Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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Dean Mead

Halliburton Elected President of St. Lucie Bar Asssociation
Jason C. Halliburton was elected to serve a one-year term as president of the St. Lucie County Bar Association. His term commences on June 1, 2007.

Halliburton is an attorney with Dean, Mead, Minton & Zwemer. He practices in the area of commercial litigation, with an emphasis on creditors’ rights, construction law and real estate litigation. He earned his law degree from the College of William and Mary School of Law (2002,) and his undergraduate degree in political science and sociology, summa cum laude, from the University of Tennessee (1999).

06-26-2007

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Covington & Burling, P.C.

Covington Advises GSI and Charlesbank on Centerbridge Partners Acquisition
The GSI Group, Inc. announced that its parent company, GSI Holdings Corp., which is controlled by Charlesbank Capital Partners, has entered into an agreement pursuant to which affiliates of Centerbridge Partners, L.P. will acquire a majority stake. Covington & Burling LLP advised The GSI Group and Charlesbank Capital Partners on the transaction, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2007.

The GSI Group is a leading manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment including storage, conditioning, and handling equipment within the grain market, as well as feeding and climate control systems within the protein production markets. Charlesbank Capital Partners is a middle-market private equity investment firm managing approximately $1.5 billion of capital. Centerbridge Partners is a $3.2 billion multi-strategy private investment fund.

The Covington team, based in New York and Washington, included partners Stephen Infante, Peter Schwartz, Carey Roberts, Michael Francese, Carolyn Taylor, George Chester, and Corinne Goldstein, and associates Andrew Ment, Andrew Muratore, Robert Heller, Jessica Milner, and Michael Tzartzouras. In the first quarter of 2007, Covington was ranked among the top 25 M&A legal advisors in US-announced transactions by Thomson Financial, Bloomberg, and Mergermarket.

06-26-2007

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Andrews Kurth

Andrews Kurth Partner David Washburn Named to EFNT Board
Attorney J. David Washburn, a partner in the Dallas office of Andrews Kurth LLP, has been named to the Board of Directors for the Entrepreneurs Foundation of North Texas.

Founded in 2000, EFNT promotes corporate community involvement and philanthropy by organizing volunteer activities for companies and hosting networking events for senior level management.

"We are very pleased to welcome David as a member of the EFNT board," says Cindi Keith, Partner with PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP and Chairwoman for EFNT. "His strong reputation in the community and his enthusiasm for our overall mission make David an invaluable asset for the organization."

More than 80 North Texas companies participate in EFNT, which is supported by Communities Foundation of Texas and more than 40 other underwriters, including Andrews Kurth. The organization is affiliated with similar efforts in Austin, Silicon Valley, Portland, Atlanta, Boston and Tel Aviv.

"Many of the new and emerging companies in North Texas are seeking ways to make community investment and employee involvement an integral part of their business plan," David says. "EFNT offers an efficient way to channel that interest, and I'm pleased to be a part of such a dynamic initiative."

David's legal practice focuses on representing corporations in major merger and acquisition transactions in a broad variety of industries, as well as counseling clients regarding securities law and corporate governance issues. He is a frequent author and lecturer on Securities and Exchange Commission matters, including compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley regulations and conducting internal investigations.

David has been actively involved in a number of professional organizations that promote entrepreneurship, including the Technology Alliance of Dallas, Students in Free Enterprise, Murphy Enterprise Center, and the GC Netweavers, a networking group of more than 50 general counsels in the Dallas area. He is a graduate of the Leadership Dallas program, and was named as one of D Magazine's "Best Lawyers in Dallas Under 40."

"We are very proud to know that David has taken a leadership role with such a worthwhile organization," says Mark Solomon, Managing Partner for Andrews Kurth in Dallas. "EFNT represents the best the business community has to offer, and David will be a perfect fit on the Board of Directors."

06-26-2007

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Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, LLP

Simpson Thacher Represents Sageview Capital and KKR in $975 million (CAD) Acquisition of ACTS LP Assets
The firm represents Sageview Capital and KKR in their acquisition of the maintenance, repair and overhaul operations of ACTS LP, an affiliate of ACE Aviation Holdings, Inc. and Air Canada. The transaction is structured as a sale of all of the assets of ACTS LP to a newly formed entity owned by an affiliate of Sageview Capital LLC and an affiliate of KKR Private Equity Investors, L.P. (Euronext Amsterdam: KPE), the publicly traded fund of KKR. ACE will acquire a 30% equity interest in the purchasing entity as part of the consideration and Air Canada will remain the largest customer of the business. The transaction implies an enterprise value of approximately $975 million (CAD) for 100% of ACTS on a cash and debt free basis.

The transaction represents the first buy-out transaction by Sageview Capital, which was founded in 2006 by Edward A. (“Ned”) Gilhuly and Scott M. Stuart, both former partners of KKR. KKR Private Equity Investors, L.P. is a Guernsey limited partnership that seeks to create long-term value by participating in private equity and opportunistic investments identified by KKR.

The attorneys working on the transaction include David Sorkin, Sean Rodgers, Andy Calder, Jeff DeMartino, Patricia Ruvalcaba, Steve Todrys, Katharine Moir, Alvin Brown, Aimee Adler, Marissa Wesely and Herbert Huang.

06-26-2007

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Shearman & Sterling LLP

Shearman & Sterling Advises Goldman Sachs in the First Ever Italian Competing Tender Offer
The Rome Office of Shearman & Sterling is acting as Italian counsel to Whitehall, the real estate investment arm of Goldman Sachs, in its counter-tender offer on the units of Berenice and Tecla, two Italian closed-end funds managed by the real estate arm of the Pirelli Group.

