Sullivan & Cromwell LLP - The Who's Who Legal 100 2012

What is the Who's Who Legal 100?

With 11 inclusions, the capital markets section holds the most lawyers from Sullivan & Cromwell. In New York, David Harms counsels clients on securities and capital markets matters involving SEC and governance requirements. He acts for Goldman Sachs, UBS and other major financial and telecommunication companies.

Robert Buckholz is the co-coordinator of the firm’s corporate and finance group and focuses on advising issuers and underwriters on IPOs, privatisation and investment financing. He has worked on deals for J Crew, American Water and Bank of Nova Scotia.

Donald Crawshaw specialises in investment management of commodities and derivatives, and advises funds and financial institutions in the US and Canada on public and private offerings.

Of counsel William Williams is a corporate lawyer with over 30 years’ experience in international securities law and offerings, particularly involving Japanese, European and Latin American companies. He has lobbied and advised governmental and regulatory bodies on securities law and is described as a “legendary” figure by peers.

Robert Risoleo represents the DC office where he advises Latin American clients, mainly financial institutions, on IPOs and loans. In the Asia-Pacific area, head of the China practice Chun Wei is one of the top capital markets lawyers in Hong Kong and is highly praised for her work for underwriters, as is the co-head of the Japanese practice Izumi Akai, who “anticipates answers and stands up for his clients”. Based in Melbourne, Robert Chu is a “very good lawyer” who has worked on some seminal deals, including Telstra Corporation’s IPO, Nomura Holdings New York Stock Exchange listing and BHP Billion’s disclosure and financing in the Australian market.

On the European side, head of the London office, Richard Morrissey advises AkzoNobel, France Telecom, Diageo and many other companies on capital financing and M&A matters, and earns an additional listing in that chapter. Gauthier Blanluet in Paris is a business tax “expert” and earns a mention in the tax chapter as well as the capital markets section, and he counts Rio Tinto, Morgan Stanley and EDF among his clients. Wolfgang Feuring manages the Frankfurt office and advises on M&A, capital markets and securities matters, as does Konstantin Technau.

In the banking chapter, the firm fields eight lawyers alongside the “market-leading” Rodgin Cohen, who supplements his performance here with further listings in the M&A and corporate governance chapters. “Rainmaker” Michael Wiseman is the managing partner of the financial institutions group at the firm. Donald Toumey handles federal banking matters for domestic and foreign financial institutions. A former special assistant to the general counsel of the US Department of Treasury, he is recognised as a lobbyist and adviser to the government on legislative developments.

In the M&A chapter, managing partner of the M&A practice group Joseph Frumkin is a well respected and recommended lawyer who has over 20 years’ experience in this area. James Morphy is particularly praised by sources for his wide experience in an advisory role, and is notable for his “brevity of style and lack of fuss – he carries an argument without any problem, and works well in the boardroom”.

Head of the California practice and co-head of the global private equity group, Alison Ressler is a “tremendous” deals lawyer. She has advised on major deals such as Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype Global from Silver Lake. A prominent corporate M&A and governance lawyer, Frank Aquila is “terrific” and came highly recommended by contributors in the research for his substantial experience in both practice areas in which he is listed. Head of the European M&A practice in London Tim Emmerson also ranks prominently.

In Paris, Dominique Bompoint’s practice includes M&A, private equity, restructuring, litigation, securities and corresponding governance issues, and he is also listed in the corporate governance chapter. He counts Crédit Agricole/Société Générale Asset Management, BNP/SG/Paribas and EDF’s privatisation among his deals. Senior counsel and experienced lawyer Gérard Mazet also features in the corporate governance section.

In addition to Blanluet in the tax section, Paris-based of counsel Jean-Pierre Le Gall is hailed as an expert in French corporate tax law and acts as chairman of the Permanent Scientific Committee of the International Fiscal Association. Based in London, Michael McGowan is a tax litigator and in New York, Ronald Creamer is “one of the best corporate all-rounders”. David Hariton, Andrew Mason, Willard Taylor and Diana Wollman also feature.

Our research selects lawyers from an additional 10 chapters, demonstrating the international reach of Sullivan & Cromwell.