Most Highly Regarded Firms: Commercial Litigation 2009

• September 2009

• Commercial Litigation

Clifford Chance LLP leads the field in our research in terms of numbers with ten nominees from five offices in Europe and Asia making the cut.

The Frankfurt and London offices are the best represented, each fielding three representatives.

Fabian von Schlabrendorff heads the firm’s European litigation and dispute resolution practice and is a “leading name” for corporate, banking, construction and engineering disputes. Uwe Hornung is recognised for his work in white-collar crime and product liability cases, and in general corporate and commercial disputes, while Burkhard Schneider is “very highly regarded” for M&A disputes. The “first-rate” Simon Davis is president of the London Solicitors Litigation Association and a “leading light” in the English capital, earning praise for his work on behalf of financial institutions and major corporate entities. Another “definite inclusion” is Michael Smyth who is responsible for the firm’s public policy and government affairs group, and focuses his litigation work on public and media law. Jeremy Sandelson completes the London listings and is noted for securities and M&A disputes.

The “highly rated” Martin Rogers is head of litigation and dispute resolution in Asia and represents Asian and international investment banks, fund managers and corporations. Brian Gilchrist is also listed at the Hong Kong office, where he handles disputes relating to banking, insurance, tax, directors’ duties and minority shareholders’ rights.

Timur Aitkulov is one of the leading Russian names in our rankings and the sole representative of Clifford Chance’s Moscow office. Aitkulov specialises in domestic and cross border energy disputes and complex multi-jurisdictional white-collar litigation. The “excellent” Jose Antonio Caínzos represents the Madrid office where he is noted for his advisory and risk assessment work as well as dispute resolution.

The London office dominates Herbert Smith LLP’s listings: five of the firm’s nine featured attorneys are based there. The “superb” Sonya Leydecker specialises in banking litigation and accountancy negligence cases and counts PricewaterhouseCoopers and Guinness among her recent clients. Senior partner David Gold chairs the firm’s LLP council and concentrates his practice on joint venture, shareholder, banking and derivatives disputes, with a strong focus on injunctions. Among Adam Johnson’s recent cases is AWG’s high-profile fraud claim arising from its takeover of Morrison, and he was described as “one of the top names in England”. Simon Bushell specialises in banking and financial services disputes and leads the firm’s corporate fraud, investigations and asset recovery practice. Ted Greeno is well known for his work in the energy sector and engineering and construction disputes, with clients including Amoco & Orts, Chevron UK and Koch Hightex.

The Tokyo office contributes two attorneys to our listings. Peter Godwin heads the local dispute resolution practice and has extensive experience of bringing cases in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Dominic Roughton has handled disputes on behalf of Middle Eastern and South East Asian governments, as well as joint venture and shareholder disputes relating to the energy sector. Graeme Johnston leads the mainland China disputes practice from the Shanghai office and has an “amazing reputation” for cross-border disputes and regulatory investigations. Dmitry Kurochkin heads the litigation and arbitration and employment groups at the firm’s Moscow offices and has handled disputes on behalf of TNK-BP, CSFB Securities and Nissho Iwai Corporation.

We also recognise nine lawyers from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, where the London office is a major pool of talent. Christopher Pugh heads the firm’s dispute resolution department and the energy disputes group, and is “undoubtedly one of the best in the UK”. Pugh acted for Brookfield in proceedings against Mott MacDonald arising out of the construction of Wembley Stadium, as well as representing H3G in proceedings before the Competition Appeal Tribunal. The “excellent” Paul Bowden specialises in environmental and product litigation and has defended actions such as the Sellafield and Dounreay leukaemia cases and the Waltham Abbey cancer cases, as well as smoking and health disputes. Jon Lawrence’s practice is primarily focused on competition, trade and financial services disputes and he has acted for Hoffmann-La Roche, Bayer and SGL. Paul Lomas is well regarded for corporate governance and investigations, and EU and competition-related disputes. He has represented the Bank of England, General Electric and Japan Tobacco in court.

Raj Parker is co-head of the financial institutions disputes practice in London and specialises in insurance-related litigation

for clients such as Lloyds and AIG. Ian Terry completes the firm’s listings in the UK capital and counts Apple Computers, ITV Network and Lloyds among his clients.

Rolf Trittmann of Freshfields’ Frankfurt office is a “fantastic talent” with particular expertise in cross-border competition and trade disputes in the automotive industry. Vicente Sierra leads the Spanish disputes practice out of the Madrid office and is a “go-to guy” for complex and cross-border product liability disputes. The “great” Elie Kleiman of the Paris office specialises in energy, natural resources, infrastructure, telecoms and technology disputes.

