Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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Hall & Evans, L.L.C.

Robert M. Ferm Honored in the 2007 Corporate Counsel Black Book
Robert M. Ferm has been honored in the 2007 Corporate Counsel Black Book.

"The Black Book is designed exclusively as a resource for in-house counsel when identifying, shortlisting and retaining outside legal counsel. To be included in the Corporate Counsel Black Book, honorees must be nominated by corporate counsel and reviewed by a panel of legal industry professionals. Only in-house counsel may submit nominations for inclusion in the Corporate Counsel Black Book."

08-02-2007

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Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, P.A.

DONALD J. BEUTTENMULLER, JR. TAPPED FORJUDICIAL NOMINATING COMMITTEE, 4TH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS
Governor Charlie Crist named Donald J. Beuttenmuller, Jr., managing partner of Gunster Yoakley, to the Judicial Nominating Committee for the 4th District Court of Appeals. The appointment came as a result of an application Beuttenmuller submitted for consideration.

“It is a pleasure and an honor to serve the legal community as a member of the Judicial Nominating Committee,” said Beuttenmuller. “I look forward to working with the other members as we research the area’s best and most capable judges to fill the vacancies.”

Beuttenmuller’s experience, which covers more than 30 years of practicing law in Florida, made him an excellent choice for the committee. He has been with Gunster Yoakley since 1980, and prior to becoming the managing partner, his practice focused largely on commercial and construction litigation.

He is a graduate of Georgetown University and earned his J.D. at the University of Florida College of Law.

08-02-2007

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Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, P.A.

GUNSTER YOAKLEY ATTORNEY BECOMES BOARD CERTIFIED IN BUSINESS LITIGATION
Gregor J. Schwinghammer, Jr., a shareholder and litigation attorney at Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, P.A. in West Palm Beach, has become Board Certified in Business Litigation by the Florida Bar. This prestigious designation demonstrates his substantial involvement in business litigation; a satisfactory peer review assessment that showcases his competency, character, ethics and professionalism; at least five years practicing law; and a passing grade on the required exam.

Schwinghammer concentrates his practice in complex business and commercial litigation, commercial foreclosures, and employment litigation. Before joining the firm, Schwinghammer was an officer in the U.S. Army Armored Cavalry, serving in Germany and Kuwait. He earned his juris doctor from the University of Miami School of Law, summa cum laude, and earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia.

08-02-2007

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Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP

J.L. McDougall successfully argues case for The Canadian Wheat Board
FMC's J.L. McDougall, who, with the assistance of Brian Leonard and Matt Fleming, successfully argued the case of The Canadian Wheat Board v. Attorney General of Canada. The Federal Court announced yesterday that regulations made by the federal government, which removed barley from the marketing authority of the Canadian Wheat Board, were contrary to the provisions of the Canadian Wheat Board Act and were therefore unlawful.

FMC has represented the Board in achieving great success in this very high-profile case. The decision and the events leading up to it have received widespread media coverage, particularly in Western Canada.

Invaluable research assistance was provided by Tim Banks, Brianna Davies and summer student, Adrienne Silk.

08-02-2007

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White & Case, LLP

First LPN Programme in Ukraine
White & Case acted in the first ever Loan Participation Note (LPN) programme for a Ukrainian borrower. Ukraine Issuance plc's $1 billion LPN Programme (the "Programme") was established to finance loans to Alfa-Bank Ukraine. White & Case acted for UBS Limited as Arranger of the Programme and as sole Lead Manager in connection with the debut issue of $200 million 9.25% Loan Participation Notes due 2010 under the Programme. Alfa-Bank Ukraine is an affiliate of the Alfa Banking Group, one of the leading private banking groups in the Russian Federation. The Notes were listed on the Irish Stock Exchange.

The deal is another example of White & Case's cutting edge Capital Markets Practice. Earlier this year the firm represented UBS Limited as arranger, sole lead manager and bookrunner in connection with the first ever public Residential Mortgage Backed Security (RMBS) securitisation by a Ukrainian bank, in a $180 million RMBS Floating and Fixed Rate Note issue by Closed Joint Stock Company Commercial Bank "PrivatBank".

"Clients come to us because we have a pre-eminent emerging markets practice and we excel at helping arrangers and corporates to structure deals in new markets," commented White & Case partner Rachel Hatfield. "Ukrainian capital markets structures need refining in order to reduce costs and ease execution. We are working with our clients to deliver better structures for Ukrainian borrowers."

