The Legal 500

Within Corporate restructuring, tier 7

While McDermott Will & Emery LLP provides ‘in-depth knowledge across a broad spectrum of experiences from different aspects of the restructuring world’, it is best-known for its ‘superlative expertise’ within the healthcare sector. One of the more unique areas within the bankruptcy sphere, given the tax-exempt nature of the debt involved, the firm is currently representing a number of distressed hospitals in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Indiana. Another more esoteric area of law that the firm excels is in relation to municipal insolvencies. Here, the department is acting for Ambac Assurance, the monoline insurer of bonds issued to finance the construction and operation of a monorail alongside the Las Vegas strip. In its role for Ambac, one of the core creditors, the department is arguing that the monorail company does not qualify as a Chapter 11 debtor as it is a municipality only entitled to Chapter 9 protection. ‘Tremendously experienced and knowledgeable’ Chicago-based practice head William Smith ‘has a wonderful gift of being able to take a complex legal issue and simplifiying it in a way for his non-lawyer clients to understand and make an informed business decision based on it’. Smith is ably supported in Chicago by the ‘very effective’ Jay Kapp and Miles Hughes, who has ‘strong legal research skills’. Geoffrey Raicht heads the team based in New York and has a particular strength advising on distressed acquisitions and mid-market debtor mandates.

Within Structured finance , tier 4

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s US structured finance is led by Thomas McGavin from New York. The group provides ‘excellent service’, advises across the full range of financial products, securitized asset classes, and derivatives and is well supported by a high-quality tax department. Cross-border instructions are handled seamlessly through the firm’s offices worldwide, with particular expertise in Asian and European markets. Highlight securitization instructions included Peter Humphreys’ recent representation of HSBC in the formation of a new $3bn credit card master trust for Metris credit card receivables. Derivatives leader Andrea Kramer and Charles Levin in Chicago are instructed in numerous complex matters, and recently advised Lincoln National on “accelerated stock repurchase agreements” to acquire its own stock and “variable prepaid forwards” to sell third party stock for investment. John Hammond in Chicago is also recommended. The firm’s active clients include CIT Group, HSBC, Ingersoll Rand, and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association.

Within Healthcare and life sciences, McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a first tier firm,

With ‘a lot of good lawyers in a lot of places’, and a ‘very deep and broad practice’, McDermott Will & Emery LLP ‘fields a team of high-quality attorneys with deep expertise in their specialties and with a commitment to excellence and client service’. This ‘thoughtful and constructive’ practice prolifically represents healthcare service providers, investors, insurers and life sciences companies in transactions, regulatory advice, and litigation, and has a busy IP practice. In July 2010, the firm moved to enhance its FDA group when it hired James Cohen as head of its FDA practice in Washington DC. Cohen joined from Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, having earlier spent a 17-year tenure in various roles at the FDA. Recent highlights include representing Caritas Christi Health Care System during its $850m sale to Cerberus, a deal which moved the client from non-profit to for-profit status. The firm has been heavily involved in hospital M&A, and represented Vanguard Health Systems on its $1bn acquisition of Detroit Medical Center, the largest such deal by value in 2010. It also acted for Lenox Hill Hospital in completing its sale to North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, and advised Wuesthoff Health Systems on an agreement to sell its healthcare facilities and operations to Health Management Associates. Other transactions included representing Virginia Commonwealth University Health System on its acquisition of the Children’s Hospital in Richmond, Virginia; handling various matters for Tenet Healthcare; and providing commercial and corporate services to care organizations including Surgem. The group advised hospitals and academic institutions in New York City on Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax issues pertaining to stipends. On the insurance side, the group has been advising 11 major health plans on health reforms, and acted on the sale of Preferred Health Systems. Advice to research institutes and contract research organizations (CROs) is another area of expertise, in which clients include Sarah Cannon Research Institute and Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute, while data protection and related electronic issues is another area of focus. Antitrust work included advising a 13-hospital health system on anti-kickback and Stark Law compliance, and representing a client in a qui tam case under the False Claims Act. The firm represents life sciences manufacturers on various needs, including defending Amgen in several qui tam federal court cases and advising LenSx Lasers on interim financing and licensing agreements with Lawrence Livermore Laboratories. The firm represented Endo Pharmaceuticals as regulatory counsel on a private offering of $400m of unsecured senior notes. The sizeable practice’s lawyers ‘understand the healthcare industry and give practical, strategic and legally sound advice’. In Los Angeles, Ira Rappeport is regarded by some as ‘the best transactional lawyer in the business’, while Gary Gertler attracts praise as arguably the ‘most practical, knowledgeable legal adviser in healthcare’. Boston-based Christopher Jedrey is ‘extremely well versed in healthcare law’, ‘an excellent strategic partner who is creative and looks at the big picture’, and has ‘expertise in academic medical center issues, and hospital/physician transactions’. Eric Zimmerman, who co-chairs the life sciences government strategies team, is recommended for government regulations and representation before agencies. Boston-based Charles Buck is ‘an excellent technical lawyer’.

