Mayer Brown LLP - Who's Who Legal 70

What is the Who's Who Legal 70?

The firm is home to 1,800 lawyers and boasts an exceptional client list, encompassing 89 of the Fortune 100 companies, 35 of the 50 largest US banks, and most of the FTSE 100 and DAX companies. Members of Mayer Brown are listed 55 times across 20 chapters of this book.

Banking, finance and capital markets
Mayer Brown's Chicago office is the firm's largest and oldest US base. Leading the nominations in Chicago for the capital markets chapter is the "superb" Stuart Litwin. He is co-head of the global securitisation and capital markets group and represents investment banks, commercial banks, asset-backed commercial paper conduits and investors in public and private US and international securities transactions.

Jason Kravitt has a reputation as a "leader" and a strong practice in representing commercial and investment banks, issuers, and other financial institutions.

In New York, Peter Darrow represents issuers, underwriters and placement agents in cross-border securities offerings, as well as advising foreign companies on compliance issues and reporting obligations under the US federal securities law. He emerges as Mayer Brown's best regarded individual in this section. A further three practitioners are featured from the Chicago office, while the "up and coming" Timothy Ryan is the sole representative of the Charlotte office in this chapter.

Jason Kravitt earns a second listing in the banking chapter where is considered to be "one of the best in the business". Joining him in this section is Rob Baptista and Michael Niebruegge, who is partner-in-charge of the Houston office.

Three Mayer Brown practitioners are listed in the project finance chapter. The "high-profile" Barry Machlin, co-chair of the global projects group, is an extremely popular choice. His recently advised on the US$75 million La Gloria wind energy project in Costa Rica and the US$2.5 billion Paiton I and US$1.7 billion Jawa (Paiton II) power projects in Indonesia. Joining Machlin in Chicago is Paul Forrester who focuses his practice on industrial, petrochemical, power and transportation projects.

Mayer Brown earns representation in the mining chapter thanks to Ian Coles. He is a partner in London and head of the firm's finance practice in Europe.

Competition and International Trade
In Washington, DC, Donald Klawiter is the "premier person" at Mayer Brown for competition work and appears in the corresponding chapter. According to one rival, "he does amazingly good work" and is "exceptional" in the eyes of another. Klawiter is noted in particular for his international cartel litigation work and has held several senior supervisory and litigation positions with the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice.

In addition to Klawiter, five other Mayer Brown practitioners are listed in the competition chapter, including the "excellent" Richard Steuer who has done "great work" representing clients in civil and criminal government investigations including agency merger, acquisition and join venture reviews. He is joined by the "outstanding" Robert Bloch, another prominent litigator who focuses on the defence of major US corporations, non-profit entities, and corporate officials before the DoJ and the Federal Trade Commission for price fixing, bid rigging, boycotts and mergers.

In the trade and customs chapter, the "top tier" Mickey Kantor is described as "a must" for inclusion. He has extensive experience in aiding the expansion of client activities through trade, direct investment, joint ventures, and strategic business alliances. Before joining Mayer Brown he held the roles of US Secretary of Commerce and US Trade Representative.

Joining Kantor in this section is Duane Layton in Washington, DC, where he is head of the firm's government and global trade group. Layton focuses his work on international trade and investment law, negotiations and policy. Two representatives from the Brussels office are also listed and rated as "excellent" - Paulette Vander Schueren and Edward Borovikov.

Construction and Real Estate
The Chicago, London and Hong Kong offices of Mayer Brown are represented in the real estate chapter. Five practitioners are listed in this section including Fun Kuen Au who is considered "one of the best" in Hong Kong. His practice focuses on joint ventures, development and redevelopment of properties and planning and property-related litigation and he recently advised on numerous development projects at Hong Kong International Airport.

Chicago partner John Gearen is also featured for his real estate work. He represents commercial banks, national insurance companies and pension funds in financings for real estate projects and workout negotiations, and is considered a "leader" in the field. Gary Watson, who enjoys a "good reputation" in London, where he leads the European real estate group, joins him in this chapter.

