The Legal 500

Within Project finance: National,

Hogan & Hartson LLP

PRACTICE: Power and renewable energy project financings have continued to be particular strengths for Hogan & Hartson LLP’s Washington DC-led project finance practice group. Praised by clients for reacting to their needs ‘quickly and effectively’ and for ‘high’ efficiency in communication, the practice is spearheaded from the Washington DC office and has 46 lawyers based in six offices with the majority of expertise on the West Coast.

With a leaning to the representation of sponsor clients, the practice’s expertise in the independent power project (IPP) arena stands out to clients, who note that ‘in choosing Hogan & Hartson LLP as the counsel, we emphasize their familiarity with the specific market and in-depth knowledge for the IPP’. Particularly strong in renewable energy and infrastructure project financing, the practice offers a service that ranges from the preparation of documents for transactions to the planning, financing and implementation of infrastructure.

The practice’s expertise in the wind energy sector is particularly impressive. Having worked on over 6,000 MWs of the 10,000 MWs wind projects developed over the past eight years, it is clear that its strength in this area is recognized by clients. An example in this area is the practice’s representation of Constellation Energy Commodities in relation to the negotiation of several tolling agreements and wind energy purchases and sale agreements. This matter included a wind farming project which addressed issues relating to the scheduling and planning of intermittent wind energy.

Illustrating the firm’s international capabilities, which have been emphasised with the 2008 opening of the Abu Dhabi office, the Washington DC-based practice recently represented French client AREVA regarding a $3.2bn project to build four 1,600 MW of nuclear power plants in the US by UniStar Nuclear. The joint undertaking will work towards siting, licensing, and building over 6,000 MW of nuclear generating capacity based upon AREVA’s EPR nuclear reactor technology.

CLIENTS: Recent clients of the practice include Sithe Global Power, FPL Energy, AES and AREVA on the sponsor side, and China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure) on the lender side.

INDIVIDUALS: Practice group director Robert Pender offers legal counsel that ‘is second to none’ and focuses his practice on international power, energy, and infrastructure matters. Clients praise the Washington DC partner for being ‘consistently up to date with current market conditions regarding complex matters’.

Within Patent litigation: hi tech electronics and IT: National,

Hogan & Hartson LLP

PRACTICE: The full-service patent group at Hogan & Hartson LLP handles litigation and prosecution matters, offering service across geographical boundaries. About 40 IP attorneys focus on patent litigation and a significant share of their clients comes from the electronics, telecommunications, and computer hardware and software industries.

Clients praise the lawyers, saying that ‘they know how to manage a case within tight budgets and excel at customer service and responsiveness’. Regarding costs, clients comment that the ‘attorneys emphasize subject-matter expertise, which means one doesn’t see a lot of bills for wasteful research time’.

CLIENTS: Kyocera Wireless, Olympus, Sun Microsystems, Toshiba, Affymax, Fujifilm, Motorola and Symbol Technologies are some of the firm’s clients.

INDIVIDUALS: Raymond Kurz and Celine Crowson, both in Washington DC, ‘deliver great results on patent litigation matters’, say clients. William Kubida in Colorado Springs is an ‘expert in patent licensing’, while Eric Lobenfeld in New York litigates cases involving all sorts of intellectual property matters. Richard de Bodo in Los Angeles is also recommended.

Within Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): National,

Hogan & Hartson LLP

PRACTICE: ‘It is as a group the best law firm I have ever worked with’, says one client of Hogan & Hartson LLP in a statement reflective of the REIT industry consensus. Others call the group ‘beyond compare’ or ‘our number-one for public REIT M&A’. Clients observe repeatedly that its attorneys are ‘excellent’ or ‘outstanding’, ‘top talents’ displaying ‘technical expertise’ and typified by ‘responsiveness and breadth of experience’. In particular, time and again clients noted the care and attention lavished on them by the practice even when the relationship is not one of primary counsel.