Within Insurance: non-contentious, tier 4

Key strengths of the team at McDermott Will & Emery LLP include healthcare, captive insurance and tax. Peers single out Thomas Jones for his specialist knowledge of tax matters, particularly in the captive insurance space. Jones led the firm’s advice to healthcare provider Vanguard Health Systems in its $368m acquisition of the Detroit Medical Center, which involved the creation of a tax-efficient structure to facilitate the merger of three captive insurance companies, and a five-year $950m undertaking by Vanguard in relation to capital improvements. The firm also advised Wal-Mart Stores and its Chilean subsidiary on the tax and other implications of insurance proceeds received following property damage sustained in the Chilean earthquake of February 2010. Joel Michaels and insurance practice head Margaret Warner led a team in advising a number of healthcare insurers on the ramifications of the US healthcare reforms. Other clients are Allianz, CNA, Fireman’s Fund, World Trade Center (WTC) Captive Insurance Company, the NBA, Tyco International and Vermont Captive Insurance Association.

Within Overview,

New York-based Darby & Darby, one of the oldest IP boutiques in the US, was dissolved, with lawyers leaving to join general practice firms such as McDermott Will & Emery LLP and Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, while San Francisco’s Townsend and Townsend and Crew merged with Kilpatrick Stockton to form Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton at the start of 2011. Once one of the IP powerhouses, Howrey LLP dissolved in April 2011. Among the key high-profile partner moves, former IP co-chairs William Rooklidge and Alan Grimaldi went to Jones Day and Mayer Brown respectively, while Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP hired a number of West Coast-based lawyers, including former vice-chairman Henry Bunsow. Bert Reiser, a key lawyer in Section 337 cases, and Matthew Moore, went to Latham & Watkins LLP. Matthew Wolf and counsel Marc Cohn moved to Arnold & Porter LLP.

Within Patent litigation: full coverage, tier 5

McDermott Will & Emery LLP has ‘the strength and depth to advise extremely large clients while also retaining the flexibility and responsiveness to meet the needs of small companies’. With sizeable teams across central and bi-coastal offices, it draws upon a deep bench with expertise across a range of technologies. The New York group added four partners from former IP boutique Darby & Darby, which was dissolved in early 2010, including Louis DelJuidice, who with Joseph Robinson, recently represented Nippon Shinyaku in a patent term extension lawsuit against the USPTO in light of the Wyeth v Kappos decision. DelJuidice handled the Nippon Shinyaku prosecution work and Robinson the litigation. Practice head Sarah Columbia, whose ‘patent litigation skills are complemented by her excellent business judgment’, acts for Infineon, CIBA Vision and Novartis, successfully representing the latter against an appeal of a patent interference decision. Historically strong in the hi-tech/electronics sector, the Silicon Valley group includes Anthony de Alcuaz (an ‘outstanding negotiator, and business oriented’); Yar Chaikovsky (noted for his analytical and strategic skills); and the ‘outstanding’ Terrence McMahon and Vera Elson, who represented software company Sybase in patent infringement litigation. Los Angeles-based Eric Hagen ‘has a knack for simplifying complex issues and communicating a client’s position persuasively’. Joel Freed’s extensive experience provides ‘an incredible perspective that enables him to be an especially good strategist’.

