The Legal 500

Within Corporate restructuring (including bankruptcy), tier 7

McDermott Will & Emery LLP impresses for its ability to marshal ‘supplementary support expertise that is unrivalled by any other firm in its peer group’. Split between the firm’s New York and Chicago offices, the practice is led by Timothy Walsh and ‘pays close attention to the client’s business and industry’. Clients single out ‘formidable opponent’ William Smith as ‘one of the leading experts in the country in the areas of healthcare insolvencies and bond and other public debt defaults’. Nathan Coco is a ‘thorough and commercial lawyer’. The firm recently acted as debtor’s counsel to Victory Memorial Hospital in its Chapter 11 case and it also advised a private equity firm on the bankruptcy of a pipeline operator that is leasing and operating two pipelines it owns.

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

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s municipal bankruptcy practice has four dedicated partners. Chicago-based William Smith is recommended by bond insurers and trustees and has ‘a good knowledge of the municipal space’. He is a well-known expert in tax-exempt finance and healthcare-related bankruptcy and restructuring. Miles Hughes has a great track record dealing with municipal debt adjustment cases under Chapter 9, and he and Smith have represented debtors as well as creditors. The firm was instructed by Ambac Assurance to handle its $525m credit exposure to Jefferson County, AL in relation to school and lease revenue warrants. The ensuing novel argument in US Bankruptcy Court centered on a county’s power to reject a municipal lease; in the recent settlement regarding the courthouse and jail warrants, the debtor prevailed. Smith and Hughes are currently advising a private equity fund making $22m exit financing available to distressed municipality Scranton, PA. Both are also acting on behalf of trustee US Bank in San Bernardino, CA regarding sixteen separate financings amounting to $170m, all direct or indirect obligations of the distressed municipality. The firm strengthened its ‘outstanding’ bankruptcy practice in 2012 with the addition of three partners from DLA Piper, including new head of the international restructuring & insolvency practice Timothy Walsh.

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Within Not-for-profit (non profit and tax exempt organizations), McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a third tier firm,

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s nonprofit organizations practice has several locations. The internationally operating team focuses on the healthcare industry and is particularly strong on the regulatory and transactional side. Yet, the departure of Douglas Mancino, one of the country’s top healthcare and tax-exempt organization lawyers for Hunton & Williams LLP was a significant loss. Chicago-based Michael Peregrine has special expertise advising nonprofit entities on matters of corporate law and governance, acts for hospitals and major national charities ‘and never elevates form over substance’. He successfully structured highly complex transactions between a large faith-based and a secular nonprofit health system, and served as outside counsel to the America Cancer Society in connection with its corporate structure reorganization. Another matter was the successful pre-negotiation of a Chapter 11 plan for a nonprofit in which its attorneys were ‘not only outstanding as technicians and tacticians’ but also ‘worked well with our board and did a great job dealing with very difficult opposing counsel’. The firm recently assisted Tenet Healthcare Corporation with acquiring a controlling percentage of equity interest in a medical center in California. Robert Louthian III used to be an attorney in the Exempt Organizations Technical Division of the IRS, and focuses his practice on tax-exempt entities.

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Within Structured finance , tier 5

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s US structured finance practice ‘gives excellent service which is equally good at all levels of complexity’. Cross-border instructions are handled seamlessly through the firm’s offices worldwide, with particular expertise in Asian and European markets. Chicago-based Andrea Kramer heads financial products, trading and derivatives group, and advises financial service firms, multinational businesses, insurance companies, hedge funds and other entities on a full range of derivatives matters, including implementation of Dodd-Frank. John Hammond in Chicago is also recommended. The firm’s clients include CIT Group, HSBC, Ingersoll Rand, and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association.

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Within Environment: litigation, tier 4

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s ‘client-oriented’, ‘practical’ team has strong ‘analytical ability’, and often defends clients in large, complex product liability, toxic tort or class action cases. The practice is rated for its ‘appreciation for the business side of litigation’ and ‘gets to the root of a problem to find the solution’. Its ‘strong knowledge of industry’ was put to use as national coordinating counsel in asbestos litigation for Honeywell in which workers alleged injuries due to exposure during the manufacturing of car brake linings. It is acting for ExxonMobil in a 600-plaintiff toxic tort case in New York regarding a large petroleum spill in Brooklyn. Plaintiffs are seeking restitution for property damage and personal injury, with claims totaling $1bn. The firm is also one of many acting in the litigation over the contamination of the Passaic River in New Jersey, where it is representing National Standard (one of nearly 100 companies implicated) and assisted in the formation of a restoration partnership to aid in the cleanup. The team’s ‘very knowledgeable lawyers’ include Chicago-based Todd Wiener, who is active in enforcement proceedings and regarded as ‘an excellent litigator; smart, dogged and advocates well’. James Pardo in New York is also recommended.