On June 18, certain Whitehall funds launched a competing offer on all of the outstanding units of two real estate closed-end funds managed by Pirelli Real Estate at a 20% premium over the prices offered by a consortium formed by Morgan Stanley Special Situations Fund and Pirelli Real Estate. On June 20, in response to the Whitehall bid, the Morgan Stanley - Pirelli consortium increased its initial bid by approximately 26%. On June 21, Whitehall further increased its offer.

At current prices, the deal value of the two tender offers is approximately US$1.2 billion with the underlying assets in the funds valued at approximately US$2 billion.

The transaction is the first ever tender offer for fund units in Italy and will constitute the first application of the rules on competing tender offers under the Italian Securities Act of 1998. The press is already referring to this deal as a case study.

The Shearman & Sterling team includes partner Domenico Fanuele (Rome - Mergers & Acquisitions) and associates Fabio Fauceglia (Rome - Mergers & Acquisitions), Tobia Croff (Rome - Mergers & Acquisitions) and Emanuele Trucco (Rome - Mergers & Acquisitions) and trainee Francesco Liberatori (Rome - Mergers & Acquisitions).

06-26-2007

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Powell Goldstein LLP

Powell Goldstein Continues to Expand Capital Markets Practice with Addition of Katie Schwarting in Washington
Powell Goldstein LLP is pleased to announce it has hired Katie Schwarting as Counsel in the Real Estate Capital Markets Practice Group in the firm's Washington office. She is the sixth attorney to join the firm's national practice since March. The five most recent hires were in the firm's Dallas and Washington offices. Her practice focuses on securitization of commercial real estate assets, as well as general corporate finance matters.

Prior to joining Powell Goldstein, Ms. Schwarting was Senior Director of the Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Department of the Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington. Her key responsibilities included advancing issues, industry standards, regulations and legislation, including Regulation AB, REMIC reform, and insurance issues (TRIA and Significant Insurance Event Report), to support the commercial real estate industry MBA members in asset administration (including CMBS, portfolio lending and life company servicing) and loan origination.

"Having worked with Katie through the Mortgage Bankers Association, I know first hand what a tremendous attorney she is and what a great asset she will be to our group," said Keith A. Dunsmore, chair of the Real Estate Capital Markets Practice Group. "We look forward to continuing the aggressive expansion of the practice in all of our offices." Ms. Schwarting also served as Assistant Vice President of the Real Estate and Financial Services / Structured Products Services division of Wachovia Securities in Charlotte, NC. She worked in the business development group as a deal integration manager, a data integrity manager and a portfolio manager, where she managed sixteen commercial mortgage securitizations and conduit portfolios, totaling over 10 billion dollars and 1,150 mortgage loans. She also negotiated and closed commercial mortgage-backed securitization transactions, covering business issues as the Master Servicer.

She received her B.A. from Duke University and her J.D. from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law. Powell Goldstein has one of the largest real estate groups in the Southern and Mid-Atlantic regions. The attorneys in the Real Estate Capital Markets Practice Group have significant experience structuring and negotiating all types of secured financing transactions for all classifications of real estate assets. The group focuses mainly on commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) transactions, including a full range of post-issuance issues, loan assumptions, modifications, workouts, REMIC-related issues and defeasance transactions, representing master servicers and special servicers.

06-26-2007

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Loeb & Loeb, LLP

Loeb & Loeb Receives Top Marks in 2007 Chambers USA Guide
Loeb & Loeb LLP received high praise in the 2007 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, including three top tier firm rankings and five top tier individual rankings. The firm made advances in many fields from last year’s rankings and saw a 25% increase in attorneys individually ranked by the publication.

Highlights from the rankings include:

* Media & Entertainment ranked #1 in Tennessee
* Media & Entertainment: Theater, Film, Television & Music ranked #1 in New York
* Media & Entertainment: Advertising ranked #1 in New York
* Media & Entertainment: Transactional ranked #2 in California
* Media & Entertainment: Litigation ranked #2 in New York
* Tax ranked #2 in California
* Real Estate ranked #5 in New York

A number of Loeb & Loeb attorneys were also recognized as leaders in their fields, including: C. David Anderson (Tax), Kenneth B. Anderson (Media & Entertainment: Music), Roger M. Arar (Media & Entertainment: Film & Television), Marc Chamlin (Media & Entertainment: Film & Television), Terence Cuff (Tax), Craig A. Emanuel (Media & Entertainment: Transactional), John T. Frankenheimer (Media & Entertainment: Transactional), Seth D. Gelblum (Media & Entertainment: Theater), Jim Goodkind (Media & Entertainment: Transactional), Kenneth L. Kraus (Media & Entertainment), Michael A. Mayerson (Media & Entertainment: Transactional), Raymond Sanseverino (Real Estate), Paul Sczudlo (Tax), Robert L. Sullivan (Media & Entertainment), James D. Taylor (Media & Entertainment: Advertising), Stuart P. Tobisman (Tax: Estate Planning), Jonathan Zavin (Media & Entertainment: Copyright & Contract Disputes).

Since 1969, London-based Chambers and Partners has published world-famous guides to the legal profession. In addition to Chambers USA, the group publishes four other guides: Chambers UK, Chambers Europe, Chambers Global, and Chambers Student. Chambers USA reviews the top lawyers and firms from each state in over 20 areas of commercial law. The essential dynamic of Chambers guides is the in-depth, unbiased research conducted by their team of highly qualified and experienced researchers.

06-26-2007

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