Like the morning after the night before, now we have finally seen the UK's first deferred prosecution agreement (DPA), we are all left with one question: Would you really want one?

On 30 November 2015, Sir Brian Leveson approved a DPA between the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and ICBC Standard Bank (Standard Bank). It is the first DPA in the United Kingdom and in some quarters it is believed likely to be the first of many. Indeed, the SFO tell us that there are several other potential DPAs in the pipeline.

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© 2015 White & Case LLP

In the wake of the financial crisis, there has been a sustained rise in the number and variety of investigations and enforcement actions taken by regulatory authorities globally. Companies all over the world are now more likely than ever before to find themselves subject to cross-border investigations conducted in parallel by multiple authorities. What should companies be thinking about in terms of compliance frameworks and how to prepare for the worst?

Program slides can be found here .

Program recording can be found here.

White & Case Technology Newsflash

UK and EU Law Enforcement Investigatory and Data Sharing Powers: Developments and International Impact

Proposed UK legislation governing UK law enforcement investigatory powers (together with differences in approach by the UK and rest of Europe to law enforcement access to personal data) will have a deep and far reaching impact on technology and communications businesses, and not just those in the UK. Businesses in technology centres like the San Francisco Bay area, as well as in Taiwan, Singapore and other hubs in Asia will also be impacted. So much so in fact that US technology giants are already voicing concerns over the Bill and, rather unusually, are even attempting to intervene in the UK parliamentary process.

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© 2016 White & Case LLP

The US Justice Department's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Unit is adding 10 new staff members in 2016 with the objective/aim of going after "high impact" cases and increasing the transparency of FCPA prosecutions.

"When you have a unit the size it is now and you only bring a handful of cases, you kind of wonder what’s coming," said White & Case partner Kate Hamann, a former member of the FCPA unit. "I think there is pressure to justify the resources by bringing the cases."

The Wall Street Journal reports that defense lawyers have expressed concern about the Justice Department re-calibrating its approach to cases, saying its new approach incentivizing total cooperation could set too high of a bar to meet.

"These pressures may be limiting voluntary disclosures instead of encouraging them," Hamann said.

Jonah Anderson is an associate with considerable experience of conducting internal investigations in emerging markets. He has experience of representing individuals at all stages of the criminal process including dawn raids, restraint of assets, interview under caution, appeals on technical points of law and trial. Jonah joined White & Case in January 2016.

Due to the confidential nature of Jonah's work, we are unable to list specific details of his major matters.

Alexandre joined White & Case in 2015, and is an associate in the Transactional practice group of our Brussels office and the global Commercial Litigation practice.

He graduated magna cum laude from the Université Libre de Bruxelles and worked for two years at a renowned Belgian law firm. After this first experience as a lawyer, Alexandre graduated from the New York University School of Law, where he specialized in international dispute resolution. After his LL.M, Alexandre passed the New York bar exam.

His practice advises domestic and cross-border clients on all aspects of business law, focussing on the following core areas: commercial litigation, international arbitration, and white collar/investigations.

Morgane joined White & Case in 2015 as an associate in the Transactional practice group of our Brussels office and the global Commercial Litigation practice.

After completing her Bachelor in law at the Facultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix (Namur), she obtained her Master in Law at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. She then pursued an LL.M. at the University of Vienna, from which she graduated with highest honors, specializing in international and European business law.

Her practice advises domestic and cross-border clients on all aspects of business law, focussing on the following core areas: commercial litigation, international arbitration, and white collar/investigations.

Rebecca Findlay is an associate in the firm's London office, and focuses her practice on white collar and general commercial litigation. Rebecca joined White & Case in January 2016 from a leading international law firm.

In 2013/14, Rebecca spent 6 months on secondment to the Legal department of the Enforcement Division of the Financial Conduct Authority, where she worked on a wide range of matters, including matters before the Regulatory Decisions Committee and a trial in the Financial Services Upper Tribunal.

During her training contract, Rebecca undertook a secondment to the High Court, acting as a judicial assistant to two High Court judges, with time in the Chancery Division, Queen’s Bench Division (including the Commercial Court) and the Criminal Court of Appeal.

Last year, the European Court of Justice barred major companies from moving Europeans' personal information outside the European Union. However, information obtained from investigations may present a loophole.

The Wall Street Journal reported that investigators in international probes can pass around information informally in ways that are barely regulated and this practice is likely to grow as countries other than the US pursue bribery and fraud cases.

White & Case partner Kathleen Hamann said that this informal access to data may appeal to European law enforcement, given the easier access to personal data in the US. "The divide between the way that Europe views data protection and the way the US views data protection is getting wider and that is more likely to incentivize these kinds of processes of 'well the US has it we can use it'," she said.