Hogan & Hartson LLP is substantially tapped into both the public and private REIT space, enjoys ‘strong relationships with regulators’ - such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) - and brings to bear ‘extraordinary expertise on the tax and real estate side’. The dedicated REITs practice is centered on Washington DC - where resides ‘a deep bench’ of 13 core partners - and is lent support by international colleagues in Berlin, Moscow and Warsaw. Other practices offer ancillary support.

Capable of navigating the entire REIT lifecycle, serving REITs and underwriters, the firm is an active advisor to the biggest names in the industry and on the largest matters. From IPOs to M&A, Hogan & Hartson LLP can handle it all: for example, the representation of Douglas Emmett on what was at the time the REIT industry’s biggest-ever IPO, raising $1.4bn in 2006. Then it advised Archstone-Smith on its $22.2bn sale jointly to Tishman Speyer Properties and Lehman Brothers Holdings in October 2007.

Recent sample representations by the firm include a $215m private placement for FCP Fund I, a private REIT, and a $380m common stock offering by CapitalSource. Transactional highlights - in addition to the Archstone-Smith matter - include providing counsel to Merrill Lynch as financial advisor to American Campus Communities on the $1.4bn acquisition of GMH Communities Trust - a large student housing REIT - in June 2008.

CLIENTS: Other representations include CapitalSource, Colonial Properties Trust, GE, Host Hotels & Resorts and Kite Realty Group Trust. Underwriter clients include Citi, Goldman Sachs, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, UBS and Wachovia Securities.

INDIVIDUALS: All partners are based in Washington DC unless noted otherwise. In senior partners J Warren Gorrell, David Bonser and Prentiss Feagles the firm has what clients call ‘the A-Team of REITdom’ or ‘great advisors and very experienced’. Gorrell chairs the firm, co-leads the corporate and finance group, and splits his time between Washington DC and New York. He is a ‘premier REIT M&A lawyer’ who shows ‘exceptional judgement’ and has ‘extensive experience in REIT corporate and securities issues’. Feagles is a ‘premier REIT tax lawyer... able to communicate clearly and effectively to non-tax professionals’. Bonser is ‘expert in security matters’.

Younger tax partner Ana Cristina Arumi is ‘efficient’ and widely popular with clients as someone who brings ‘knowledge and practicality’, ‘explains difficult areas so all can understand’ and is ‘extremely well-versed in REIT-related tax and legal structural issues’. Clients consider that ‘there is no better tax team than Prentiss Feagles and Cristina Arumi’.

Additionally, David Slotkin possesses ‘extraordinary communication skills and is on top of every detail’. Corporate finance partner Bruce Gilchrist displays ‘inexhaustible focus in the midst of complex transactions’.

Within Immigration: National,

Hogan & Hartson LLP

PRACTICE: The immigration practice at Hogan & Hartson LLP is ‘recommended for high-level contacts at various relevant US embassies’ as well as for its ‘sense of urgency when reacting to questions and unexpected problems’. The Washington DC-based team comprises four partners and four associates, covering the full gamut of corporate immigration services.

The practice worked on the restructuring of Cadbury Schweppes into separate confectionery and beverages companies in 2008, submitting applications to the USCIS to ensure that affected employees would continue to have their residence sponsored by the company, and also preparing amendments to the L-1 blanket petition to reflect the company’s new structure.

The practice prepared USCIS submissions to transfer European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company personnel from Europe into the US, and also assisted the National Geographic Society, American University and Rutgers University in securing immigration sponsorship for key employees including, in the case of the National Geographic Society, award-winning photographers, journalists and business executives.

Clients praise the firm’s ‘clarity and depth of counsel’, saying the team is ‘very client-oriented’ and ‘very responsive, knowledgeable and professional’.