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Within Healthcare: health insurers, McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a first tier firm,

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s highlights in 2012 included advising Tenet Healthcare on its acquisition of Golden State Medicare in Orange County, California; Florida Blue Cross and Blue Shield on its acquisition of Diagnostic Clinical Medical Group; and Munich Re on its stock purchase acquisition of Windsor Health Group. In Washington DC, Joel Michaels is highly respected for his knowledge of provider/payor relationships; and, on the payor/managed care side, Los Angeles-based J Peter Rich is ‘very knowledgeable, innovative in thought and specific in delivery’.

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Within Healthcare: life sciences, McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a second tier firm,

McDermott Will & Emery LLP has an impressively broad-ranging practice which in 2012 bolstered its corporate offering by recruiting Chicago-based medical devices expert Kristian Werling, formerly chair of life sciences at McGuireWoods LLP; and licensing and collaboration specialist Richard Smith, who joined from Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP. The group has strong capability in China, where practice chair Byron Kalogerou is advising a major pharmaceuticals company on its first significant acquisition in the country. The practice is very active in both IP and Hatch-Waxman litigations, and recent highlights include a victory for clients Seikagaku and Zimmer at federal court in a high-profile patent infringement suit brought by Genzyme. The firm also added Judy Mohr and her patent team from King & Spalding LLP to its Silicon Valley office in August 2012; and former Greenberg Traurig LLP securities and transactional lawyer Robert Cohen to its New York office in January 2013. Washington DC-based Glenn Engelmann, a former general counsel at AstraZeneca, is also recommended.

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Within Healthcare: service providers, McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a first tier firm,

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s lawyers ‘demonstrate excellent expertise in all areas, depth of knowledge, and an ability to apply that knowledge effectively’. The firm’s ‘flagship’ healthcare practice is heavily involved in reform under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) with both Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and health exchanges. Chicago-based Bernadette Broccolo continues to be well known for her advice to provider networks on responding to reform, and health information network development, and is currently advising Allina Health System on its ACO strategy. The firm’s deep regulatory bench complements its corporate healthcare expertise. Recent work includes assisting Steward Health System on its acquisition of New England Sinai hospital; and Vanguard Health Systems on two affiliation projects in Arizona and Massachusetts, respectively. Miami-based Stark Law and compliance expert Gary Davis is ‘an exemplary lawyer with great understanding of the healthcare business - able to help structure the most complicated deals’. Daniel Gottlieb, who specializes in Medicare fraud and abuse, ‘has a good personal touch, is very thoughtful and provides good, practical, usable advice’. According to one client, Michael Peregrine’s ‘unique strengths include attention to the numerous priorities of his general counsel clients, and his capabilities as an advisor to general counsel and governing boards on governance’. Private equity lawyers Ryan Harris and Andrew McCune also attract praise for healthcare-related work. Gottlieb, Peregrine, Harris and McCune are all based in Chicago, as is highly regarded transactional and regulatory lawyer Kerrin Slattery. The practice is also notable for having an international healthcare presence in Germany and Turkey, the latter through an association with Istanbul-based Fora & Sanli begun in 2012. Boston-based Stephen Bernstein heads the group.

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Within Insurance: advice to insurers Leading lawyers

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Within Insurance: non-contentious Leading lawyers

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Within Patent litigation: full coverage, McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a third tier firm,

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s national practice handles a high volume of life sciences and hi-tech-related patent litigation, with ‘attorneys that are highly capable and very responsive’. Sarah Columbia leads the IP litigation practice from Boston. She obtained a favorable federal court ruling for defendants Zimmer and Seikagaku in a case brought by Genzyme, which overturned a previous decision to find that the clients did not infringe a patent for a method to treat arthritic pain. The life sciences team has also been handling Hatch-Waxman litigation for Tolmar and Sandoz, as well as acting for Isis in asserting patent claims in relation to antisense drug technology against Santaris. In hi-tech and related areas, the practice is counsel to HTC on various disputes, including against NPE MobileMedia Ideas and on both district court and ITC proceedings against Nokia. Silicon Valley-based Yar Chaikovsky won an Eastern District of Texas trial for defendant Yahoo! against an allegation of patent infringement brought by Bedrock Computer Technologies. Terrence McMahon worked with Joel Freed and Blair Jacobs in Washington DC, representing Fairchild in litigation against Power Integrations. Eric Hagen is ‘a first-class lawyer who always provides reliable advice and strong advocacy’.