Hamann, a former attorney in the US Justice Department's fraud section, said that by the time the information gathered from another country reaches the courtroom it can be difficult to determine its provenance, and companies should be prepared for such cross-border sharing before it happens.

"When you are in those initial stages [of an internal investigation]…you may have to be very thoughtful of how to protect the various types of information in various jurisdictions," she said.

Hamann cites the Innospec Ltd. foreign corruption case as a prime example of overlapping jurisdictions that lead to unusual exchanges of information.

"Other times a possible run-around on rights can occur under the public eye," Ms. Hamann said. She cites the example of the foreign bribery case of UK-based Victor Dahdaleh, where US attorneys were summoned to testify against their corporate clients.

Hamann pointed out that a defense attorney often can't aggressively advocate for personal rights because of other interests at stake, and a better advocate might need to be found. "I think the first step is to shine some light on it and start thinking about it and talking about it," she said about the information sharing.

Benjamin Saul is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of White & Case LLP, and a member of its Banking and Financial Institutions Advisory practices. He represents banks and non-banks, including FinTech companies, of all sizes in a wide-range of matters, with a focus on those relating to retail bank and consumer finance products and services. Ben helps clients navigate regulatory examinations, investigations, enforcement actions and administrative proceedings, conduct corporate internal investigations, handle civil and class action litigation, develop and enhance compliance management systems, assess regulatory and litigation risks in transactions, and address legislative and policy issues.

Ben has extensive experience representing clients in matters involving the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and has been a leader within the private bar on CFPB matters since the Bureau's inception in 2011. In addition to his CFPB practice, he has also represented financial services clients in many matters involving the federal and state banking authorities, Congress, Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Securities and Exchange Commission and state attorneys general.

During his career, Ben has handled matters involving every enumerated consumer finance law and asset class as well as many novel products and services. His experience extends across the entire consumer finance product life-cycle. He is a leading lawyer in the areas of fair and responsible banking and compliance with fair lending laws. In addition, Ben has also advised financial services clients on criminal and quasi-criminal matters, including money laundering, mortgage fraud and financial institution fraud, and has experience advising on corporate governance issues as well as handling binding mediation, arbitration, and litigation involving corporate fiduciary duty, indemnification and other business issues.

Ben is a frequent speaker, author and commentator on banking and consumer finance issues. He is a member of the Board of Editorial Advisors for the Review of Banking & Financial Services as well as Banking Law360. He also is active in the Litigation and Business Law sections of the American Bar Association, and is a former Co-Chair of the Consumer Litigation Committee. He is a Fellow of the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and member of the Exchequer Club. Ben is a former appellate law clerk. He has been recognized as a D.C. Super Lawyer in the areas of Banking, Consumer Law, and Business Litigation.

In its ruling of 17 March 2016, the Belgian Constitutional Court has decided that the Belgian Class Action Law is partially annulled for being discriminatory vis-à-vis European consumer protection organizations.

As a result, the Belgian legislature must review the Class Action Law. Nevertheless, in the meantime, the Constitutional Court decided that Belgian judges have to immediately take into consideration this ruling in order to assess the admissibility of a class representative in Belgium and, in any event, have to declare admissible any organization listed by the EU Commission under article 4(3) of EU Directive 2009/22/EU.

A complete overview of this ruling and its implications will follow.

White & Case is very pleased to announce a new feature on our website − a one-stop-shop with all the basics you need to know to survive a dawn raid by a competition authority. To know more about the Compliance – Need to Know tool, click here.

This is the first module in the new White & Case compliance series. A complete e-learning course on antitrust compliance is also on the way, with other topics to follow!

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© 2016 White & Case LLP

Michael Kendall represents clients in criminal and civil regulatory matters and in complex business litigation. A significant part of Michael's practice involves representing healthcare companies and clients in cross-border disputes.

He has successfully tried to verdict numerous cases in federal and state courts and before arbitration panels. His white collar experience includes matters involving alleged violations of the False Claims Act, the Federal Corrupt Practices Act, securities laws, tax laws and antitrust laws. His civil experience includes cases involving patents, joint venture disputes, private equity investments, trust and fiduciary issues, and healthcare reimbursement. Michael is also experienced in appellate matters.

Michael worked for seven years for the Department of Justice, serving as an Assistant US Attorney in the District of Massachusetts from 1989 to 1996. He also served as Deputy Associate Attorney General and Counselor in the US Department of Justice in 1992, where he worked closely with the Antitrust and Tax Divisions. Prior to joining White & Case, Michael was head of the white collar and defense practice of an international law firm.

Global law firm White & Case LLP has opened an office in Boston with the arrival of a team of white collar partners.