CLIENTS: High-profile clients of the practice include Alcatel-Lucent, American Medical Systems, Array BioPharma, Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologia, Kroenke Sports and Thyssen Krupp

INDIVIDUALS: Partner Paul Virtue is very well-regarded, having previously served as general counsel for the Immigration and Naturalization Service. He is described as ‘very smart’, and others say ‘I just think he’s wonderful’. Aleksandar Dukic is also respected by clients, who say he is ‘very pleasant and professional’ and provides ‘exceptional turnaround time on enquiries’. Both are based in Washington DC.

Within Energy: National,

Hogan & Hartson LLP

PRACTICE: The success of the Hogan & Hartson LLP energy practice in 2008 has seen big pipeline transactions and complex compliance mandates jostle for attention with the activities of the elements focused on contentious work.

Resources are accordingly spread to provide a large palette of services for energy clients and commentators commend the group for its versatility. Thus, the focus of the practice is less on acting on the most high profile mandates as it is on providing sound contentious support to clients across a broader range of work.

A deep FERC administrative practice and an impressive presence in the FERC enforcement space are pillars around which the group is able to build. Indeed, this expertise was acknowledged by one market source as ‘typically excellent; they are supremely familiar with this territory and the regulatory ins and outs’,

Pipeline representations continue to be at the forefront of the practice’s most widely recognized work. This has extended from long standing work with the likes of Chevron Pipeline in the TAPS rate litigation case, to large scale rate cases, such as acting for Gas Transmission Northwest before the FERC. LNG and gas storage matters also remain significant areas of focus.

This pairing of regulatory acumen and trial expertise makes the firm ‘a truly outstanding competitor in the energy space’ and has given it a wide base to grow from, having acted on major downstream cases, such as the El Paso litigation.

CLIENTS: Clients include California Independent System Operator, Louisiana Energy Services, SunEdison, DuQuesne Light, Bonneville Power, Nicor, Dominion Cove Point, Palomar Gas Transmission and TransCanada.

INDIVIDUALS: Kevin Lipson is ‘one of the very few names I trust for regulatory advice’, say clients. He is also ‘well-known for being among the elite operators in front of the commission’. His experience in the field, which includes acting on major upstream and downstream regulatory representations, coupled with a long list of roles at trial and appellate level makes him a key member of the practice.

Within International trade: National,

Hogan & Hartson LLP

PRACTICE: Regulatory and business powerhouse Hogan & Hartson LLP is widely commended for the breadth of its international trade practice which ‘does everything well’. The ‘simply outstanding’ Washington DC-based practice performed effectively in the growth economy of recent years, leveraging its expertise on the corporate side with advice relating to and representations in CFIUS.

The practice has also retained considerable strength in trade remedies litigation, with representations this year including that of the Government of China and one of China’s largest tire exporters in the US countervailing duty (CVD) subsidy investigation of Off-The-Road Tires from China. This is the largest US CVD case ever brought against Chinese companies, with over $360m in 2007 China-US trade at stake. In 2008, Hogan & Hartson LLP secured the lowest individual company CVD rate for its company client in the investigation, and contributed towards a 5.62% ‘all-others’ rate. The team also represented a major Brazilian steel manufacturer in the conclusion of a three-way settlement of litigation involving the US Department of Commerce (DOC) and representatives of US steel producers. The dispute concerned the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties on imports of carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Brazil, and the settlement resulted in the cancellation of duty claims exceeding $7.6m. Clients say that the lawyers’ possess ‘expertise on many very technical aspects of both international trade issues... and know how to effectively work through the administrative processes of various agencies of the government’.

Hogan & Hartson LLP is regularly engaged in the WTO dispute resolution procedure, with representations in 2008 including that of ThyssenKrupp Mexinox in connection with the Government of Mexico’s success in the WTO’s Appellate Body regarding alleged zeroing by the DOC.

The firm remains strong in trade controls, encompassing export controls, economic sanctions, anti-corruption and CFIUS. Highlights in 2008 include assisting Cardinal Health regarding the export control regulatory requirements related to the sale of its Tecomet business, and representing the Divestiture Trustee responsible for the sale of Sparrows Point Steel Mill in connection with the clearance of this transaction through the CFIUS review process.

