Cleary Gottlieb Elects Twelve New Partners and Counsel
November 5, 2012
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP announced today that it has elected eight partners and four counsel, effective January 1, 2013. The elections will bring the firm’s total worldwide partners to 198 and counsel to 54.
“I am very proud to introduce our new partners and counsel,” said Cleary Gottlieb Managing Partner Mark Leddy. “These exceptional women and men are resident in seven of the firm’s 16 offices worldwide, and have expertise that spans 12 practice areas and seven major geographic regions. They reflect our firm’s traditions of legal excellence, internationalism, and diversity.”
The new partners and counsel have experience in antitrust and competition; bankruptcy and restructuring; capital markets; corporate governance; derivatives; intellectual property; international trade and investment; leveraged and acquisition financing; litigation and arbitration; mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures; private equity; and structured finance. They have experience working on cross-border matters affecting North and South America, Western Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Collectively, they speak English, French, German, Italian, and Russian.
Biographical information for the new partners and counsel is below.
Gabriele Antonazzo, partner, has been based in the London office since 2007. He joined the firm in 2000 and was based in the Rome office from 2000 to 2003 and from 2005 to 2006. He was based in the New York office from 2004 to 2005. Gabriele’s practice focuses on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and restructurings. He is currently advising Rosneft on its $55 billion acquisition of TNK-BP from BP and AAR. He recently advised Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the sale of its non-U.S. wealth management business to Julius Baer Group and Dexia in the sale of its 50 percent indirect stake in RBC Dexia Investor Services to Royal Bank of Canada. He has also advised First Reserve Corporation in its acquisition of 45 percent of Ansaldo Energia from Finmeccanica and The Vita Group and its controlling shareholder TPG Capital in Vita Group’s restructuring. Gabriele is a member of the Bars of Italy and New York, and he is a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales.
Luke A. Barefoot, partner, focuses on corporate restructuring, insolvency and bankruptcy, and related litigation matters. He is currently acting as U.S. debtors’ counsel to Nortel in the litigation of numerous claims related to Nortel’s bankruptcy, including claims with respect to the allocation of over $7 billion of proceeds from the sale of Nortel assets in bankruptcy. He recently represented Truvo Group in winning confirmation of its plan of reorganization, which enabled the cross-border restructuring of approximately €1.5 billion of debt. He also represented Barclays in its purchase of Lehman’s North American investment banking assets, and continues to serve as counsel to various clients in resolving over $1 billion in outstanding derivative claims against the Lehman entities, both before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and in related European insolvency proceedings. Luke, who joined the firm in 2004, is also active in the firm’s pro bono practice. From 2005 to 2006, he served as law clerk for the Honorable Rosemary Barkett of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He is based in the New York office and is a member of the Bar of New York.
Patrick R. Bock, partner, focuses on a wide range of antitrust matters, with a particular focus on the antitrust aspects of mergers and acquisitions, cartel investigations, and antitrust litigation. He is currently advising Dollar Thrifty on the antitrust aspects of its proposed acquisition by Hertz and representing Deutsche Telekom in the proposed combination of its T-Mobile USA subsidiary with MetroPCS. He is also advising Sabre and Travelocity in several antitrust and consumer protection class actions related to the pricing of hotel rooms, representing GlaxoSmithKline in a California state court proceeding alleging a pharmaceutical industry conspiracy to exclude Canadian imports and raise prices, and advising Deutsche Post DHL in federal antitrust class action litigation in the freight forwarding sector. Patrick joined the firm in 2003 and is based in the Washington, D.C. office. From 2007 through 2009, he was resident in the Brussels office. He is a member of the Bars of Illinois and Washington, D.C.
Rüdiger Harms, counsel, joined the firm in 2008 and was appointed senior attorney in the same year. He is based in the Cologne office and from 2008 to 2012 he was resident in the Frankfurt office. His practice focuses on litigation and arbitration matters, with particular specialization in civil antitrust law disputes. Rüdiger is advising the Agfa-Gevaert Group in various state and arbitration proceedings related to the sale of its consumer imaging division. In addition, he is representing a leading global IT service provider in a litigation against a distributor. Beyond his ongoing representation of UTC subsidiaries, Rüdiger most recently also advised a major film studio in a dispute with a group of cinema operators. Prior to joining the firm, he worked as a judge at the Local Court of Hamburg. Rüdiger is a member of the Bar of Cologne.