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

McDermott Will & Emery LLP has been acting for some notable hi-tech companies in asserting and defending patents before the ITC, with a team of experienced trial and appellate lawyers handling Section 337 investigations. In Washington DC, Blair Jacobs represented HTC as respondent to a complaint regarding nine patents brought by Nokia. Paul Devinsky advised Funai on complaints brought against it by Freescale asserting patents for integrated circuits and chip sets used in televisions, as well as more recently from LSI Corporation and Agere Systems regarding alleged infringement of patents for audiovisual products that connect to wireless internet. Silicon Valley-based Yar Chaikovsky acted for Rovi in filing ITC complaints against Sharp, which ultimately led to a settlement and a licensing agreement between the companies.

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

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s ‘extremely valuable, responsive and extremely knowledgeable’ eight-partner team is led by Mark Itri from Orange County. Itri has an enviable client following which includes Google and Lockheed Martin. The wider group is spread across Washington DC, Orange County, Houston and Boston, and represents clients in a wide range of sectors such as electronics, automotive and medical devices. Key partners within the team include Carey Jordan in Houston and Toby Kusmer in Boston. Stephen Becker has ‘excellent patent prosecution knowledge and client service qualities’, and Robert Underwood is ‘highly cognizant of the needs of his client’. The practice provides advice on procurement, enforcement and strategic matters to cloud computing leader Dell Wyse, Broadcom, Covidien and Panasonic.

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Within Trademarks: litigation, tier 4

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s John Dabney leads the firm’s global trademark litigation practice from Washington DC, which handles a mix of federal court litigation, TTAB and domain name dispute proceedings for clients such as Lockheed Martin and Hitachi. Former practice head Robert Zelnick continues to advise clients such as CGI Group on trial and appellate court matters. Both Dabney and Zelnick advised Guggenheim Partners on trademark and counterfeiting claims in a criminal case brought against a group of fradulent individuals, with the dispute now set for a Second Circuit appeal. The practice is also representing Creative Technology in defending oppositions from Nintendo to the client’s applications to register the Zii mark.

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Within Trademarks: non-contentious - full coverage, tier 4

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s trademark team provides a ‘very good service’ to clients located across the US, Asia Pacific and Europe. The group is active in terms of filings and is noted for its corporate support work, acting on sophisticated transactions with a trademark element. Joanne Ludovici-Lint leads the global trademark prosecution team, and is ‘very easy to work with, responsive and client focused’. Ludovici-Lint is supported by key partners ‘efficient’ Richard Kim, Jorge Arciniega and Lynne Boisineau. Among the group’s diverse and impressive client base are leaders within the beverage industry The Absolut Company, Heineken and Chivas Brothers. Covidien, Hitachi, Motorola, Lockheed Martin and Wal-Mart Stores also count the practice as go-to counsel.

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

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s ‘skills, practicality, communications and work product are outstanding’. It is ‘particularly well acquainted, and has an excellent working relationship with the agencies of government that regulate in this area’. The group provides a comprehensive service that assists clients to comply with the domestic and foreign government and industry regulation of employee benefit programs and executive compensation. The firm advised Fortune Brands in implementing US benefit programs in connection with the $8.5bn spin-off of Fortune Brands Home & Security; and is representing Liberty Mutual Group in the ERISA controversy over welfare plan reporting to individual states. ‘Its work has been timely, promptly communicated and done with economy, especially based upon practical and workable solutions to complex issues’. David Rogers is ‘brilliant, modest, practical, ethical, responsive, collegial and economical. He is an excellent thinker and communicator’. Highly recommended partners in his team include Stephen Pavlick, Karen Simonsen, William Merten, Susan Schaefer, Joseph Adams and Andrew Liazos. In 2012, Ruth Wimer joined the firm from Ernst & Young.

