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FIRMS TO WATCH 2018

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F I R M S TO WATC H 2 01 8 | I F L R 10 0 0 . C O M | 1

Welcome to the first edition of IFLR1000 Firms to Watch.

Firms to Watch is a spin-off supplement from the IFLR1000, the guide to the world's leadingfinancial law firms, designed to highlight firms which have recently been developing ininteresting ways.

From a pool of thousands of firms researched by the IFLR1000 team last year, less than 45made the final group which appear in Firms to Watch.

Those firms selected to feature in the supplement were chosen for successfully breaking intonew markets or generally expanding astutely in footprint or headcount (or a combination ofboth), for gaining in market share of interesting transactional work, and for adopting newand innovative client services and internal programmes.

Firms in the supplement vary from one-office domestic boutiques to some of the largestinternational firms in the world and groups of regional firms linked through a centralisednetwork.

The appearance of some firms in the supplement may seem surprising given these are alreadyhousehold names (in legal circles at least). Some international firms were included on thebasis of developments at the firm as a whole, others in relation to specific markets where theyhave recently grown in prominence.

What all firms appearing in Firms to Watch share is ambition, and a strategy to developwhich has proven successful in the short-term and bodes well for the near future.

IFLR1000 FIRMS TO WATCH

4 & 8 Bouverie Street, London EC4Y 8AXe-mail: [initial][surname]@iflr1000.comCustomer service: +44 20 7779 8610

EditorBen Naylor

JournalistsHanna Choi, Sam Duke, Adam Majeed, RaniMehta, Jon Moore, Kurt Stumpo

Production managerRichard Oliver

Production editorsAna Mesquita, Katy Heales

Head of Business DevelopmentIFLR/IFLR1000Liam Sharkey

Business development managersAnicette Indiana, Sanawa Mtalo, Paul Ptaschne

Global Head of Sales, LMGRichard Valmarana

Managing Director, LMGTim Wakefield

Divisional Director, Specialist InformationDivisionDanny Williams

Directors: David Pritchard (Chairman), AndrewRashbass (CEO), Colin Jones, Sir PatrickSergeant, Andrew Ballingal, Tristan Hillgarth,Imogen Joss, Tim Collier, Kevin Beatty, JanBabiak, Lorna Tilbian

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The copyright of all editorial matter appearing inthis guide is reserved by the publisher. Nomatter contained herein may be reproduced,duplicated or copied by any means without theprior consent of the holder of the copyright,requests for which should be addressed to thepublisher. No legal responsibility can beaccepted by Euromoney Trading Limited orIFLR1000 for the materials which appear in thispublication.

Printed in the UK by Buxton Press, Buxton, UK.

Introduction

2 | Africa Legal Network3 | Allen & Gledhill4 | Balcıoğlu Selçuk Akman Keki4 | BDGS Associés5 | BDK Advokati6 | BlackOak7 | BLP7 | Bruun & Hjejle8 | Buddle Findlay8 | Dechert9 | Dentons9 | DLA Piper10 | Domański Zakrzewski Palinka10 | Erdinast Ben Nathan Toledano & Co12 | Fenwick & West12 | Ferrere13 | Fieldfisher13 | Garrigues14 | Gibson Dunn & Crutcher14 | Goodwin Procter15 | Jingtian & Gongcheng16 | Latham & Watkins16 | Mayora & Mayora

17 | Meysan Partners18 | Morgan Lewis & Bockius18 | Norton Rose Fulbright20 | Ogier20 | PeliFilip21 | Pérez-Llorca21 | Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU &

Uría22 | Pinsent Masons22 | Riolo Calderaro Crisostomo23 | Sidley Austin24 | Simmons & Simmons25 | SRS Advogados25 | Taylors26 | Trilegal27 | Walder Wyss28 | Waselius & Wist28 | Watson Farley & Williams in

association with LVN & Associates29 | White & Case30 | Yulchon31 | ZICO Law

Contents

Who are they?Africa Legal Network (ALN) is a network of16 independent African firms (all indifferent countries), which work inassociation with Webber Wentzel in SouthAfrica, a firm which itself has a formalrelationship with Linklaters. The networkalso has one member firm in the MiddleEast, through the-Dubai based AnjarwallaCollins & Haidermota.

The member firms in the network are allgenerally active in transactional work andmost are among the leading firms in theirmarkets for this type of advice.

Looking at ALN’s geographical strength,its member firms with a Tier 1 IFLR1000ranking are in Burundi, Kenya, Malawi,Mauritius, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda andZambia.

Why now? ALN grew substantially between 2016 andMay 2017, expanding its capacity inLusophone and Francophone Africa andentering five new markets.

The recent additions to the networkincluded two member firms in North Africa– Bourabiat Associés in Algeria and BFR &Associés. The founding partners of both

firms were previously employed byinternational firms in Paris and London.

Further south, the network signed up newdomestic members in Botswana, Guinea,Madagascar, and Mozambique between2016 and 2017. Of these additions, DesaiLaw Group in Botswana and ABBC inMozambique were arguably the mostsignificant, with both firms boasting goodreputations in their markets. ABBC also hasrecent experience of high profile domesticwork, including advising on the financing ofthe Moatize-Nacala railway and port project.

In addition to more wholesale expansionby the network, ALN’s member firms havealso grown through mergers and hires.ALN’s Mauritius member (BLC Robert &Associates, as it is now called) merged withEtude Robert in July 2016, adding 22lawyers to its team, including partner AndreRobert. In Botswana, Desai Law Groupmerged with Akheel Jinabhai and Associates,giving the firm additional corporate capacityand a strong property practice.

There have been numerous senior lateralhires within the network in the previous twoyears. In Kenya, Anjarwalla & Khanna hasrecruited partner Aleem Tharani, seniorassociate Gunraj Singh Arora, and

consultant Jean-Baptiste Blanc since 2016.In Uganda, MMAKS Advocates appointedShellomith Irungu as a director and head ofbanking and finance. In Zambia, MusaDudhia & Co recruited senior associatesYosa Yosa and Mulopa Ndalameta.

Recent transactional highlights• ajinomoto $532 million acquisition

of 33% stake in Promasidor(acquirer)

• moatize-Nacala railway and portproject (lenders)

• Nairobi-mombasa Expressway(project developer)

• Neptune Energy Group $3.9 billionacquisition of ENGiE E&Pinternational (acquirer)

• sangaredi bauxite mine (borrower/ project developer)

IFLR1000 Leading LawyersHighly regarded: 26Rising star: 3

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Africa Legal Network

Who are they?Full-service Singapore firm Allen & Gledhillis one of the largest in the country and hasinternational offices in Malaysia andMyanmar. The firm employs 300 lawyersdomestically and another 100 abroad.

In transactional work, the firm ranks inthe top tier in all IFLR1000 practice areatables domestically, and internationally it isgenerally in the second tier. As theserankings suggest, the firm’s Singapore teamis its strongest.

Why now?Allen & Gledhill has made impressiveprogress in Myanmar since opening an officein Yangon, Myanmar’s commercial centre, in2014. Since launching, the firm hasimproved its position in the Burmese legalmarket, leveraging successfully off theexperience of its domestic lawyers.

The expertise of the firm’s Burmese teamis a key asset. Lead partner Minn Naing Oohas a good understanding of the local legalmarket and how the government andauthorities operate. The team also includes aformer advisor to the president, U NyanNaing Win, and Saw Yu Win, who has more

than 25 years’ experience. The firm has advised on a number of

significant deals in Myanmar recently,including the largest ever inboundacquisition (International BeverageCompany’s acquisition of 75% in MyanmarDistillery Company) and only the fifth IPOon Myanmar’s stock exchange (TMHTelecom’s IPO). Other notable workincludes lead partner Oo’s regular advice tothe Ministry of Commerce on draftingtrade, investment, and arbitration laws, andto the Central Bank of Myanmar ontransaction law.

The firm is committed to developinglawyers from the local market, demonstratedby its internship programme and thetraining opportunities it offers for youngBurmese lawyers.

Recent transactional highlights• international Beverage company

$742 million acquisition of 75% inmyanmar Distillery company(seller)

• olam holdings $1 billion revolvingcredit facility (bookrunners andarrangers)

• tata steel $1.3 billion 4.45% and5.45% notes issues (issuer)

• tmh telecom YsX iPo (issuer andbookrunner)

• Unilever joint venture with Europe &asia commercial company (jointventure partner)

IFLR1000 Leading LawyersHighly regarded: 21Market leader: 4Rising star: 6

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Allen & Gledhill

Who are they?Balcıoğlu Selçuk Akman Keki is the Turkishpartner office of Dentons. This connectiongives the firm access to a global networkcovering more than 50 countries andincluding more than 7500 lawyers, with asignificant presence in both the US and inChina.

The Istanbul-based firm boasts a teamincluding 13 partners in a group of morethan 75 legal professionals. The firm is ableto offer clients advice in Turkish, English,French, German and Italian and the breadthof its offering covers more than 20 practiceareas and 17 industry sectors. It wasestablished in 2007 and serves all manner ofclients, ranging from individualentrepreneurs through to majorinternational conglomerates.

While the firm does cover a wide range ofdifferent areas, it is perhaps in M&A that itis most prominent in the Turkish market.Other notable offerings are its energy andbanking teams.

Why now?Balcıoğlu Selçuk Akman Keki’s work in theM&A space has certainly been a highlight of

its recent activity. In a market rocked bysocial and political challenges for a numberof years, the firm has managed to not onlymaintain its activity levels and marketposition but also grow and develop itsoffering.

Recent transactions by the firm in the e-commerce, real estate and energy spacesrepresent some of the largest and mostsignificant matters ever completed in thosesectors in Turkey.

With more than 35 lawyers advising onM&A, the firm has one of the largestdedicated practices in the country. And,despite being part of one the of largest legalnetworks anywhere in the world, the firmmakes a particular effort to service itsinternational client base in-house, operatingJapan, Germany, France and Iran desks inthe Istanbul office.

Outside of M&A work, the firm has aprominent banking team. The practicemanaged to secure several notable panelwins in the recent past, most significantlyplaces on those of the European Bank forReconstruction and Development, LloydsTSB Bank, and the Mitsubishi Corporation.

Recent transactional highlights• akbank $1.2 billion multicurrency

dual tranche syndicated term loanfacilities (underwriters)

• coca-cola icecek $500 million4.215% notes issue (issuer)

• Delivery hero frankfurt stockExchange iPo (shareholders)

• DP Eurasia UKla iPo (issuer)• Vitol Group €1.37 billion acquisition

of omV Petrol ofisi (seller)

IFLR1000 Leading Lawyers:Highly regarded: 3

Who are they?Formed in 2013, BDGS is a Parisianboutique focusing on competition, M&A,private equity and general corporate matters.

The firm was founded by partners, andM&A specialists, from leading French firmGide Loyrette Nouel, Antoine Bonnasse,Youssef Djehane, and Jean-EmmanuelSkovron, and competition lawyer AntoineGosset-Grainville, who joined the firm froma position as Deputy Director of the Cabinetof Prime Minister François Fillon.

The firm soon expanded further addingLinklaters M&A partners Marc Loy andThomas Meli in 2014, Gide tax lawyerGuillaume Jolly in 2015, Freshfieldscompetition partners Maria Trabucchi andJérôme Fabre from in 2016, and WeilGotshal finance lawyer Anne-Sophie Noury,also in 2016.

Why now?The French market, and Paris in particular,has seen quite a change in the last few yearsin terms of new nimble firms setting upshop and challenging the larger moreestablished outfits, but BDGS is arguablythe most successful example.

The firm has adopted a similar model tocontemporaries around Europe like CamposFerreira Sá Carneiro & Associados inPortugal, the disputes focused Three Crownsin London and Paris, and Riolo CalderaroCrisostomo in Italy (featured elsewhere inthis guide), in establishing a smaller morefocused group of elite lawyers drawn fromleading international firms.

Creating a successful high-level boutiqueis no easy feat. While individual lawyerreputation as a guarantee of quality is a goodstarting point, it can be a battle to win overclients used to working with largerestablished brands. Nevertheless BDGS’ssteady expansion and transactional recordspeaks for itself.

To give just a few examples, Bonnasse andGosset-Grainville advised on a significantjoint venture between Airbus and SafranSafran in 2016, which was shortlisted for anIFLR award, and in late 2017 Skovron andMarc Loy advised Total on the acquisition ofa 23% stake in Eren Renewable Energy.

In 2018 the firm moved into the litigationmarket with the hire of Kyum Lee from WeilGotshal & Manges. The move marks thefirst step away from the firm’s core practice

areas and perhaps signals the intention tocompete on more fronts with France’s largerfirms.

