Jeremy Duffy > White & Case LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Co-chaired by Jeffrey Rubinoff and Justin Jowitt, the property finance team at White & Case LLP advises on a wide range of property assets, with a particular emphasis on data centre financings. Rubinoff recently advised a number of investment banks on data centre campus financing transactions in Europe, while Jowitt handled the financing for the acquisition of a number of assets in the hotel space. Victoria Landsbert, praised as ‘extremely responsive with solid commercial experience’, is experienced in advising funders on term loan facilities. Jeremy Duffy and Lisa Seifman, ‘both brilliant lawyers with great knowledge of the market’, are also key members of the team.

With deep knowledge of European and US-style financing techniques, White & Case LLP is ‘well-versed in handling complex capital structures and transactions across various jurisdictions’ for lenders and borrowers across mid-cap and large-cap deals. On the lender front, although the team remains active for a number of leading investment banks, it has perhaps gained most prominence in recent years within the private credit space. Much of this success can be attributed to the work of the ‘exceptional’ Gareth Eagles, who has been a “first-mover” in the space and consequently has tremendous connections in the sector as well as ‘deep insight into industry trends’. For borrower work, team head Colin Harley provides ‘solutions-oriented and practical’ advice to sponsors, both on new money mandates and refinancings, where he is adept at utilising debt throughout the capital stack including super senior RCF, TLB and second lien. Other key practitioners include the ‘exceptional’ Jeremy Duffy who has ‘an ability to get deals closed’ for a bank-focused client base; the ‘highly technical’ Emma Foster who regularly partners with Eagles on private credit work; the ‘incredibly knowledgeable’ Richard Lloyd who handles leveraged finance work for banks and funds as lenders; and Martin Forbes, who covers borrower-side work for investment firms.

Leveraging ‘capabilities across different loan products’, including UK and New York law-governed bank and bond structures, White & Case LLP is a compelling proposition for both lenders and borrowers across an array of cross-border financings, where it is able to work seamlessly with colleagues throughout the firm’s impressive network on complex deals. A good amount of the team’s corporate lending and corporate acquisition finance deals, however, take place within the emerging markets (EM) field, with Chris Czarnocki noted for his varied deal list for both borrowers (including sovereigns) and lenders, including on matters involving multi-sourced financings. James Hardy also excels at work in the EM sector, including for banks and borrowers implementing sustainability-linked products. The ‘brilliant’ Jeremy Duffy regularly handles investment-grade lending work for banking clients, as do the ‘highly commercial’ Richard Lloyd and the ‘highly knowledgeable but very accessible’ Shane McDonald. Leveraged finance expert Colin Harley heads up the overarching banking practice.