Law Firm News

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Crowell & Moring LLP

Crowell & Moring’s London Office Expands International Dispute Resolution Group with Counsel Sarita Woolhouse
Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce the addition of counsel Sarita Patil Woolhouse to the firm’s highly regarded International Dispute Resolution Practice, adding to its substantial experience in international investment and treaty arbitration, as well as its far-ranging work in international commercial arbitration. Woolhouse will be resident in the firm’s London office.

As a lawyer trained and qualified in both India and England & Wales, Woolhouse brings to Crowell nearly 20 years of experience in resolving international disputes, especially in the areas of energy, information technology, telecommunications, financial services, and construction. Woolhouse’s practice will focus on South Asia, particularly India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, as well as the Arabian Gulf. She will work with group co-Chair Arif Hyder Ali, and other members of Crowell & Moring’s South Asia team, including associates Baiju Simal Vasani and Sobia Haque, and C & M International Director Amarnath Bhat. Woolhouse will also work closely with London-based Jane Wessel, whose commercial arbitration work includes representing numerous Fortune 500 clients in the UK and abroad.

“To represent clients successfully in the types of disputes we see confronting them around the world, we must be able to quickly field a team of multilingual, multi-jurisdictional, and multi-cultural dispute resolution lawyers with the required local knowledge. In other words, these types of disputes require not only exemplary skills as an international disputes lawyer but also first-hand experience with both the written and unwritten legal and business practices of the relevant country or countries touching the dispute. Sarita has worked out of both India and the UK on high profile disputes, which affords her the ability to offer clients the perfect mix of know-how and contacts that can make all the difference in the course of resolving a dispute cost-effectively,” said Ali.

Woolhouse’s practice is focused on international commercial arbitration and investment treaty work, as well as undertaking large-scale mediation and litigation matters. Her work includes having acted for the Government of India in one of the world’s largest investment treaty arbitrations under the UNCITRAL Rules, a dispute valued at US$6 billion arising from foreign direct investment in India in a power plant built by US corporations.

“We’re pleased to bring Sarita on board in London as part of our ongoing plan to expand in core areas such as international arbitration. Sarita will be an important part of our efforts to serve an increasingly international client base, particularly in South Asia where the significant economic growth is driving the need for highly sophisticated disputes counsel,” said Paul Finlan, head of Crowell & Moring’s London office.

Prior to joining Crowell & Moring, Woolhouse was a member of the international disputes practices at Herbert Smith and Watson Farley & Williams.

09-07-2007

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Willkie, Farr & Gallagher, LLP

Litigation Department Wins Dismissal in Industry-Wide Antitrust Case
The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey dismissed a significant portion of a class action suit brought against dozens of insurance brokers and carriers, including longtime Willkie client Marsh & McLennan, the world’s largest insurance broker. Judge Garrett E. Brown Jr. tossed out antitrust claims brought by over three dozen commercial lines clients, alleging that the brokers conspired to allocate clients, fix prices and restrain trade in violation of the Sherman Act. This marks the third time the Court has rejected the plaintiffs’ conspiracy claims. The last dismissal was ordered last April, at which time the judge permitted the plaintiffs the opportunity to amend their filings and enhance their case with supplemental pleadings.

In the current dismissal, the judge wrote that “The adoption of similar disclosure policies and the opportunity to collude through various industry methods is not enough to infer that such a large group of participants engaged in a conspiracy.” The judge continued, “Plaintiffs have not shown that the insurer defendants colluded among themselves in the broker-centered conspiracies, and thus it is improbable that they colluded to further this global agreement as well.”

This Multidistrict Class Action Litigation arose out of the New York Attorney General’s investigation of the insurance industry. A decision in the RICO portion of the suit is still pending. The case is being handled by partners Mitchell Auslander, Bernard Nigro, John Oller, William Rooney, and Theodore Whitehouse; and associate Amy Fitzpatrick.

09-07-2007

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Potter, Anderson & Corroon LLP

18 Potter Anderson & Corroon Attorneys Listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2008
Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP is pleased to announce that 18 of its partners have been recognized in the 2008 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Five of these attorneys have been named in Best Lawyers for at least 10 years.

09-07-2007

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Phelps Dunbar LLP

Phelps Dunbar LLP Attorneys Named The Best Lawyers in America® 2008
Forty-five Phelps Dunbar attorneys from six of the firm's regional office locations in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Florida have been named in the 2008 issue of The Best Lawyers in America. Fourteen attorneys are receiving this honor for the first time.

Phelps Dunbar attorneys are listed in 28 separate practice areas in the 2008 Best Lawyers publication.

The 2008 edition of Best Lawyers, which will be released in print in December 2007, is based on more than two million confidential evaluations by the top attorneys in the nation. Best Lawyers also conducted thousands of extensive telephone interviews with leading attorneys throughout its balloting process.

09-07-2007

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Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP

Milbank Closes $135 Million Private Financing for Indonesian Coal Mine Owned by PT Ilthabi Bara Utama
Capitalizing on the increasing global demand for coal, Indonesian private coal company PT Ilthabi Bara Utama (“IBU”) has completed a $135 million privately arranged equity-linked note financing for the development of a coal mine in East Kalimantan. Marking the first greenfield financing in Asia backed by private investor funds, the funding was provided by various private funds, together with investment bank Merrill Lynch. The international law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, led by partner David H. Zemans and senior associate Jacqueline Chan, represented IBU in negotiating and structuring the transaction.

