wong was praised as "very good for debt capital markets" he is joined by Dean Lockhart, who is noted for his work on convertible bonds.

Linklaters also fares well in the mergers and acquisitions chapter with 10 partners selected for inclusion. "One of the most respected figures in the London market" is senior partner David Cheyne. He is joined in the section by Matthew Middleditch, who was described as "an outstanding lawyer". Among other high-profile matters Middleditch was part of the Linklaters team advising RBS on its €71.1 billion takeover of ABN AMRO.

In Paris, Thierry Vassogne emerges as one of the leading lights in the French market. He concentrates on public takeovers, M&A and joint ventures and appears alongside the "very gifted" Bertrand Cardi.

A "big name" in Germany is Ralph Wollburg who enjoys a "fantastic reputation". He joined Linklaters from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and helped launch the Düsseldorf office.

European managing partner of Linklaters, Jean-Pierre Blumberg, is "great to work with" say peers. He is joined in this chapter by Paul Van Hooghten, who specialises in private equity mergers and acquisitions. Several other practitioners from offices in Sweden, China and the UAE are also listed.

Linklaters boasts a renowned international banking practice. High-profile matters include advising on the £3.6 billion financing for Tata Steel's bid for Corus Group and the £2 billion refinancing of Sainsbury's.

Nine partners from the firm are listed in the banking chapter. David Ereira has "an excellent reputation" for private equity, acquisition and real estate finance. John Tucker heads the firm's finance and projects practice from London and is also highly regarded. Berthold Franz Kusserow and Eva Reudelhuber in Germany also feature in this section. Reudelhuber recently led the team advising the Frankfurt branch of RBS on the structuring and acquisition financing of Casa Reha by HgCapital.

Highly recommended for banking work in Japan are Paul Kruger and Akihiro Wani. Wani was praised as "an outstanding derivatives lawyer" and acts as counsel for the International Swaps and Derivatives Association in Japan. Clients include major Japanese banks as well as large international financial institutions, which he advises on the Japanese aspects of deals.
Head of banking in Moscow is Michael Bott, who is a "great practitioner". Jacques Richelle from Brussels is recommended for his "excellent regulatory work" and Jaroslaw Miller in Warsaw is known for his investment banking expertise.

Linklaters achieves five listings in the corporate governance chapter. In the London office, Richard Godden is "spectacularly smart" and commended for his knowledge of issues connected with general meetings, scrip dividend schemes and the removal of directors. Matthew Middleditch has an "enviable reputation" for IPOs, transactions and general corporate work, while "everyone knows" David Cheyne, the most senior corporate lawyer at Linklaters. Jean-Marie Nelissen Grade in Brussels and Ralph Wollburg in Düsseldorf join them in this chapter.

The private funds chapter lists five members of the firm in London, Luxembourg and New York. The "very bright" Stephen Culhane has an "excellent reputation as a fund formation lawyer". Culhane is based in the New York office where he is joined by Scott Bowie who is an "eminent player" with broad experience. In London, Tim Shipton is considered "a star" and was complimented on his offshore funds work. Jonathan de Lance-Holmes is another "well-known name in the market", and is known for his work on the Terra Firma fund. He appears alongside Alfred Brausch in Luxembourg who is highly recommended.

London and Luxembourg practitioners also appear in the aviation chapter. In London, Robert Fugard heads Linklaters' asset finance practice and co-heads the transport and logistics sector. He received a high volume of nominations and has represented Citibank in their ECA-backed financing of seven ATR-42 aircraft for PIA and Deutsche Bank on their financing of an Airbus A319 and two ATR-42 aircraft for Kingfisher Airlines. He is joined in London by Neil Harnby, who specialises in financing and is "a pleasure to work with". From the Luxembourg office, Tom Loesch is recommended for aviation work and his broad practice also earns him listings in the insurance and reinsurance and the capital markets chapters.

Competition
Linklaters practitioners from Belgium, England, France, Poland and Sweden appear 15 times in the competition chapter. The largest contingents are in Brussels and London. Gerwin Van Gerven is described by interviewees as "an absolute star in Brussels", "phenomenal, whether for criminal or merger work" and "one of the best lawyer in Brussels". He is joined in Brussels by Bernard van de Walle de Ghelcke, Wolfgang Deseleaers, Johan Ysewyn, Ann Federle, Jonas Koponen and the "quite superb" Alec Burnside.

From the London office, Bill Allan, Gavin Robert, Michael Cutting and Christian Ahlborn are included in the competition chapter. Olivier d'Ormesson and Anne Wachsmann, in Paris, Malgorata Szwaj in Warsaw, and in Stockholm Kent Karlsson are all highly recommended for their work in this field.