Recent transactional highlights• abertis infraestructuras acquisition

of sanef (seller)• airbus safran launchers joint

venture (Safran)• crédit agricole assurances €715

million acquisition of 12.95% stakein icade (acquirer)

• Groupe fnac acquisition of Darty(acquirer)

• total acquisition of 23% indirectstake in Eren renewable Energy(acquirer)

IFLR1000 Leading LawyersHighly regarded: 4



Balcıoğlu Selçuk Akman Keki

BDGS Associés

Who are they?Established in 2004, BDK Advokati hasgrown to become one of the leading firms inSerbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, andMontenegro and an established brandalongside contemporaries such as JPM andKaranović & Nikolić. The firm is frequentlyseen on some of the largest deals in themarket, rubbing shoulders withinternational firms and CEE regional firmsheadquartered in Austria.

The firm is part of the SEE Legalnetwork, which covers not only the WesternBalkans but also has member firms injurisdictions such as Greece, Romania andTurkey. The network can back up its claimsof being a group of leading firms, withnearly all its members (which includes thelikes of Kalo & Associates, KyriakidesGeorgopoulos, and Nestor Nestor DiculescuKingston Petersen) securing one or more toptier ranking positions in the latest edition ofthe IFLR1000.

BDK also has well established links withinternational firms including Allen & Overy,Dentons, Eversheds, and Freshfields.

Why now?While BDK has long been one of theleading firms in the Serbian market, the pastfew years has seen it act on significantprojects that have garnered attention outsideof its home market.

According to managing partner TijanaKojović, the firm has placed an increasedemphasis on infrastructure work as this partof the market has grown. As well as advisingon several notable energy projects(particularly wind farms), the firm has alsoacted on matters including the electricityinterconnector between Italy andMontenegro, the City of Belgrade wastemanagement PPP, and the concession for theoperation of Nikola Tesla Airport.

The firm has also picked up notable workin other practice areas, including work onacquisitions and restructurings for BritishAmerican Tobacco and the privatisation ofthe Zelezara Smederevo steel mill.

In line with the approach taken byinternational firms, BDK has also created anumber of industry sector groups to betterserve clients. The latest to launch wasgaming, hospitality and construction.

Kojović also highlights another newinitiative undertaken by the firm, theintroduction of more online resources for

clients. Designed primarily to cater forclients’ ‘corporate and employmenthousekeeping’ needs, the new platform willprovide clients with access to basicdocumentation and resources to handle day-to-day matters for which a full team oflawyers is not required. With so much of thefirm’s work now cross border, the initiative isdesigned to engage and expand the firm’sdomestic client base.

Recent transactional highlights• Expobank cZ acquisition of marfin

Bank Beograd (acquirer)• hesteel Group €46 million

acquisition of Zelezara smederevosteel mill (acquirer)

• Kovačica 104.5mw wind farm(project developer)

• italy-montenegro 1000mw subseaelectricity interconnector (projectdeveloper)

• Pančevo 208mw gas power plant(EPC contractor)




BDK Advokati

Who are they? Blackoak is a young Singapore boutiquespecialising in restructuring and insolvencywork. The firm was founded in 2016 by theformer head of restructuring and insolvencyat TSMP Law Corporation, Ashok Kumar,and his team.

The firm has a team of 12 fee-earnersbased on Singapore’s main island.

Why now?Blackoak is the only firm in Singaporefocused solely on restructuring andinsolvency work. The firm has already builtup a decent track record of notablemandates and, with the local governmentattempting to transform Singapore into aglobal hub for cross-border regional matters,looks set to prosper in the near future.

The boutique has expanded significantlysince opening, growing from a team of fivelawyers to 12. The firm made lateral hires inits early stage of development between 2016and the first quarter of 2017, but is nowfocusing on recruiting and developingyounger lawyers. The firm has demonstratedits commitment to developing young talentby launching an undergraduate trainingprogramme.

The firm is active in the wider region inaddition to domestically and representsfunds clients in Hong Kong. It is planningto expand its focus to provide cross-bordermediation and advising start-ups oncorporate finance and alternative fundraisings.

The firm’s founder, Kumar, is one of theleaders in his field within the domestic legalmarket. His accolades include being directorof the Insolvency Practitioners Associationof Singapore.

Recent transactional highlights• BlD investments $155 million debt

restructuring (debtor)• Blue ocean resources $325

million debt restructuring (ad-hoccommittee of bond holders)

• Kreuz corporate restructuring(debtor)

• rickmers maritime trust s$100million debt restructuring (bondholders)

• trikomsel s$215 million debtrestructuring (coordinatingcommittee of bond holders)




Blackoak

Who are they?Based in the heart of Copenhagen, Bruun &Hjejle is one of the oldest extant firms in theDanish capital, being able to trace its lineageas far back as 1878. The firm took itscurrent form in 2009 and now boasts a teamof more than 30 partners in a group thatincludes more than 130 legal professionals.

In the firm’s current form it is focused onthree key areas of practice: M&A (includingprivate equity and alternative investments),real estate, and litigation and arbitration. Interms of sectors, the firm has a strong focuson the financial sector and institutionalinvestors and boasts one of the strongest andmost experienced pension funds practices inthe Nordic region.

Why now? Since 2014 Bruun & Hjejle has beendeveloping its offering to be focused onthree core areas – contentious work, M&A,and real estate – rejecting some work thatfalls outside these practices and developingits team through lateral hires andpromotion.

Recent hires by the firm have included theaddition of two M&A partners, a finance

partner and two competition partners in2016, all from market-leading firms. In2017 the firm brought in another partner,on this occasion to its real estate practice,and promoted four of its existing team topartners.

As a result of the firm’s developmentstrategy it has seen activity in its core areasboosted significantly in the last 12 months.Capitalising on the growing importance ofDanish pension funds to the nationalinvestment market – an area where the firmalready had one of the strongest practices –it has advised a number of key clients in thisarea on, initially, private equity investmentsand, more recently, debt financing mattersand investment in large-scale energy andinfrastructure projects.

The energy sector has increasingly becomean important area of focus for the firm,having recently advised on a number ofregulatory, M&A and arbitration matters inthis area. Additionally in 2017, the firmmanaged to secure a significant market shareof work in the real estate sector.

Recent transactional highlights• aP møller holding $1.171 billion

acquisition of maersk tankers(acquirer)

• atP DKr6.9 billion acquisition of50% stake in Danica shoppingcentre portfolio (seller)

• cic capital corporation, chinalife, munich rE Group, and PfaPension $1.1 billion acquisition ofinterPark (acquirer)

• New Energy investment DKr6.49billion sale of shares in DongEnergy (seller)

• PKa/Pfa acquisition of a 50%stake in walney Extension 659mwoffshore wind farm (acquirer)


Who are they? Founded in 2003, Costa Rica-based BLP ispresent in four other Central Americancountries: El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaraguaand Guatemala.

On a regional level the firm is broadlyactive in financial and corporate work.Capital markets and project finance are twoareas where the firm has recent experience inhigh-end work.

The firm’s strongest office is in CostaRica, where its team maintains a Tier 1IFLR1000 ranking and has received IFLR’snational Firm of the Year award for the pastthree years.

Why now?Regionalisation is a buzz-word in CentralAmerica’s legal market as firms seek to meetclient demand for multi-jurisdictionaladvice. After BLP moved into Guatemalathe firm was able to boast offices in allCentral America’s key markets, placing it instrong position to secure significantmandates in the region.

The firm launched in Guatemala in 2016,hiring partners Luis Ruiz, Rodolfo Salazarand María Inés Arenales from the now

defunct Arenales & Skinner-Klée. Further recent expansion by BLP has

included the firm’s hire of banking andfinance lawyer Claudia Prado from realestate developer Grupo Calso in Nicaragua.In 2018 the firm promoted Prado topartner, bringing the number of partners inits Nicaragua office to two.

Some further notable internationalgrowth by BLP saw the firm open arepresentative office in Madrid in September2017. The branch is led by David Gutiérrez,a Costa Rican partner who splits his timebetween Costa Rica and Madrid.

Pro bono work is a focus of the firm. Thisis exemplified through its involvement withthe promotion of the ‘Yo Puedo Y Vos’campaign and foundation, which is focusedon the social, employment and educationalinclusion of people with disabilities. Thefirm has also been recognised by the CostaRican government as carbon neutral.

Recent transactional highlights• alternegy $320 million bond issue(issuer)

• autopistas del sol $350.75 millionproject bond issue (issuer)

• Girardot-honda-Puerto salgarhighway PPP (lead manager)

• medtronic sale of Patient care(seller)

• one Equity investment in onelink(investor)




Bruun & Hjejle

BLP

Who are they?Full-service New Zealand independent BuddleFindlay has offices in Auckland, Christchurch,and Wellington.

The firm is strong in banking and financeand restructuring and insolvency. The firm hasspecialist knowledge in agricultural lending,aviation finance, payments, securitisation andalternative off-balance sheet finance, and inM&A it is steadily becoming moreprominent.

Why now? The ‘big three’ was a moniker habitually usedto refer to the established elite in NewZealand’s legal market; however, the term hasfallen into disuse in recent times as the gapbetween the traditional three and others hasnarrowed. Buddle Findlay played a significantrole in this reversal and continues to.

In January 2018 the firm hired partnerTerence Ng from DLA Piper New Zealand toshore up its banking and finance, corporateand commercial, and property-oriented Asianbusiness practice. With increasing inwardinvestment from Asia into New Zealand, Ng’sstrong links with the Asian businesscommunity – including Chinese, Hong Kong,

Malaysian and Singaporean clients – will bean asset.

Of late, Buddle Findlay’s M&A practice isgetting busier and attracting more marketleading mandates. For example, last year thefirm acted for Sky Network Television on theproposed NZ$3.44 billion merger withVodafone NZ, which would have been NewZealand’s largest ever corporate deal had itbeen approved by the CommerceCommission. The firm also advised ChevronSouth Asia Holdings in the $785 million saleof 100% of its shares in Chevron NewZealand to Z Energy. The deal involved thedivestment of all of Chevron’s downstreamassets in New Zealand, including Chevron’sinterests in the Caltex branded servicestations, various terminal assets andinfrastructure assets held by Chevron NewZealand through joint venture vehicles.

In the near future the firm is expected to beinvolved in large infrastructure projects inAuckland as it acts for the New ZealandTransport Authority (NZTA) and AucklandTransport, and has now established a jointventure with Bell Gully to supportinfrastructure projects.

Finally, in the past year Buddle Findlay has

refreshed its overall strategic outlook and islooking to implement a strong internal culturealongside client experience. Pro-bono work isintegral to this aspect of the firm’s culture andit is among the lead sponsors of the HalbergDisability Sport Foundation and is active forthe Child Health Foundation.

Recent transactional highlights• Dick smith Electronics insolvency(creditor)

• caltex australia NZ$340millionacquisition of 77 gull servicestations and terminal fuel assets(acquirer)

• Newell Brands NZ$660 millionacquisition of sistema Plastics(acquirer)

• sky Network television NZ$3.44billion merger with Vodafone NZ(merger party)

• Z Energy $785 million acquisition ofchevron New Zealand (seller)


Who are they?Originally from Philadelphia, Dechert nowoperates from 28 offices in 15 countriesaround the world with more than 900lawyers in its ranks.

The period between 2008 and 2012 wasthe firm’s busiest era of global expansion as itopened offices across Asia and Europe. In2012 the firm entered the Middle East,opening in Dubai, and in 2015 it formed anassociation with Saudi firm HassanMahassni.

The firm is best known for investmentfunds, structured finance, M&A and privateequity work, and high level financialregulatory advice. Outside of the financialand corporate sphere, anti-trust andlitigation are areas of strength.

Individual offices have developed theirown specialties, with the London teamknown for its debt capital markets work,particularly sovereign issues from theMENA region. This specialty was recognisedat IFLR’s 2017 Middle East awards whenhead of the practice, Camille Abousleiman,received that year’s lifetime achievementaward for his work in this area.

Why now?In the last three years Dechert has made aconcerted effort to expand its footprint inthe EMEA region. As well as its formationof an association in Saudi Arabia, the firmhas also grown its London practice throughseveral high profile hires.

Focusing on banking and finance andprivate equity, the firm has raided its UScontemporaries for a number of partners inthis period. In the banking space these haveincluded Philip Butler and David Milesfrom DLA Piper, and John Markland andRob Bradshaw from Kirkland & Ellis. In theM&A and private equity area, the firmreturned to Kirkland for partnerChristopher Field and raided White & Casefor Ross Allardice. The firm also hiredfinancial services regulatory partner MonicaGogna from Ropes & Gray.

