The Legal 500

Within Bank lending (including other sources of financing), Cahill Gordon & Reindel is a second tier firm,

Cahill Gordon & Reindel is of ‘extremely high quality; the ‘tremendously responsive’ team includes ‘some of the hardest-working lawyers in the business’. While smaller than some of its rivals, it has comparable quality and expertise, including a niche in bank side leveraged loan matters. Another key area of expertise is high yield bonds, in which the firm has a market-leading position. Jonathan Schaffzin and James Robinson represented Bank of America as administrative agent and Merrill Lynch and others as lead arrangers on a $575m credit facility for Indigold Corporation. Douglas Horowitz led the advice to Bank of America Merrill Lynch and others as lead arrangers, and to Bank of America as administrative agent in HCA’s $2.5bn asset-based revolving credit facility. Other high-profile matters included advising debt financing sources on the buyout of CommScope by Carlyle, and representing the debt financing sources in the $5.3bn buyout of Del Monte. Recommended partners include Susanna Suh and Corey Wright, who are both ‘brilliant, and emblematic of all the firm’s strengths’. ‘Industry icon’ William Hartnett ‘runs a very tight ship and all of his lawyers know what is expected and deliver very high levels of client service’. He is ‘universally trusted by bankers and the private equity community’. John Tripodoro is ‘incredibly hardworking, smart, thoughtful and a pleasure to work with’.

Within Capital markets: debt offerings , Cahill Gordon & Reindel is a second tier firm,

With outstanding capabilities in providing advice to manager clients in the debt arena, Cahill Gordon & Reindel continues to impress with its depth of expertise. A clear leader in high-yield debt transactions, the firm has a superb and wide-reaching reputation. Investment grade debt highlights included advising the underwriters, including Citi and Deutsche Bank Securities, on a $2.5bn senior notes offering by offshore oil and gas drilling contractor Ensco, and also advising Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank Securities as joint bookrunning managers and HSBC and RBS as co-managers regarding a $500m notes offering by Coca-Cola Enterprises. Jonathan Schaffzin led in representing the joint bookrunning managers in a Rule 144A/Reg. S multi-currency bond offering, including a $650m offering of 5.75% senior notes due 2012, and a $500m offering of 5.25% senior notes due 2012 by FMC Finance VII and Fresenius Medical Care US Finance. Susanna Suh and Daniel Zubkoff also advised the joint bookrunning managers, comprising UBS, RBS, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and BNP Paribas, on a $1.5bn notes offering by International Paper Company. Brian Kelleher, Corey Wright and William Hartnett are highly recommended within the ‘excellent’ team.

Within Capital markets: equity offerings , Cahill Gordon & Reindel is a third tier firm,

Leveraging off its top reputation in the high-yield and investment grade debt arenas, Cahill Gordon & Reindel’s equity capital markets practice is also focused on providing advice to manager clients. The firm continues to grow its experience, and won several new mandates from existing financial institution clients in 2011. The practice is also developing a specialist expertise in the healthcare sector, acting for several hospital operator clients. Highlights included James Clark, Jonathan Schaffzin and William Miller advising Citi, JPMorgan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch as underwriters in the $4.35bn IPO of HCA Holdings, and John Tripodoro and Douglas Horowitz advising Bank of America Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan, Barclays Capital, Citi and Deutsche Bank as joint bookrunning managers in the $450m IPO of Vanguard Health Systems. Elsewhere, Clark and Miller advised Bank of America Merrill Lynch and others as underwriters on a $610m common stock offering by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and also represented Barclays Capital as sole underwriter in a common stock offering of shares by Hanger Orthopedic Group. William Hartnett has ‘good business judgement’, and clients highly rate the firm for its ‘excellent knowledge’.

Within Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings , Cahill Gordon & Reindel is a first tier firm,

The ‘superb‘ Cahill Gordon & Reindel, ‘one of the premier high-yield shops’, is widely perceived to be the most dominant player in advising managers on high-yield debt offerings. The heavyweight practice wields a ‘commanding presence’ in the arena, and ‘produces attorneys with the best foundations’ for advising on the most complex high-yield debt work. The team has an enviable market share of instructions, and regularly acts for all major financial institutions. In 2011, Daniel Zubkoff, Jonathan Schaffzin, Jonathan Frankel and Brian Kelleher advised the joint bookrunning managers, including Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank Securities, UBS and Mizuho International, on Capsugel Finance Co’s $325m Rule 144A/Reg. S offering of 9.875% senior notes due 2019 (in order to finance KKR’s $2.4bn buyout of Capsugel from Pfizer). Kelleher, together with James Clark and Susanna Suh, also represented Bank of America Merrill Lynch and other initial purchasers regarding a $2bn Rule 144A offering by CIT Group, comprising $1.3bn of 5.25% series C second-priority secured notes due 2014 and $700m 6.625% series C second-priority secured notes due 2018. The ‘practical and down-to-earth’ William Hartnett is ‘technically excellent’, and alongside William Miller, advised JPMorgan, Barclays Capital, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citi, Deutsche Bank Securities and Wells Fargo Securities as joint bookrunning managers of HCA’s $5bn public offering of senior secured notes. Clark and Corey Wright advised Bank of America Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan and Citi as joint bookrunning managers and the other underwriters in a $1bn public offering of 6.625% senior notes due 2021 by Limited Brands. John Tripodoro and Douglas Horowitz are highly recommended.

