The Legal 500

Within Asset finance, Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Clifford Chance is renowned for its experience in advising lenders on financing matters. Consultant Paul Greenwell is rated for his strength in Japanese-related asset finance work. Singapore-based Simon Briscoe is recommended for his leading aviation finance practice.

Within Banking and finance, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance has a typically broad practice, with standout experience in acquisition and leveraged finance, both for sponsors and lenders. Led by the ‘fantastic’ and prominent figure on Macau casino financings Huw Jenkins, the team has ‘genuine depth’ and a ‘level of experience and quality of people that sets it apart from most other firms’. Matthew Truman and Anthony Wang are leading figures in acquisition and leveraged finance. The former advised CVC Asia Pacific on the $190m acquisition financing for the acquisition of certain subsidiaries of Acument Global Technologies.

Within Capital markets (debt), Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance has a strong and broad practice, with notable strength in areas ranging from RMB bonds to high-yield debt. The firm worked on a number of landmark deals including advising the lead managers of Volkswagen’s RMB1.5bn bond issuance. Crawford Brickley and Connie Heng are the standout partners, while Matthew Fairclough and Hyun Suk Kim were elevated to partner status in 2011.

Within Capital markets (equity), Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Clifford Chance has ‘moved on a lot’, is frequently engaged in ‘top-quality deals’ and is a firm to ‘keep an eye on’. The firm has a good mix of issuer and bank instructions. Newly elected partner Virginia Lee led the team that advised the underwriters on Prada’s headline $2.1bn Hong Kong listing. Senior figures Amy Lo and Cherry Chan and US securities partner Crawford Brickley should take much of the credit for the practice’s ascending reputation.

Within Corporate (including M&A), Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance has excellent connections to major Hong Kong corporates, but has also represented a number of mainland institutions on major outbound transactions. The firm is particularly well known for financial institutions M&A. It recently advised Rabobank on its cornerstone investment in Agricultural Bank of China’s IPO and strategic co-operation agreement. Furthermore, the firm has a stronger emphasis on private equity than many of its immediate rivals. The immensely experienced Roger Denny heads the large department.

Within Dispute resolution, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance is ‘number one’ thanks to its record in ‘big commercial litigation cases’ and its impressive roster of financial institution clients that provide a huge flow of contentious work. The firm has a ‘strong partner team’ and has ‘more strings to its bow’, than most of its competitors. In the immensely industrious Martin Rogers, it has Hong Kong’s leading litigator and contentious regulatory exponent, but he is supported among others by eminent Hong Kong litigator Brian Gilchrist and financial institutions and regulatory specialist James Wadham. Illustrating its leading local status, the firm acted for Hong Kong titan Li & Fung in a major judicial review case, and represented Bank of China in the Lehman Brothers Minibond litigation.

Within Dispute resolution International arbitration, Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s Cameron Hassall is ‘building up a good practice’, with clients also recognising the importance of Martin Rogers’ presence in the event of particularly sticky disputes. The team has a fine standing in cross-border investment disputes, particularly in the energy and infrastructure, private equity and financial institutions sectors.

Within Employment, tier 4

Brian Gilchrist is recommended for contentious matters at Clifford Chance. The team is acting for Hong Kong University on a number of employment issues.

Within Insurance, Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Mark Shipman leads the insurance group at Clifford Chance, supported by Roger Denny in non-contentious matters, while Brian Gilchrist handles contentious cases. The team advises insurers on wealth management platforms, particularly those in China. Clients include Standard Life, Aon, Swiss Re and Manulife.

Within Intellectual property, Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Ling Ho is the key contact at Clifford Chance, which is recommended for IP portfolio management, enforcement and litigation cases. An impressive client roster includes Nokia, Goldman Sachs, Aston Martin and Pfizer.

Within Investment funds, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s broad practice has a depth of experience, and the team regularly advises clients on private equity funds, real estate funds, hedge funds and RMB-denominated funds. The team comprises partners Mark Shipman and Matthias Feldmann, who are both widely known for their expertise. Both advised CITIC Capital on the establishment of a CITIC Kazyna Investment Fund I, with a first closing of $200m in 2010. Shipman advises a host of fund-managed clients on various agreement matters and QFII applications, and in the private equity real estate arena, he acts for Winnington Capital, INVESCO and Phoenix Property advisors. On the hedge fund side, Feldmann advised Azentus Capital on establishing the Azentus Global Opportunities Fund, which launched in April 2011 with $1bn: the largest Asian hedge fund launch since 2007. James Walker retired from the firm in April 2011.

Within Private equity, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance is ‘very knowledgeable on how to do private equity deals’ and has an exemplary client base, including CVC Asia Pacific, Permira, Affinity Equity Partners, EQT Partners, Temasek and Advantage Partners. In 2010, Simon Cooke led the team that represented Advantage Partners on its first PIPE deal in Hong Kong. Fellow partner Andrew Whan is another of Hong Kong’s leading private equity specialists.

Within Projects and energy, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance has an excellent name for project finance work. The highly recommended Huw Jenkins leads the team, and has experience across the region. The team’s projects expertise spans infrastructure and power to acquisition finance. It acts for major banking clients including ICBC and Citigroup.

Within Real estate, Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Known for its expertise in the leisure and gaming industries, Clifford Chance handles a range of real estate transactions, and is particularly skilled in the area of real estate finance. Noteworthy practitioners include property specialist Clara Tang, Huw Jenkins, who has handled a number of casino financings in Macau, and Amy Ho, who focuses on China real estate, advising multinational corporations and international funds on their real estate investments in the PRC.

Within Regulatory, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s ‘very strong’ team receives top praise for its expertise, and has a reputation for ‘key strength on the contentious regulatory side’. As one of the leading practices in the arena, it acts for several investment funds and investment banks. Litigator Martin Rogers has a ‘great name in the market’ as ‘the number one regulatory lawyer in Hong Kong’, and is known for his longstanding experience. Past clients have included Deutsche Bank, Bank of China and Clearwater Capital.

Within Restructuring and insolvency, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance has a superb reputation for its restructuring practice, which is led by Scott Bache. Bache has a depth of experience advising on insolvency issues and distressed debt, and Matthew Truman has significant restructuring experience. The group assists in both contentious and non-contentious matters, and advises funds, private equity firms and investors, and global banks. It is representing FTI Consulting as liquidators of Pioneer Group in recovering $600m of missing assets in different jurisdictions. The client roster features Skyfame Group and KPMG.

Within Structured finance and securitisation, Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Clifford Chance has strong derivatives experience across the Asia Pacific region, and is noted for its ‘very good practice’ and Islamic finance expertise. Paget Dare Bryan is the key contact, supported by consultant Francis Edwards. The team advises on CDOs and credit and equity-linked products.

Within TMT Other recommended firms

Within Tax and trusts, Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s ‘exceptionally able’ two-partner department is adept at handling both contentious and non-contentious tax mandates, both in Hong Kong and throughout the region. While Brian Gilchrist and Elaine Chen are known for their expertise in tax litigation and contentious probate, consultant Kenneth Leung leads the non-contentious tax, pensions and employment practice in Hong Kong. Leung is ‘very knowledgeable and prompt’, and handles a wide range of tax issues, relating to business sales, acquisitions and restructurings, direct investment, advance ruling and stamp duty clearance.