Hiring in itself is no guarantee of success,of course, but in Dechert’s case these newrecruits have already proven their worth bydelivering on high profile mandates.

A clear example was Allardice andMarkland’s work on CEE focused privateequity house Mid-Europa Partners’ acquisitionof Romanian supermarket chain Profi Rom

Food. As well as being the largest privateequity deal in Romania’s history, it saw thefirm secure a key role on a CEE inboundinvestment deal, an area traditionallydominated by the UK ‘magic circle’.

Recent transactional highlights• arab republic of Egypt $4 billion

sovereign bond issue (issuer)• chrysaor holdings £3 billion

acquisition of shell North sea oilassets (acquirer)

• crown holdings proposed $3.91billion acquisition of signodeindustrial Group (acquirer)

• Gméxico transportes $2.1 billionacquisition of florida East coastrailway holdings (acquirer)

• mid-Europa Partners €533 millionacquisition of Profi rom food(acquirer)




Buddle Findlay

Dechert

Who are they?DLA Piper is a UK based international firmwith an extensive international network ofoffices in more than 40 countries. The firm’sfootprint extends from Europe to theAmericas, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.

The firm’s offices generally have a broadfocus when it comes to transactional advicebut projects work is an area where the firmoften performs well. Asia, and CentralEastern and Western Europe are where thefirm is strongest.

Why now?DLA Piper has been expanding at animpressive pace recently. In the US, the firmhas grown through mergers and partnerhires. In October 2017, it merged with LosAngeles boutique Liner, increasing DLA’scorporate offerings in the media andentertainment and real estate sectors. Ontop of that, the firm’s San Diego branchhired corporate partner Michael Brown fromfirm Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth inJanuary 2017.

DLA has also added partners to its USEast Coast offices. Some of the 2017 hires

include private equity partner Jeff Legault inNew York, real estate partner Ying DeneveDuBois in Miami, and Adam Ghander inBoston.

DLA has grown in Latin America too.The firm entered into cooperationagreements with Chilean law firmBahamondez Alvarez & Zegers and Peruvianfirm Pizarro Botto & Escobar in December2016 and March 2017, respectively.

Outside of the Americas, DLA has formedsome significant international alliances. Onecame in May 2017, when the firm reachedan agreement with Lagos-based firm OlajideOyewole. The move gave the firm a Nigeriapresence and made history as the firstagreement of this type between aninternational and Nigerian firm.

In Europe, DLA has extended its reach inthe previous two years. In March 2017, thefirm merged with Portuguese firm ABBC(previously the firms had a formalrelationship but ABBC was not integratedinto DLA’s network) and it added Danishfirm LETT to the network. This lattermove, along with the earlier addition ofFinnish firm Peltonen LMR in February2016, made DLA the largest law firm in the

Nordic region, with five offices.Rounding off the firm’s recent notable

global moves, it added project financepartner Matthias Schemuth in Hong Kongfrom Ashurst in February 2017.

Recent transactional highlights• atlantia €16.3 billion acquisition of

abertis infraestructuras (acquirer)• Darden restaurants $780 million

acquisition of cheddar’s scratchKitchen (seller and target)

• regional airports PPP programme(project developer)

• sinopec $900 million acquisition ofchevron south africa and chevronBotswana (acquirer)

• swansea Bay 320mw tidallagoon Power Project (projectdeveloper)

IFLR1000 Leading LawyersExpert consultant: 1Highly regarded: 98Market leader: 2Rising star: 20

Who are they?By headcount the largest firm in the world,Dentons employs more than 8800 lawyersacross 66 countries. The firm operates undera Swiss verein model (Salans FMC SNRDenton Group) comprising four legalentities.

Dentons’ strength in terms oftransactional advice tends to be in finance(lending and debt securities) and projectwork. Energy and oil and gas are sectorswhere the firm is highly visible.

The firm’s geographical strength is broad,with Central Asia, Central and EasternEurope, China, Latin America, and theMiddle East all places where it is involved inhigh-end work.

Why now? In the context of the global legal market thescale of Dentons’ recent growth isunparalleled. Since the firm’s merger withwhat was one of China’s biggest firms,Dacheng, in 2015, it has expanded into newmarkets in the Americas, Asia, and Europethrough a spate of smaller combinations.

One of Dentons’ more substantial recentmergers was with Scottish firm Maclay

Murray & Spens in July 2017, which added200 lawyers to the firm’s roster. Other recentEMEA growth includes launching inGeorgia after taking over DLA Piper’s Tblisibranch, and in Iran through an associationwith a local firm. The firm also securedpresences in Luxembourg and theNetherlands through mergers with nationaloutfits OPF Partners and Boekelrespectively. In Germany the firm opened anadditional office in Munich.

In Latin America, Dentons has beenexpanding aggressively since January 2016 andnow has offices in a number of markets. Inlate autumn 2017 the firm merged with GalloBarrios Pickmann in Peru and entered into astrategic alliance with Vella Pugliese BuosiGuidoni in Brazil. Earlier last year Dentonsand Costa Rica based firm Muñoz Globalmerged, which also gave the firm branches inGuatemala and Panama. Going back to early2016, Dentons launched in Mexico (it hassince added a second office) and Colombiathrough mergers with two national firmsLópez Velarde and Cardenas & Cardenas.

In Asia-Pacific, new markets for Dentonssince January 2016 include Australia,Myanmar, and Singapore. The firm

combined with Australian firm Gadens inlate 2016, giving it an additional 500lawyers and new branches in Sydney, Perth,and Papua New Guinea. Earlier in 2016,Singapore firm Rodyk & Davison joinedDentons’ network. Further expansion inAsia-Pacific included new branches inMelbourne and Myanmar.

Recent transactional highlights• Budapest airport €1.32 billion debt

restructuring (borrower)• carillion insolvency (receiver)• KKr £6 billion acquisition of

Unilever’s spreads business(acquirer)

• sultanate of oman $6.5 billionthree tranche sovereign bond issue(bookrunners)

• tuban grass root refinery (sponsor)




DLA Piper

Dentons

Who are they?Domański Zakrzewski Palinka (DZP) is aPolish firm established in 1993. With officesin Warsaw, Poznań, and Wrocław employing140 lawyers, DZP is one of Poland’s largestfirms.

DZP primarily advises on domestic workand is active on M&A, real estate, andenergy and infrastructure projects. Moregenerally, the firm has a broad practice but isbest known for disputes and tax work.

In a market that features a lot ofinternational firms, DZP is seen as one ofthe leading independent firms alongside thelikes of Sołtysiński Kawecki & Szlęzak andWardyński & Partners, and is often engaged(though by no means exclusively) by Polishdomestic clients and referring firms.

Why now?While DZP has been consistent in thequality of its work for several years, 2017saw it take the fairly unique step, for a Polishfirm, of hiring a partner from aninternational brand. Projects and energylawyer Rafał Hajduk and his team joined thefirm in April 2017 in what was quite a coupfor the firm. Previously at Norton Rose

Fulbright, Hajduk acted on projectsincluding the development of the Toruńpower plant.

The firm has also been expanding in otherareas, adding disputes and industry sectorspecialists, and English law capacity in theform of David Shasha, who will act as abridge to UK clients in London.

The firm has also taken steps to supportits domestic client base in relation tooutbound investment and deals abroad. The‘Go Global’ programme is specifically aimedat providing advice to Polish corporateswhich are looking at global expansion. Thefirm reports picking up more regional workacross the CEE generally in the past fewyears.

Recent standout deals include advisingIdea Bank on the sale of GetBack, and workon the power plant projects at Kozienice andToruń.

Recent transactional highlights• abris capital Partners Zl825 million

acquisition of GetBack (seller)• invesco real Estate acquisition of

sheraton Grand Kraków (seller)• Kraków fast tramway – stage iV

PPP (grantor)• toruń 330mw gas power plant(lender)

• toyota Zl650 million manufacturinginvestment (investor)


Who are they?Erdinast Ben Nathan Toledano & Co (EBN)is a full-service Israeli firm which employsaround 120 lawyers and has one office in TelAviv.

EBN’s strongest transactional practices areM&A and project development, and it is thepreferred Israeli legal adviser of a number ofdomestic and international private equityhouses.

EBN’s sector expertise encompassesenergy, infrastructure, and technology,media and telecommunications.

Why now? In the past two years EBN has demonstratedits intention to become one Israel’s leadingfirms with some eye-catching hires toexpand and strengthen its transactionalpractices. In the M&A area particularly thisrecruitment has proven astute, enabling thefirm to gain a significant share of themarket’s large cross-border M&A deals,especially high-end transactions involvingprivate equity.

In terms of impact on EBN the mostsignificant recent addition to the firm wasformer name partner at the now defunct

Zellermayer Pelossof Rosovsky TsafrirToledano & Co, Doni Toledano. Althoughthe firm already had a good M&A practice,the arrival of Toldeano, who joined with alarge team and has expertise in privateequity, has helped propel the firm up Israel’sM&A league tables. Among the practice’sprominent transactions were advisingPermira on selling its stake in Netafim toMexichem for $1.5 billion.

A further sign of the firm’s ambition wasthe recruitment of one of the top threeproject finance teams in Israel in 2017.Again this was large practice led by a partnerwith a formidable reputation in his field,Jonathan Finklestone. Unfortunately thisintegration was not without challenges, andthe practice subsequently moved on.

A productive 2016/17 saw the firm notonly perform well in the IFLR1000 IsraelM&A ranking – moving up to Tier 2 – butalso in the newly formed Projectdevelopment table, where its work wasacknowledged with a Tier 1 ranking. Astand-out role for project head Uri Noy andhis team was their part in salvaging the BOTproject relating to plot A of the Ashalimthermo-solar power plant. A first in Israel,

after one of the original sponsors Abengoaentered insolvency, the firm advised Shikun& Binui, another private sector sponsor, onthe complex process of replacing Abengoaand renegotiating the project contracts.

EBN’s achievements in 2017 wererecognised by IFLR at its annual awards,where the firm received Firm of the Year forIsrael for the first time.

Recent transactional highlights• ashalim 110mw concentrated solar

power plant (sponsor)• Bank mizrahi-tefahot $400 million

acquisition of Union Bank (acquirer)• mexichem $1.9 billion acquisition of

Netafim (seller)• sirius international insurance $656

million acquisition of 47% stake inPhoenix holdings (acquirer)

• Xio Group acquisition of meitavDash (acquirer)

IFLR1000 Leading LawyersHighly regarded: 3Market leader: 2



Domański Zakrzewski Palinka

Erdinast Ben Nathan Toledano & Co

• Unbeatable daily coverage of tax issues around the world

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• Reports from the key revenue authorities on their tax strategies and industry forecasts

TO TAKE A FREE TRIALContact Jack Avent now on +44 (0)20 7779 8379 or [email protected]

IF YOU CAN’T FIND WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR

THEN YOU HAVEN’T FOUND US



Who are they? Founded in Uruguay, Ferrere has a networkof offices incorporating branches in Bolivia,Ecuador, and Paraguay.

The firm is strongest in Uruguay, where itis generally considered one of top two in themarket, but in general across its network isactive and experienced in transactionalwork.

Why now?Ferrere is firmly established in Uruguay andis becoming one of the leading firms in theother markets where it has an office.

Although the firm has been in Bolivia andParaguay for more than 10 years, itsEcuadorian office is relatively new. Evenbefore the firm opened an office in Ecuadorit began building a team of domesticlawyers, hiring Ecuadorian Jesús Beltrán in2014. When the firm launched it addedpartners Javier Robalino, Andrés Donosoand Paola Gachet. Robalino and Donosojoined from what was at the time PazHorowitz Robalino Garces. In 2016, thefirm tripled its footprint in Ecuador,establishing offices in the port of Manta andGuayaquil, the country’s financial centre.

Recent significant transactions for thefirm’s Ecuador team include advisingEPMAPS (Quito’s water utility company)on a $70 million loan from the FrenchDevelopment Agency and assisting Electricasde Medellin Comercial with contracts tobuild high voltage transmission lines for a150MW hydroelectric power plant.

Ecuador is not the only country where thefirm has been expanding. In 2016 the firmopened a third Bolivian office inCochabamba.

The firm has been aggressive in recruitinglawyers recently. In Uruguay the firm addedbanking and finance senior associate JoséLima. In Ecuador it has hired four corporatesenior associates and two corporate counsel.In Paraguay, banking partner Carlos Codasand two corporate senior associates havejoined. Finally, in Bolivia the firm asrecruited three corporate senior associates,energy counsel Diego Bohrt, and corporatepartner Pablo Ordóñez.

