Hunton & Williams LLP - The Who's Who Legal 100 2012

What is the Who's Who Legal 100?

The firm performs exceedingly well in the environment chapter, with a total of 10 lawyers recognised for their knowledge and procedural experience. The “pre-eminent” William Brownell, based in DC, focuses his practice on environmental litigation, regulation and counselling. He is considered a “leading expert” and frequently appears before the federal and state agencies, courts and Congress. His work includes defending companies in suits seeking damages and injunctive relief for emissions of greenhouse gases. Andrea Field, managing partner of the Washington, DC, office, specialises in clean air matters, from litigation to permitting, and is “first rate”. Henry Nickel is considered an “excellent” litigator and he has represented clients in regulatory and enforcement matters before the Environmental Protection Agency, state regulatory agencies and the courts. Virginia Albrecht focuses her environmental law practice on federal regulatory programmes that affect the use of land and is a “great asset” to her clients. In New York, Kathy Robb is “highly regarded” for her representation of clients including water districts, developers, electric utilities, investors, chemical manufacturers and paper companies. Representing the Brussels office, the “greatly respected” regulatory lawyer Lucas Bergkamp specialises in plant and product-related environmental law.

Three lawyers feature in the competition chapter. In Washington, DC, Ray Hartwell III is a “well-known name” in competition matters, with his expertise covering investigation, litigation and counselling. Head of the global competition practice, Bruce Hoffman is “world class”, focusing on merger reviews, government investigations, and private and government antitrust litigation. He previously served at the Federal Trade Commission as deputy director of regional litigation of the bureau of competition. In Richmond, Thomas Slater is group head for the litigation, labour and competition practices and has “vast experience” in the competition field where he has been practising for over 30 years.

In the corporate sector, the firm excels across a range of corresponding chapters. Two nominees appear in the capital markets section: Joseph Buonanno and Michael Nedzbala, both highly regarded individuals based in the Charlotte office. Buonanno is co-head of the firm’s derivatives group and specialises in risk management, while Nedzbala is co-head of the firm’s structured finance and securitisation practice and managing partner of the Charlotte office. He has extensive experience advising issuers, sellers, purchasers and other industry participants in capital market transactions. Allen Goolsby is named in the corporate governance chapter for his “finely tuned” skills. Listed alongside him is Daryl Robertson, cited as a “great talent”. The corporate tax chapter features George Howell III, a “whizz” at dealing with tax aspects of private investment funds, derivatives and other complex financial products.

The real estate chapter features two lawyers from the firm. Thomas Kaufman focuses his practice on finance, private equity and joint ventures related to real estate, particularly in the hospitality area, where he has worked on franchises, resort integration agreements, interval ownership resorts and condominium hotels. James Wallenstein focuses on commercial real estate purchases and sales, as well as financings and structuring.

Hunton & Williams is additionally well regarded for its dispute resolution practice, with single listings in the business crime defence, product liability and commercial litigation sections. Overall the firm demonstrates its impressive abilities across a range of sectors; and with its geographical reach and client focus, it is no surprise it names many of the leading companies and financial institutions among its clients.