NORTH AMERICA

New York emerges as the leading US jurisdiction for commercial litigation work; 36 of the 153 US attorneys we list practise in the city. At the “top of the pile” in New York is David Boies, founder and chair of Boies Schiller & Flexner LLP, who was recently recognised as commercial litigator of the year in The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers 2009. Boies served as lead counsel to former vice-president Al Gore in litigation arising from the 2000 presidential election, as well as acting as special trial counsel to the US Department of Justice in its antitrust suit against Microsoft. He counts American Express, Lloyd’s and NASCAR among his recent clients.

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is one of the best-represented firms in the city, with four nominees making the cut. Michael Cooper, of counsel to the firm, was a litigation partner from 1968 to 2003. He has developed a “stellar reputation” for antitrust and securities investigations and disputes as well as shareholder derivative suits. Gandolfo “Vince” DiBlasi is “very well respected” for financial services work and is currently busy with mortgage-related securities, liquidity concerns and auction-related securities cases. Also recognised in the securities field is John Warden, who counts the Bank of New York, First Boston, British Airways and Goldman Sachs among his clients. David Tulchin specialises in antitrust and IP litigation as well as securities and contract work, and served as lead national counsel for Microsoft in its defence of antitrust litigation, claiming victories in all seven appeals he has taken before the US Court of Appeals on the corporation’s behalf.

Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP is similarly well represented in New York. Theodore Wells co-chairs the firm’s litigation department and was described as “one of the best white-collar defence attorneys in the country”. Wells defended Michael Steinhardt in the Salomon Brothers Treasury Investigation and also counts hedge fund manager James Regan among his clients. He also enjoys a “sterling reputation” for environmental class-action work. “Top-flight” Martin Flumenbaum is a former chair of the firm’s litigation department and a member of the management committee. His practice focuses on securities, M&A, IP and antitrust matters as well as business crime defence. Moses Silverman is “well known” for antitrust, securities and corporate and derivatives litigation and has experience of complex commercial disputes relating to copyright and employment matters. Leslie Fagen focuses his practice on IP, product liability, real estate and securities disputes and his clients include ACNielsen, Dun & Bradstreet and IMS Health as well as Polo Ralph Lauren.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP’s Mary Jo White was US attorney for the Southern District of New York from 1993 to 2002 and is a former director of the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. She specialises in white-collar defence, internal investigations, M&A, fiduciary duty and securities disputes and chairs the firm’s 225-strong litigation department, which also fields Mark Friedman and David W Rivkin in these pages.

Gregory Joseph is chair of the American Bar Association’s litigation section and leads his own eponymous disputes boutique. The firm has recently been involved in pursuing $1.25 billion in commercial claims arising out of the 9/11 terror attacks, as well as numerous multi-million dollar securities and RICO disputes. Joseph is widely considered “a leading light”.

In Chicago, Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP is considered “one of the country’s best boutiques” and sees two of its named partners feature in this edition. Philip Beck was a member of George W Bush’s trial team in the presidential election trial of 2000 and has also acted on behalf of Merck & Co and Bayer Corp in major litigation cases. Fred Bartlit was also on the Bush trial team and his recent trial experience includes such cases as Applied Medical Resources v United States Surgical Corp and In Re Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride Antitrust Litigation.

Susman Godfrey LLP is among the leading firms in Texas, with both named partners ranking highly in our research. Stephen Susman is “at the leading edge” in global warming litigation and recently completed a successful representation of 37 Texan cities opposing permit applications for coal-fired electric generating plants made by TXU. Susman is also recognised for antitrust disputes and counts Hughes Electronics, Northrop Grumman, Decker Coal, and Amerisource Bergen among his clients. Lee Godfrey is a “first tier” antitrust, energy and natural resources expert and a respected academic.

Texas-origin firm Baker Botts LLP also has two representatives on our list. The “excellent” Irvin Terrell focuses on antitrust, intellectual property and securities litigation; he has represented DSC Communications and Pennzoil Company in recent cases. Rod Phelan defends claims of professional malpractice for accountants, lawyers, architects and engineers, and also in disputes relating to oil and gas, IP, antitrust, securities, tax and corporate governance.

The “formidable” Harry Reasoner is one of two Vinson & Elkins LLP partners listed in Texas and he is known for his securities, insurance and tort litigation and was lead attorney for the team that represented the ETSI Pipeline Project. The “very strong” William Dawson co-heads the litigation team at the firm’s Dallas office and is noted for his defence work on behalf of lawyers and auditors. He has won major victories for members of the “Big Four” accountancy firms.