Recent transactional highlights • Bosques Del Uruguay iii $172

million land acquisition (acquirer)• cargill / Naturisa joint venture (jointventure party)

• i squared capital $1.2 billionacquisition of ic Power’s latinamerican and caribbeanbusinesses (acquirer)

• inretail Perú’s $583 millionacquisition of Quicorp (acquirer)

• Petroamazonas / cPVEN jointventure (joint venture party)

IFLR1000 Leading LawyersHighly regarded: 8 Market leader: 2Rising star: 3

Who are they?Fenwick & West was founded in SiliconValley’s Mountain View in 1972. The firmhas three other domestic offices – SanFrancisco, Seattle and New York – and anoffice in Shanghai.

True to the firm’s Silicon Valley roots, itscorporate practice has technology expertiseand primarily advises on M&A, privateequity, and capital markets transactions. Lifesciences is another specialty.

The firm is most active in the US,particularly for entities headquartered alongthe West Coast. The Shanghai office allowsthe firm access to Asia-Pacific’s busytechnology market.

Why now?Fenwick & West’s recent growth andexperience leading headline deals makes it afirm deserving of increased attention. In lastyear’s IFLR1000 the firm broke into therankings for the first time, a tremendous featin the States for a firm with such a relativelynarrow industry focus.

The firm’s latest expansion was its entryinto the New York market in May 2016.Corporate partners Ian Goldstein and

Kristine Di Bacco were recruited from theWest Coast to establish the new branch,signaling to New York’s many storied lawfirms that the office was not just an outpostand Fenwick was coming to compete formarket share.

The New York office also meant significantgrowth in size for Fenwick’s corporatepractice. Goldstein announced his move toFenwick from Drinker Biddle & Reath atroughly the same time as the firm made itsexpansion to New York public. Shortly afterofficially opening in New York in early 2017,the firm added M&A and private equitypartner Ethan Skerry from New Jerseyheadquartered firm Lowenstein Sandler.

The firm has an outstanding reputationfor tech M&A. The reason for this is notdifficult to determine – the firm’s M&Apractice consistently represents household-name technology sector companies such asCisco Systems and Facebook on multi-billion dollar deals.

The firm’s capital markets group hasgarnered similar attention, while its privateequity practice – even at only six years old –has gained traction as an important middle-market industry player.

Recent transactional highlights• cisco systems $1.9 billion

acquisition of Broadsoft (acquirer)• cisco systems $7 billion six

tranche notes issues (issuer)• facebook acquisition of msQrD(acquirer)

• hewlett Packard Enterprise $1.09billion acquisition of Nimble storage(target)

• sage Group $850 millionacquisition of intacct (target)


Ferrere

Fenwick & West



Who are they?Fieldfisher can trace its history back to the19th century, though it took on its currentform through the merger of Field FisherMartineau and Waterhouse & Co in 1989.More recently the firm rebranded from FieldFisher Waterhouse to just Fieldfisher.

Within the financial and corporate space,the firm is best known for its work infinancial services, particularly areas such asderivatives and structured products, and alsofor work on stock market listings on AIM.More broadly the firm also has a goodreputation in the tech sector and for its workin areas such as privacy and outsourcing.

Why now?Fieldfisher is a good example of a firmmoving forward through new initiativesrather than just pure expansion.

A good example of this is the work thefirm is doing in the area of alternative legalprovision. In early 2017 the firm launched anew initiative, Condor, bringing on boardChris Georgiou from Ashurst to run it, withinput from derivatives partners LukeWhitmore and Guy Usher.

The new platform combines the offering

of various service providers (as of writingCognia Law in South Africa, eClerx inIndia, and Donaldson Legal Consulting inNorthern Ireland) and is designed to offerclients cheaper technology-driven solutionsto legal problems as an alternative to thetraditional partner-led model. Initiallyfocused on derivatives and financial trading,the firm is looking to expand the service tocover other areas such as IT, outsourcing, lifesciences and competition.

While many firms are looking at newtechnology as a way to assist clients,Fieldfisher is one of the few to move directlyinto the area of alternative law providers,which is usually viewed as a threat ratherthan an opportunity by traditional firms.

In addition to the above, the firm hasdone its fair share of expansion in the lastfew years. A clear strategy of Western Europeexpansion has seen the firm open inAmsterdam and merge with SASPI in Italyin the last two years, and several more officeopenings in the region are on the horizon.Further afield, the firm also opened inBeijing in 2016.

The UK team has also been enhancedthrough the hires of structured finance

partners Dougall Molson from Freshfieldsand Richard Todd from Mayer Brown, andbanking and debt capital markets specialistStephen Moller from K&L Gates.

Recent transactional highlights• cryolife $225 million acquisition of

JotEc Group (acquirer)• Golomt Bank $100 million financing(lender)

• KazmunaiGas ExplorationProduction $1.95 billion GDr andshare tender offer (issuer)

• KGal acquisition of Gunillabergand lunna wind farms (acquirer)

• otc Europe acquisition of oilBrokerage (shareholders)


Who are they? Based in Spain, Garrigues is a full-serviceinternational firm with offices in 13countries across America, Asia, and Europe.

Geographically the firm is strongest in itsnative Spain where it is among the leadingfirms in the country for all areas oftransactional advice.

Outside of the Iberian Peninsula, the firmhas its strongest regional presence in LatinAmerica, where it maintains offices in Chile,Colombia, Peru, and Mexico that all havegood reputations within their markets fortransactional advice.

Why now?Garrigues is well established in several LatinAmerican markets and in Chile in particularit has recently been gaining market shareafter a lateral hire.

The firm first expanded into Chile whenit merged with domestic firm AvendañoMerino. A few months later, Garrigues madesignificant headway when it added PedroGarcía, in what was a rare lateral hire forChile’s legal market. Dominated by largelocal firms, Chile has traditionally been adifficult market for global firms to break

into. But since hiring García, Garrigues hasbeen able to secure roles on several highvalue transactions including ENAP’s $700million bond issue, Transmisora Eléctrica delNorte’s $111 million project financing tofund a transmission line, and EmpresasAquaChile’s $280 million refinancing.

Garrigues’ move into Peru is alsonoteworthy. The firm hired Oscar Arrus,Sergio Amiel, Thomas Thorndike and JoseFrancisco Meier from Rubio LeguíaNormand when it opened its Lima office.Hiring an experienced team has enabled thefirm to work on several innovativetransactions, including Peru’s NS10.3 billionissue.

Further recent hires by Garrigues in LatinAmerica include the addition of Natalia AuliGiraldo and Andrés Ordóñez Rizo inColombia, and Mario Juárez in Mexico City.The firm also hired Diego Harman as aprincipal associate in its Lima office. In thefuture, the firm hopes to expand intoArgentina.

Recent transactional highlights• Banco santander chile $500

million 2.5% notes issue (dealers)• Enel chile / Enel Green Power

merger (merger party)• KKr €1.275 billion acquisition of

40% of telxius telecom (seller)• la araucana $643 million debt

restructuring (bond holders) • republic of Peru Ns10.3 billion

6.35% sovereign bond issue (initialpurchasers)


Fieldfisher

Garrigues



Who are they?Founded in Boston in 1912, GoodwinProcter has six domestic and fourinternational offices (three in Europe, one inAsia).

Transactional work is a specialty of thefirm, particularly capital markets and privateequity. The firm has expertise in the lifesciences, real estate and technology sectors.

With the firm’s international branches stillrelatively nascent, its strongest offices areconcentrated in North America.

Why now? Since late 2015, Goodwin Procter hasdoubled its number of international offices,opening two new European offices tocomplement the focus of its London branchand enable it to provide a better offering totarget private equity and real estate deals onthe mainland of the continent. In additionto expanding its European footprint, thefirm has also increased the headcount of itsCity branch, adding depth and quality tothe team.

The firm opened its first office incontinental Europe in 2015 after hiring fourAshurst partners in Germany to launch in

Frankfurt. The four were Marc Bohne, PeterJunghänel (both real estate), Stephan Kock(finance), and Lars Jessen (private equity).

Goodwin Procter’s more recent Europeanbranch opening saw the firm launch in Parisin summer 2016 after hiring a team fromKing & Wood Mallesons (KWM). Apopular a destination for in-bound privateequity investment, Paris is a market whichmakes sense for the firm, and the team it hasbuilt is experienced and focused on work inthis area. In total since opening in Paris, thefirm has hired three KWM (ChristopheDigoy, Maxence Bloch, and David Arnuad)and two Shearman & Sterling (ArnaudFromion and Frederic Guillox) partners whoall share a focus on funds work.

In the UK, Goodwin Procter expandedsignificantly in 2017, making a substantialaddition to its practice early in the year. Asix partner, 15 associate funds team wasrecruited from KWM’s City branch. Thegroup includes several well-known names onthe London market, including MichaelHalford, KWM’s former funds head, whohas represented PAI Partners, Triton, 3i,Macquarie among others. The five otherpartners were Ed Hall, Laura Charkin,

Shawn D’Aguiar, Patrick Deasy, and AjayPathak.

The firm also expanded in Hong Kong in2017, adding private equity partnersDouglas Freeman and Victor Chen fromPaul Hastings’ office.

Recent transactional highlights• aXa investment managers €1

billion acquisition of GramercyProperty Europe logistics portfolio(seller)

• lennar $9.3 billion acquisition ofcalatlantic Group (acquirer)

• Pamplona capital $4.5 billionacquisition of Parexel (target)

• sanofi €3.9 billion acquisition ofablynx (target)

• snap NYsE iPo (underwriters)


Who are they?Founded in Los Angeles in the 19th century,Gibson Dunn & Crutcher now has 20offices across 10 countries with more than1200 lawyers in total.

The firm has extended its reach since themillennium, entering Asia in 2008, Dubaiin 2007, São Paulo in 2009, and Frankfurtin 2016. In 2017 the firm expanded in itshome market, opening a new office inHouston fueled by 21 lateral partner hires.

The firm is best known for M&A workwithin the financial and corporate space,with the wider firm known for competitionand antitrust, litigation, and projects work.

Why now?Gibson Dunn & Crutcher expandedsignificantly in the UK in the past few years,putting a particular focus on building out itsEnglish law M&A and finance capability. Itis also notable that nearly all the lateralpartner hires – outlined below – are LeadingLawyers in the IFLR1000.

The firm’s recent UK hiring spree startedwith the hire of a number of corporate andprivate equity partners from Ashurst,Charlie Geffen, Mark Sperotto, Nigel Stacey

and Jonathan Earle, in 2014. They werefollowed by finance partner StephenGillespie, who joined from Kirkland & Ellis(though he moved in-house in early 2018),and, in early 2015, finance partner PhilipCrump, also from Kirkland.

In late 2015, capital markets became thearea of focus, with the firm adding SteveThierbach and Chris Haynes from HerbertSmith Freehills (HSF). Thierbach, notably,was HSF’s global head of capital markets. In2016-17 further hires were made, withfinancial regulatory partner James Perryjoining from Ashurst, M&A and privateequity partner James Howe joining fromKirkland, Anna Howell joining from HSF(where she had co-led the energy practice),and real estate partner Jeremy Kenleyjoining from Mayer Brown.

The firm has made clear its intentions inGermany as well, opening a second office inthe country in Frankfurt in 2016 and hiringtwo more IFLR1000 Leading Lawyers, DirkOberbracht and Wilhelm Reinhardt. InAsia, 2017 saw the firm hire a highly ratedprivate equity team in Hong Kong fromRopes & Gray.

Even in the US the firm has looked at

new opportunities, opening a new Houstonoffice in 2017 with the hire of six energypartners from Baker Botts and lawyers fromLatham & Watkins and ApacheCorporation.

Recent transactional highlights• Elliott management $1.6 billion

acquisition of Gigamon (acquirer)• Google $1.1 billion acquisition of

htc’s Pixel division (seller)• lennar $9.3 billion acquisition of

calatlantic Group (target)• sh 130 concession company

chapter 11 (debtor)• the williams companies $12 billion

financial repositioning and $2.1billion sale of williams olefins toNova chemicals (seller)


Goodwin Procter

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher



Who are they?Jingtian & Gongcheng, one of the firstprivate and independent partnership lawfirms in China, is headquartered in Beijingwith four further offices in Shanghai,Shenzhen, Chengdu and Hong Kong. Thefirm will be expanding its domesticfootprint in 2018 with a new office inNanjing.

The firm is strong in M&A and equitycapital markets where it enjoys a stellarreputation in Hong Kong listings. The firmhas a lucrative overseas listing business and isexperienced in acting for Chinese internetcompanies in resolving special mergercontrol issues involving the variable interestentity (VIE) structure.

