Chambers Rankings
Thirty-two Hughes Hubbard lawyers and eight practice areas are ranked in Chambers USA 2009, which was released last week and is available online at www.chambersandpartners.co.uk. That makes nine more Hughes Hubbard attorneys and one more practice area than were included in last year’s edition.
Additionally, Chambers Europe 2009 ranks the firm’s Paris office in Dispute Resolution: International Arbitration and the attorneys Axel Baum, Marc Henry and José Rosell.
The following are excerpts from Chambers about each of Hughes Hubbard’s ranked practice areas:
Bankruptcy/Restructuring
“This firm expanded its bankruptcy and restructuring practice significantly with the acquisition of bankruptcy, creditors’ rights and finance firm Luskin, Stern & Eisler LLP in September 2008. All name partners in the New York boutique have joined the ranks of Hughes Hubbard, along with four associates.”
Corporate/M&A
The firm receives praise for “‘taking the stress out of deals by picking out the important points and not wasting time.’ The corporate group has seen particular activity in the media and publishing sectors, representing the likes of Cablevision Systems - for which it helped acquire Newsday from The Tribune - and MediaNews Group.”
International Arbitration
“This group has become a major force in international arbitration, and boasts a 20-partner U.S. offering with a substantial showing in New York and a presence in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Miami. The team functions as part of a larger worldwide group, and handles commercial arbitration cases in Europe and Latin America, often in the construction, energy and telecom sectors. Highlights include obtaining an award in favor of Dun & Bradstreet and Moody’s in an arbitration under AAA International Rules, which concerned the allocation of responsibility for legacy tax liabilities. The team also handles investor-state arbitration.”
Latin America
New York
“The New York office is one of the twin focal points of Hughes Hubbard & Reed’s Latin America practice group, with Miami being the other. Clients greatly benefit from this dual presence, and highlight the high quality of the lawyers. The firm recently assisted Argentinean dairy company SanCor with its $140 million debt restructuring.”
Florida
“This dynamic and compact outfit continues to make waves in the market, particularly on the high-end side of export finance, banking and M&A work in Latin America. The ‘truly outstanding’ Miami experts operate as part of a firm-wide dedicated group, working alongside their New York-based colleagues.”
Litigation: Securities
“This well-prepared and thorough group of litigators handles securities-related class actions, shareholder derivative litigation, investigations and criminal prosecutions. It acts for many clients in the accounting industry, including three of the Big Four accounting firms. The team has expanded, recently welcoming former Thacher Proffitt partner Kenneth Lee and an associate from Cravath. Its highlights include acting for French-based energy, marine and rail transportation company Alstom, along with current and former senior executives and board members, in a federal securities class action.”
Native American
“This team acts on financing, gaming and taxation matters for both tribal clients and organizations which work with tribes. It represented Merrill Lynch in a $165 million syndicated construction loan for a new Poarch Band of Creek Indians casino.”
Products Liability
“This team’s effective defense of Merck in the Vioxx litigation attracted considerable market praise…The practice continues to assist Merck in various matters, including the multidistrict Fosamax dispute and the Vytorin litigation.”
Transportation: Aviation: Finance
A strong reputation in finance and tax underpins the aviation finance team at Hughes Hubbard. The majority of mandates come from airlines such as Republic Airlines and Continental Airlines, with the team representing the latter in its $129 million loan facility to finance PDP for Boeing under its aircraft purchase agreement with Continental.
The following are excerpts from Chambers about the 35 HHR attorneys in the USA and Europe guides:
“Marshall Babson…has long been recognized as one of the dons of the labor relations world. As a former member of the NLRB his experience is highly prized by clients. He has been representing CBS in ongoing collective bargaining negotiations with its news writers.”
“‘Distinguished arbitrator’ Axel Baum handles cases that cover a large number of industries and commercial transactions.”
“Candace Krugman Beinecke heads the [firm] and provides ongoing advice to transportation and energy infrastructure company Alstom.”
“‘You definitely want Andrew Braiterman on your team,’ interviewees say…‘Tax law can be extremely complicated and technical, but he’s never afraid of rolling up his sleeves and getting in there to find an answer,’ sources comment.”
“Charles Cohen and James Fitzpatrick’s profiles as strong products liability practitioners have risen following their involvement in the Vioxx case.”
“Amanda DeBusk chairs the international trade and customs group, and is held in extremely high regard by peers for her first-class work in export controls and sanctions. Clients agree, revealing: ‘When we knew we had to get the best, we turned to her.’”
“‘One of the finest finance lawyers in town whom everyone wants to work with,’ Amy Dulin is the most visible partner in Latin American deals. She recently advised ABN AMRO, Calyon, Citi, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and WestLB as administrative agents on six separate syndicated facilities with a total value in excess of $3 billion, to be used for the corporate restructuring of Votorantim, the Brazilian industrial conglomerate.”
“John Fellas is considered to be an excellent practitioner.”
“Richard Friedman chairs the Los Angeles real estate department at Hughes Hubbard and receives strong client praise for his extensive experience in real estate matters, including leasing, purchase and sale agreements, financing agreements and issues involving Indian law. He specializes in work concerning hotels, casinos and shopping centers. ‘When you come to the table with Rick you always have the best hand in the pack.’”