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

McDermott Will & Emery LLP is famed for its ability to handle litigation and administrative proceedings involving employee benefit plans. Class actions pose no problem. The firm represents employers as plan sponsors and plan administrators, as well as individual and corporate fiduciaries, and the firm is approved by a number of fiduciary liability carriers to provide defense for their insured. Highlight work includes the ongoing representation of Liberty Mutual Insurance Company in a case of first impression nationwide against the State of Vermont, in which Liberty Mutual is challenging, as preempted by ERISA, a state regulation requiring the disclosure of individuals’ private and confidential medical claims history from health insurers within the state. The firm also continues to advise the Bank of America 401(k) plan in proceedings relating to the negotiated settlement of the Countrywide Financial securities litigation. Other clients include State Street Bank, Northrop Grumman, Freightcar America and Siemens Corporation. Head of the employee benefits and ERISA litigation group Nancy Ross enjoys celebrity status within the ERISA legal community. She is ably supported by a highly experienced team that includes Wilber Boies and John Litwinski in Chicago and Chris Scheithauer in Los Angeles.

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

McDermott Will & Emery LLP has particular strength in advising its clients on the quickest way to obtain short-term and permanent visas that allow foreign nationals to enter the US for business related activities. The firm recently obtained an O-1 ‘outstanding ability’ status visa, within just a few days of filing, for a well-known British TV journalist. In other representative matters, the firm turned around a US visa, including getting the union letters, within just a few days for its event planning client OSK; and, on behalf of Sonar Entertainment, the firm secured a time sensitive visa for a well known personality in the US entertainment industry. Of note, the firm is representing pro bono the first US citizen to challenge the federal Secure Communities program that helps local authorities identify potentially undocumented immigrants. Other clients include the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Lombard Twins and Softonic. Joan-Elisse Carpentier co-chaired the AILA New York Chapter’s corporate practice committee. Due to her entertainment client base, and because she is qualified in both state bars, she splits her time between California and New York.

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

Head of the global regulatory practice and international trade practice Carolyn Gleason heads the team at McDermott Will & Emery LLP. Notably, the firm opened a new office in Seoul in February 2012 following a loosening of the restrictions allowing US firms to operate in South Korea. The team, led by Gleason and Pamela Walther, continues to be active in the longstanding ‘Banana Wars’ dispute, where it acts for Chiquita Brands International. Following on from assisting in negotiating settlement agreements, the firm has organized a coalition of interests to fight new export restrictions mandated by the EU, which allegedly violate WTO rules. The firm traditionally acts for a number of agribusiness clients and is currently advising a coalition of US agribusiness interests in pursuing steps under WTO bodies and US laws to investigate and redress the allegedly unfair sales of Chinese agricultural products in the US and other markets. Jay Eizenstat, who joined the firm in January 2012 from Miller & Chevalier Chartered, has particular expertise in Asia and is currently advising the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) on market-access disputes in Indonesia and the Philippines.

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Within Product liability and mass tort defense: toxic tort, McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a third tier firm,

Michael Pope leads McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s ‘cost-effective’ and ‘knowledgeable’ team, which attracts praise for its handling of personal injury claims across the country arising from toxic products, and its team members ‘go above and beyond the call of duty’. Celebrated for providing ‘sound and proactive guidance’, the team is national coordinating counsel to Honeywell International in personal injury and wrongful death claims arising from toxins. Miami-based Anthony Upshaw is a highly recommended trial attorney in product liability litigation, and, in Chicago, ‘excellent lawyer’ Geoffrey Vance is ‘very good at dealing with difficult situations and difficult lawyers’.

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

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s appeals work spans the Sixth Circuit, major East Coast litigation, and cutting-edge Ninth Circuit instructions. The firm recently represented Static Control Components in the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in respect of its long-running litigation with Lexmark International in which the court held the firm’s client did not infringe Lexmark’s toner cartridge patents. This led to a second ruling reinstating the client’s multimillion-dollar false advertising claims against Lexmark; widely esteemed department head Miller Baker led. The firm is also an active force in the US Supreme Court, particularly on an amicus basis for clients such as the US Chamber of Commerce.

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

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s multi-disciplinary approach encompasses disputes over enforcement rights and the implementation of safeguarding mechanisms for trade secrets, as well as a particular strength in assisting clients on the overlapping issues between trade secret misappropriation claims and antitrust law. It also advises clients on the potential trade secret implications of mergers, joint ventures and licensing agreements. Los Angeles-based Eric Hagen represents a diverse set of high-profile clients, including Fortune 500 companies, on trade secret-related matters.