Why now? Jingtian & Gongcheng established astrategic alliance with international firmMayer Brown JSM in 2015 that hasprogressed well and, as Chinese companiessee Hong Kong as a good place to IPO, thefirm’s strong Hong Kong listings practice hascome to the fore. In 2017, for example, itadvised on the IPO of Yixin Group, China’slargest online car retailer, which raised $870

million and was 560 times oversubscribed.The firm’s 2018 work pipeline looks

promising and it anticipates advising on twointernet company IPOs. One of the IPOs isexpected to be listed in the US in lateMarch, the other is planned for Hong Kongnear the end of the year.

Away from the firm’s core transactionalpractices, it has been expanding into otherareas such as intellectual property andcriminal law. However, the development ofthe firm’s compliance practice, which beganin 2016, has been most impressive and thefirm won Citic Securities as a client last year.

Looking at staffing changes at the firm, ithas doubled the number of partners in itsShanghai office, hiring Victor Wang and histeam from Allbright Law Offices and PengZhong and his team from DeHeng LawFirm.

The firm is on the cusp of opening up anoffice in Nanjing and will be transferringsome lawyers from its Shanghai and Beijingoffices to staff the new branch.

Recent transactional highlights• Bank of china $500 million covered

green bond issue (underwriters)• meitu hKsE iPo (issuer) • suning holdings Group $290

million acquisition of majority stakein inter milan (acquirer)

• wanda cinema $280 millionacquisition of mtime (acquirer)

• Yixin Group hKsE iPo (jointsponsors and underwriters)


Jingtian & Gongcheng



Who are they? Mayora & Mayora is a Guatemala basedfirm with offices in El Salvador andHonduras, which is also a member of legalnetwork Lex Mundi.

The firm is one of Guatemala’s leadingtransactional legal advisors. Its internationalbranches are newer so less established withintheir markets.

Why Now?Mayora & Mayora has made an impressivestatement with some substantial growth,expanding into Honduras and El Salvador.

In Honduras the firm absorbed OdínGuillén Leiva in April 2016 to establishitself in the country. The firm’s teamcomprises lead partner Guillén Leiva andtwo corporate associates.

More recently, in May 2017, the firmentered El Salvador through its integrationwith Telles & Asociados. The firm waslaunched by banking and M&A partnerManuel Telles Suvillaga, a well recognisedattorney in his market who has worked onnotable transactions including the financingfor the Providencia 60MW photovoltaicpower plant.

Mayora & Mayora’s move into these twonew markets was driven by client demandand the firm is also looking to expand intoCosta Rica.

In addition to the firm’s regionalexpansion it has grown in headcount, hiringByron Deulofeu and banking and financeassociate Ashley Sosa.

Recent transactional highlights• Energuate $330 million 5.875%

notes issue (issuer)• industrial DPr funding $350

million notes issue (issuer)• laboratorios Vijosa $40 million

investment in El salvador (investor)• Providencia 60mw photovoltaic

power plant (borrower)• republic of Guatemala $650 million

bond issue (issuer)


Who are they?Founded in Los Angeles in the 1930s,Latham & Watkins is one of the world’shighest-grossing law firms. The firm has awide network of domestic offices andrelatively good coverage internationally,particularly in Asia-Pacific and in the largereconomies in Europe.

Latham & Watkins’ strength intransactional work varies depending onlocation. In general, however, high-yielddebt, private equity, project work, andrestructuring and insolvency in particular areareas where the firm’s offices are fairlyconsistently ranked in the top tier. Lifesciences, oil and gas, and technology aresectors in which the firm specialises.

Looking at the firm’s jurisdictional orregional practices as a whole, the strongestteams are in Germany, the UK and the US.

Why now? In the previous two years, Latham &Watkins has significantly strengthened inGermany, adding high-calibre partners towhat was already a talented team. Throughthese lateral partner hires in a few key areas,the firm has built one of the country’s most

formidable transactional practices. The firm seems to have been consistently

hiring big names in Germany’s legal marketsince recruiting, in 2015, Clifford Chance’sthen joint global head of private equity,Oliver Felsenstein. Following the arrival ofFelsenstein, one of Germany’s top buy-outspecialists, Latham added Clifford Chance’sGerman banking and finance headAlexandra Hagelüken. Latham already had astrong leveraged finance practice, theaddition of Hagelüken gave it one of thecountry’s best.

More recently Latham & Watkins hasturned to other magic circle firms to expandin Germany. For its next high profile hire itrecruited Linklaters’ German private equityhead, another market leader, Rainer Traugottin 2016. Traugott bought with him keyclient Triton, and large German corporatestoo, with Osram and Siemens among thosehe works with.

A further prominent German hire byLatham in 2016 was Allen & Overy’s headof international capital markets, and jointhead of equity capital markets (ECM) forEMEA, Oliver Seiler. Credited with buildingthe magic circle firm’s highly regarded

German ECM practice, Seiler was arguablythe last piece in the puzzle for the Latham’soverall transactional offering in Germany,which has leading debt capital markets,lending, M&A and restructuring specialists.

Recent transactional highlights• Bc Partners led consortium €2.6

billion acquisition of ceramtec(lenders)

• cVc capital Partners €1 billionacquisition of sisal (acquirer)

• hello fresh fsE iPo (joint globalcoordinators / joint bookrunners/ joint lead managers)

• henkel $1.05 billion acquisition ofDarex Packaging technologies(acquirer)

• siemens healthineers fsE iPo(issuer)


Mayora & Mayora

Latham & Watkins



Who are they?Meysan Partners is a young Kuwaiti boutiqueformed in 2015 by DLA Piper’s formerMiddle East managing partner, Abdulaziz AlYaqout, and a former senior executive officerat The Carlyle Group, Bader El Jeaan. Overallthe firm has three partners, two counsel, andsix associates.

Predominantly focusing on transactionalwork (the firm also advises on disputes),capital markets and M&A are the areas whereMeysan is visible on significant deals.Financial services, food and beverage, andtransport are sectors where the firm hasexperience on high-end transactions.

Why now? Meysan Partners has established an excellentreputation and a good track record in a shortperiod of time. In just over two years ofoperation, the firm has secured a number ofimpressive capital markets and M&Amandates and earned a good ranking.

A strong 2016 saw the firm promoted tothe second tier of IFLR1000’s Kuwait rankingtable. In part this was in recognition of thefirm accruing a significant market share ofwhat was then a new area of transactional

legal work in Kuwait. Shariah compliantregulatory capital issues by domestic banksbecame fairly common following Kuwait’simplementation of Basel III, and the firmworked on five deals in this area during 2016.

M&A is the other area where the firm hasregularly demonstrated its capability tohandle significant transactions. A recentheadline deal for the firm was a role for Zainand the company’s majority shareholder intwo related transactions to sell a stake in Zainto Oman’s national telecoms company,Omantel. Another notable deal for the firmin 2017 was its role advising the shareholdersof The British School of Kuwait, the largestprivate school in the country, on selling thebusiness. The previous year, the firmrepresented Tristar Transport when it boughtEmirates Ship Investment Company for $90million from Egon Oldendorff.

From a headcount perspective, Meysan hasmore than doubled in size since opening,growing from five to 11 fee-earners. The mostsignificant lateral hire by the firm was theaddition of corporate partner and formerhead of DLA Piper’s Bahrain office, MichaelYadgar.

Meysan would like to expand abroad and isconsidering opening in several otherjurisdictions in the Middle East. Saudi Arabiais one market where the firm is activelylooking at options to establish a presence,with capital markets work one area ofparticular interest.

Recent transactional highlights• ahli United Bank $200 million 5.5%

tier 1 sukuk issue (issuer)• Boubyan Bank $250 million 6.75%

tier 1 sukuk issue (underwriters)• National Bank of Kuwait KD137

million rights issue (issuer)• omantel $846 million acquisition of

9.84% in Zain (seller)• warba Bank $250 million 6.5% tier

1 sukuk issue (issuer)

IFLR1000 Leading Lawyers:Highly regarded: 3

Meysan Partners



Who are they?Full-service firm Norton Rose Fulbright isone of the largest UK based firms in theworld, employing more than 4000 lawyersacross 33 countries.

Globally the firm is recognised for projectdevelopment and finance work, in particularoil and gas and mining. The firm has strongLondon and Middle East Islamic financepractices and a good corporate offering inNorth America. Financial services is a sectorof focus.

Geographically the firm is most visible onsignificant deals in Africa, Asia-Pacific, theMiddle East, North America, and the UK.

Why now? Norton Rose Fulbright has been on anaggressive expansion drive for around fiveyears, with mergers large and smallpropelling the firm to its current size andstatus. In the previous two calendar years themost significant example of this type ofgrowth was the firm’s combination with USbased international firm Chadbourne &Parke last year.

The addition of most of Chadbourne &Parke (some offices joined Covington &

Burling) to Norton Rose’s existing networkstrengthened the firm in New York andWashington, and gave it new offices inMexico City, Istanbul, and São Paulo. Thetwo firms shared specialisms in energy andproject work so the combination made goodbusiness sense in that some competition formandates has been eliminated.

Norton Rose’s merger with top five (byheadcount) Australian independent HenryDavis York was another significant move forthe firm. Although Norton Rose has beenpresent in Australia since 2010, and in thesubsequent years has established itself in theprojects space, the merger with Henry DavisYork in December 2017 has given it aheadcount of 160 lawyers domestically,making it the second largest internationalfirm in Australia. The merged entity hasstrong capabilities in areas important toAustralia, and to Norton Rose globally:financial services and infrastructure.

Africa is also a region in which NortonRose has been growing. One move saw thefirm enhance its capacity in South Africa bytaking over domestic firm Keller SnymanSchelhase in 2016.

A further expansion by Norton Rose in

North America was its merger withVancouver’s Bull Housser. The move added aVancouver office to the firm’s existingCanadian network, which alreadyencompassed Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa,Montreal, and Quebec City.

Recent transactional highlights• ararat 420mw wind farm(lenders)

• Blackstone/cPPiB/Gic $20 billionacquisition of 55% stake inthomson reuters financial and riskunit (seller)

• caculo cabaça 2.1Gw hydro-electric power plant (sponsor)

• canberra metro light rail PPP(project developer)

• Potash $36 billion merger withagrium (merger party)


Who are they?Morgan Lewis & Bockius is a US basedinternational firm employing more than2000 legal professionals and with 30 officesworldwide.

The American firm has a strong corporatepractice and is highly active in privateequity, M&A, equity capital markets,projects, investment funds, and banking andfinance. The firm has a significant US clientbase including in the life sciences, financialservices, and automotive industries.

Why now? Morgan Lewis’ footprint in Asia hastransformed dramatically in recent years andit now has offices in Hong Kong, Beijing,Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo. The firm’sexpansion strategy has been driven toaddress its global clients’ needs in theChinese market.

The firm’s Asian expansion began in earnestin 2014 when it brought in the assetmanagement regulatory practice of the nowdefunct law firm Bingham McCutchen inTokyo. Then, in 2015, the firm combinedwith Singapore’s Stamford Law Firm to createthe city state’s only fully integrated law firm.

In 2016 Morgan Lewis expanded its officein Beijing and Shanghai, adding a team ofmore than 25 lawyers from Dentons. Thefollowing year the firm formed anassociation with Hong Kong firm Luk &Partner and added 13 partners from OrrickHerrington & Sutcliffe.

Since this growth, Morgan Lewis hashired lawyers from firms such as Simmons& Simmons, Winston & Strawn and FangdaPartners and, despite this already significantexpansion, it still intends to grow more inAsia.

One area in which the firm has improvedits capacity substantially is in private equityand M&A, which can be seen through itsrecent transactions. For example, the firmacted on 50 M&A deals in China last year,of which 35 were on behalf of private equityinvestors, including 10 deals for its keyclient Warburg Pincus and six for SequoiaCapital.

Recent transactional highlights• china New higher Education hKsE

iPo (issuer)• intime retail Group $1.9 billion

going-private transaction (seller)• minsheng Education Group hKsE

iPo (issuer) • luzhou Xinglu hKsE iPo (issuer)• warburg Pincus, sequoia and

tencent $622 million investment inZiroom (investor)


Norton Rose Fulbright

Morgan Lewis & Bockius

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Who are they?Romanian firm PeliFilip was founded in2008 by lawyers who moved from firmsincluding Linklaters and Nestor NestorDiculescu Kingston Petersen. In thefollowing years the firm has created animpressive reputation in a range of practiceareas, and within the financial andcorporate sphere has acted on some of thedomestic market’s most significantbanking, capital markets and M&A mattersin recent years.