“James Giddens is recommended as ‘an extremely responsive and efficient lawyer who stays on top of issues.’”
“Clients ‘never cease to be amazed’ by the firm’s international practice co-chair, Steven Hammond. Serving as both counsel and arbitrator, ‘he has the experience to manage all aspects of major disputes.’”
“The versatile Marc Henry is an expert in banking and finance and corporate matters and is praised for his talent in arbitration. ‘He’s a great fighter, but also knows when to let go,’ says an admiring commentator.”
“John Hoyns has deep experience of the aviation sector, having represented banks, equity investors and airlines. Sources emphasize his impressive ability to find creative solutions to complex finance problems.”
“Norman Kleinberg has a central role in the [Fosamax] matter. ‘His balanced, calm approach to disputes is especially helpful in emotive cases,’ sources observe.”
“James Kobak is ‘the first person I call - he is exceedingly levelheaded, practical, and has a tremendous analytical ability,’ reveals one impressed client…Kobak further impresses by being able to adjust his advice based on the client’s risk. Experienced in matters relating to the pharmaceutical industry, he was part of the team advising Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck on the FTC’s information requests regarding ‘authorized generics’ transactions.”
“The highly respected Theodore Latty is the Los Angeles practice leader and the chair of the firm's gaming law department.”
“Ken Lefkowitz, who worked on the Cablevision deals, is commended by sources as a ‘tenacious lawyer, but one who knows when to compromise.’”
“Tenacious and skilled litigator Edward Little heads the white-collar crime and government investigations practice. Clients find him extremely responsive and effective. He is representing Ralph Cioffi, the former senior portfolio manager of the two Bear Stearns hedge funds that failed in the summer of 2007, in parallel federal criminal and SEC enforcement proceedings.”
“Michael Luskin focuses on the litigious side of bankruptcy and insolvency work. Clients laud him as ‘a pragmatic attorney who’s not given to posturing. He is good at cutting through the issues and distilling them into simple concepts.’”
“Detail-oriented and creative, co-head of the group William Maguire is recommended for SEC investigations.”
“Sources largely attribute the [Vioxx] dispute’s successful settlement to Theodore Mayer, whose ‘critical-thinking skills translate into innovative solutions.’”
“Practice leader Steven McSloy is ‘an undisputed leader in the field.’ In addition to working for Merrill Lynch, he has acted as gaming counsel for the Navajo Nation.”
“James Modlin advised MediaNews on the acquisition of News Times, the Santa Cruz Sentinel and The Daily Breeze, consolidating his reputation as a go-to attorney for complex transactions involving the newspaper industry. “
“Christopher Paparella heads the firm’s construction practice and often advises on international arbitration matters involving upstream and downstream oil and gas projects.”
Ken Pierce brings “his much-praised trade remedies expertise to the team.”
“Robert Reznick is co-chair of Hughes Hubbard’s pharmaceutical and healthcare industry practice group, and he also leads the firm’s antitrust practice in Washington, D.C. Reznick has principal experience of acting for brand-name pharmaceuticals and medical devices, where he often takes leadership roles in multidefendant price-fixing cases. Sources distinguish him further on account of his ‘crystal-clear judgment,’ which he utilized acting for Merck in Clayworth v. Pfizer, a case against more than a dozen major drug companies.”
“José Rosell, whose ‘professionalism and top skills’ are lauded by peers, heads the Paris team. He acts as counsel for states and banks but mainly sits as arbitrator for energy, finance, telecommunications and investment-related disputes.”
“Charles Samuelson is a young partner making an impact in the New York corporate world and beyond. He worked with Lefkowitz on the formation by the founder of JetBlue of a new low-cost Brazilian airline.”
“Clark Siegel was a highly respected member of Irell & Manella, and his recent move to Hughes Hubbard is a major boost to the firm. An entertainment and M&A expert, his high-profile clients have included a reality TV production company.”
“Richard Stern is ‘a superb transactional lawyer’ who is extraordinarily skilled at managing large bank groups with competing and conflicting interests. ‘He is cool, calm, pragmatic and focused on getting things done without compromising standards,’ praise market sources.”
“Nicolas Swerdloff is managing partner of the Miami office. According to clients he is a brilliant lawyer who always makes himself available and who ‘never wastes time but gets straight to the heart of a matter.’ He specializes in complex financial and commercial litigation.”
“Practice chair John Townsend…sits firmly among the top-ranked international arbitrators for his work as counsel and as an arbitrator. Peers regard him not only as ‘an excellent advocate and a person of great knowledge,’ but also ‘a lawyer's lawyer, who knows the law of arbitration better than virtually anyone else.’ He works on a mixture of commercial and investor treaty matters.”
“Eduardo Vidal led the team on this deal and is ‘a wonderful and well-reputed expert.’”
“Based in the Miami office, William Weber is particularly well regarded in the hospitality industry for his work on transactions and financings, as well as construction and joint ventures.”