The Legal 500

Within Project finance, Chadbourne & Parke LLP is a second tier firm,

Chadbourne & Parke LLP has a large team of partners of ‘excellent quality’, who offer ‘tremendous value’ to clients. Spread between New York, Washington DC and Los Angeles, the practice is the first choice of many clients, and is well balanced in terms of advising both lenders and sponsors. Richard Sonkin in New York acted for Terra-Gen Power, as sponsor, on the $1.2bn construction financing of the 570MW Alta II-V wind project in Kern County, California; this large development is notable both as the first wind farm financing to be structured as a leverage lease and the first 144A bond issuance for wind assets since 2005. In a further sponsor-side wind-energy mandate, it acted for First Wind on its successful Department of Energy application, and guarantee for the financing, relating to the Kahuku Wind Project; the scheme involves a 30MW wind farm located on the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii – the loan is the first wind-energy project to receive a DoE loan guarantee, and the lenders constituted a consortium of many of the leading global banks and finance groups. Also on the energy side, the team represent Caithness/GE Energy Financial Services as sponsors on the Shepherds Flat II wind project; the $2bn scheme, in Oregon, involved the application to the US Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Program for a finance guarantee under the Financial Institution Partnership Program, through which the DoE guarantees 70% of the debt provided by commercial sources. Washington DC partner Peter Fitzgerald and New York’s Todd Alexander acted for the Department of Energy, as lender, on the proposed guarantee and financing of the $2.2bn Mississippi Gasification Project being developed by a wholly owned subsidiary of the Atlanta-headquartered Southern Company. Clients acclaim the ‘excellent expertise’ of Todd Alexander and Keith Martin in Washington DC, and fellow DC partner Rohit Chaudhry has a strong international presence.

Within Product liability and mass tort defense: consumer products (including tobacco), Chadbourne & Parke LLP is a second tier firm,

Chadbourne & Parke LLP is ‘a formidable force’, renowned for its ‘strong institutional knowledge coupled with great knowledge of the industry, risk trends and best practices for risk mitigation’. The team fields a number of high-caliber lawyers based in New York and Los Angeles, primarily focusing on tobacco and alcohol litigation while also picking up instructions from industries including cosmetics and other consumer products. The firm is the longstanding national product liability counsel for Jim Beam, which it defended in litigation brought against the alcoholic beverages industry alleging that beer and distilled spirits are improperly marketed to youths; defendants’ motions to dismiss were granted in each of the class actions filed in seven jurisdictions. The team also continues to serve as international product liability and regulatory counsel for British American Tobacco (BAT), and has been representing the client in the US government’s highly publicized lawsuit against several cigarette manufacturers for alleged civil racketeering under the RICO statute. Other recent work for BAT includes defending it in an action against various tobacco companies, in which around 40 public and non-profit hospitals in Missouri are seeking reimbursement for alleged smoking-related healthcare costs. Donald Strauber is ‘the dean of the US beverage alcohol product liability bar’, who ‘consistently provides pragmatic, balanced advice in the context of risk management and both proactive and defensive advice’. Thomas Riley is a ‘great long-term strategist’, while Phoebe Wilkinson and David Wallace are also recommended. All of the recommended lawyers are based in New York.

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

Chadbourne & Parke LLP offers its M&A clients in-depth understanding and expertise in every major industry, with particular experience in aerospace and defense, communications and technology, consumer products, energy, insurance and reinsurance, manufacturing and pharmaceuticals. The firm also has a long history of M&A representation in the energy sector, where its M&A attorneys works closely with the project finance group, and it has firmly placed its stamp in the renewable energy sector. In 2010, the US M&A practice was especially active in cross-border work, often Canada-related, with the New York office representing clients on numerous international deals. The year also saw buoyant activity in the insurance space, with recent highlights including advising New York City-based Harbinger Capital Partners in the acquisition of Old Mutual’s Maryland-based US life insurance business for approximately $350m, marking the first time that a hedge fund proposed to acquire a US-regulated life insurance company. Southern Cross Latin America Private Equity Fund III was assisted in connection with the shareholder arrangements relating to the acquisition, together with Evercore Mexico Capital Partners II and others, of a controlling interest in Javer, one of the largest housing construction companies in Mexico. The team also advised Transmission Developers in a US private equity investment by The Blackstone Group in an underwater transmission transaction from Quebec to New York City. The largest deal of the year for the practice was the representation of New York Stock Exchange-listed GLG Partners in a $1.6bn merger with London Stock Exchange-listed Man Group. This trans-Atlantic merger of two publicly traded companies was one of the largest in history for alternative asset and hedge fund managers and required the design of an innovative bifurcated deal structure whereby the controlling stockholders received Man shares and the public stockholders received stock. Interconexión Eléctrica was assisted in connection with its $1.2bn acquisition of a controlling interest in Cintra Chile, a company formerly controlled by the Ferrovial Agroman Group, that operates five major toll road concessions in Chile. New York-based corporate department head Allen Miller has extensive cross-border M&A experience. Miller has represented a major alternative asset manager in investment and transactional work, advised a major US energy company in M&A matters, and assisted a US IT company in transactional work. Also in New York, Marc Alpert heads the public company practice. Alpert’s experience includes representing Rockwell Automation in the spin-offs of Rockwell Collins, Conexant Systems and Meritor Automotive, as well as its acquisitions of Entek IRD International Corporation, Anorad Corporation and Reliance Electric Company. Morton Grosz advised a European corporation in connection with its sale of loans and equity investment in a US publicly held company with a face amount of approximately $1bn, and assisted a European software company in connection with its $300m-plus strategic and venture capital investments in the US. In 2010, Jonathan Melmed acted for a New York-based hedge fund in the acquisition of a US-based company in the insurance sector, advised EnerTech Capital in a venture capital transaction involving Tangent Energy Solutions, and assisted Magna E-Car Systems of America in a proposed venture capital investment in a US solid state battery manufacturer.

Within Domestic tax: East Coast, tier 5

Chadbourne & Parke LLP’s tax group is ‘beyond excellent in every category’. The firm’s tax practice group numbers some 30 fee-earners with a high ratio of partners, with the larger team housed in New York, and a smaller presence in Washington DC. In New York, group chair William Cavanagh’s ‘depth of experience and knowledge is exceptional and he and his team utilize this knowledge in a timely and practical manner’. Several of the senior partners have held senior tax positions in the US Treasury and professional associations, and the most recent joiner, Eli Katz, was previously GE Energy Financial Services’ tax counsel. In a recent headline deal, the group represented NYSE-listed GLG Partners, the global asset manager, in its acquisition LSE-listed hedge fund Man Group. Richard Leder and Lawrence Rosenberg continue to represent Citibank in connection with a first priority $700m revolving secured credit facility and a $200m secured first priority term loan in the high-profile TOUSA bankruptcy. Recommended New York tax attorneys include Jeffrey Robins, who includes trust estate and individual tax planning within his portfolio, and Edouard Markson, recommended for capital markets and partnership instructions. Keith Martin, in Washington DC is an expert in the tax issues surrounding project finance. The tax practice group has advised Rockwell Automation, Purdue Pharma, Access Industries, Paul Capital, Harbinger and Strategic Value Partners.