Michael Kendall, who takes up the role of Executive Partner in the Boston office, will be joined by Kevin Bolan and Lauren Papenhausen. A fourth member of the team – Andrew Tomback – will be based in the Firm’s New York office.

"Boston is a well-established international business center, and is the home of many industries that are significant players in our global economy," says White & Case Chairman Hugh Verrier. "Having a presence in Boston will give us an opportunity to work closely with clients on the ground on their most complex, cross-border work, which is in many respects at the heart of what we do best as a Firm."

The four partners, formerly with McDermott Will & Emery, have experience in white collar and civil litigation. In white collar defense, they have a notable depth of capabilities with the False Claims Act, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and criminal antitrust, tax and securities matters. In civil litigation, they have experience in class actions, probate and antitrust matters, domestic and international arbitrations and private equity disputes. They have extensive experience representing clients in the healthcare, financial services, manufacturing and energy industries.

Kendall was formerly an Assistant US Attorney in the District of Massachusetts for seven years. Tomback served as an Assistant US Attorney in the Southern District of New York.

"White collar and commercial litigation work, for which Mike, Kevin, Lauren and Andrew are particularly well regarded, are integral to our disputes practice, an area we’ve specifically targeted for growth," says Executive Committee member Dave Koschik, who heads the Firm's US Growth Team. "We're particularly pleased that our new partners bring such deep trial experience."

Opening in Boston is part of White & Case's new five-year strategy to expand in the United States. White & Case's Boston presence is its sixth location in the US and the 39th globally.

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Kate Dyson is a member of the global White Collar Practice and is based in the Firm's Boston office. She focuses her practice on working with clients in government and internal investigations, complex civil litigation and criminal enforcement matters.

Her clients have included companies involved in healthcare, finance, data services, and food and beverage distribution, as well as a foreign government official. Kate’s clients benefit from her in-depth knowledge of electronic discovery issues.

Kate represents clients involved in government and internal investigations involving alleged violations of the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute, and advises clients on compliance with government regulations and best practices. She is also experienced in negotiating with federal prosecutors in a variety of criminal matters, including relating to charges against foreign officials.

Additionally, Kate maintains a pro bono practice which includes experience representing clients ranging from criminal defendants to nonprofit organizations. She was counsel in a six week Innocence Project trial in which the court vacated the conviction of an innocent man who had served 23 years in prison. 

Prior to joining White & Case, Kate was based in the Boston office of an international law firm. Before she began practicing in Massachusetts, she trained as a pastry chef and was a litigator in the New York office of another international law firm.

Matthew Turnell is a partner in the global White Collar Practice and is based in the Firm's Boston office. He focuses his practice on defending healthcare and pharmaceutical companies in government investigations and in complex commercial disputes, including litigation and arbitration.

His white collar experience includes representing corporations in connection with investigations and litigation regarding alleged violations of the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Act and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. His clients benefit from his data privacy and security experience. He has defended companies against alleged violations of state and federal privacy laws and related government investigations.

Matthew also works extensively on pro bono matters.

Prior to joining White & Case, Matthew was a partner in the Boston office of an international firm.

Global law firm White & Case LLP has further expanded its Boston office with the arrival of partner Matthew Turnell to its Global White Collar Practice.

Turnell is the latest addition to the Firm's Boston office, which opened earlier this month following the hiring of Boston Executive Partner, Michael Kendall, and partners Kevin Bolan and Lauren Papenhausen.

"Boston has a deep pool of legal talent, and expanding our presence in Boston is an important step in our five-year strategy to grow in the US," says Executive Committee member Dave Koschik, who heads the Firm's US Growth Team. "The arrival of Matthew increases the depth and ability of our Global White Collar Practice to advise corporations and individuals dealing with national and cross-border government investigations and enforcement actions, as well as related compliance and regulatory matters."

Turnell, formerly a partner with McDermott Will & Emery, focuses his practice on white collar matters, such as government investigations, and has counseled clients about the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Act of 1986.

He also has experience in complex commercial litigation and arbitration, and privacy and data security matters, and has addressed state and federal privacy laws and contractual disputes.

Turnell has represented clients in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, nonprofit, financial services and energy industries.

White & Case's Boston office is its sixth location in the US and its 39th globally.

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Lydia Jonson is a professional support lawyer in the White Collar group of the Firm's London office.

Lydia assists the White Collar group in preparing client updates, developing both internal and client training programmes, driving initiatives to promote efficient working within the group, answering enquiries from practitioners and clients throughout the network, and assisting the business development team in various practice development activities

Prior to joining White & Case in 2017, Lydia was a director of a law firm specialising in White Collar work, having been previously in independent practice at the Criminal Bar for 10 years.