Milbank’s Zemans noted, “Privately arranged funding provided a viable alternative to project financing, which is typically not available for start-up companies and takes longer to put in place. Additionally our experience with this type of highly structured financing enabled us to close the deal in only four months, despite the current volatility in the global equity and credit markets.”

About the transaction:
Through a $135 million structured equity-linked notes deal, investors comprising of private investor funds and investment bank Merrill Lynch are financing the development and operation of an open pit coal mine owned by IBU. Located in East Kalimantan, the mine is expected to begin operations in June or July 2008. With a low strip ratio (a measure of how much waste material must be mined for every volume of mined ore), production costs at the mine are expected to be low and production is expected to ramp-up quickly, with projected volumes of five million tonnes per year by the end of the first year, ten million tonnes within two years and up to twenty million tones in five years. The mine is expected to be profitable within the first year of operation.

The financing structure consists of equity-linked notes with a four year and nine month maturity featuring a detachable convertible equity element that expires in 2037. The equity units entitle the holders to part of a royalty stream that will be paid out of IBU’s EBITDA and can be exchanged for equity in the unlisted company once the notes expire or automatically converted in the event of an initial public offering.

The deal is tightly structured and investors have been granted full senior secured priority. The deal is pre-funded for two years, with part of the $135 million in proceeds set aside to pay the interest coupons to cover the period before the mine becomes fully operational. In addition, IBU can only draw down the funds on a staggered basis, with each draw-down subject to completion of pre-determined milestones. Latham & Watkins represented the lead arranger Merrill Lynch.

In addition to its role as lead arranger, investment bank Merrill Lynch has also entered into an exclusive multi-year offtake agreement to buy all the coal produced by the new mine in the initial years. This move significantly increases Merrill Lynch’s exposure to the project, but is consistent with the investment bank’s ownership of commodity and energy trading firm Entergy-Koch. This type of offtake guarantee also gives other investors additional comfort about the creditworthiness of the underlying company.

09-07-2007

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Keating, Muething & Klekamp PLL

Donald P. Klekamp Recipient of Lifetime Achievement in Law Award
Donald P. Klekamp will receive the Lifetime Achievement in Law Award from the Cincinnati Bar Foundation on October 17. To receive the award, an honoree must demonstrate the highest principles and traditions of the legal profession through his or her distinguished career.

“Don was very influential in helping us develop Cintas into what it is today. Don’s wisdom, experience and unquestionable integrity were great influences on me personally and in the culture of our company,” wrote Richard T. Farmer, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Cintas.

Mr. Klekamp is a Senior Partner with KMK. His practice is concentrated in general corporate, mergers and acquisitions, succession planning, real estate and finance areas. He attended Xavier University where he received an Honors Bachelor of Arts Degree, Cum Laude, and was a 1957 graduate of the University of Cincinnati Law School.

“As Don’s partner for in excess of 50 years, I have grown to admire Don as a superior lawyer who always has in mind the good of the client. Don has a long list of loyal clients who recognize this quality,” said John L. Muething, founder and senior partner at KMK.

Don Gardner, another partner at KMK who has worked with Mr. Klekamp for over 46 years said, “Don has a rare sense of loyalty and fidelity to the clients he represents, both individual clients and corporate clients. He serves all of his clients with a sense of zeal, fairness and passion. I admire so many character traits that Don has, such as honesty, humility and high moral principles.”

Mr. Klekamp has made a real and direct impact on the community throughout his career in a number of areas, including serving on the Dean’s Board of Visitors of the University of Cincinnati Law School, as Mayor of Indian Hill and on the Boards of a number of charitable organizations. He currently serves as First Vice President of the Legal Aid Society and as a member of the Board of Trustees of Xavier University. He established the Donald P. Klekamp Professorship of Law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law and was also instrumental in providing funding for the acquisition and remodeling of the Donald P. Klekamp Community Law Center, the location of the Legal Aid Society.

Mr. Klekamp is also the recipient of the following awards: Distinguished Alumnus Award of the University of Cincinnati Law School (1993); Trustee’s Award of the Cincinnati Bar Association (2001); Distinguished Alumnus Award of Xavier University (2002); and the St. Francis Award from the Friars Club (2002). He has been included annually in the publication The Best Lawyers in America.

Mr. Klekamp and his wife, Marianne, have five children: Amy, Molly, Rebecca, Jody and Peter.

09-07-2007

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Hunton & Williams, LLP

Hunton & Williams represents Insight Equity in $160M Atwood acquisition
Insight Equity, a Dallas-based private equity firm, has purchased Atwood Mobile Products for $160.2 million, the fourth and largest investment Insight has made during the last eleven months in domestic transportation manufacturing companies.

A multioffice, multidisciplinary team of lawyers from Hunton & Williams led by Sean Ducharme represented Insight Equity on the transaction, with Jeffrey Bast advising on the bankruptcy aspects.

The sale of the Atwood division will help Dura Automotive Systems Inc meet its goal of concluding its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case by the end of the year.

Insight Principal Conner Searcy noted, "While the financing markets were as difficult as I have ever seen them, Insight delivered on its original commitment to purchase Atwood for $160.2 million through Dura's 363 bankruptcy sale process. This is a testament to Insight's ability to get difficult transactions done while other buyout firms are pulling back from the market and walking away from deals."

09-07-2007

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