François-Charles Laprévote, partner, focuses on antitrust, state aid, antidumping, and international trade law matters, with a particular focus on financial institutions and merger control. He is representing Dexia on state aid and EU competition matters related to its restructuring and orderly resolution, which include several landmark deals such as the sale of Financial Security Assurance to Assured Guaranty, the nationalization of Dexia’s Belgian banking subsidiary Dexia Bank Belgium, and the sale of Dexia Banque Internationale à Luxembourg to Precision Capital. He is representing LG Display in European Commission investigations in the LCD area and the ensuing General Court litigation. He previously advised BNP Paribas on its acquisition of Fortis Bank, which involved government authorities across several jurisdictions, as well as negotiations with the European Commission. Prior to joining the firm, he served as a member of the French Inspection Générale des Finances and as the economic advisor for the French Minister for European Affairs. He is based in Brussels and joined the firm in 2007. He is a member of the Bars of Paris and Brussels.
Elizabeth Lenas, partner, focuses on private investment fund formation and counseling alternative investment firms, including on co-investments, spin-offs, joint ventures and other transactions. She recently advised TPG on the formation of TPG Opportunities Partners II and TPG Growth II. She has also advised KKR, Blackstone, Unitas Capital and other alternative investment managers on a range of fund-raising matters. Liza is distinguished by Chambers and other industry publications as one of the country’s best private investment fund lawyers, and was recently short listed for the Euromoney Legal Media Group Americas Women in Business Law award as “Best in Private Equity.” She is a member of the Committee on Private Investment Funds of the Bar Association of the City of New York. Liza is based in the New York office and is a member of the Bar of New York.
Sarah E. Lewis, counsel, joined the firm in 2004 and is based in the London office. She was resident in the Washington, D.C. office until January 2007. Sarah has a wide range of experience on a variety of capital markets transactions, including equity and debt offerings and structured finance transactions. Recent high profile matters include representing the Central Bank of Russia and Sberbank of Russia in connection with a $5.2 billion secondary public offering of Sberbank shares, and representing the underwriters in a $3 billion notes offering for BP and a $1.25 billion notes offering for British Telecommunication. She has also represented the underwriters in Royal Gold’s $370 million convertible bond offering, and represented African Minerals Limited in its $350 million convertible bond issuance. Sarah is a member of the Bars of New York and Washington, D.C., and a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales.
Polina Lyadnova, partner, joined the firm in 2007 and is based in the London office. From June 2007 to September 2007, she was resident in the Moscow office. Polina’s practice focuses on financial transactions, including capital markets. She also has experience in mergers and acquisitions, and other cross-border transactions involving Russian businesses. Polina’s major transactions include advising UC RUSAL, the world’s largest producer of aluminum and alumina, in the comprehensive restructuring of its debt of $16.8 billion, its Russian depositary receipts program, and in connection with a $4.75 billion aluminum pre-export loan facility to refinance debt owed to international lenders. Polina also advised Sistema in its $500 million debt offering. She also provided financing advice to Weather Investments/Orascom Telecom for its $21.5 billion combination with VimpelCom. Polina is a Russian qualified lawyer and a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales.
Chris Macbeth, counsel, joined the firm in 2006 and is based in the Abu Dhabi office. From 2006 to 2012, he was resident in the London office. Chris has a broad commercial practice across a range of business sectors, focusing on cross-border corporate and financial transactions, particularly multi-jurisdictional mergers and acquisitions. Recent experience includes advising Agilent Technologies in its $2.2 billion acquisition of Danish cancer diagnostics company Dako from EQT, the Sweden-based private equity group. He advised TPG in the sale of its majority shareholding in Mey Ýçki Sanayi ve Ticaret, Turkey’s leading spirits manufacturer, to Diageo for approximately £1.3 billion, and also advised on Truvo Group’s plan of reorganization, enabling a cross-border restructuring of €1.5 billion of debt. Chris is a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales.
Pamela L. Marcogliese, partner, is based in the New York office and advises clients on a wide range of capital markets and corporate governance matters. She has advised on a number of noteworthy IPOs in recent years, including those of Allison Transmission, Nationstar Mortgage Holdings, and rue21, and has also recently advised clients on high yield debt offerings and exchange offers for issuers such as Elan plc and Nationstar Mortgage Holdings. Pamela has long been a key member of the Cleary teams that represent Credit Suisse Group on major capital markets matters, including CSG’s ground-breaking issuance of $2 billion in Contingent Convertible (CoCo) securities in 2011. She advises major U.S. and international corporations, including Verisign, Inc., on corporate governance and SEC reporting matters, and regularly participates in panels on these issues. Before joining the firm, she served as law clerk for Justice Melvin Rothman of the Quebec Court of Appeal. Pamela joined the firm in 2006 and is a member of the Bar of New York.