Outside of financial and corporate work,real estate, competition and energy are alsoseen as areas of strength for the firm.

The firm is one of a number of youngeroutfits founded in Romania in the last 10-15 years which have looked to adopt a moremodern structure with younger lawyers.

Why now?While PeliFilip has been active at the upperend of the market for some time, the last 12months have seen it complete a number ofheadline grabbing deals. The highlights haveincluded a record IPO on the BucharestStock Exchange by Digi Communications,and a significant acquisition in the banking

space in the form of Banca Transilvania’sacquisition of Bancpost.

Large acquisitions and share issues stillremain a rarity in the Romanian market so itis impressive when a firm can boast severalsignificant mandates. The firm is regularlycalled in by the Ministry of Finance and hasacted on the country’s recent sovereign bondissues.

Capital markets has been a difficult areafor Romanian firms to demonstratecompetence due to low deal flow and bypicking up the deals it has, PeliFilip has putitself in an excellent position to capitalise onfuture mandates.

Beyond transactions the firm has alsobeen focusing on the disputes andcommercial spheres. In the latter it hiredCătălin Suliman at the end of 2016 fromSchoenherr.

Recent transactional highlights• Banca transilvania acquisition of

Bancpost (acquirer)• Digi communications BVB iPo(issuer)

• DiGi tavkozlesi es szolgaltatoacquisition of invitel tavkozlesi(acquirer)

• Kingfisher acquisition of Praktikerromânia (acquirer)

• romania ministry of Public finance€1.75 billion 2.375% and 3.875%sovereign bond issues (issuer)


Who are they?Founded on Jersey in 1922, Ogier isconsidered part of the ‘offshore magic circle’.The firm has a presence in eight otherlocations: the British Virgin Islands, theCayman Islands, Guernsey, Hong Kong,London, Luxembourg, and Tokyo.

The firm’s strongest practices are offshorefunds, M&A, banking, and capital markets.The firm’s leading offices are in the ChannelIslands but it is building in the Caribbeanand Hong Kong.

Why now?A consistently good performer in offshorejurisdictions, Ogier has taken recent steps tobolster its capabilities through lateral hires,particularly in the Cayman Islands’ lucrativelegal market. Notably this growth in theCaymans has come at the expense of itsmain regional rivals. The firm has alsocontinued to strengthen its other offices,including its original Jersey location.

Ogier made two significant additions toits Caymans’ team, hiring two new counselin November 2017. Hedge funds specialistEmma Sutherland joined from offshorecompetitor and leading Caymans firm

Maples & Calder, where she had been forover nine years. The other hire was KristiGreen, previously a director at SociétéGénérale, who focuses on debt capitalmarkets and structured finance transactions.

The firm’s Cayman Islands restructuringand insolvency group expanded inNovember 2017 too, with the hire ofpartner Marc Kish. Now the head of thefirm’s Caribbean and Asia restructuringpractice, Kish joined from rival offshore firmHarneys, where he had been restructuringhead.

Elsewhere the firm has continued to adddepth in the Channel Islands. Recent lateralhires include investment funds counselSophie Reguengo, who arrived fromWalkers.

The firm’s Jersey office welcomed backsenior associate Lucy Chambers to itsbanking and finance team following a stintat The International Stock Exchange.Chambers had previously been with Ogierfor more than 10 years.

Recent transactional highlights• Burford capital £175 million 5%

bond issue (issuer) • Emperor international holdings

£260 million acquisition of theampersand building (acquirer)

• Kennedy wilson Europe/Kennedywilson holdings merger (mergerparty)

• lenovo Group $1.35 billion 3.875%and 5.375% notes issues (issuer)

• workspace Group £158.7 millionacquisition of salisbury house(acquirer)


Ogier

PeliFilip



Who are they?Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uríais a regional South American firm withoffices in Chile, Colombia and Peru and anassociation with Spanish firm UríaMenéndez. The Spanish firm has offices inBelgium, Brazil, Portugal, the UK, and theUS.

In Latin America the firm is generallygood in transactional work and among thestronger firms in each of the markets whereit has a presence.

Why now?Although some international firms haveLatin American regional presences, it isuncommon for those heralding from SouthAmerica to have networks like PhilippiPrietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uría.

The firm underwent a significanttransformation in 2016 through the three-way merger of Philippi Prietocarrizosa &Uría, which had offices in Chile andColombia, and Peruvian firms FerreroAbogados and Delmar Ugarte Abogados.

Since the merger the firm has been visibleon a number of notable high valuefinancings. The highlights have included

GyM Ferrovìas’s $316 million financing forthe expansion of the Lima Metro Line 1,and the $190 million financing of the RoshPinah and Perkoa zinc mines.

The firm recently completed someinteresting deals in Peru’s education sector.One example was its advice to CorporaciónSan Ignacio de Loyola on an investmentagreement with Kandeo Fund II (Perú)Servicios Financieros and Kandeo SpainLatam.

In Colombia the firm is one of only a fewin the country to be consistently active on4G (fourth-generation) financings since 4Ginfrastructure projects were introduced inColombia to improve its roads.

The firm’s significant lateral hires since2016 have included Rafael Lengua, whonow heads its transactional mining practice.

Looking to the future, the firm hopes toexpand further by opening in Mexico, whichwould achieve its target of having a branchin every country in the Pacific Alliance.

Recent transactional highlights • Banco santander chile $500

million 2.5% notes issue (issuer)• coDElco $1.5 billion 3.625%

notes and $1.25 billion 4.5% notesissue (initial purchasers)

• EDf and amE $300 millionacquisition of shares of sociedadEléctrica santiago (acquirer)

• lima metro line 1 expansion(borrower)

• ruta al mar $708 million financing(underwriters)

IFLR1000 Leading Lawyers Highly regarded: 10Market leader: 2Rising star: 5

Who are they?Founded in 1983 by the former SpanishMinister of Foreign Affairs, José Pedro Pérez-Llorca, Pérez-Llorca is a Spanishindependent with over 170 lawyers acrossoffices in Madrid, Barcelona, London andNew York.

Within the financial and corporate space,the firm is best known for its M&A andequity capital markets (ECM) work, and hasalso developed a specialism advising on dealsinvolving Spanish REIT structures, the so-called Sociedades Anónimas Cotizadas deInversión en el Mercado Inmobiliario(SOCIMI). The firm also has well-respectedprojects, public law, and employmentpractices.

Why now?In early 2017, Pérez-Llorca made a clearstatement of intent with the hire of threecorporate partners from a Spanish rival.Javier Carvajal, Pedro Fernández and AlfredoLafita all joined the firm from Cuatrecasas,bringing experience in M&A, private equity,equity capital markets, and corporaterestructuring. Large moves of senior lawyersbetween the well-established Spanish

corporate firms are rare and taking threepartners from Cuatrecasas – one of the clearleaders in Spanish M&A – is quite a coup.

The firm expanded further as 2017progressed, with Norma Peña i Bagés joiningthe Barcelona office as a tax partner andNatalia Martos joining the firm as a counselto focus on data, privacy and newtechnologies.

Over the last few years the firm has takenroles on some of the market’s largest deals inthe equity capital markets and M&A space.These have included advising Coca-ColaEnterprises on its merger with Coca-ColaIberian Partners and Coca-ColaErfrischungsgetränke, and the company’ssubsequent listing; acting for CVC CapitalPartners and Trebol International on the€1.9 billion sale of 15.5% stake in AbertisInfraestructuras; and advising EON on the€2.5 billion sale of its Spain and Portugalbusiness.

Recently the firm’s impressive record ofscoring roles on high profile M&A hasshown no sign of slowing. The firm actedfor Ardagh on its global acquisition of assetsfrom Ball Corporation and Rexam, advisedBanco Santander on its takeover of Banco

Popular, and advised EMC Corporation onthe sale of its Enterprise Content Division.

Recent transactional highlights• ardagh $3.42 billion acquisition of

Ball/rexam can manufacturingassets (acquirer)

• Banco santander acquisition ofBanco Popular (acquirer)

• Deutsche Bank €495 millionacquisition of Diagonal mar (seller)

• Global infrastructure Partners €3.4billion acquisition of Gas Naturalfenosa (target)

• opentext $1.62 billion acquisitionof Emc corporation Enterprisecontent Division (seller)


Philippi Prietocarrizosa Ferrero DU & Uría

Pérez-Llorca



Who are they?Riolo Calderaro Crisostomo (RCC) wasformed in Milan in 2009 by three ex-Clifford Chance partners, Silvio Riolo, PaoloCalderaro, and Michele Crisostomo. Thefirm’s goal was to be a nimble banking andfinance boutique, acting primarily onfinancings, restructurings and capitalmarkets matters, but it now also handlesM&A and litigation.

Since the firm’s launch it has expandedsteadily, adding partners with internationalfirm experience, including ex-Allen &Overy, Freshfields, Linklaters and White &Case lawyers, and making hires from Italiandomestics such as Grimaldi and Legance.

While the firm acts across the financespectrum it has gained a reputation forworking on innovative debt deals,securitisations, and matters related to loanportfolio transfers and acquisitions.

Why now?RCC has been one of the leading lights in itskey areas of specialisation for several yearsnow, but the firm’s work in the past two haspushed it to new heights. With the Italianbanking sector undergoing one of the largest

restructuring exercises in its history, withbond issues and loan portfolio transfersbeing undertaken by all its majorinstitutions, the firm has acted on a numberof significant matters. These have includedlarge debt issues by the likes of IntesaSanpaolo and a variety of matters relating toloan portfolio transfers for banks such asUniCredit.

These deals have seen the firm brushingshoulders with the large Italian domesticfirms like Bonelli and Chiomenti, andinternationals like Allen & Overy andClifford Chance. The frequency with whichit appears on such deals belies its size andhighlights the reputation it has gained in themarket.

In addition to this, the firm has continuedto expand but in a steady and intelligentway, adding a small number of select lawyersat intervals rather than looking to hire largeteams which might upset its balance. Thedual hire of finance lawyer Alberto Del Dinand restructuring specialist Antonio Azzaràfrom Paul Hastings is a good example of thisstrategy.

Recent transactional highlights• hoist finance €641 million

acquisition of Banco BPm NPlportfolio (acquirer)

• intesa sanpaolo €1.25 billion7.75% at1 notes issue (issuer)

• Project fiNo – Unicredit €17.7billion sale of loan portfolio(transferor / underwriter)

• sirius sPV acquisition of €366million iccrea Group NPl portfolio(acquirer)

• superstrada supemradaPedemontana Veneta €1.571 billionproject bond issue (liquiditymanagement)


Who are they?Pinsent Masons is a UK based full-servicefirm with 15 international offices, mostly inAsia-Pacific and mainland Europe.

Known for project and real estate work,the firm also has a good mid-market UKM&A practice. Energy and technology areother sectors in which the firm isexperienced.

The firm’s UK practice is its strongest butit has a relatively long history in Asia and agood reputation there.

Why now? In the two previous calendar years PinsentMasons has grown its network ofinternational offices by a third, entering fivenew markets (including one in a newcontinent for the firm) and expanding itspresence in others.

Most of Pinsent Masons’ recent growthhas been in EMEA. One significant newoffice was the firm’s first Africa branch.Given the infrastructure deficit in Sub-Saharan Africa and the firm’s focus onproject development, it is a continent whichpresents opportunities. The Johannesburgoffice was launched with lateral hires from

Bowman Gilfillan. Both partners focus oninfrastructure: Rob Morson was Bowman’shead of construction, and Shane Voigt is aconstruction and engineering specialist.

Pinsent Masons opened in two other newcountries in EMEA in 2017. The firmbecame the first international outfit to openin Ireland following the result of the UK’sEU referendum. The firm made three lateralpartner hires to staff its new Dublin branch– Walkers’ Gayle Bowen (funds), Mathesons’Andreas Carney (outsourcing), and ByrneWallace’s Dennis Agnew (corporate).

Another new EMEA market for PinsentMasons in 2017 was Spain. The firmlaunched in Madrid last May with fivelateral hires. Four of the partners – DiegoLozano, Antonio Montero, Inma Castello(all corporate), and Idoya Arteagabeitia(finance) – were recruited from domesticfirm Ramon & Caja. Ricardo Garcia washired from construction company OHL.

Other recent European expansion byPinsent Masons could be seen in Germanywhere the firm opened a second office in2016. The Dusseldorf branch was launchedwith the hire of three KPMG partners whoall have an energy focus.

Meanwhile in Asia-Pacific, PinsentMasons added a third office to its Australiannetwork, launching in Perth after hiring fourenergy and infrastructure partners fromNorton Rose Fulbright.