Within Patent litigation: International Trade Commission, McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a third tier firm,

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s team is based predominantly out of the firm’s Washington DC and Silicon Valley offices. It includes IP litigators Blair Jacobs, Robert Walters and Yar Chaikovsky, the latter joining from SNR Denton at the end of 2009. Although it handles a smaller volume of investigations than some firms, it is still regularly involved in key hi-tech representations before the ITC. It took over representation of Spansion in its claims against Samsung regarding flash memory chips, although it lost that case, with the ITC concluding that Samsung did not violate patent rights. Jacobs led on acting for Prism Technologies, which filed a complaint against Blackberry phone maker Research In Motion regarding technology used in email devices and smartphones, with both parties reaching a settlement. Other representative clients include Qualcomm, Funai and Hitachi.

Within Patent prosecution: utility and design patents , McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a second tier firm,

The overall level of service at McDermott Will & Emery LLP is ‘outstanding’, and ‘the team’s expertise and subject matter knowledge is exceptional and their advice is excellent’. With coverage in many of the key cities in the US and worldwide, the practice covers a variety of industries including energy, life sciences and electronics, representing a diverse client base ranging from Fortune 500 companies to academic institutions and start-ups, and is currently focusing heavily on work in the areas of nanotechnology, alternative energy and cyber protection. It has notable expertise in re-examination and reissue matters, and has one of the most active departments in the full-service firm. Major clients include Google, Qualcomm, Blackboard, Lockheed Martin, Ilumina and Panasonic. The practice is headed by hi-tech specialist Mark Itri in Orange County; other key partners include the ‘incredibly bright and committed’ Stephen Becker in Washington DC, whose team is ‘extraordinary’ and ‘always goes the extra mile’; Boston-based Toby Kusmer, who is recommended for his work with medical devices and technology; and Houston-based Carey Jordan, who ‘exhibits fine leadership skills’. The firm recently lost leading biotechnology figure Astrid Spain from the San Diego office, who left for Jones Day, taking David Gay and three patent agents with her.

Within Trademarks: litigation, tier 4

Well regarded for its overall trademark capabilities, McDermott Will & Emery LLP serves a range of companies in the consumer goods, hi-tech and communications sectors, with a particular specialism in representing owners of apparel labels and alcoholic beverages. On the litigation side, experienced trial counsel John Dabney leads the firm’s global practice. Highlights included obtaining a seven-figure settlement for American Automobile Association, in an infringement case it brought against a domestic insurance company, as well as representing Tyco International subsidiary ADT Security as plaintiff in a lawsuit regarding its blue octagon company logo trademark, achieving a permanent injunction in court. Also based in Washington DC, Robert Zelnick has strong experience handling litigation related to trademarks at federal and appellate court level, as well as at the TTAB. Zelnick recently represented IT management company CGI Group before the TTAB in a trademark opposition filing. Following two years of litigation against competitor The CCI Group, the panel concluded that its trademark could cause confusion and that the client’s trademark is famous. Additional clients include Absolut Vodka, First Transit, Guggenheim Museum, eFax and hotel franchisor Howard Johnson.

Within ERISA litigation , McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a second tier firm,

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s Nancy Ross is ‘very engaging and experienced’. ‘She is exceptionally skilled in handling complex benefits litigation, is very practical and has in-depth knowledge of the law’. Ross and her team have extensive experience representing employers, boards of directors, plan fiduciaries and trustees in pension and welfare benefit plan disputes and frequently represent directors who are named as defendants in ERISA litigation and counsel employers seeking to reduce their retiree health benefits exposure. Wilber Boies also represents benefit plan sponsors and fiduciaries in ERISA class action litigation. Several health benefits class actions he has won resulted in court-approved savings to employers valued at more than $100m, and he has defeated several class actions based on company stock price declines in benefit plans. In Orange County, Chris Scheithauer is also recommended. The firm recently secured an important victory for Chrysler when the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan preliminarily approved a class action settlement that resolves Chrysler’s retiree medical obligations to its union retirees and their families and won a major victory for Northrop Grumman in a high-stakes ERISA class action suit with potential exposure of more than $1bn. In another complex case, the firm recovered class action defense fees for State Street Bank. In 2010, the district judge rejected all of the plaintiffs’ arguments and ordered that State Street recover its full $2.5m of lawyers’ fees and related expenses. Other representative clients include Eastmen Kodak, Kretek International and AXA Equitable.