With four nominees, McCarthy Tétrault LLP is the leading firm in Canada. Thomas Heintzman OC QC is a former president of the Canadian Bar Association and focuses on securities, government contracts, telecoms and environmental disputes. Gérald R Tremblay is also recognised for his environmental work as well as constitutional and administrative litigation and class actions. He currently acts as the president of the Quebec Bar. The “top notch” Neil Finkelstein joined the firm in May 2009 and is recognised nationally, having taken pension, competition and securities cases to court in eight of the country’s ten provinces, including numerous appeals before the Supreme Court of Canada. Paul Steep recently served as a member of the firm’s board of directors as well as completing a four-year tenure as chair of the 80-strong litigation department and he focuses on securities class actions.

Pierre Bienvenu chairs the executive committee of Ogilvy Renault LLP and also acts as co-chair of the arbitration and ADR team. Bienvenu’s litigation work has seen him argue before the courts of Quebec, the Federal Court of Canada and the Supreme Court of Canada in connection with public, commercial and corporate disputes. Sheila Block of Torys LLP is another prominent name, whose securities and IP litigation work was described as “first rate”. She chairs the firm’s litigation department, which also includes the “excellent” shareholder and boardroom disputes expert James Tory.

Claus von Wobeser of Von Wobeser y Sierra SC emerges as the leading litigation practitioner in Mexico, where he has recently been involved in numerous breach of contract litigations. The “excellent” Omar Guerrero Rodríguez of Barrera Siqueiros y Torres Landa SC is a “top name” in antitrust, EU law and immigration disputes.

SOUTH AFRICA, SINGAPORE AND AUSTRALIA

The “terrific” Des Williams is firm chair of Werksmans Attorneys and the leading South African practitioner in our research. Williams has experience in domestic and international disputes, with a particular focus on the mining, telecoms and media sectors. Partner David Hertz was also recommended for his expertise in competition, corporate fraud and IP disputes.

Michael Hwang divides his time between London’s Essex Court Chambers and his eponymous dispute resolution boutique in Singapore, where he was named president of the Law Society in 2008. Alvin Yeo of WongPartnership LLP is also well regarded in Singapore and specialises in banking and corporate disputes. Yeo recently acted for the Land Transport Authority of Singapore on a dispute with NCC International AB relating to the Singapore Circle Line Project. Founder Wong Meng Meng is now a consultant with the firm and boasts particular experience in the competition area.

Clayton Utz performs better than any other firm in Australia, with three nominees making our listings. Stuart Clark is an “exceptional lawyer” and acts as national managing partner of the firm’s litigation and dispute resolution practice. He focuses on the defence of complex medical and scientific class actions as well as financial and shareholder disputes. Sidney Wang is a “leading name” for corporate and commercial disputes, including mediation and arbitration engagements, with particular experience in high stakes “bet-the-company” litigation. Ross Perrett counts ConAgra Foods, the Ports Corporation of Queensland and Australia’s Department of Defence among his clients.

EUROPE

Schellenberg Wittmer is one of two firms in Switzerland that features three representatives in this edition. The “excellent” Nathalie Voser ranks among the best-regarded names globally for litigation: in particular she is recognised for contract, tort and conflict of laws disputes, often on a multi-jurisdictional basis. The “outstanding” Martin Bernet heads the dispute resolution group and specialises in banking, joint ventures, corporate liability and insurance litigation. Vincent Jeanneret leads the insolvency and restructuring team in the Geneva office where he focuses on banking and financial services disputes.

Daniel Hochstrasser is head of litigation and arbitration at Bär & Karrer AG and is focused on complex disputes arising from M&A transactions, infrastructure and finance projects. He is joined by Saverio Lembo and Andreas Länzlinger on our list.

In the London office of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, Peter Rees QC has extensive experience in construction, engineering and energy disputes, both in litigation and arbitration. Former attorney general Lord Goldsmith QC is chair of the firm’s European litigation department and, in 2008, was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales. Slaughter and May also sees two of its London attorneys fare well in our research. Nick Archer is considered “top tier” for banking, energy and insurance disputes, acting for major banks and corporate entities as well as sovereign governments and international organisations. Nick Gray is also well versed in disputes arising from banking, oil and gas, and insurance transactions and he is also a member of the first sport practice group, which offers support on authority disputes and regulation proceedings. The “superb” Nicola Mumford at Wragge & Co ranks highly with extensive experience of car industry disputes, counting Aston Martin and Land Rover among her clients. She is in charge of the firm’s London office.

In Brussels, Joe Sepulchre is a recognised expert in international contract law and represents multinationals in joint venture, logistics and petrochemical disputes as a partner at Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick. Peter Callens acts as managing partner for Loyens & Loeff in Belgium and specialises in corporate and M&A disputes. Jean-Pierre Fierens of Stibbe is a former president of the Dutch-speaking Bar Council of Brussels and is also currently heavily involved with M&A litigation.

Back to top