CLIENTS: Clients include Accenture, Alcatel-Lucent, Cadbury, Cardinal Health, European Aeronautic Defence & Space Company, ThyssenKrupp Mexinox, Toyota, and the Governments of China, Japan and Ontario.

INDIVIDUALS: Customs, exports and sanctions specialist Beth Peters has ‘a top notch practice and a great reputation’. Jeanne Archibald is also singled out by clients for her ‘impressive expertise’ as well as ‘the speed at which she is able to assemble a team and respond to very urgent matters’. Mark McConnell ‘has an excellent ability to present complete and detailed legal issues in a way that busy business managers and executives can readily understood and process in order to make informed decisions’. FCPA expert T Clark Weymouth is praised by clients as ‘very knowledgeable, responsive, practical and easy to work with’, while Ajay Kuntamukkala is ‘able to jump into projects, quickly assess the situation and provide quality legal advice’. Craig Lewis receives accolades as ‘always responsive to requests and needs. He does an extremely good job of explaining the challenging complexities of anti-dumping/international trade law in terms that laymen can understand’.

Within White-collar criminal defense - full service: National,

Hogan & Hartson LLP

PRACTICE: Founded by Frank Hogan in 1904, Hogan & Hartson LLP has the oldest white-collar criminal defense practice in Washington DC. The bench now has 22 regulatory specialists including former regional director of the SEC, Dan Shea, former prosecutors, former US attorneys and experts in healthcare. Charles Rosenberg, formerly US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, joined the white-collar practice in October 2008. The group has five offices around the country and a large regulatory practice in Washington DC.

In 2008, the team represented AIG in a congressional hearing and IBM in a government contracting case in which the government announced it would not take any action. The group also resolved a matter favorably on behalf of its client former CIA agent Mary McCarthy, preventing her from being prosecuted for communicating information about alleged torture programs.

The practice’s internal investigation on behalf of the audit committee for the board of directors for KVIC led to SEC and DoJ investigations into management misconduct by the CEO.

Home Depot was also represented by the practice in a series of SEC investigations into stock-options-backdating that concluded in early 2008 with no action taken against the company.

CLIENTS: Representations included AIG, Ferris Baker Watts, IBM, Home Depot, and the audit committee for the board of directors of KVIC.

INDIVIDUALS: Ty Cobb, chairman of the white-collar criminal defense and investigations practice, is a longstanding fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Within Technology - data protection and privacy: National,

Hogan & Hartson LLP

PRACTICE: The Washington DC stronghold at the heart of the Hogan & Hartson LLP privacy practice has ensured that for FTC enforcement work, it remains among the frontrunners. Thus, as ‘one of the few practices truly centred on and built for FTC enforcement and privacy review work’, the team applies its 19 partners to an area of the market where it is largely unmatched.

However, Christine Varney’s appointment as assistant attorney general designate for antitrust, while highlighting the prominence of her practice, also represents a big loss for the team. Equally, Mary Ellen Callahan’s nomination as DHS chief privacy officer speaks volumes for her credibility, but again dents the practice in a big way. Whether it will recover from these losses, or simply lose ground in the areas it was dominant in before, remains to be seen.

Still, the heavy weighting towards privacy work has lent the team the reputation of being ‘probably the most sophisticated clutch of privacy advisors in the country’. This has previously been a big ticket to handling US companies in structuring international privacy compliance schemes, although it’s fair to say that this work has continued to be overshadowed by the group’s activities in the domestic setting.

Furthermore, HIPAA-related privacy work has been a mainstay of the group, especially important since the work requires a degree of dedication and specific industry knowledge, a specification the group is able to meet to a level that its competitors cannot.

CLIENTS: Clients of the group include MySpace, NewsCorp, XM Radio, Zango, and Textron.

INDIVIDUALS: Washington DC partner Marcy Wilder’s HIPAA practice has been valuable to the team’s reputation. She is ‘a great attorney and one of the best healthcare privacy advisors in the country’ and has recently been involved in assisting WebMD with data privacy issues and public policy counseling.