Within Immigration, tier 4

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s immigration practice provides a highly effective business immigration service, much of it related to corporate transactions with an immigration dimension, as well as ongoing counseling and compliance. ‘The overall service is excellent, knowledge is outstanding and response time is rapid. It is a complicated and constantly changing field and I feel it gives us great advice and offers a great service and is always on top of the issues’. The firm’s approach to client service emphasizes the efficient and flexible handling of matters while working cooperatively with its clients’ human resources and legal staff. Practice leader Joan-Elisse Carpenter ‘is always personally available and has always done an excellent job’. She is available and accessible for every client and makes a point of reviewing every document. Recently, on behalf of Studio Daniel Libeskind, the firm successfully obtained an extraordinary ability immigrant visa petition approval for a leading architect who had struggled to obtain US Citizenship & Immigration Services approval. Other clients include CBS Corporation, The Clinton Foundation, CVT Productions, HSH Nordbank, Petroleum Industry Research Associates and the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute in Florida.

Within International trade, McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a third tier firm,

McDermott Will & Emery LLP has a strong WTO practice with particular expertise acting for clients in the agribusiness sector. Export control is also an area of strength. The practice acted as counsel to Chiquita and various Latin American countries and was heavily involved in the long-running ‘Banana Wars’ and with negotiating, in late 2010, two WTO Agreements aimed at settling the case. This long-standing dispute has included 13 successful GATT and WTO actions and two successful settlement agreements. The firm also acts for number of clients in the energy sector on import export matters. Carolyn Gleason and David Levine are well regarded in the market.

Within Supreme Court and appellate, McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a third tier firm,

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s practice co-heads Miller Baker and Rory Little are both highly recommended. Respectively based in Washington DC and Silicon Valley, Baker and Little (and their wider team) offer extensive experience around the state and federal circuits. Among recent highlights, the firm represented Cisco Systems and 32 other affected multinationals in filing amicus briefs in support of Xilinx’s Ninth Circuit petition in Xilinx v Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The panel ultimately reversed its own decision in the tax dispute, and adopted the arguments of Xilinx and the amici led by Cisco, thereby saving the clients billions of dollars.

Within Trade secrets, McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a second tier firm,

One hundred lawyers across McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s multidisciplinary global team have a day to day, organic relationship with trade secrets law, benefitting from the firm’s 25-plus years of experience handling trade secrets lawsuits and counseling clients from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. The advice given to clients in industries from technology to life sciences, manufacturing, financial services and entertainment on trade secrets protection and robust representation on contentious matters is supplemented by a white-collar crime group for criminal investigations where necessary. In 2010, Eric Hagen assisted Pacific Shore Holdings with corporate policy for trade secret protection. IP specialist Terrence McMahon continues to defend Seagate in the 10-year $1bn litigation over misappropriation of hard disk technology. Spansion is a notable client for Anthony de Alcuaz.

Within White-collar criminal defense , tier 7

Numbering over 25-partners within the group, McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s white-collar and securities defense group is one of the largest in the country and provides ‘classy and empathetic advice’ to clients engaged in regulatory investigations, internal investigations, criminal and civil litigation. Praised for its ‘technically proficient and responsive advice’, the firm benefits from a ‘breadth of experience across other relevant areas’ including tax, healthcare and antitrust. The team ‘offers an array of experienced and well-respected trial lawyers who are expert on litigating and resolving complex disputes’ and includes first-chair trial partners in every one of the firm’s national offices. The Washington DC office in particular is regularly engaged to handle high-profile and sensitive matters involving political figures. The team recently successfully overturned the federal bribery convictions of Paul Minor, a Mississippi trial attorney charged with bribery and racketeering. Abbe Lowell was integral to the aforementioned matter and regularly handles matters with a political dimension. Also ‘highly competent in the tax arena’, led by ‘first-tier litigator’ Douglas Whitney, the team obtained the dismissal of numerous lawsuits brought against law firm Bryan Cave relating to its provision of tax advice concerning certain pension plan strategies implemented by its clients. Jeffrey Stone ‘impeccable judgment and expertise, both in the courtroom and boardroom’; Hoyt Sze ‘advice and work product of the highest calibre beyond his years’; Michael Kendall ‘very knowledgeable and responsive’; Russell Hayman ‘a fine, fine lawyer’; and H. David Rosenbloom ‘very knowledgeable’ are all highly regarded. Clients include Amgen, Care Investment Trust, FirstGroup America, ITOCHU International, Madison Square Garden and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Medical Center.