Within Insurance: advice to insurers, Cahill Gordon & Reindel is a third tier firm,

Cahill Gordon & Reindel provides ‘unique litigation and advocacy skills’ combining ‘intelligence, financial and insurance industry knowledge and a nose for settlement solutions’. The group is also noted for being ‘preferred counsel for specialized disputes involving Bermuda form or actuarial issues’. It has a burgeoning appellate reputation, and was recently instructed by Global Reinsurance for cross-appeals to the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit of decisions by the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in a facultative reinsurance case. It also defended XL Capital in a series of antitrust class actions arising from allegations of price fixing and bid rigging and was successful in obtaining dismissal of all actions against the XL entities in the putative class action. Edward Krugman receives praise for his ‘expertise in diverse areas’ and one client views Thorn Rosenthal as having ‘the foremost knowledge on the Bermuda Form among all lawyers in the US’.

Within Securities: shareholder litigation, Cahill Gordon & Reindel is a third tier firm,

New York’s ‘model law firm’ Cahill Gordon & Reindel draws admiring glances for its ‘excellent quality, specialized legal knowledge and deep bench strength’. Thomas Kavaler is singled out as ‘best in class’ in a group of lawyers recommended for being ‘not only a pleasure to work with but able to achieve terrific results’. The firm’s practice is largely split between issuer and financial institution representations, but it is also winning its fair share of transactional-related instructions. In a significant recent victory, the firm successfully upheld a dismissal for The McGraw-Hill Companies, and its Standard & Poor’s (S&P) subsidiary, in litigation arising from its rating of securities backed by subprime mortgages. To date, the firm has achieved dismissals of all claims against S&P in 20 financial services-related cases. The firm is also defending Household International, and several former officers, in one of the country’s largest securities fraud class actions, involving claims that defendants manipulated financial disclosures by restructuring delinquent loans. Floyd Abrams, Adam Zurofsky and Charles Gilman are also highlighted as ‘highly responsive and effective litigators’.

Within White-collar criminal defense , tier 8

At Cahill Gordon & Reindel, former US attorney of the SDNY David Kelley has vast experience and credibility in the market, and within private practice is regularly involved in some of the key issues affecting the financial services industry. He is representing the group treasurer of a large international bank in connection with the high-profile LIBOR investigations and is also advising numerous individuals in the “pay-to-play” investigation brought by the New York Attorney General. The ‘vastly experienced’ Bart Friedman is another highly sought after individual within the practice and is recommended for the ‘sagacious’ advice he provides to corporates, management or independent members of the board. He is currently representing the independent directors of Freddie Mac across numerous US regulatory investigations. By no means solely confined to work in the US, the team is often involved in mandates involving an international complexion. As well as regularly advising on OFAC concerns, FCPA matters also account for a significant proportion of the team’s work – both in terms of general compliance and in response to agency investigations. Notably, the team recently represented the audit committee of Pride International regarding the conduct and recent settlement of extensive DOJ and SEC investigations into alleged FCPA contraventions in at least 11 different countries in which Pride conducted business.

Within Telecoms and broadcast: regulatory, Cahill Gordon & Reindel is a third tier firm,

Clients appreciate Cahill Gordon & Reindel’s ‘extremely knowledgeable’ team, for its ‘timely, accurate advice’. In Washington DC, ‘invaluable asset’ Chérie Kiser undertakes regulatory, litigation and transactional support work and is recognized for her ‘expertise in telcom and VoIP’. In 2011, she successfully represented Intrado Communications against AT&T. She also acted for Polycom in numerous regulatory matters related to its $89m purchase of a business segment from Hewlett-Packard. Other mandates included successfully representing Cable One in several cases involving the company’s video, VoIP and internet access services, and providing ongoing regulatory advice to clients including Blackbird and the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC). Longstanding clients single out ‘excellent communication lawyer’ Angela Collins for praise.

Within M&A: middle-market (sub-$500m), Cahill Gordon & Reindel is a first tier firm,

Cahill Gordon & Reindel’s attorneys are ‘always responsive, meet deadlines, produce a quality product, and are practical in resolving issues’. The team advised neuroscience-focused biotechnology company Elan Corporation in connection with the sale of its drug formulation and manufacturing business unit, Elan Drug Technologies, which was combined with Alkerme, and represented JPMorgan Asset Management and its global alternative asset manager, Highbridge Capital Management, in its acquisition of a majority stake in Gávea Investimentos, an asset management company in Brazil with approximately $6bn in assets under management. Additionally, the team acted for AIG/Chartis in connection with the transfer of outstanding asbestos risk to Berkshire Hathaway-owned insurer National Indemnity. John Schuster is ‘one of the best attorneys you’ll come across. He makes you feel like you are his most important client’. Helene Banks is also recommended.