Within Telecoms and broadcast - regulatory: National,

Hogan & Hartson LLP

PRACTICE: While there’s little doubt in the market as to the capabilities of the Hogan & Hartson LLP group, partner losses in the last couple of years and the rapid growth of some of its competitors, has made progress in growing market share hard.

The group continues to have traction in all facets of the communications practice area, particularly benefiting from the wide-ranging expertise of group leader Peter Rohrbach. So, while more conventional compliance work and key FCC mandates, such as representing clients in high profile spectrum auctions, has long been the group’s meat and drink, it has turned its hand to all manner of work for its core clients. This tendency to dedicate a degree of operation to providing a strong service for a few marquee name clients, such as News Corporation and Qwest, provides a tremendous source of work, although making the group less likely to appear on the cutting edge representations.

Satellite and broadcast work remains another staple with notable work such as advising clients on the allocation of television white space and public safety spectrum licensing at the forefront of the practice’s current activity. Recently, the satellite side received a boost from the arrival of partner Zenas Choi from Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, whose practice also focuses on the juncture of technology and telecoms.

CLIENTS: Clients include XM, Paytech, Bell Canada, SunCom Wireless, BT, NTT Communications, AirCell, Fox, TimeWarnerCable and SES Americom.

INDIVIDUALS: ‘Fantastic telecoms attorney’ Peter Rohrbach is co-director of the firm’s communications group. ‘An astoundingly astute lawyer’, Rohrbach has long played a role in the development of the regulatory landscape and is known as ‘one of the best known faces at the communications bar and a delight to work with’. His work with carriers and satellite providers in particular has been the cornerstone of the group’s workload for well over a decade.

His colleague Michele Farquhar’s is highly regarded for her work in the wireless space, most notably for her representations in connection with spectrum auctions.

Both attorneys are based out of the firm’s Washington DC office.

Within Telecoms and broadcast - transactional: National,

Hogan & Hartson LLP

PRACTICE: The cohesive approach between regulatory and transactional disciplines that underlies this international telecommunications group has again brought it to the fore of the deal markets.

‘One of the most respected practices in town’, the Hogan & Hartson LLP group has been able to build its scaffold around a few key clients in different facets of the overall communications industry. What this detracts from in flexibility of approach, it adds in the weight of experience and dedication it is able to wield on transactions in a good range of contexts.

The international prowess of the team feeds off the notable presence of the firm in several key jurisdictions, such as Germany and East Asia, and its ability to draw on relevant expertise from its overseas offices and apply this to its base of clients, many of which have developing interests in foreign M&A ventures.

Along these lines, the practice advised News Corporation on its acquisition of a 14.58 percent stake in Premiere. News Corporation acquired the stake from Unitymedia for €287m in cash, supporting its strategy to establish itself on the German Pay-TV market. Elsewhere, the team advised the same client in its purchase of VeriSign’s interest in the parties’ Mobile Entertainment joint venture for $200m. In a slightly different vein, the group recently represented Autohome and PCPop in the sale of 55% of shareholdings in each of the companies to Telstra, and the simultaneous merger of the companies with Norstar Media. Here again, the capability to take on complex roles in areas beyond the stock representations, such as carriers buying carriers, gives the team the edge over rivals.

CLIENTS: The group’s clients include Qwest, XM, Bell Canada, Alltell, US Cellular Sprint Nextel and Fox.

INDIVIDUALS: ‘Renowned expert’ Peter Rohrbach leads the practice and balances significant regulatory acumen with leading roles on several of the practice’s most high profile deals.

Joel Winnik also has a reputation for being a ‘terrific lawyer’ and has developed a strong record of acting on transactions in the telecoms space.

Both partners are based in the firm’s Washington DC office.