Within Technology: data protection and privacy, McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a third tier firm,

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s group, led by Daniel Gottlieb in Chicago and Heather Egan Sussman in Boston, draws on the skills of lawyers from corporate and litigation, as well as the firm’s strength in employment, healthcare and intellectual property. Supported by a strong national and global footprint and recognized for its leading expertise in healthcare, the group advises on HIPAA and HITECH act matters as well as assisting clients from all business sectors with managing sensitive data, assessing and mitigating risks involving stored information, data transfers and preventing and dealing with data breaches. In 2010, Gottlieb and John Kocoras represented Emergency Healthcare Physicians following the theft of a hard drive containing health information about more than 175,000 hospital emergency department patients, including the defense of a consumer privacy class action. Jorge Arciniega and his team in Los Angeles advises longstanding client Univision on data collection, behavioral advertising, COPPA and breach of security issues.

Within Antitrust, tier 6

The ‘excellent and dedicated’ antitrust practice at McDermott Will & Emery LLP works closely with its international offices, particularly in Europe, on international cartels, government investigations and private and class action litigation. Joseph Winterscheid heads the practice from Washington DC, an office which houses 36 of the firm’s 80 antitrust lawyers and is supported by teams nationally. Jon Dubrow won dismissal of a class action filed by Warren General Hospital against Amgen, the world’s largest biotech company, alleging illegal tying practices. Dubrow also secured victory for the Free File Alliance (FFA) regarding an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service, through which the FFA facilitated free access to online tax services for certain US taxpayers. The Chicago team’s recent work includes defending Dairy Farmers of America, the largest dairy cooperative in the US, in class actions alleging monopolization and conspiracy in the market for cheese and dairy products. Joel Grosberg and Raymond Jacobsen are recommended, along with David Marx in Chicago, a former FTC and DOJ lawyer who is praised for his ‘knowledge, client responsiveness, and direct answers’. Significant recent additions to the team include Alison Smith, a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Antitrust Division of the DOJ, who joined the Houston office from Haynes and Boone, L.L.P.. Each of the recommended partners is based in Washington DC except where noted otherwise.

Within M&A: large deals ($1bn-5bn), McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a second tier firm,