Real Estate, Construction and Environment
The real estate chapter features 11 Linklaters practitioners from nine European countries. The largest group is based in the London office, where Simon Clark is rated as a "trailblazer" in the field and a central figure in the efforts to create a UK REIT. James Knox was described to researchers as "really very good" and Patrick Plant who heads Linklaters' global real estate practice is rated as a "brilliant lawyer".

On the Continent, Françoise Maigrot was described as "excellent" by peers for her work in France as was Rafael Molina in Madrid. Leading the real estate practice in Lisbon is Jorge Salvador Gonçalves, who was recommended for his "meticulous attention to detail".

In Brussels, Yves Moreau and Jacques Périlleux are listed in the real estate chapter. Moreau heads the firm's real estate practice in Belgium and was hailed by a fellow nominee as "the best in town". Périlleux was praised for his broad practice, which includes advising on the financing, taxation and structuring of real estate projects. The "noteworthy" Jens Bock is based in the Berlin office. In Luxembourg René Diederich proved to be "one of the best around" for real estate structuring and development, according to one source. The firm achieves an inclusion from the Moscow office where Xavier Hunter is "clearly at the top with a well-established practice".

Anne Minogue and the "very experienced" Huw Baker in London represent the firm in the construction chapter. Minogue was described by one interviewee as "a cut above the rest".

Head of Linklaters' global environment practice Vanessa Havard-Williams in London is "well regarded" for her climate control and carbon work and is listed in the environment chapter. She is joined in this section by Chris Staples who is also based in the London office.

Dispute Resolution
Four partners from Linklaters' London and Brussels offices are listed in the commercial litigation chapter. The "immensely experienced" Christopher Style QC often appears before the English courts and is also well regarded for his arbitration knowledge. Joining Style in the commercial litigation chapter is John Turnbull, who was recommended for his contentious M&A work and corporate finance litigation practice. In Brussels, Jean-Marie Nelissen Grade is said to be an "elder statesman of the local corporate market" and Johan Verbist is "quite excellent" and a "name to look out for" in commercial litigation and arbitration.

Infrastructure
Linklaters' project finance team is described by rivals as "of the highest calibre", with eight practitioners appearing in this chapter. One of the most highly nominated practitioners is London partner Stuart Salt who is an "expert in Asia-related matters" and also has experience in Russia. His recent work includes advising Sakhalin Investment on the financing of the US$20 billion Sakhalin 2 LNG project.
Interviewees "couldn't say enough good things" about London partner and head of global projects Bruce White. He recently led the team that closed the Portsmouth PFI hospital project and is noted for his work on defence and education projects. One source said: "He is my first port of call for UK-based projects."

Also listed in this chapter is the "effective" Clive Ransome, who recently acted for JBIC and a consortium of lenders on the US$1.8 billion Sohar Refinery project in Oman. Alan Black is a "serious contender," experienced in a wide range of projects. His energy project work includes acting for the sponsors on the ORYX Gas to Liquids project in Qatar. Fiona Hobbs is a "leader in the field," according to interviewees who note her liquefied natural gas and energy project experience. She advised BG in relation to LNG purchases from Egypt and sale to ENEL.

Jeremy Gewirtz is also noted for his experience in the energy sector. He advised lenders to the Saltend power project in the UK - the first merchant IPP in Europe since the collapse of Enron. Jonathan Inman in the Dubai office has "a great global practice", according to sources, coupled with "a wealth of local knowledge". In Thailand, the "excellent" Wilailuk Okanurak is highly regarded for his work on telecommunications, power and petrochemical projects.
Salt is also listed in the oil and gas chapter alongside Berlin partner Kai Uwe Pritzsche, who is "very accessible and great with clients", according to one interviewee. Charles Jacobs in London and Christopher Kelly in Hong Kong also feature in this book. They are both highly regarded practitioners and are listed in the mining chapter.

Intellectual Property and Regulatory Communications
Three partners from Linklaters' European offices appear in the patents chapter. In London, Nigel Jones is a "top-tier adviser" on intellectual property issues in the health care, pharmaceutical and biotech sectors. He is joined by Marianne Schaffner in Paris and Ian Karet in London, who specialises in patent advice for high-tech, biotech and health-care companies.

Linklaters is represented in the trademarks chapter by Benedict Bird who is "an excellent adviser". Also in London, global head of the technology media and telecommunications and intellectual property practices, Tim Schwarz, earns the firm a listing in the regulatory communications chapter. Sources note he is "terrific" for both international and domestic work in this field.