All of Mayer Brown's practitioners listed in the construction chapter are based in the London office. Partner Nicholas Henchie received the highest number of votes for the firm in this section. He specialises in construction contract advice and procurement strategy, as well as dispute resolution. He recently negotiated construction contracts on behalf of General Electric and acted for the Panama Canal Authority in relation to its US$5.25 billion expansion project. Henchie appears alongside the "highly regarded" Jonathan Hosie who focuses on risk management in construction and engineering projects, including petrochemical plants, mining concessions, tunnelling and infrastructure projects.

Corporate
Both practitioners representing Mayer Brown in the insolvency and restructuring chapter hail from offices in Asia. Partner Steven Miller in Bangkok advises debtors, creditors, liquidators and major financial institutions in contentious and non-contentious restructurings and bankruptcies. He is joined by Ian Chapman in Hong Kong who has handled restructuring work for Guangdong Investment and the Asia Pulp & Paper Company.

In the mergers and acquisitions chapter, Scott Davis, who is the head of the US mergers and acquisitions group, is highly recommended. James Walther is also listed in this section. He is the California practice leader of the firm's corporate and securities group and described as a "heavy hitter" by one interviewee.
The "excellent" Timothy Sherck in Chicago is the firm's sole representative in the corporate tax chapter. Sherck advises on tax issues arising from mergers, acquisitions and dispositions of businesses, as well as financial restructurings.

Dispute Resolution
Nicholas Hunsworth in Hong Kong represents Mayer Brown in the commercial litigation chapter. He has cultivated a "top reputation" in credit recovery, restructuring and trade finance disputes and his recent clients include Bank of Credit and Commerce Hong Kong, Overseas Trust Bank and Hang Lung Bank.
Robin Peard joins Hunsworth in the Hong Kong office and is listed in the commercial arbitration chapter, with North West Water, Cathay Pacific Airways and Swire Properties recently procuring his services. In the business crime chapter, Vincent Connelly is described as a "big name" in Chicago for his securities, antitrust and government contract cases.

Intellectual Property and Franchise
Four members of Mayer Brown appear in the trademarks chapter. In London, Ian Wood specialises in intellectual property dispute resolution and advises on the acquisition, maintenance and exploitation of IP rights. Fellow London partner Stephen Gare joins him in this section. Kenny Wong who leads the intellectual property and IT practice in Hong Kong and Reinhart Lange of the Frankfurt office are also listed for their trademarks work.

Kenny Wong also features in the franchise chapter along with Chicago-based disputes specialist Lee Abrams, who counts NewsCorp, Eastman Kodak, Bell & Howell and International Paper among his clients. One interviewee described Abrams as a "fantastic" lawyer.

Other strengths
Mayer Brown has two listed partners in the aviation chapter. In Paris, Matthieu de Varax is a leading authority on the international financing, leasing and trading of business jet aircraft. In Hong Kong, Richard Stock is recommended for his financing and leasing work, as well as his extensive disputes practice.
Also appearing in this section from the Hong Kong office are Alistair MacAulay and Dean Young who are included in the shipping chapter. MacAulay is the "big star" who handles non-contentious projects and finance work throughout Asia, including secondary loan purchases, structured finance, LNG projects and operating transactions. Young, who is also a "strong choice", specialises in the sale and purchase, construction, leasing and registration of ships.

The sole representative for Mayer Brown in the oil and gas chapter is Stephen Hood in São Paulo. Three of the firm's practitioners are listed in the management labour and employment chapter, where Duncan Abate in Hong Kong earns the most votes for Mayer Brown. Described by one source as a "top-drawer practitioner", Abate specialises in discrimination, labour relations, termination of employment and the structure of employment relationships. The highly regarded Julian Roskill and Nicholas Robertson in London join him in this chapter.