With key centers of expertise in Boston, California, Chicago, Washington DC, Houston, Miami and New York, McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s 120-lawyer US corporate/M&A team is a national coast-to-coast practice that generally focuses on middle and upper-middle market M&A. For some clients, the team is ‘more effective than other M&A groups at working to achieve clients’ goals. In all cases it has combined a high level of legal expertise with hard work, prompt service and commercial acumen’. Key sector strengths of the firm include energy, healthcare and life sciences, strengthened by top tax, employee benefits, antitrust, private client, and IP practices. The team frequently acts in the $1bn to $5bn range, such as the representation of Evonik Industries, a major German-based industrial company, in its $1.6bn strategic alliance with, and acquisition of Indiana-based Tippecanoe Laboratories, a pharmaceuticals industry production facility. Other highlights included representing Alfred E Mann Foundation for Scientific Research in its acquisition of Infusion Systems, a medical device company, and acting for the Caritas Christi Health Care System, in its pending $440m sale to Cerberus Capital Management. This involved the sale of a multi-facility, Catholic, non-profit system to a private equity firm, the first deal of its kind in the US. New York-based David Goldman is firm-wide corporate chair. Mark Mihanovic heads the West Coast corporate practice, splitting his time between the Silicon Valley and Los Angeles offices. San Diego-based Peter Townshend also practices in Silicon Valley, working almost exclusively for emerging and startup companies and venture capital investors. The Washington DC practice was recently involved in a number of distressed asset sales, strategic alliances in the alternative energy sector and internal restructuring work. In Miami, Harris Siskind’s team is a leading adviser to public and privately held businesses, and private equity funds, in Florida and elsewhere in the US. It acts for HIG Capital, a private investment firm, with over $8.5bn of capital under management. Led by Brooks Gruemmer, the Illinois corporate group represents a wide spectrum of financial investors, from buyout funds to venture investors and publicly and privately held businesses, and from Global 50 companies to venture backed start-ups. The team represented affiliates of Tribune Company, America’s largest employee-owned media company, in a high-profile transaction that transferred 95% ownership of the Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field and an interest in Comcast Sportsnet, to the Ricketts family through a partnership transaction. Boston-based Mark Stein led the advice to SV Life Sciences and Bain Capital in connection with their control investment in The Corner Pharmacy. New York-based Timothy Alvino is ‘a particularly strong corporate lawyer with excellent technical and people skills. I can recommend him without reservation. He combines exceptionally hard work, brilliant corporate technical expertise with being one of the nicest people I have had the pleasure to work with’. Also in New York, Amy Leder is widely praised. ‘I’ve never asked her a question that she didn’t know the answer to, I learned M&A from Amy. She is tough but fair in negotiations’. Also notable is partner Thomas Sauermilch’s work on German-US cross-border corporate transactions. ‘I consider Sauermilch to be our best legal M&A advisor’. Strong Israeli and Korean corporate practices are also led from New York.

Within Private equity buyouts, tier 5

McDermott Will & Emery LLP concentrates primarily on the middle to upper-middle-market with deals ranging up to some $1bn. It has a particularly strong record in the healthcare sector. Clients applaud the firm’s efforts to understand their business and ‘bring that understanding to each transaction’. The firm has ‘smart attorneys’ who are ‘savvy negotiators’ and ‘problem solvers’. Clients also praise the rounded service provided by a deeper team of tax, employee benefits, antitrust and IP experts, this is in addition to a solid funds formation practice. One client says that ‘you not only get quality legal representation but you get a business partner’. The firm’s Chicago headquarters holds the largest concentration of private equity expertise, while the New York and Miami offices also impress, the latter with its work for HIG Capital. Other key clients include Baird Capital Partners, Bayside Capital, Glencoe Capital, Riverside Partners and Westshore Capital. Highlight deals included representing HIG Capital in connection with its acquisitions of The Higher Gear Group, Lipo Chemicals, First Capital Holdings and Albertville Quality Foods. The firm also represented Baird Capital Partners on its acquisition of NAC Marketing Company. Key partners include Chicago’s Laurence Bronska, who has ‘excellent legal knowledge and expertise’ and ‘strong attention to detail’, Andrew McCune, Brooks Gruemmer, Mark Harris and Scott Williams, who provides ‘first class advice’ and is ‘really savvy’. Boston-based Mark Stein is also recommended.

Within Venture capital and emerging companies, tier 4

McDermott Will & Emery LLP covers the key emerging company markets with considerable assurance. Established teams in Boston, Silicon Valley and San Diego have enabled the firm to make significant progress in this sector. The firm represents both investors and issuers in investments ranging from seed and first round venture financings to later stage investments. The firm has a particularly standout record in healthcare and life sciences, energy (including renewables and alternative energy), and technology and internet. It has a 20-lawyer team in California, covering north and south, while the Boston office has a long-established record of advising start-ups emerging from the technology community surrounding Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Clients include Advanced Bionics Holding, Akela Pharma, Artemis Capital Partners, Healthways, Oxford Bioscience Partners, Plaxo, SV Life Sciences and Verifier Capital. Amongst a long list of standout transactions, the firm advised SV Life Sciences and Bain Capital on their control investment in The Corner Pharmacy. Key partners include Silicon Valley-based Mark Mihanovic and Kyle Guse, and Peter Townshend in San Diego. In Boston, Mark Stein is ‘always available’, a ‘problem solver’ and ‘very business savvy’.

