James Hardy > White & Case LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

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.

White & Case LLP has a broad finance practice in London that has built up a formidable track record in emerging markets work, not least complex trade finance transactions. Its work in high-end structured trade and commodity finance is heavily geared towards the energy sector, and it frequently acts for bank creditors, traders, exporters, sovereigns and state-owned entities, as well as prominent DFIs. Debt finance partners Christopher Czarnocki and James Hardy lead the group. Their work includes extensive advice to major corporate players in the downstream oil sector, as well as reserve-based lending and other upstream oil & gas financing transactions. Newly promoted counsel Catherine West is ‘very knowledgeable and able to get things done‘. The practice also draws heavily on the firm’s strong  structured finance and commodity derivatives expertise to complement its upstream financing activities.

At White & Case LLP ‘the team is solidly collegial, innovative, responsive and overall, a force to be reckoned with‘. The firm has one of the broadest and most active emerging markets teams in London, acting for the world’s largest commercial banks, DFIs, sovereigns, state-owned entities, commodity traders, energy companies, and multinational corporates on deals across the Americas, Africa, CEE, CIS and the Middle East. The practice, which is home to US- and English law-qualified partners, handles sovereign and corporate loans, leveraged finance, export credit matters, structured trade and commodity finance, sustainability-linked loans, project and debt finance, and much more. The firm is ‘unique in its ability to problem-solve and ensure its clients achieve their desired outcomes in challenging jurisdictions‘. The deep bench of talent includes US-qualified debt specialists Melissa Butler and Ian Clark; English law debt experts James Hardy and Stuart Matty; energy partner Philip Stopford; banking partner Christopher Czarnocki; head of the Africa group Mukund Dhar; and international finance lawyer Jason Kerr.