The Legal 500

Within Structured finance , Linklaters LLP is a third tier firm,

Linklaters’ Gary Barnett heads the New York structured finance and derivatives practice, which was strengthened in 2010 when the highly experienced Paul Kruger relocated from Hong Kong. The expertise on offer is impressive and recent cutting-edge work includes advice to OTCDerivNet, a consortium whose shareholders include the majority of leading global financial institutions, in connection with developing a multijurisdictional platform for extending the LCH Clearnet SwapClear service. Stan Renas’ practice includes insurance products, with a particular focus on alternative risk transfer solutions, such as catastrophe bonds and “side-car” transactions. Associate Noah Melnick, who specializes in complex derivatives within his wider practice, is ‘a real stand out’. In recent instructions, Gary Barnett led the work for arranging banks, including Lloyds and JPMorgan, on one of the first mortgage-backed securities issuances since the Lehman collapse, when the RBS issued high-quality RMBS bonds to a value of £4.7bn. Group clients include SocGen, WestLB, Merrill Lynch, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, RBS Greenwich and BNP Paribas.

Within Alternative/hedge funds, tier 4

Linklaters’ presence in the UK and internationally is widely regarded as unparalleled in the alternative investment management space, and its US practice has made good progress; New York-based Scott Bowie was recently appointed as global head of the investment management group. The team’s work is dominated by representing its enviable private equity client base on their alternative and hybrid fund structures, and its particular focus on complex, high-end matters saw it at the forefront of key market trends in 2010, such as the resurgence of the secondaries market. KKR has long been a key investment management client for the firm, and in addition to KKR’s extensive private equity requirements, the group advised on the structuring, formation and regulatory approval of an alternative investment vehicle organized as an Irish investment limited partnership for the purpose of investing in Australia. Other key clients include Blackstone and Fortress Investment Group, while its institutional investor track record includes representation of Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. It also advised Longroad Asset Management on forming a private investment fund to invest in loans, notes, bonds and other debt and equity instruments of financially distressed companies. A 26-attorney team supports Scott Bowie, Stephen Culhane and Lorna Bowen in New York.

Within Private equity funds, tier 4

Linklaters’ New York team has yet to gain the same traction in private equity as its UK colleagues, but it has nonetheless made significant inroads into the US domestic market for its high-end funds work. Three partners make private equity fund formation their primary concern and, despite the modest size of the team, clients award it ‘the highest possible rating for extensive private equity experience, market expertise, attention to detail, negotiating skills and ethics’. KKR is a longstanding client, and in 2010 the group advised KKR on restructuring issues, including the merger of its global asset management businesses with its Euronext Amsterdam-listed fund. The team also advised Longroad Asset Management on the structuring, formation and capital raising of a private investment fund formed to invest in loans, notes, bonds and other debt and equity investments in financially distressed companies. Scott Bowie heads the practice, while ‘outstanding private equity partner’ Stephen Culhane’s tenure at Goldman Sachs makes him ‘first choice for his commercial experience’.

Within Antitrust, tier 7

Linklaters’ 20-lawyer US antitrust practice has developed well over the last five years, and has strengthened its relationships with premier clients. The team includes five partners and is deemed to be ‘first rate’, in addition to which it is closely integrated with the 120-lawyer practice globally, enabling it to work closely with outfits in Brussels, Paris, London, Dusseldorf and Asia. The firm has added several new clients in the healthcare and horticulture industries and earned additional instructions from existing clients such as BP and RBS. Most of the team’s high-profile work historically has been in the litigation space, which continues to keep the team busy, but the group has enjoyed a raft of merger work more recently. Practice head Thomas McGrath and Jeffrey Schmidt, a former director of the Bureau of Competition at the FTC, advised on several big-ticket transactions in 2010, including representing RBS on its $3.2bn divestiture of WorldPay credit card business and on the completion of the ABN Amro transaction. The team also acted for BP on the $7bn acquisition from Devon Energy of oil and gas assets in Azerbaijan, Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico, and advised Rio Tinto plc on divestment strategies following its defense against BHP Billiton’s $147bn hostile bid and proposed investment by Chinalco. A litigation team led by McGrath and James Warnot has acted on numerous significant cases for Air France-KLM; in the summer of 2010, the team helped the client to settle the air cargo antitrust class actions for $87m.

Within M&A: middle-market ($500m-999m), Linklaters LLP is a third tier firm,

Linklaters’ US corporate and M&A practice has continued to expand from its successes over the past years in gaining cross-border and domestic corporate mandates. Clients report interaction with ‘a diverse group of very talented and technically proficient lawyers whose rates are competitive with other New York firms. They also demonstrate a willingness to be flexible in their hourly rates’. The practice advised Citibank International on the sale of its consumer credit card business in Italy, Portugal, Norway, Finland, the UK and Sweden, and represented New York Life Insurance on the $425m sale of its Hong Kong and South Korean life insurance operations to Swiss insurer ACE. It also advised Sanofi-Aventis on its acquisition of Merck & Co’s half of joint venture Merial, an animal health company, and the subsequent exercise of its option to purchase Intervet/Schering-Plough, Merck’s animal health business, to create a new animal health joint venture. The practice also assisted National Grid Energy Services, a division of National Grid, in the $30m sale of its US service contract business to Home Service USA, a subsidiary of Homeserve, and acted for United Technologies on its $30m acquisition of Clipper Windpower. Alberto Luzárraga heads the team, which includes the experienced Dan Dufner.

Within Employee benefits and executive compensation, tier 5

Linklaters’ expanding executive compensation and benefits group ‘delivers high-level, thoughtful and often creative advice’. As an integral part of the firm’s global employment and incentives team, ‘a particular strength is in US/European cross-border advice’. Head of practice Bindu Culas ‘has a strong work ethic, is insightful, and a pleasure to work with’; Culas led the advisory work for National Grid plc on the US equity compensation aspects of its largest ever equity capital raising, a 2 for 5 global rights issue. In another key deal, a team advised Royal Bank of Scotland on the complex employee benefits aspects of the divestiture of the commodity trading businesses of its joint venture RBS Sempra Commodities. Associate Heidi Schmid is recommended for her niche in ERISA matters.

Within International, Linklaters LLP is a third tier firm,

Linklaters’ New York tax group is ‘at least as good as any other US office of a UK law firm’; the ‘practice is somewhat narrower than that of some of the larger US firms but within its practice areas, it is first rate’. The team is headed by Stephen Land, who is ‘an excellent lawyer – very smart and who has excellent judgment’. The firm’s métier is in major transactional matters and corporate finance, with a bias to cross-border work, and a blue-chip client following which includes JPMorgan Chase, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland and CVC Capital Partners. The 11-fee-earner group works tightly with other offices in the worldwide network, as evidenced by a recent instruction, in which Francisco Duque advised BP on the US tax aspects its acquisition of oil and gas properties in Brazil, Azerbaijan and the Gulf of Mexico from Devon Energy, a $7bn deal which was executed in 10 days. The team also advised Sino-Forest Corporation on its acquisition of Mandra Forestry Holdings Limited and the concurrent exchange of guaranteed senior notes. Associate Matthew Welsh leads the group’s work for KKR.