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  1. Commodities: derivatives
  2. Leading individuals

Clifford Chance advises derivatives trading businesses and financial institutions, including LCH.Clearnet and Cargill; transactions cover metals, energy and carbon credits. Claude Brown excels in structured derivatives deals, and Dermot Turing in regulatory matters. Patrick Hubert and Roger Best handle emissions trading litigation for the likes of BNP Paribas. Tim Plews is now based in Riyadh (with Al-Jadaan & Partners Law Firm in co-operation with Clifford Chance LLP).

Simmons & Simmons is ‘an excellent firm, with excellent service from huge talents’, and ‘a leading firm in commodity futures’. The team includes regulatory experts Jonathan Melrose (‘just brilliant’), the highly rated Darren Fox, and Charlotte Stalin. Also of note are André Allee, for advice to buy-side clients; and Martin Stewart-Smith, for his energy trading expertise. The firm advises a host of trading houses and banks.

Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP has seen its best-known partner in the area, regulatory specialist Jonathan Marsh, move in-house to Vitol, but litigators Nic Fletcher and David Hughes are still prominent. They advised Oceanbulk Shipping & Trading and Pioneer Navigation on freight forwards disputes.

At Norton Rose LLP, Jonathan Herbst is ‘a star’, and Peter Snowdon stands out for regulatory advice on climate derivatives. The firm advised the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in relation to its UK clearing house, and Low Carbon Initiative on regulation, documentation and disclosure matters. Its diverse client base also includes Bache, Drax and HVB.

‘A regulatory shop that understands trading intimately’, SNR Denton handles transactional, regulatory and disputes instructions, mainly in energy and metals. Brett Hillis moved to Reed Smith, and Robert Finney to Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, but Chris Borg remains, and acts for clients including Shell and Total. Rosali Pretorius advises Citigroup on clearing matters.

Shearman & Sterling LLP advises banks, hedge funds and corporations on regulatory and transactional matters. Barney Reynolds is ‘well known and greatly respected’, and Patrick Clancy is another notable name in the team, which advises IntercontinentalExchange and ICE Clear Europe.

Boutique firm Arbis LLP has a niche at the top of the oil market. Paul Sinnott was the only law firm representative on a committee of the world’s top oil traders which produced a new standard contract for trading 21-day Brent crude.

Ashurst LLP’s derivatives group now includes a distinct commodities team, under Luca Salerno. It advises banks including Merrill Lynch, and also trading companies. Experienced partners include OTC specialist Chris Whiteley and LNG expert Anthony Patten.

Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP is ‘more focused on customer service than other firms’. Guy Usher has a ‘longstanding reputation for his derivatives knowledge’; and Edward Miller and exchange-traded derivatives specialist Pierre Labuschagne are also recommended. Clients include Handelsbanken Markets and Standard Bank.

Holman Fenwick Willan LLP is ‘the leading firm for ISDA litigation’; Brian Perrott is a key figure, and recently won a claim for Pioneer Freight Futures against TMT Asia. Damian Honey and Mark Morrison also feature in the team, which is ‘a popular choice in knotty futures issues’.

Acting mainly for oil traders such as Vitol and Gunvor, Ince & Co’s ‘advice is relevant and good value’. Experienced litigators Steven Fox and Will Marshall stand out for their experience in FFA and swaps disputes.

Linklaters LLP’s Vinay Samani recently advised Barclays on exchange-traded securities platforms for issuing commodity index-linked securities.

Reed Smith was boosted by the return of emissions trading expert Sian Fellows from Shell, and the arrival of energy derivatives specialist John Varholy from Troutman Sanders LLP.

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