Within Antitrust - National,

Hogan & Hartson LLP

PRACTICE: Bolstered by the recent return of Sanford Litvack to the firm following a stint at the DOJ, Hogan & Hartson LLP has an excellent
track record for advising clients on sensitive agency investigations and merger clearance matters. However, it is less active in relation to big-ticket antitrust litigation than some of its peers.

‘Outstanding in their subject matter expertise’, the team have concerted groups within the broader antitrust department with specialisation in specific industries, including healthcare, communications, technology and energy. Utilizing this approach, the practice is currently advising Flint Hills Resources, a large oil refining company, in relation to a rulemaking proceeding pending before the FTC. Part of the department’s obvious attraction to clients in relation to such matters stems from its ability to call on the services of a number of former high-ranking agency officials, including two former FTC commissioners.

On the merger clearance side, the department provided the antitrust advice to MySpace in relation to its joint venture with Sony BMG, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group to create MySpace Music.

With over 100 lawyers sitting within its worldwide antitrust, competition and consumer protection practice, a real sweet spot for the Washington DC-based firm lies in its ability to handle multi-jurisdictional litigation and cartel investigations, when they arise. For example, it currently represents Air Canada in antitrust litigation spawned from the European Commission and DOJ cartel investigations in the air cargo industry.

CLIENTS: Instructed by an impressive portfolio of corporates, clients include Air Canada, American Express, Ford, General Dynamics, IBM, Symbol Technologies and Wellpoint.

INDIVIDUALS: Chairman of the firm’s antitrust, competition and consumer protection practice group, Washington DC-based partner Philip Larson ‘brings to bear the right balance of common sense and risk analysis’, say clients. ‘Extremely knowledgeable and sensible’, he provides contentious and non-contentious advice to clients spanning a wide range of industries, including transportation, communications, defense and agriculture.

A director of the firm’s antitrust, competition and consumer protection practice group, Washington DC-based partner Sharis Pozen is praised by clients for her ‘knowledge of the law, and of FTC policies and procedures’.

‘A nice person and easy to work with’, say clients, Washington DC-based partner Janet McDavid is recommended, as is New York-based partner Sanford Litvack, who returned to the practice after a stint at the DOJ.

Within M&A: national firms - large deals,

Hogan & Hartson LLP

PRACTICE: Hogan & Hartson LLP positions itself at the intersection between government and business, with strength in regulatory areas leveraging effectively into M&A work. The firm is increasingly international in scope, but in the US has industry specialisms in life sciences and healthcare, pharmaceuticals, REITS, aerospace and defence, and media, technology and communications. Clients say that ‘the quality of the work is impressive on several levels. It is prompt, thorough, and value-additive. The lawyers...make clear the scope of the requested services upfront, are prompt with their responses, and they follow through to be certain there are no questions which linger’.

The firm has bolstered its New York M&A presence with the 2008 hire of Waajid Siddiqi from Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.

In 2008, the practice represented MGI PHARMA in its $3.9bn acquisition by Jaguar Acquisition Corporation, a subsidiary of Esai. Another highlight was acting for Tata Chemicals in its $1bn acquisition of General Chemicals Industrial Products, Tata Group’s largest US acquisition to date. Additionally, Hogan & Hartson LLP acted for News Corporation and Fox Television Stations in the $1.1bn sale of eight Fox television stations to Oak Hill Capital Partners. In the defense sector, the team represented European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) in its $350m acquisition of California-based emergency response supplier PlantCML

CLIENTS: The firm’s M&A clients include MySpace, Ford Motor Company, Tata Chemicals, MGI PHARMA, United Healthcare, News Corporation, and EADS.

INDIVIDUALS: Described by clients as ‘a rising star in the Washington DC M&A and securities practice’, Joseph Gilligan is ‘one of the best young partners you could work with’. Also in Washington, DC, Robert Waldman is ‘a highly respected lawyer with many years of experience in corporate work especially handling health care companies’. Practice-head Richard Horan in Northern Virginia is recommended by clients ‘for his always current knowledge of the transactional landscape (including financing matters)’.