Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP - The Who's Who Legal 100 2013

What is the Who's Who Legal 100?

Based in the Silicon Valley office, Richard Climan is the firm’s most prolific representative in this edition, appearing in the M&A, corporate governance and capital markets chapters. Sources hail Climan as a “gold-standard” transactional lawyer, particularly in recognition of his work in the technology and life sciences sectors – recent examples of which include handling Illumina’s successful defence of Roche’s $6.2 billion hostile takeover attempt, Dell’s acquisition of Compellent Technologies for approximately $1 billion, and the sale of Blackboard to a private equity group led by Providence Equity Partners for more than $1.6 billion. At the same office, Keith Flaum and James Griffin also earn listings in the M&A and corporate governance chapters, as do Dallas-based Michael Saslaw and office managing partner Glenn West. Two of the firm’s New York lawyers add their names to the M&A chapter, including firmwide corporate group chairman and co-head of the New York private equity and M&A department Michael Aiello, who lead the firm’s team in the American Reality/Cole deal and is “rightfully considered one of the firm’s leading lights” according to one source. Alongside other European M&A listings in London and Prague, German managing partner Gerhard Schmidt is well known among respondents for combining “world-class” deal work with a strong corporate tax focus, and he counts TDF Group, German Media Partners and Texas Pacific among his clients. New Yorkers Holly Gregory and senior partner Ira Millstein add their names to the corporate governance section, alongside Wilmington’s Norman Veasey, a former chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court and a “bona fide legend” in securities, disclosure, regulation and governance circles.

A further five “superb” representatives of the corporate department appear in the tax chapter, including global practice co-heads Martin Pollack and Kenneth Heitner. Pollack is a “national leader” in federal income tax matters who regularly advises clients in the establishment and operation of private equity funds and investment vehicles, while Heitner is known in particular for advising on the tax aspects of cross border transactions.

Marcia Goldstein is the chair of Weil Gotshal’s business finance and restructuring practice and a former recipient of our lawyer of the year award in this discipline. Goldstein is currently the US counsel for the special administrators of MF Global UK, and in the past has assisted AIG, Kaupthing Bank and General Growth Properties. Joining her in the New York office is the “excellent” Stephen Karotkin who was one of the lead attorneys representing General Motors in its chapter 11 case, and is currently providing similar services to AMR and its US subsidiaries, including American Airlines and American Eagle. Harvey Miller and senior counsel Richard Krasnow are also based in New York, while Martin Sosland and Alfredo Pérez represent the Dallas and Houston offices respectively. Jean-Dominique Daudier de Cassini co-heads the Paris branch of Weil Gotshal’s restructuring department, while Adam Plainer heads the group in London, where he has recently acted for XL Leisure, Ennstone, and the creditors in the restructuring of the Cheyne, Whistlejacket, K2 and Sigma structured investment vehicles.

Joining Climan in the capital markets chapter, Konrad Siegler heads the firm’s group in this area in the Budapest office, where he is also head of banking and finance. Siegler regularly acts for Hungarian and international banks in project finance and syndicated lending transactions, particularly in the energy and real estate sectors, and earns an additional listing in the banking section. Pawel Rymarz and Pawel Zdort, both based in the Warsaw office, complete the firm’s showing in the capital markets research. In Dallas, meanwhile, Angela Fontana adds her name to the banking chapter, serving as the co-head of Weil Gotshal’s US practice group in this area. Four lawyers from New York make up the bulk of the firm’s showing in the private funds section, including practice group founder Jeffrey Tabak whose clients include General Motors, AXA Private Equity and WL Ross & Co. Head of the London private funds group Edward Gander joined the firm in 2011 and brings “unbeatable equity experience” to the role, while John Fadely in Hong Kong is a “go-to individual in Asia” according to sources.

James Quinn is co-chair of Weil Gotshal’s global litigation practice and is considered “outstanding” for antitrust, securities, false advertising, sports, entertainment and IP disputes, having recently achieved dismissals of multimillion-dollar suits on behalf of ESPN, Walt Disney and CBS. Paris-based Didier Malka earns the firm a second listing in this section, while four Weil Gotshal lawyers appear in the arbitration chapter, including international department co-chair Arif Ali in Washington, DC. Described as a “truly first-rate trial lawyer”, Diane Sullivan’s product liability defence experience earns her a prominent listing in the corresponding chapter, and, with Phillip Morris, Merck and Baxter Healthcare among her recent clients, she earns an additional ranking in the product liability subsection of the life sciences chapter.

Elsewhere Weil Gotshal lawyers earn recognition for their work in competition, environmental, IT, labour, real estate, communications and trade work, amply demonstrating the strength in depth that underscores the firm’s recent growth.