Within Domestic tax: Central, McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a second tier firm,

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s origins as a tax specialist firm continue to resonate and the tax department has a large practice which attracts direct instructions, regionally, nationally and globally, and is not dependent upon servicing other departments. The Chicago-based tax lawyers, a well-balanced team of some 40 fee-earners, comprise the largest single group in the 100-lawyer strong, four sub-set US tax practice, which is also represented in New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Silicon Valley and Miami. Recommended lawyers include captive insurance expert Thomas Jones, who ‘handles complex tax issues with ease and strategizes both existing and future tax issues’, and Andrea Kramer, ‘a legal scholar’ who ‘has impressive expertise in the derivative products area’. Clients of the practice group include Abbott Laboratories, CNH Global, Costco, General Electric, Hallmark Cards, IBM, Procter & Gamble, Roche, Schneider-Electric and Stanford University.

Within Domestic tax: East Coast, McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a third tier firm,

McDermott Will & Emery LLP ‘is the best all around tax firm I have ever used – knowledgeable and very creative when it comes to tax planning ideas that work’. The New York office houses some of the firm’s most experienced attorneys. Thomas Giegerich, who heads the New York tax practice, offers ‘comprehensive tax expertise, and well rounded commercial approach’, and advises several multinationals on US tax planning, including Diageo and Sumitomo. The firm’s heavyweight SALT team is led from New York by Arthur Rosen. In Washington DC, the key areas of expertise include transactions, real estate taxation and partnerships. Blake Rubin ‘mentors his team very well’ and is highly recommended for complex partnership tax, as are the other members of ‘an industry leading team’ Andrea Whiteway and Jon Finkelstein. In Miami, Philip Tingle has established a niche advising complex energy tax-related matters, including renewables. Practice clients include Merrill Lynch, Metropolitan Life Insurance, Moody’s and Morgan Stanley.

Within Domestic tax: West Coast, tier 4

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s Silicon Valley office houses the firm’s core West Coast tax lawyers, with the team also represented in Los Angeles. International tax work is the key focus of the team, although John Ryan has a wide planning and controversy practice, and Roy Crawford is an experienced SALT lawyer. Clients include Buy.com, Chevron and Mercury General.

Within Employee benefits and executive compensation, McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a second tier firm,

McDermott Will & Emery LLP, with one of the largest EBEC practices in the US, ‘has a good grasp of the nuances and intricacies of employee benefits/executive compensation area – I don’t get that sense from other firms’. The ‘deep talent pool’ covers both the executive compensation and employee benefits practice areas. The large Chicago group includes welfare benefits expert Amy Gordon, who is ‘thoughtful, thorough and listens, thereby producing work that is comprehensive and captures the concerns voiced’, and senior counsel Jared Kaplan, who has ‘very broad knowledge, extensive and experience in all ESOP matters, and is excellent at communications and negotiations’. Also in Chicago, Karen Simonsen has ‘exceptional expertise in employee benefits, unparalleled client service abilities, and has built, and promoted, a first-rate team around her’. Diane Morgenthaler provided advice to Amcor Rigid in restructuring its US benefit programs following the purchase of the Alcan packaging business. Also recommended in Chicago are office partner-in-charge Nancy Gerrie, for her broad practice, and Susan Schaefer, for tax-qualified retirement plans, with a particular emphasis on ESOPs. Washington DC-based David Rogers advises the New York Port Authority on its government retirement plans, and is ‘brilliant, modest, practical, ethical, responsive collegial and economical – an excellent thinker and communicator’. In Boston, Andrew Liazos has ‘excellent technical and provides practical advice, and has a very broad network of contacts with appropriate regulatory entities’. Practice clients include Motorola, Northrop Grumman, Fortune Brands, Tribune Company and Liberty Mutual Group.