Recent transactional highlights• accord healthcare £603 million

acquisition of UK and ireland assetsof actavis Generics (seller)

• amc Entertainment $1.2 billionacquisition of odeon & Ucicinemas Group (acquirer)

• far East consortium international£1 billion investment in NorthernGateway project (sponsor)

• Newriver retail rEit £430 millionrefinancing (lenders)

• Patrizia immobilien €205 millionacquisition of rDi’s leopardportfolio (seller)

IFLR1000 Leading LawyersExpert consultant: 1Highly regarded: 12Rising star: 1

Pinsent Masons

Riolo Calderaro Crisostomo



Who are they?Sidley Austin is a full-service internationalfirm that has its earliest origins in Chicagomore than 150 years ago. Today the firm isamong the largest by headcount of thosebased in North America, with around 1,900lawyers globally across a network of 10offices in the States, six in Asia, and four inEurope. By revenue the firm also compareswell to its US compatriots, generally rankingamong the top 10 firms by revenue whenannual incomes are tallied.

From a transactional perspective, Sidley’sstrengths are funds, restructuring, andsecurities advice. The firm’s more establishedoffices in China, the UK, and the US arethose which perform best in rankings.

Why now? Sidley Austin has recently made bold movesin Europe as it looks to gain market share ofprivate equity and restructuring work in theregion by targeting Germany and the UK.

The firm’s history in Germany isinteresting and fairly unusual. Having firstlaunched in Frankfurt in 2016 it chose toclose the branch in 2014 following a spate ofpartner exits, thereby leaving Germany

entirely. In 2016, however, the firmrelaunched its German presence, on thisoccasion opening in Munich with a formerKirkland & Ellis City private equity partner,Eric Dahl, at the helm.

Since opening in Bavaria, Sidley Austinhas made nine German lateral partner hires.The firm returned to Kirkland & Ellis torecruit a large team which included sevenpartners, one of whom was well-knownprivate equity expert Volker Kullmann. Thefirm also hired Linklaters’ Germanrestructuring head – one of the topspecialists in the country – Kolja vonBismarck, and added another transactionalcorporate partner Jan Schinköth from DLAPiper.

In London, Sidley has taken a proactiveapproach to lateral partner hires too, making12 (including Dahl) in 2016 and last yearadding further partners from a variety of USand UK competitors. The focus of thesehires was on enhancing the firm’s Cityprivate equity and restructuring practices. Inthe past two years new partners recruited inLondon who are involved in buy-out workinclude Christian Iwasko, Sava Savov,Fatema Orjela, and Wim De Vlieger, and

leveraged finance partner Bryan Robson.Restructuring specialists Jennifer Brennanand Yen Sum were also brought in.

Recent transactional highlights• apollo Global management

acquisition of catalina holdings(acquirer)

• Gilde Buy out Partners acquisitionof majority stake in losberger(acquirer)

• ocean rig UDw restructuring(liquidator)

• towerBrook capital Partnersacquisition of Bosal acPs(acquirer)

• towerBrook capital Partnersacquisition of schweighofer fiber(acquirer)


Sidley Austin



Who are they?Full-service UK based firm Simmons &Simmons operates in more than 20 locationsacross Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, andWestern Europe.

On a global level the firm is generallygood in financial and corporate work butrecognised in particular for funds advice,and financial services is a core sector for it.Geographically the firm’s UK and Beneluxoffices are among its strongest.

Why now?In 1962, Simmons & Simmons madehistory as the first City law firm to establisha presence in Brussels, and since the turn ofthe millennium it has grown steadily. In2002 the firm merged with the Rotterdam-based office of Nolst Trenité, beforeexpanding its Dutch offering in 2007 withthe opening of a second office inAmsterdam. The firm merged its Dutchpractices in 2010 into one single Amsterdamoffice – closing the Rotterdam location –and expanded in 2015 with the launch of anew office in Luxembourg.

In the past couple of years Simmons hasinvested heavily in the recruitment of new

partners to what it refers to as its Beneluxfinancial practice. The aim is to challengethe dominance of the establishedinternational firms in the region by bringingin experienced individuals to boost itscapabilities.

The result of the firm’s activities has seenit increase revenue from blue chip clients inthe Benelux, adding new names to itsalready impressive roster. For example, inthe past five years the firm’s Dutch team hassecured panel positions with ABN Ambro,ING Bank, Rabobank, and Aegon,essentially covering the core of the Dutchfinancial sector.

In Belgium the firm has attempted tomirror the success of the efforts of its Dutchcolleagues and has similarly been engagingin building up the capability of the team.This was most notable in late 2016 whenthe firm hired Carl Meyntjens, the head ofAshurst’s Brussels office, and his team. Thefirm has followed this up with a number ofother additions through 2017 and plans tocontinue adding more through 2018.

The launch of the firm’s Luxembourgoffice in 2015 gave it offices in all Beneluxcountries. The branch is primarily focused

on developing the international team’salready strong asset management,investment funds and financial institutionswork in the region.

Recent transactional highlights• amundi €500 million acquisition of

the atrium (lenders)• Delft securitisation of Dutch non-

conforming mortgages (issuer)• Gilde Equity management

acquisition of Boboli (acquisition)• moody’s €3 billion acquisition of

Bureau van Dijk (acquirer)• Principal financial Group

acquisition of interos (acquirer)


Simmons & Simmons



Who are they?Taylors, which works in association withWalkers, opened in Bermuda in 2016,disrupting the country’s usually stable legalmarket. The firm began with two corporatepartners but now employs five.

Founded in 1964, Walkers has offices inoffshore locations such as Jersey, theCayman Islands, and the British VirginIslands. Walkers also has European branchesin the UK and Ireland, Asia-Pacific offices inHong Kong and Singapore, and a MiddleEast branch in Dubai.

Like most Bermudian firms, Taylorsprimarily works on M&A and financingtransactions, with some significantrestructuring and capital markets work aswell.

Why now?In the short time Taylors has been present inBermuda, it has established itself as animportant regional player. The firm has seizeda large portion of the local market share, aparticularly impressive accomplishment notonly because of the firm’s age but also thegeneral difficulty in luring clients from legacylaw firms in this location.

Taylors leapt from being an unrankedfirm in the IFLR1000 in 2017 to Bermuda’ssecond tier in the 2018 rankings. Thatpromotion – in addition to the Bermudaoffice’s staff expansion – have placed Taylorsin the position to have another good year.

Among the firm’s important hires was theaddition of partner Ariane West, who joinedTaylors after five years at fellow Bermudianfirm Wakefield Quin. West also serves as amember of the Listing Committee for theBermuda Stock Exchange (BSX).

Corporate associate Phelecia Barnett isanother of Taylors’ recent additions. Barnettjoined the firm in the latter part of 2016from Bennett Jones’ Bermuda office.

Improving the office’s headcount andreputation have allowed Taylors to landrecent headline deals, including acting asBermuda counsel for the SoftBank VisionFund in connection with its August 2017$1.1 billion equity investment in healthcaretherapies developer Roivant Sciences.

The firm has made notable in-roads in themining and oil and gas sectors, advisingclients in connection with a number ofsizeable financing transactions in the twoindustries over the last couple of years.

Recent transactional highlights• Buriticá gold mine (projectdeveloper)

• Bw Gas JuJu lNG $684.5 millionfinancing (lender)

• microchip technology $3.6 billionacquisition of atmel (acquirer)

• softBank Vision fund $1.1 billioninvestment in roivant sciences(investor)

• trevali mining $418 millionacquisition of mining assets (co-lead arrangers)

IFLR1000 Leading Lawyers:Highly regarded: 1Market leader: 1

Who are they?SRS Advogados is a Portuguese firmestablished in 1992 that currently has 110lawyers across offices in Lisbon andSingapore.

For much of its existence the firm waspart of an alliance with Simmons &Simmons before eventually merging withthe UK firm in 2001.

The firm regained its independence in2009 and, like many of its Portuguesecontemporaries, moved into Africa byforging alliances in the former Portuguesecolonies of Angola (Luís Martinho Lunga –Lawyers) and Mozambique (Bhikha &Popat Advogados). This in turn developedinto SRS Global network, which addedalliances in Brazil (Veirano Advogados) andMacau (Manuela António – Lawyers andNotaries).

In recent years the firm’s focus hasswitched to the east as it has moved to gain afoothold in Asia.

Traditionally the firm has been bestknown for its finance work across thebanking and capital markets practice areas,but it has been growing in presence inM&A, particularly on private equity and

cross border work in recent years. The firmis also recognised for competition andemployment advice.

Why now?Starting in Macau in 2014, the firm has puta clear focus on winning business in Asia.This led to the launch of a Singapore officein 2017, which the firm sees as a hub fromwhich to reach out to clients across theregion.

The firm has been involved in severalprivate equity deals in recent years as it looksto capitalise on an increasing interest inPortuguese assets from foreign buyers. Oneexample saw the firm advise VallisConsolidation Strategies on the €90 millionsale of Grupo Elevo to Nacala Holdings, adeal described as the largest private equityinvestment ever into the Portugueseconstruction sector.

The firm has also expanded and in early2018 added Natália Garcia Alves to itsdisputes team.

Recent transactional highlights• Barreiro deep sea container port(grantor)

• labcorp $1.2 billion acquisition ofchiltern international (acquirer)

• Nacala holdings €90 millionacquisition of Grupo Elevo (seller)

• Port of maputo €100 millionfinancing (lead arranger)

• Vinci Energies acquisition ofNovabase ims (acquirer)


Taylors

SRS Advogados



Who are they?Established in 2000, Trilegal is a young,innovative full-service Indian firmemploying around 200 lawyers across fiveoffices.

The firm is broadly focused and good intransactional work, although projects is onearea of particular expertise.

Why now?Despite Trilegal’s relatively short history,the firm has established itself in the upperechelons of India’s legal market and ischallenging the country’s more establishedfirms for high-end work.

The firm expanded its network recentlyopening a fifth office, in Gurgaon, in 2016.The firm relocated four corporate partnersto staff its new branch in the NationalCapital Region close to New Delhi. Thefirm has also grown in number, addingthree senior practitioners in the previoustwo years. The new additions’ focusesinclude capital markets, antitrust, andbanking and finance.

Recent work by the firm includes anumber of prominent M&A deals. Amongthe highlights were roles advising on

Wilmar’s acquisition of India’s largest sugarmanufacturing business, Shee RenukaSugars; Alibaba’s acquisition of a stake inIndia’s largest online groceries shoppingplatform, BigBasket; and, Jera Japan’sacquisition of a stake in India’s largestrenewables brand, ReNew Power.

In the energy sector, the firm is advisingon what will be among the largest everrenewable portfolio acquisitions in India.In addition, the firm is working with oneof the country’s largest steelmakers lookingto make a bid for Essar Steel and BhushanSteel.

Trilegal has ambitions to expand itsclient base and sector focus. India’sgovernment is encouraging internationalbusinesses to establish in India, especiallyin sectors where the country does not haveadvanced technology. In line with thispolicy, the firm has been working withprominent clients, including LockheedMartin and Saab, to establish or expandtheir exposure to India.

Other areas Trilegal would like to expandinto include real estate and fund formation.Additionally, the firm intends to establishan anti-corruption practice in response to

increased demand for this type of advicefrom domestic and international clients inSoutheast Asia.

Recent transactional highlights • alibaba $300 million acquisition of

stake in BigBasket (acquirer)• Blackstone $150 million acquisition

of iarc (target)• Jera Japan $200 million acquisition

of 10% in reNew Power (acquirer)• macquarie $600 million acquisition

of hindustan Powerprojects solarpower assets (acquirer)

• wilmar acquisition of stake in shreerenuka sugars (acquirer)

IFLR1000 Leading Lawyers Highly regarded: 5Rising star: 3

Trilegal



Who are they?Walder Wyss is a full-service Swiss firm thatprovides services to domestic andinternational clients. Established in 1972,the firm operates in six locations aroundSwitzerland – Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Berne,Lausanne, and Lugano – giving it one of thelargest footprints and widest reaches of anyfirm in the country. On top of that, the firmhas one of the highest head counts oflawyers in the country, with experienceacross a range of different practice areas andsectors.

The firm ranks as one of the strongestcapital markets practices in Switzerland andis generally strong in the financial andcorporate space.

Why now? Having expanded in footprint at thebeginning of 2016 by opening in Genevaand Lausanne, Walder Wyss has continuedto push forward in all areas of practice. Thefirm now boasts the second-largest team oflawyers in Switzerland – at 160 fee earners –and has a presence in all three languageregions of the country, with concurrent legalcapabilities to match.

