The Legal 500

Within Banking and finance, Linklaters LLP is a first tier firm,

Trevor Clark runs Linklaters’ practice, focusing on structured lending, trade finance, leveraged acquisition finance and syndicated facilities. David Irvine acted for Korea Development Bank in restructuring and refinancing a $400m bridge facility regarding the acquisition of a US cable manufacturer, while the practice also advised Hong Kong Telecommunications on HK$23.8bn loan facilities. John Maxwell is a key figure, though practice stalwart Patrick Fontaine has retired.

Within Capital markets (debt and equity), Linklaters LLP is a first tier firm,

The ‘standout practice’ at Linklaters is ‘an excellent one-stop shop’ for Hong Kong, UK and US law and is equally adept in debt and equity capital markets (DCM and ECM respectively). Andrew Malcolm and Jeremy Webb have ‘the number one convertible bond practice’, while Celia Lam is ‘much better than anyone else at IPOs’. The transfer of David Ludwick and Jon Gray help offset the loss of Patrick Sheil to the London office and William Liu to Shanghai. The practice is ‘the best in terms of consistent delivery of service and strength of bench’ and clients compliment ‘the breadth of their practice - they work on anything from medium term note (MTN) programme updates to complex convertible bonds’. Nigel Pridmore advised Morgan Stanley and UBS as underwriters to Soho China’s HK$2.8bn convertible bond, and the Bank of New York Mellon as trustee to the bondholders.

Within Corporate (including M&A), Linklaters LLP is a first tier firm,

Linklaters has seemingly been involved in all the best deals recently, such as acting for Lehman Brothers in the fast-moving $225m sale of its Asian operations to Nomura. Similarly high-profile representations include Rio Tinto on its $19.5bn partnership with Chinalco, and RBS Asia on the proposed privatisation of PCCW. Clients praise Keith Johnson for ‘excellent technical knowledge and ability to manage complex analysis’, and newly promoted Samantha Thompson as ‘thorough, responsive and bright’. The team offers ‘good calibre advice’ and is ‘very user-friendly’; Teresa Ma and Chris Kelly are also recommended.

Within Dispute resolution , Linklaters LLP is a first tier firm,

Linklaters continues to see a steady stream of work, with the ‘talented’ Marc Harvey singled out as possessing ‘very good judgement on strategy in litigious matters’. The specialised team is known for regulatory work and advising financial institutions, where it regularly secures high profile cases such as acting for Ernst & Young, defending a multi-hundred million dollar audit negligence case. Partner Tom Lidstrom joined in January 2009, adding experience in cross-border litigation and international arbitration. ‘You really cannot go wrong with them’, says one client.

Within Employment , Linklaters LLP is a second tier firm,

Linklaters has developed a special focus in advising financial clients on their employment related issues, where the team has seen several downsizing matters in the M&A and insolvency context. Counsel Rowan McKenzie heads the team that advised Lehman Brothers on the employment aspects of the $225m sale of Lehman Brothers’ Asian business to Nomura.

Within Investment funds, Linklaters LLP is a third tier firm,

Linklaters’ practice is led by counsel Michael Guilday, who displays ‘very good technical knowledge with a strong commercial view’. The practice is ‘prompt and professional both in terms of quality of service and of advice’, advising Alibaba Investment on its $200m acquisition of a Hong Kong and Singapore-based hedge fund business.

Within Private equity, Linklaters LLP is a second tier firm,

The ‘very helpful team’ at Linklaters is headed by Chris Kelly, with Betty Yap and John Maxwell also recommended. Clients say ‘the team’s response times are very quick and their advice is very good with a strong commercial edge’. The practice represented Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia as part of a consortium in the acquisition of Norske Skog Korea for $835m, completed in September 2008. Other high profile clients include Affinity Equity Partners, Blackstone and Carlyle.

Within Projects and energy, Linklaters LLP is a first tier firm,

Linklaters’ top-notch finance practice works closely with the energy and infrastructure group, focusing on power-related matters. The practice is ‘client-focused and responsive’ as well as ‘helpful and business-oriented’. The practice is strong regionally, having advised the lenders on the potential $3-4bn acquisition financing of Seraya Power Generation in Singapore, and acting for lenders in restructuring the debt facilities of the $2bn Pusan Newport Project in Korea. John Maxwell leads the team, though Patrick Fontaine has retired.

Within Real estate , Linklaters LLP is a second tier firm,

Linklaters is active in the real estate financing arena, where Jeremy Webb advised HSBC on the establishment of the first medium term note programme established by a REIT in Hong Kong. Edward Smith moved to Hong Kong from the London office to lead the investment management group, focusing on private real estate fund formations.

Within Regulatory, Linklaters LLP is a first tier firm,

Linklaters ‘considers all the business aspects of a transaction’ and ‘has the ability to apply the law to actual working issues’. Carl Fernandes and Marc Harvey focus on non-contentious and contentious work respectively. Other significant individuals include recent partner Umesh Kumar and Melvin Sng. The practice advised Merrill Lynch on non-US regulatory aspects of its merger with Bank of America, and handled the restructuring and disposal of Lehman Brothers Asia. Additional clients include HSBC, RBS, Standard Chartered Bank and BlackRock.

Within Restructuring and insolvency, Linklaters LLP is a third tier firm,

Linklaters advised on the largest matter of the year, estimated at $225m, acting for Lehman Brothers and liquidators KPMG on the restructuring and disposal of the company’s operations in Asia and transfer of assets to Nomura. Melvin Sng led this transaction, and Trevor Clark is the other key partner. The team is also advising a syndicate of lenders on the $2bn debt restructuring of Pusan Newport in Korea.

Within Structured finance and securitisation, Linklaters LLP is a first tier firm,

Linklaters has, according to clients, a ‘dedicated structured finance team’ which is ‘strong in OTC derivatives’ and offers ‘good coverage of the international structured finance area’. The ‘market-leading derivatives lawyer’ Chin Chong Liew led the team advising JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank and Bank of East Asia on the acquisition of shares in SCMP Group in order to restore the public float of the company, with a total value of HK$382.5m. The team also worked with the firm’s restructuring team on close-out issues relating to the liquidation of Lehman Brothers. Key individuals include Andrew Malcolm and counsel Mary Matson. The practice is ‘technically strong across a broad range of financial products’ and ‘appreciates the commercial realities of our business’.

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