Within Financial products, McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a second tier firm,

McDermott Will & Emery LLP is ‘the premier law firm, nationally and globally, when it comes to commodities and derivatives trading’. In Chicago, Andrea Kramer heads the firm’s financial products, trading and derivatives group, and spearheads the small but expert tax practice which is an integral part of the wider structured finance offering. Kramer recently worked with a leading hedge fund manager on a wide range of complex derivatives tax planning projects and swap documentation to address issues faced by foreign entities that rely on “trading safe harbours” to remain free from US taxation. William Pomierski is also recommended for his innovative work, and expertise in the financial products area, including the more unusual derivative classes such as credit default swaps and other credit derivatives, and weather derivatives. Clients include CIT Group, International Swaps and Derivatives Association and the Options Policy Association.

Within International, McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a third tier firm,

McDermott Will & Emery LLP fields ‘an excellent international tax practice led by Lowell Yoder , who is in a class by himself in the international tax arena’. The firm has some 40 lawyers in the global tax practice, and 30 in the US practicing substantially in international tax from Silicon Valley, Washington DC, Chicago and New York, offering transactional support, tax planning, and international restructuring. In recent instructions, Chicago-based Yoder and members of the team, working with overseas offices, advised a major international company on restructuring European trading operations, and on a $5bn cross-border financing. Also in Chicago, Sandra McGill, who recently advised a large tax-exempt company on the restructuring of its foreign operations, ‘is extremely intelligent and skilled, and has outstanding client service skills’ in her international tax planning practice. Thomas Jones and Barry Quirke are also highly recommended members of the Chicago group. In Washington DC, Philip McCarty is ‘very strong on technical issues’, in large business and partnership cross-border taxation; Michael Kelleher is ‘thoughtful and thorough in all transfer pricing matters’; David Noren is ‘a tax technical genius on almost all international tax matters’; and James Riedy is ‘a guru in US international tax’. New York-based Kumar Paul ‘grasps commercial issues very quickly and provides excellent advice within very short time windows’. Clients include AstraZeneca, Avon, Dun & Bradstreet, Equity International, General Mills, Hoffman La Roche, and Johnson & Johnson.

Within Tax controversy, McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a second tier firm,

McDermott Will & Emery LLP is ‘without doubt one of the best firms I have dealt with in 35 years of practice; very responsive, highly competent, tenacious and achieves terrific results’. Washington DC-based Jean Pawlow, ‘detail-oriented and an excellent high energy advocate’, heads the tax controversy practice, which is widely recommended for IRS audits and appeals of the greatest complexity, competent authority negotiation, and trial and appellate litigation. The group fields 15 partners and is lightly leveraged with 15 associates, with the largest concentrations in Chicago and Washington DC, and more modest representation nationwide. The firm’s origins as a tax firm persist and the majority of instructions to the controversy group originate outside the firm. Acclaimed attorneys for federal tax matters include Thomas Borders, who is ‘an outstanding advisor on litigation strategies with a strong courtroom presence’; Borders masterminded the successful defense of law firm Bryan Cave in a number of state and federal court tax malpractice actions brought by individual plaintiffs as well as two class actions in federal court. Also in Washington DC, George Benson, ‘exhibits phenomenal perception and insight on a broad mix of tax issues’, and has developed a niche in the representation of cooperatives involved in federal income tax controversies. In New York, Thomas Giegerich provides ‘comprehensive tax expertise’. Other lawyers recommended for federal tax controversy include, in Washington DC, Martha Groves Pugh, who is expert in energy industry issues, and William Goldman, highly experienced in appellate litigation. Robin Greenhouse is expert in administrative matters and tax practitioner privilege. In Chicago, Gregory Palmer brings international tax expertise to his controversy practice. New York is also home to a noteworthy state tax group with a nationwide reputation, headed byArthur Rosen, who has 'a very broad state knowledge base, and is able to put concise direct answers together – which reads as not having high billable hours’. Peter Faber is also highly rated for SALT instructions. Leah Robinson is working with New York-based Peter Faber to represent Pfizer in ongoing litigation as to whether New Jersey’s method of allocating the income of a multi-state corporation is constitutional. Chicago’s Jane Wells May, head of the firm's SALT practice, who is ‘energetic and provides rapid response’, has been retained to develop a national strategy for defending all state controversies by a leading domestic retailer. Practice clients include Chevron, Citibank, Honeywell, HSBC and John Hancock.