Legal Industry Hiring News: October 11, 2021
- Prominent Chinese lawyer and arbitrator Christine Kang has joined Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP as partner.
- White & Case announces 59 partner promotions globally.
- Former Dechert Partner Erica Franzetti Joins King & Spalding.
- Three lawyers Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP join Haynes and Boone in Charlotte, North Carolina.
- Former federal prosecutor Zachary Hafer joins Cooley’s Global Litigation Department in Boston.
White & Case Promotes Largest Partner Class Ever
White & Case announced 59 partner promotions globally. In the United States, the firm announced 22 promotions across its New York, Washington DC, Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, São Paulo, and San Francisco offices. These promotions were made in the following practice areas: Global Commercial Litigation Practice, Global Antitrust Practice, Global Debt Finance Practice, Global Capital Markets Practice, Global Project Development and Finance Practice, Global Financial Restructuring and Insolvency Practice, and Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice.
The firm also announced 32 partner promotions in its EMEA offices and 5 new partners in its Asia-Pacific offices.
Chinese Lawyer Christine Kang joins Hubbard & Reed LLP
Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP has announced that Christine Kang, a leading Chinese lawyer representing Chinese companies and multinational companies with a business presence in China has joined the firm as a partner. She joins the firm after spending more than 10 years at JuneHe LLP, one of the largest law firms in China. Her practice focuses on investigations, sanctions, anti-corruption, compliance, and international arbitration matters.
An expert in representing Chinese and international companies in sensitive investigations, Kang has significant knowledge of issues peculiar to the Chinese environment. She also specializes in dealing with proceedings with Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) including the World Bank, African Development Bank, and Asian Development Bank. She assists clients with initial audits, show cause notices, investigations, litigation, resolution, and monitorships. She has helped her clients with MDB reviews of potential sanctionable practices and also provided them compliance advice.
Additionally, Kang also brings deep expertise to the firm’s Arbitration practice, with a focus on cross-border disputes. She represents clients on a broad range of issues including construction, finance, insurance, intellectual property, joint ventures, international trade, and licensing. She also counsels China’s State-owned Enterprises (SOE) on their overseas litigation matters by working together with US and UK litigators.
She has helped many Fortune 500 companies with their arbitration matters before major arbitral institutions including the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), the American Arbitration Association-International Centre of Dispute Resolution (AAA-ICDR), the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), and the Singapore International Arbitration Center (SIAC). She is licensed to practice law in China and New York.
Commenting on Kang’s move to the firm, Ted Mayer, Chair of Hughes Hubbard, said, “We look forward to continuing to build our strong reputation in China and supporting our clients in the exciting opportunities presented by this growing market. We are delighted to expand our practice by bringing in a lawyer of Christine’s stature and standing in the Chinese and international legal community.”
Speaking about her latest move, Kang said, “During my legal career, I have had the great pleasure to work with Hughes Hubbard attorneys and fully understand why they are viewed as an elite firm in anti-corruption, sanctions, and international arbitration. With such a high and keen demand for assistance in these areas, companies – both SOEs and non-SOEs – need an experienced and trusted advisor with the depth and breadth of expertise to manage even the most complex matters. Hughes Hubbard offers the expertise my clients need, and I am confident we will have great success together.”
Erica Franzetti Joins Joins King & Spalding
Erica Franzetti, a former partner at Dechert LLP, has joined King & Spalding’s Trial and Global Disputes Practice as a partner in its Washington DC office. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center and has previously worked at Crowell & Moring LLP and Weil Gotshal and Manges.
Franzetti specializes in international commercial and investor-state arbitration matters. She helps clients from a variety of industries including life sciences, financial services, hospitality, information technology, and energy and natural resources. Her clients come from a different jurisdictions including the U.S., Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Hungary, Croatia, Peru, and Colombia.
Andy Bayman, Chair of the firm’s Trial & Global Disputes Practice, said, “Érica is an accomplished international arbitration practitioner and her addition adds significant depth to our team. In particular, her extensive work in Latin America will augment the firm’s ability to serve clients in that region and U.S. companies who do business there.”
Commenting on her new role, Franzetti said, “The incredible reputation of the King & Spalding international arbitration team was what drew me to this firm. It’s culture and momentum the past ten years were also huge attractors. I have witnessed this firsthand because I have previously worked with and opposite members of the K&S team. I’m thrilled to partner with my new K&S colleagues.”
Three Former Cadawalader Lawyers Join Haynes and Boone
Three lawyers from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP have joined Haynes and Boone LLP in its Charlotte, North Carolina office. Fund finance lawyer Holly Loftis has joined the firm as a partner along with associates Eric Worthington and Mark Nesdill.
Holly brings with her more than 10 years of fund finance experience and began her career in this industry at Mayer Brown. She has significant knowledge about the product and fund governing documentation including investor side letters, limited partnership agreements, and subscription documentation. She regularly counsels banks and other financial institutions on structuring, documenting, and negotiating syndicated and bilateral subscription credit facilities and other fund finance products.
Mark’s practice focuses on fund finance and he assists banks and financial institutions in structuring, negotiating, and documenting bilateral and syndicated subscription credit facilities as well as other fund finance products. Eric counsels clients on a variety of lending transactions, with particular focus on fund finance. He also represents lenders in bilateral and syndicated fund financings.
Todd Cubbage, Finance Partner at Haynes Boones who also heads the Charlotte office, said, “Holly brings a wealth of experience handling sophisticated fund finance transactions. Eric and Mark, likewise, are phenomenal additions, allowing us to continue our growth and momentum in Charlotte and in our finance practice firmwide.
Holly said, “Haynes Boone is a true pioneer in this space, as it was first law firm to structure and engineer the product in the late 1980s. Given the firm’s 30-plus years of experience, paired with the massive team of dedicated lawyers, clients have an advantage when using Haynes Boone.”
Former Federal Prosecutor Zachary Hafer Joins Cooley
Zachary Hafer, a former federal prosecutor and DOJ veteran, has joined Cooley LLP as a partner in the firm’s Boston office. He joins the firm as a litigation + white collar partner and will focus his practice on trial work, complex litigation, white collar defense and investigations.
Hafer joins Cooley from the the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts where he worked for more than 14 years. He served as an Assistant United States Attorney and also as the Chief of Criminal Division. As a federal prosecutor, he tried several high-profile criminal cases including the popular James “Whitey” Bulger case. He also oversaw the investigations and prosecution of the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal and the healthcare fraud case against Insys Therapeutics executives.
While heading the Criminal Division, he oversaw and managed around 100 US attorneys and supervised all criminal investigations and charging decisions relating to healthcare fraud, public corruption, financial and cyber fraud, securities fraud, and national security matters. He has received the prestigious Attorney General’s Award twice.
Mike Attanasio, Chair of Cooley’s Global Litigation Department, said, “Zach has served at the highest levels of government service in one of the most respected US Attorney’s Offices in the country. He has led the investigation and prosecution of some of the highest-profile and complex cases in New England and the US. His reputation as a talented trial lawyer, in addition to being an excellent mentor and colleague, will further support Cooley’s strategic growth in Boston and on the East Coast more broadly. We are thrilled to have him.”
Speaking about his new role, Hafer said, “I’ve been impressed by Cooley’s dedication to building out its litigation and white-collar capabilities on the East Coast and nationally. I’m excited to join a growing team of top-tier practitioners, many of whom are fellow former federal prosecutors and high-ranking government officials, as Cooley continues to build on its reputation as the destination firm for the most complex litigation.”