Emmanuel Ronco, counsel, is based in the Paris office and joined the firm in 2007. His practice focuses on intellectual property and technology matters, including in the context of corporate transactions such as mergers and acquisitions, or joint ventures. He also advises clients in connection with privacy and data protection matters. He recently advised Google in connection with several M&A transactions, Tom Ford in negotiating franchise agreements, TPG in its acquisition of HCP Holdings, and Lafarge in the sale of its gypsum operations in Europe, Asia, and South America. He also acted for PPR/Puma in its acquisition of Cobra Golf, Rexel in its acquisition of Hagemeyer, and Total in several transactions. Emmanuel was also an integral part of the teams that advised FEMSA in its $7.6 billion strategic exchange with Heineken in 2010 and Nortel in the sale of its GSM/GSM-R business to Ericsson and Kapsch. Emmanuel is a member of the Bars of New York and Paris.
Paul R. St. Lawrence, partner, joined the firm in 2006 and is based in the Washington, D.C. office. His practice focuses on structured finance, derivative products and other complex financial instruments, and market regulation. He also has experience advising clients on the rights of creditors to exercise remedies in derivative and securities transactions following the insolvency of counterparties. Paul represented creditors of MF Global in closing out derivatives and securities transactions, and represented one of Lehman’s major derivatives counterparties in negotiating a derivatives claims protocol and a consensual Lehman plan as part of Lehman’s bankruptcy. Paul also has extensive experience with collateralized loan obligation transactions, derivative-based financings, and asset securitization. Most recently, he has been working with the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association on the revision to the industry-standard Master Securities Forward Transaction Agreement. Paul is a member of the Bars of Washington, D.C., Virginia, and New York.
About Cleary Gottlieb
Founded in 1946 by lawyers committed to legal excellence, internationalism, and diversity, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is a leading international law firm with approximately 1,200 lawyers around the world.
“I am very proud to introduce our new partners and counsel,” said Cleary Gottlieb Managing Partner Mark Leddy. “These exceptional women and men are resident in seven of the firm’s 16 offices worldwide, and have expertise that spans 12 practice areas and seven major geographic regions. They reflect our firm’s traditions of legal excellence, internationalism, and diversity.”
The new partners and counsel have experience in antitrust and competition; bankruptcy and restructuring; capital markets; corporate governance; derivatives; intellectual property; international trade and investment; leveraged and acquisition financing; litigation and arbitration; mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures; private equity; and structured finance. They have experience working on cross-border matters affecting North and South America, Western Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Collectively, they speak English, French, German, Italian, and Russian.
Biographical information for the new partners and counsel is below.
Gabriele Antonazzo, partner, has been based in the London office since 2007. He joined the firm in 2000 and was based in the Rome office from 2000 to 2003 and from 2005 to 2006. He was based in the New York office from 2004 to 2005. Gabriele’s practice focuses on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and restructurings. He is currently advising Rosneft on its $55 billion acquisition of TNK-BP from BP and AAR. He recently advised Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the sale of its non-U.S. wealth management business to Julius Baer Group and Dexia in the sale of its 50 percent indirect stake in RBC Dexia Investor Services to Royal Bank of Canada. He has also advised First Reserve Corporation in its acquisition of 45 percent of Ansaldo Energia from Finmeccanica and The Vita Group and its controlling shareholder TPG Capital in Vita Group’s restructuring. Gabriele is a member of the Bars of Italy and New York, and he is a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales.
Luke A. Barefoot, partner, focuses on corporate restructuring, insolvency and bankruptcy, and related litigation matters. He is currently acting as U.S. debtors’ counsel to Nortel in the litigation of numerous claims related to Nortel’s bankruptcy, including claims with respect to the allocation of over $7 billion of proceeds from the sale of Nortel assets in bankruptcy. He recently represented Truvo Group in winning confirmation of its plan of reorganization, which enabled the cross-border restructuring of approximately €1.5 billion of debt. He also represented Barclays in its purchase of Lehman’s North American investment banking assets, and continues to serve as counsel to various clients in resolving over $1 billion in outstanding derivative claims against the Lehman entities, both before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and in related European insolvency proceedings. Luke, who joined the firm in 2004, is also active in the firm’s pro bono practice. From 2005 to 2006, he served as law clerk for the Honorable Rosemary Barkett of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He is based in the New York office and is a member of the Bar of New York.