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Within White-collar criminal defense , tier 6

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s ‘phenomenal team’ is praised for its ‘considerable bench strength’; the ‘very responsive and knowledgeable lawyers’ are ‘spot on’ when it comes to client service, ‘making the client feel theirs is the only matter’, and displaying ‘industry knowledge that exceeds expectations’. The firm’s synonymy with the healthcare industry is a major benefactor, and yields regular instructions from institutional clients such as Amgen (a recent whistleblower suit involving alleged Medicare fraud that was successfully resolved), and DaVita, for which it has secured a number of victories of late. The firm demonstrated its ability to handle complex, cross-border matters, in its role in co-ordinating the response from a Japanese auto-parts manufacturer that is the subject of a criminal antitrust investigation into alleged cartel activities in multiple countries. Securities work is another key area - that group is headed by ‘knowledgeable advocate’ Fredric Firestone in Washington DC, and Michael Kendall leads the global white-collar group from Boston, where Mark Pearlstein is also based. David Rosenbloom and Gordon Greenberg are key contacts in Chicago and Los Angeles respectively.

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

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s group is led by Daniel Gottlieb in Chicago and Heather Egan Sussman in Boston and was boosted by the arrival of Ann Killilea from Hewlett-Packard. Clients appreciate the firm’s ‘excellent technical knowledge on data protection and privacy laws in the US and abroad’. The firm’s international footprint supports the group’s strength in cross-border data protection and global data transfers and ability to assist multinational enterprises with data privacy, security and compliance policies and programs. The group benefits from the firm’s leading health practice, and ‘excels in understanding and applying the HIPAA security regulations’. Gottleib, who wins praise for his ‘practical understanding of health care technology and delivery systems’, Bernadette Broccolo, Jean Pechette and Stephen Bernstein advise on HIPAA and HITECH Act matters, data license agreements, and health information and technology issues involving multiple platforms as well as mitigating risks involving stored information, data transfers and data breaches. Sussman has particular expertise in workplace privacy, advising Steward Health Care System on physician recruitment and data privacy. Bernstein advises Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative on its privacy infrastructure for its three community-based health information exchanges. Gottleib and Broccolo assist academic medical centers with data protection and compliance programs. Jorge Arciniega in Los Angeles specializes in trademark and copyright matters, including privacy, security breaches and behavioral advertising. Univision is a longstanding client.

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Within Antitrust, tier 4

McDermott Will & Emery LLP strengthened its antitrust practice in 2012, through the addition of Allan Van Fleet and associate Nick Grimmer, who transferred from Greenberg Traurig LLP and specialize in antitrust litigation. In the same year, Warren Rosborough rejoined the firm from the DOJ’s antitrust division, where he participated in merger investigations as a trial attorney in a wide range of industries. The ‘very highly rated’ team is spread across Washington DC, New York, Chicago, Houston and Orange County. Providing ‘a very good service and excellent legal analysis’, it handles the full gamut of antitrust work, with particular expertise in IP-related issues, and antitrust aspects surrounding the industries of energy, distribution and alcohol regulation. The group is also highly regarded for healthcare instructions, where Jeffrey Brennan is respected; in 2012, Brennan represented ProMedica Health System alongside David Marx and Stephen Wu in a case against the FTC relating to the client’s acquisition of formerly independent competitor St. Luke’s Hospital. Joseph Winterscheid leads the department, and Raymond Jacobsen is ‘excellent at handling merger matters’. Jacobsen, Rosborough and Jon Dubrow are advising Constellation Brands on the antitrust clearance for the client’s acquisition of a 50% interest in Crown Imports, currently held by Grupo Modelo.

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Within M&A: middle-market ($500m-999m), McDermott Will & Emery LLP is a first tier firm,