The Swiss outfit plans to continueexpanding through 2018 and further still inthe medium term. The firm is looking togrow the size of the team by at least another50% through the acquisition of experiencednew partners. The firm is also committed tothe continued expansion of its work bysecuring new major clients. For example, inthe recent past the firm has managed to addNestlé – by many metrics the world’s largestfood company – to its client roster.

Recent work in the M&A space has seenthe firm significantly increase the value of itstransactions and it can now boast anaggregate deal volume in excess of SFr10billion. On top of that, the team can alsoboast one of the most prolific transactionalpractices in Switzerland, with 49 major dealsclosed in 2017.

The firm is committed to futureinnovation, manifested most recently in thedevelopment of a knowledge managementtool for clients, and it regularly advises theSwiss banking community in relation to thedevelopment of standard documentation.

Recent transactional highlights• castleton commodities

international $3.6 billion financing(borrowers)

• fairfax financial holdings $4.9billion acquisition of allied worldassurance (target)

• first Quantum minerals $2.2 billion7.25% and 7.5% high yield issues(issuer)

• multilease sfr297 million auto leasesecuritisation (issuer)

• Pradera €900 million acquisition ofikea European retail park portfolio(acquirer)

IFLR1000 Leading LawyersExpert consultant: 1Highly regarded: 4Market leader: 1

Walder Wyss



Who are they?Waselius & Wist is a Helsinki-basedcommercial law firm. A relative newcomerto the Finnish market, the firm wasestablished in 1997 by partners Jan Waseliusand Tarja Wist. In the intervening years theteam has built up a solid reputation for workin the banking and finance, capital marketsand M&A spaces. In particular the firm hasa reputation for work involving overseasentities, whether commercial organisationsor financial institutions, and has a strongtrack record in matters involving cross-border activity.

The Finnish firm’s current team nowboasts more than 25 active legalprofessionals, including both originalfounding partners, with 10 partners on theroster. This includes experts in a wide rangeof different practice areas and sectors.

Why now? While Waselius & Wist cannot boast thesame kind of numbers in head count assome of the biggest firms in the Finnishmarket, in the firm’s core areas it has beenincreasingly active on significant deals andhas represented major international clients

in recent years. The firm’s overseas clientsinclude JPMorgan Chase and SociétéGénérale and it also recently added BNPParibas to its list.

The Finnish market has been through adifficult period in the recent past that hasseen fewer large deals. Despite thesechallenges Waselius & Wist has not onlymaintained its level of activity but increasedit. The firm has been able to strengthen bothits banking and finance and M&A practicesin recent years and in 2017 it saw a growthrate of 15%, far outstripping theperformance of the national market.

The firm plans to continue its push forgrowth in 2018, and by early estimations itexpects a similar year again in expansion,both in terms of new clients and newpersonnel, and hopes to continue tochallenge the established guard in theFinnish market.

Recent transactional highlights• first Quantum minerals $2.2 billion

7.25% and 7.5% high yield issues(issuer)

• Neste corporation €400 million1.5% notes issue (joint leadmanagers)

• Nets Group €400 million 2.875%notes issue (initial purchasers)

• Nomad foods €900 million and$610 million refinancing (initialpurchasers)

• wereldhave establishment of €20billion EmtN programme (arrangerand underwriters)

IFLR1000 Leading LawyersExpert consultant: 2Highly regarded: 3Rising star: 1

Who are they? LVN & Associates (LVN) is a Hanoi-basedboutique operating in association with UKbased international firm Watson Farley &Williams (WFW). LVN founder LinhQuynh Doan, who is also a partner at WFWin Hong Kong, is crucial to the relationship.

The alliance’s focus and strength is in thearea of power plant development andfinancing, particularly in Vietnam but alsoin other parts of Southeast Asia.

Why now? Watson Farley & Williams and LVN &Associates entered into association to createa stronger proposition for securing work inAsia’s power sector. LVN providesVietnamese law capacity and a domesticclient base, in addition to expertise inenergy, natural resources and infrastructure;WFW’s Hong Kong branch providesinternational clients and resources.

The alliance’s strategy has been successfuland it is working on power plantdevelopments and financings in the region,acting for government entities, sponsors,lenders, and investors.

Domestically, the alliance is currently

handling some of the largest and mostcomplex energy projects in Vietnam,including an 118MW solar power plantbeing developed by Canadian companyCMX in central province of Ninh Thuan.Last year the alliance advised Vietnam’sMinistry of Industry and Trade on the1200MW Nghi Son 2 Coal-fired powerplant in Thanh Hoa Province. Thisdevelopment, mainly funded by the JapanBank for International Cooperation (JBIC),is the first and only international tenderproject in Vietnam in the last 15 years.

In the broader region, the alliance advisedthe Phonesack Group on developing a coal-fired power plant in the Sekong Province inLaos last year.

With increasing interest frominternational investors and developers inregion, the alliance has ambitions to expandits focus to work in other parts of Asia. Inresponse to the transition from conventionalto renewable energy, the firm intends todevelop its renewables expertise.

Recent transactional highlights• Nghi son 2 x 1200mw coal power

plant (project developer)• Quang tri 1 2 x 660mw coal

power plant (borrower / projectdeveloper)

• sekong 1800mw coal power plant(project developer)

• song hau 2 2 x 1000mw coalpower plant (sponsor)

• Vietnam trading Engineeringconstruction 150mw solar powerplant (borrower / projectdeveloper)


Waselius & Wist

Watson Farley and Williams in association with LVN &Associates



Who are they?Formed in 1901, New York based ‘whiteshoe’ firm, White & Case, today has 41offices globally.

The firm is known for expertise in debtcapital markets, projects – bothdevelopment and finance – and sovereignwork. Sectors of focus include banking,energy, financial services, and infrastructure.

Geographically the firm’s strongesttransactional practices are in London,Central and Eastern Europe, Paris, theMiddle East, and the US.

Why now? White & Case’s recent expansion, and theprogress of certain offices through hires andtransactional experience look set to give thefirm an interesting 2018.

On a regional level the Middle East is oneplace where the firm has been visible onhigh-end deals recently, and capital marketsis arguably the area where this has been mostapparent. Over the past two years, sincehiring Clifford Chance’s regional capitalmarkets head, Debashish Dey, White &Case has accrued an impressive share of roleson the region’s largest sovereign capitalmarkets transactions. The firm worked forthe banks on Saudi Arabia’s conventional

and Islamic sovereign debt issues,represented Qatar when it sold a €9 billioneurobond, and advised Kuwait on its debut$9 billion bond.

The firm has also been involved incomplex work in the equity capital marketsarea and on private sector / quasi-sovereigndebt issues in the Middle East. Equityhighlights include acting as issuer’s counselon ADES LSE IPO and advising joint globalcoordinators and joint bookrunners onENBD REIT’s IPO. The firm’s currentmandates include advising Saudi Aramco onits IPO, which is expected to be the biggestdeal of its type ever, and by some margin.

Asia-Pacific is another region whereWhite & Case has enhanced its offering.The firm hired a 10 partner projects teamfrom Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) in late2016, enabling it to launch in Australia (inMelbourne and Sydney), and strengthen itsoffices in Hong Kong and Singapore.Among the group, were HSF’s Asia head offinance, Brendan Quinn, and head ofprojects Andrew Clark.

North Africa was another new market forthe firm in 2016 after it launched in Cairothrough an association with Egyptian lawfirm MHR & Partners.

In 2016/17 the firm also strengthened its

City capital markets practice, hiring Ashurstequity capital markets partner JonathanParry and, more recently, Ropes & Graystructured finance partner Chris McGarry.

Recent transactional highlights• D4 highway r7 Expressway PPP(sponsor)

• freeport lNG $1.25 billion 4.125%project bond (issuer)

• Kingdom of saudi arabia $9 billiontwo tranche sovereign sukuk issue(joint lead managers andbookrunners)

• Nigeria $3 billion two tranche bondissue (issuer)

• republic of Gabon $500 million6.95% sovereign bond issue(issuer)


White & Case

3 0 | i f l r 10 0 0 . c o m | f i r m s to watc h 2 01 8


Who are they?Yulchon is a Korean firm based in Seoulwhich celebrated its twentieth anniversary in2017. From relatively small beginningsfocusing on tax and fair trade, the firm isnow full-service, employing 420professionals.

In the nineties the firm started devotingresources to developing its transactionalpractices – its corporate team now has 120attorneys – and it has established a strongreputation in M&A and capital markets.

The firm’s footprint is expanding fast, andoutside Korea it has offices in Vietnam,Myanmar, Russia, China, and Indonesia.

Why now? In a settled and established market, Yulchonpushes hard to disrupt the status quo. Thefirm has a reputation for acting for domesticprivate equity funds; however, on account ofits understanding of funds and relatedregulatory issues, it has started to take onglobal private equity clients. Recentadditions to the firm’s roster include BainCapital, Goldman Sachs PEG, and MorganStanley Private Equity.

While capturing market share in the

funds space from its larger more establishedKorean competitors, the firm has also beenexpanding its team with hires fromcompetitor Kim & Chang, which beganwith Anthony Choi in 2015 and include therecent addition of Nina Kim in 2017.

Alongside Yulchon’s corporate strength ithas been continuing to develop its bankingand finance practice, and under ChristopherCho has captured a large portion of themarket’s aviation finance work, a thrivingarea in Korea.

The firm has developed a reputation forbeing entrepreneurial and commercially-oriented. The firm has invested in emergingsub-sectors such as fin-tech, bringing inpersonnel and increasing its regulatoryknowledge.

The firm’s most recent internationalexpansion was in 2017 when it became thefirst firm among Korea’s big five to set up aJakarta desk when it partnered withIndonesian firm Roosdiono & Partners. Afurther change to the firm’s network is inprocess as it relocates its Beijing office toShanghai, a move dictated by Korean clientswhich are focussing more on commercialopportunities in Shanghai.

Recent transactional highlights• Eugene Group w200 billion

acquisition of hyundai savingsBank (seller)

• hyundai commercial acquisition of19% stake in hyundai card(acquirer)

• imm Private Equity w420 billionacquisition of stake in woori Bank(acquirer)

• Korea Post $610 million jointventure with california teachers’retirement system (joint venturepartner)

• mirae asset life insurance w170billion acquisition of Pca lifeinsurance (acquirer)


Yulchon

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Who are they?ZICO Law is a network of 10 independentSoutheast Asian firms, present in all 10ASEAN (Association of Southeast AsianNations) countries.

The firms within the network aregeneralists when it comes to transactionalwork. The founding firm of the network,Zaid Ibrahim & Co, was established inMalaysia and this still represents one thegroup’s strongest offerings. The memberfirms in Cambodia and Vietnam also havegood reputations in their markets.

Why now? ZICO Law became the only law firmnetwork with offices in all 10 ASEANcountries last year when it added memberfirms in Brunei and the Philippines.Widening the network’s reach will make it agood proposition when pitching formandates – particularly for clients with aregional focus – and should enable it tosecure some interesting work.

The network has grown by almost a thirdrecently. In 2017, ZICO Law expanded toBrunei and the Philippines when firmsRozaiman Abdul Rahman and Insights

Philippines Legal Advisors joined thenetwork. Another recent addition to thegroup was Indonesian firm Roosdiono &Partners.

In addition to expanding in footprint, thenetwork boasts an impressive recent trackrecord of advising on significant deals,particularly in Malaysia. Last year thenetwork acted for Maybank, one of theleading banks in Southeast Asia, on itsinaugural issuance of renminbi bonds.Another highlight was advising the AlibabaGroup on the establishment of its firstelectronic world trade platform hub outsideChina, which offers Malaysian SMEs aplatform for executing cross-border trade.

Currently, the network is acting forMalaysia’s Bank of Nova Scotia on TaiwanCathay Financial Holding’s acquisition of thebank for $255 million. The deal will makeCathay Financial the first Taiwanese group toown a Malaysian bank if it completes.

Looking to the future, the network wouldlike to expand further. At present itsmember firm in Cambodia is in the processof opening a second office in Siem Reap,which will be the network’s eighteenthbranch in total.

Recent transactional highlights • airasia ground handling Joint

venture (joint venture partner)• cathay financial holding $255

million acquisition of Bank of Novascotia (target)

• maybank rm10 Billion sukuk issue(lead arranger)

• southern Power Generationrm3.65 billion sukuk issue (issuer)

• Yinson Juniper $500 million bondprogramme (arranger)

IFLR1000 Leading LawyersExpert consultant: 1Highly regarded: 11Market leader: 1

ZICO Law

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