Patrick R. Bock, partner, focuses on a wide range of antitrust matters, with a particular focus on the antitrust aspects of mergers and acquisitions, cartel investigations, and antitrust litigation. He is currently advising Dollar Thrifty on the antitrust aspects of its proposed acquisition by Hertz and representing Deutsche Telekom in the proposed combination of its T-Mobile USA subsidiary with MetroPCS. He is also advising Sabre and Travelocity in several antitrust and consumer protection class actions related to the pricing of hotel rooms, representing GlaxoSmithKline in a California state court proceeding alleging a pharmaceutical industry conspiracy to exclude Canadian imports and raise prices, and advising Deutsche Post DHL in federal antitrust class action litigation in the freight forwarding sector. Patrick joined the firm in 2003 and is based in the Washington, D.C. office. From 2007 through 2009, he was resident in the Brussels office. He is a member of the Bars of Illinois and Washington, D.C.
Rüdiger Harms, counsel, joined the firm in 2008 and was appointed senior attorney in the same year. He is based in the Cologne office and from 2008 to 2012 he was resident in the Frankfurt office. His practice focuses on litigation and arbitration matters, with particular specialization in civil antitrust law disputes. Rüdiger is advising the Agfa-Gevaert Group in various state and arbitration proceedings related to the sale of its consumer imaging division. In addition, he is representing a leading global IT service provider in a litigation against a distributor. Beyond his ongoing representation of UTC subsidiaries, Rüdiger most recently also advised a major film studio in a dispute with a group of cinema operators. Prior to joining the firm, he worked as a judge at the Local Court of Hamburg. Rüdiger is a member of the Bar of Cologne.
François-Charles Laprévote, partner, focuses on antitrust, state aid, antidumping, and international trade law matters, with a particular focus on financial institutions and merger control. He is representing Dexia on state aid and EU competition matters related to its restructuring and orderly resolution, which include several landmark deals such as the sale of Financial Security Assurance to Assured Guaranty, the nationalization of Dexia’s Belgian banking subsidiary Dexia Bank Belgium, and the sale of Dexia Banque Internationale à Luxembourg to Precision Capital. He is representing LG Display in European Commission investigations in the LCD area and the ensuing General Court litigation. He previously advised BNP Paribas on its acquisition of Fortis Bank, which involved government authorities across several jurisdictions, as well as negotiations with the European Commission. Prior to joining the firm, he served as a member of the French Inspection Générale des Finances and as the economic advisor for the French Minister for European Affairs. He is based in Brussels and joined the firm in 2007. He is a member of the Bars of Paris and Brussels.
Elizabeth Lenas, partner, focuses on private investment fund formation and counseling alternative investment firms, including on co-investments, spin-offs, joint ventures and other transactions. She recently advised TPG on the formation of TPG Opportunities Partners II and TPG Growth II. She has also advised KKR, Blackstone, Unitas Capital and other alternative investment managers on a range of fund-raising matters. Liza is distinguished by Chambers and other industry publications as one of the country’s best private investment fund lawyers, and was recently short listed for the Euromoney Legal Media Group Americas Women in Business Law award as “Best in Private Equity.” She is a member of the Committee on Private Investment Funds of the Bar Association of the City of New York. Liza is based in the New York office and is a member of the Bar of New York.
Sarah E. Lewis, counsel, joined the firm in 2004 and is based in the London office. She was resident in the Washington, D.C. office until January 2007. Sarah has a wide range of experience on a variety of capital markets transactions, including equity and debt offerings and structured finance transactions. Recent high profile matters include representing the Central Bank of Russia and Sberbank of Russia in connection with a $5.2 billion secondary public offering of Sberbank shares, and representing the underwriters in a $3 billion notes offering for BP and a $1.25 billion notes offering for British Telecommunication. She has also represented the underwriters in Royal Gold’s $370 million convertible bond offering, and represented African Minerals Limited in its $350 million convertible bond issuance. Sarah is a member of the Bars of New York and Washington, D.C., and a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales.