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s ‘practice is second to none, and gives very solid, great advice and service, as well as excellent judgment, and outstanding value’. Other clients praise the ‘sheer quality, in terms of mastery of detail, the deployment of negotiating skills when fighting its clients’ corner, and exceptional back-up, which enables the production of documents of the highest standards’. The corporate group represents a wide spectrum of publicly and privately held businesses, from Fortune 500 companies to venture backed start-ups, and distinguishes itself through a sector-specific approach. The Boston office takes a leading role in developing the firm’s global life science practice; and healthcare M&A work, particularly among hospitals and healthcare providers, is an important part of the firm’s practice. In addition, the team advises the full range of participants on legal matters that are unique to the sports industry, and is active in advising private equity firms in their transactional needs, and investment banks on transactional opportunities. Recent highlights include advising private equity firm, HIG Capital, in multiple deals, including the acquisition, by its affiliate, of Massachusetts-based South Bay Mental Health Center, the largest provider of outpatient, community-based behavioral health services in the region; representing Barnes Group, an international aerospace and industrial manufacturing and service provider, in connection with its $340m acquisition of Synventive Molding Solutions; acting for Presstek, a Nasdaq-listed supplier of digital offset printing solutions to the printing and communications industries, with regard to a definitive merger agreement signed, under which Presstek would be acquired by MAI Holdings, an entity affiliated with American Industrial Partners Capital Fund IV; and advising Hoops, a subsidiary of Heico Holding, in its $377m sale of the National Basketball Association franchise, Memphis Grizzlies. In New York, Timothy Alvino is ‘one of the best lawyers I know. He is available 24/7 and makes us feel like we are his only client’. New York-based David Goldman is the firm-wide corporate chair; Goldman and Thomas Sauermilch actively advise clients, both in the US and abroad, on mining and metal acquisitions. Todd Finger and Paul Kim are praised New York advisers. David Cifrino, Amy Ferrer and Byron Kalogerou are key Boston contacts; Kalogerou has extensive transactional experience in the medical device sector. Helen Friedli, Brooks Gruemmer, Stanley Meadows, Ryan Harris and Scott Williams are notable Chicago attorneys. Williams is a ‘go-to lawyer for M&A deals’. He is an excellent business attorney, who gives sound, practical and relevant advice’. Los Angeles and Silicon Valley-based Mark Mihanovic is active in the life sciences sector; Miami-based Frederic Levenson is rated; and Harris Siskind is a ‘good transactional attorney, who has business acumen’. Washington DC-based Thomas Conaghan, Debra Harrison and Samuel Wales are experienced practitioners. Additional partners include Erich Eisenegger, in New York, arriving from DLA Piper, and Kristian Werling, in Chicago, joining from McGuireWoods LLP, where he served as chair of the life sciences group.

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Within Private equity buyouts, tier 4

Chicago’s McDermott Will & Emery LLP is ‘excellent in all areas’, ‘responsive’ and ‘service levels are second to none’. Clients commend the ‘knowledgeable’ attorneys that regularly ‘go above and beyond the call of duty’. The firm naturally inhabits the middle to upper-middle market and brings leading industry knowledge to sectors such as health and life sciences, food and beverage, mining and metals, manufacturing and energy. It also has significant experience in distressed deals. The large team includes some 100 attorneys with significant private equity experience. Clients include HIG Capital, Baird Capital Partners, The ComVest Group and Summit Capital. In 2012, the firm advised on a series of deals for HIG Capital including its acquisition of South Bay Mental Health Center, another illustration of the firm’s leading expertise in the health sector. On the energy side, it represented ArcLight Capital Partners on its $1.3bn sale of Houston Fuel Oil Terminal Company. Scott Williams is regarded as a ‘go-to lawyer for private equity buyouts’ thanks to his ‘knowledgeable’ and ‘very responsive’ advice and ‘great service’. Chicago’s Laurence Bronska, Andrew McCune, Brooks Gruemmer and Mark Harris are also highly recommended, as is Florida’s Harris Siskind who is close to cornerstone client HIG Capital, and Miami colleague Frederic Levenson.

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Within Venture capital and emerging companies, tier 4

McDermott Will & Emery LLP has a solid presence in Silicon Valley, San Diego and Boston. Clients commend the ‘team resources’ and ‘enormous business knowledge’, which can be applied to small and large transactions. The firm is equally well known for its work in the technology, life sciences and cleantech industries, as well as advising start-ups associated with Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Boston partner Mark Stein is ‘exceptional’, has ‘invaluable knowledge and judgment’, and one client says he is ‘head and shoulders above any lawyer I have worked with’. Silicon Valley partner Mark Mihanovic is commended for his ‘negotiation skills’, ‘attention to detail’ and ‘quick response time’.