The White & Case team advising UBS Limited on the deal was led by partner Rachel Hatfield, working alongside associates Andrew Clugston and Tina Lee and trainee solicitor Emma Knight.

White & Case continues to be at the forefront of the development of capital markets products in emerging markets. Recent examples of the Firm's work include: advising ABN AMRO Bank N.V. on a $200 million subordinated loan to Open Joint Stock Company Russian Agricultural Bank, which was the first ever Upper Tier 2 equivalent regulatory capital financing in Russia; and advising Gazprombank on the first fully convertible Russian rouble Eurobond to be issued in the international markets by a Russian borrower.

08-02-2007

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White & Case, LLP

New Legislation Tightens US Foreign Investment Regulations
Foreign investment in the United States will face increased government scrutiny, more delays, uncertainty that completed deals may have to be unwound and a higher risk of Congressional involvement following the recent enactment of the Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007 ("FINSA"), according to a leading international trade lawyer at White & Case LLP.

Christopher Corr, an authority on the impact of US national security laws on international trade and foreign direct investment, said that FINSA, which President Bush signed into law last week, has already caused a steady ratcheting up of US attention to foreign investment and deals. (Click here for a related Client Alert)

"In effect, the national-security review apparatus had already started to tighten the screws in anticipation of the legislation's adoption," said Corr. "Now, with the President having signed the law, we can expect this to increase as time goes by."

Adopted by Congress in the shadow of recent controversies over foreign investment in the US, such as the bid by China's controversial CNOOC bid for oil company UNOCAL, and the forced unwinding last year of the Dubai Ports World deal to operate US maritime facilities, FINSA expands the scope of the interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which reviews foreign investments to determine if they threaten national security.

Corr said that foreign investors face new levels of uncertainty in several key areas:

* CFIUS's broader mandate will subject more foreign investment transactions to review, extending beyond the traditional defense and related sectors to now encompass "critical infrastructure," such as energy facilities and capacity.
* Increased delays will result through provisions that will force more transactions to be subject to government review beyond the 30-day clearance period by forcing a 45-day supplemental investigation phase, unless upper-level CFIUS officials sign-off to the contrary.
* Investment by state-owned enterprises will get tougher treatment including automatic investigation unless an exemption is approved, and required consideration of factors likely unrelated to the deal, such as the investing country's compliance with US and multilateral counter-terrorism, non-proliferation and export-control regimes.
* Increased Congressional oversight and scrutiny, which means higher political risk for delay or interference.
* The government will have new powers to negotiate "mitigation" changes to transactions in exchange for their overall approval, including, for example, restructuring, spinning off or walling off certain operating units, providing access or data to law enforcement, and the like.
* No deal will ever be truly closed, thanks to evergreen powers that authorize CFIUS to reopen and reverse previously reviewed and cleared transactions upon a finding of intentional omission or falsehood in the initial filings with CFIUS, or a material breach of a mitigation agreement.

08-02-2007

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White & Case, LLP

White & Case Advises Deutsche Bank in a Record "First" Microfinance Fund
White & Case recently assisted Deutsche Bank in what is believed to be the first subordinated debt fund to provide US dollar and Euro denominated subordinated loans to microfinance institutions.

"Microfinance lending is crucial to alleviating poverty and empowering those that are economically disadvantaged," says partner Sylvia Chin who recently participated in a panel on "Microfinance: Local to Global Efforts in Empowering the Economic Participation of Women," organized by UNIFEM and the New York Women's Bar Association. "The creativity and geographic diversity of this fund is a true reflection of the type of work White & Case does best," says partner Sylvia Chin.

The loans, which totaled approximately $80 million, were provided to 21 microfinance institutions in 15 jurisdictions as geographically diverse as Azerbaijan, Ecuador, El Salvador, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Mozambique, Nigeria and the Philippines. The purpose of the loans is to assist the microfinance institutions in strengthening their equity capital as they convert into regulated financial institutions in their respective jurisdictions. In addition to advising Deutsche Bank in connection with the underlying loans, the Firm also provided New York and English law opinions to the rating agency rating the fund.

The fund was primarily structured by Deutsche Bank in Germany and will be formally announced on September 19, 2007.

Partner Sylvia Chin was the lead counsel on the deal, along with partner Abe Zylberberg and associates Irena Tumova and Eunice Rho in New York; and partner Doug Peel and associates Christopher Langdon and Michael Brennan in London.

08-02-2007

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