Polina Lyadnova, partner, joined the firm in 2007 and is based in the London office. From June 2007 to September 2007, she was resident in the Moscow office. Polina’s practice focuses on financial transactions, including capital markets. She also has experience in mergers and acquisitions, and other cross-border transactions involving Russian businesses. Polina’s major transactions include advising UC RUSAL, the world’s largest producer of aluminum and alumina, in the comprehensive restructuring of its debt of $16.8 billion, its Russian depositary receipts program, and in connection with a $4.75 billion aluminum pre-export loan facility to refinance debt owed to international lenders. Polina also advised Sistema in its $500 million debt offering. She also provided financing advice to Weather Investments/Orascom Telecom for its $21.5 billion combination with VimpelCom. Polina is a Russian qualified lawyer and a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales.
Chris Macbeth, counsel, joined the firm in 2006 and is based in the Abu Dhabi office. From 2006 to 2012, he was resident in the London office. Chris has a broad commercial practice across a range of business sectors, focusing on cross-border corporate and financial transactions, particularly multi-jurisdictional mergers and acquisitions. Recent experience includes advising Agilent Technologies in its $2.2 billion acquisition of Danish cancer diagnostics company Dako from EQT, the Sweden-based private equity group. He advised TPG in the sale of its majority shareholding in Mey Ýçki Sanayi ve Ticaret, Turkey’s leading spirits manufacturer, to Diageo for approximately £1.3 billion, and also advised on Truvo Group’s plan of reorganization, enabling a cross-border restructuring of €1.5 billion of debt. Chris is a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales.
Pamela L. Marcogliese, partner, is based in the New York office and advises clients on a wide range of capital markets and corporate governance matters. She has advised on a number of noteworthy IPOs in recent years, including those of Allison Transmission, Nationstar Mortgage Holdings, and rue21, and has also recently advised clients on high yield debt offerings and exchange offers for issuers such as Elan plc and Nationstar Mortgage Holdings. Pamela has long been a key member of the Cleary teams that represent Credit Suisse Group on major capital markets matters, including CSG’s ground-breaking issuance of $2 billion in Contingent Convertible (CoCo) securities in 2011. She advises major U.S. and international corporations, including Verisign, Inc., on corporate governance and SEC reporting matters, and regularly participates in panels on these issues. Before joining the firm, she served as law clerk for Justice Melvin Rothman of the Quebec Court of Appeal. Pamela joined the firm in 2006 and is a member of the Bar of New York.
Emmanuel Ronco, counsel, is based in the Paris office and joined the firm in 2007. His practice focuses on intellectual property and technology matters, including in the context of corporate transactions such as mergers and acquisitions, or joint ventures. He also advises clients in connection with privacy and data protection matters. He recently advised Google in connection with several M&A transactions, Tom Ford in negotiating franchise agreements, TPG in its acquisition of HCP Holdings, and Lafarge in the sale of its gypsum operations in Europe, Asia, and South America. He also acted for PPR/Puma in its acquisition of Cobra Golf, Rexel in its acquisition of Hagemeyer, and Total in several transactions. Emmanuel was also an integral part of the teams that advised FEMSA in its $7.6 billion strategic exchange with Heineken in 2010 and Nortel in the sale of its GSM/GSM-R business to Ericsson and Kapsch. Emmanuel is a member of the Bars of New York and Paris.
Paul R. St. Lawrence, partner, joined the firm in 2006 and is based in the Washington, D.C. office. His practice focuses on structured finance, derivative products and other complex financial instruments, and market regulation. He also has experience advising clients on the rights of creditors to exercise remedies in derivative and securities transactions following the insolvency of counterparties. Paul represented creditors of MF Global in closing out derivatives and securities transactions, and represented one of Lehman’s major derivatives counterparties in negotiating a derivatives claims protocol and a consensual Lehman plan as part of Lehman’s bankruptcy. Paul also has extensive experience with collateralized loan obligation transactions, derivative-based financings, and asset securitization. Most recently, he has been working with the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association on the revision to the industry-standard Master Securities Forward Transaction Agreement. Paul is a member of the Bars of Washington, D.C., Virginia, and New York.
About Cleary Gottlieb
Founded in 1946 by lawyers committed to legal excellence, internationalism, and diversity, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is a leading international law firm with approximately 1,200 lawyers around the world.