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

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s ‘extremely knowledgeable’ practice has a strong focus on international tax matters as well as having substantial capabilities in the state and local tax area. Lowell Yoder heads the US and international tax practice and is based out of the Chicago office. The firm is praised for its ‘responsive and professional’ partners. Gregory Palmer is head of the Chicago tax practice and assists major international companies in tax planning and tax controversy matters. Palmer has acted as principal advisor to major companies such as Caterpillar and McDonald’s in audits, IRS examinations, administrative appeals, and tax litigation. Andrea Kramer is very highly regarded in the market and handles financial transactions and derivatives using a multi-disciplinary approach focusing on taxation, regulation, contract design, trading operations, and documentation. Another practice strength is private client work and trusts and estates disputes. Former IRS attorney Thomas Borders is the name to note in this area. Jane May leads the ‘excellent’ firm-wide SALT practice.

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

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s East Coast practice is concentrated in Washington DC, with 21 partners located there. The team has a particular focus on advising Fortune 500 companies and major investors on tax aspects of M&A, restructurings and advisory work. Stephen Wells heads the practice, and was joined by Philip Levine and Philip McCarty in the firm’s advice to Johnson & Johnson in connection with the tax elements of its acquisition of Synthes in a $21.3bn deal. Thomas Giegerich heads up the firm’s eight-partner New York practice, which handles international and federal tax matters as well as fielding a strong state and local tax (SALT) practice. The firm is recognized nationally for its SALT capabilities, and Peter Faber is the preferred SALT advisor to many of the top investment banks, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

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Within Domestic tax: West Coast, tier 4

The ‘excellent’ McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s West Coast tax team is led by Frederick Chilton in Silicon Valley and forms an integral part of the firm’s national tax practice. The focus is on hi-tech companies in relation to international cross-border tax planning and IP matters, as well as handling contentious matters including transfer pricing litigation. Of counsel Roy Crawford has a wealth of experience in SALT matters, and counsel Paul Dau is also recommended and focuses on complex international transactions involving intangibles, and the resolution of federal tax controversies. Clients include Yahoo!, eBay and Cisco.

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

Headed by Andrea Kramer in Chicago, McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s financial products, trading and derivatives group attracts clients for its wide practice focus and high-profile tax advisory work in the design, trading and implementation of structured products, derivative financial products and synthetic derivatives. The tax group has expertise in complex and innovative tax structuring for major Fortune 500 companies and financial institutions, focusing on the tax aspects of large M&A deals, corporate restructurings and advising on the US tax aspects of cross-border transactions. Gregory Palmer in Chicago, recommended for his work in corporate restructuring and M&A, acted for Caterpillar on a $8.8bn acquisition. Also recommended are William Pomierski, for derivatives and capital markets transactions, and John Lutz, for taxation of structured products.

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

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s substantial tax practice works out of the firm’s Chicago, Washington DC, New York and California offices. Lowell Yoder in Chicago heads the US and international tax practice. The firm represented Caterpillar in a number of transactional matters, including its $8.8bn acquisition of Bucyrus International, a leader in high productivity mining equipment. The firm also acts as the company’s lead outside counsel in audits before the IRS. Partners across the firm provide ‘exceptional service’. Damon Lyon ‘combines deep technical knowledge with great creativity’, and advised Pringles in its $2.6bn sale to the Kellogg Company. In the Houston office, international tax partners Cym Lowell and ‘exceptional lawyer’ Mark Martin joined from Gardere Wynne Sewell. Martin is heading up the firm’s transfer pricing practice. Mark Horowitz in Houston and David Noren in Washington DC are also recommended.

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

McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s tax controversy group saw the arrival of 13 new attorneys in the past 12 months. The state and local controversy practice in Washington DC was expanded with the addition of Stephen Kranz and Diann Smith from Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, who recently achieved a significant victory for Microsoft. Dwight Mersereau also joined the practice from Miller & Chevalier Chartered. Cym Lowell and Mark Martin in Texas joined from Gardere Wynne Sewell, giving the practice a transfer pricing focus, including alternative dispute resolutions (ADR) through advance pricing agreements (APA) and competent authority proceedings. The Chicago office was strengthened by the hires of highly regarded tax litigation lawyers, Roger Jones and Andrew Robertson from Latham & Watkins LLP. Jones and Robertson won a significant taxpayer victory in the US Supreme Court for Home Concrete & Supply. Headed by the ‘fantastic’ and ‘very strong trial lawyer’ Jean Pawlow, the firm provides ‘excellent services for reasonable fees’ and is recognised for having a stand-alone tax litigation department, with expertise in state tax litigation.

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