Lydia's previous cases include being instructed by the SFO on its high-profile corruption investigation of BAE Systems plc, representing the LIBOR trader Tom Hayes, and latterly representing the Alstom Group on trial in respect of allegations of corruption.

A simple card game may have dealt prosecutors the Aces

The card game Punto Banco (a form of baccarat) is a straight game of chance. Or at least it should be, according to the UK Supreme Court, who found that Phil Ivey, a legend in the professional gambling world, cheated Crockfords Casino of £7.7m by using a technique known as "edge spotting". In deciding whether or not the concept of dishonesty was an integral element of cheating (it found it was not), the Supreme Court took the opportunity to amend the criminal law and remove a purely subjective element from its definition. In one simple hand, the Ghosh test, which has represented established law for the past thirty years, is gone.

Mayfair, August 2012

Phil Ivey is known as the "Tiger Woods" of the gambling world. In August 2012 he spent two days at Crockfords Casino in Mayfair playing Punto Banco, and during that time exploited a weakness in the manufacture of some of the playing cards that were being used in the game. The weakness lay in the printing of the back of the cards (the details on one of the longer sides were clearly different to the other long side). Without touching the cards, but through the use of an unwitting croupier, he engineered certain high value cards (7, 8 and 9) to be placed in the playing shoe with a particular side facing him (rather than all the others, which were facing away). He won £7.7m but the casino's investigators subsequently spotted the ruse and refused to pay up.

In the course of lengthy litigation that went all the way to the UK's Supreme Court, Ivey never denied that he had been "edge-spotting"– the term used to identify the high value cards. He maintained that it was not cheating but described it as legitimate gamesmanship (indeed the High Court judge, Mitting J, who heard live evidence from Mr Ivey found him to have given a factually frank and truthful account of what he had done). However, the question that mattered was not whether the Supreme Court thought it amounted to cheating, which (agreeing with the lower courts) it did.

What does this have to do with dishonesty in criminal cases?

As part of the appeal, the Supreme Court had to decide whether or not the concept of cheating (within the confines of the Gambling Act) involved an element of dishonesty. It found, rather controversially, that it did not (even though offences such as Cheating the Revenue do require the prosecution to prove dishonesty). The case in theory might have ended there. But the Supreme Court took the opportunity to examine the concept of dishonesty and the Ghosh test, which had been settled criminal law for over thirty years.

What was the Ghosh test?

The case of R v Ghosh was reported in 1982 when Mr Ghosh, a surgeon, made claims for payments for services he had not provided. Whilst his own appeal was dismissed, a two-stage test evolved which required the tribunal to assess:

(i) Whether in its judgment the conduct complained of was dishonest by the lay objective standards of ordinary reasonable and honest people; (if the answer to that was no, the defendant would be acquitted)

(ii) If the answer to (1) was "yes", the jury would then go on to consider whether the defendant must have realised that ordinary honest people would regard his behaviour as dishonest (he would be convicted only if the answer to question (2) was "yes".

The Supreme Court in Ivey felt that this created the unpalatable scenario whereby the more warped the defendant's standards of honesty, the less likely he was to be convicted. It also felt that the concept of dishonesty should be defined in the same way as in civil law (where there is no such subjective limb).

The Supreme Court judges therefore, unanimously, decided to abolish the second limb of the Ghosh test, effectively removing the purely subjective element. Instead, the wording they preferred was as follows:

"When dishonesty is in question, the fact-finding tribunal must first ascertain (subjectively) the actual state of the individual's knowledge or belief as to the facts….When once his actual state of mind as to knowledge or belief as to facts is established, the question whether his conduct was honest or dishonest is to be determined by the fact-finder by applying the (objective) standards of ordinary decent people. There is no requirement that the defendant must appreciate that what he has done is, by those standards, dishonest."

So, subjectivity has not been entirely removed from the equation – the tribunal must consider the defendant's genuinely held belief or knowledge as to the facts, before going on to decide whether or not the ordinary man would consider the conduct dishonest. But it does remove the possibility that someone with no real moral compass might effectively be able to get a "jail out of free" card.

Where does this leave us now?

Defendants in criminal cases involving an element of dishonesty (for example conspiracy to defraud – the charge used in the LIBOR cases – theft, fraud by false representation) may have to re-think how they argue their defence. They may no longer have the same opportunity to convince the jury that they did not realise that ordinary people would have found their actions dishonest. The issue of whether certain conduct was dishonest goes to the very heart of the proceedings in many cases (such as the rate manipulation in LIBOR). The need to show dishonesty in connection with the criminal cartel offence under the Enterprise Act 2002 was removed in 2014; to be held criminally liable for cartel conduct no longer requires dishonesty. The boundaries for proving liability are being rolled back. In such cases the prosecutors now hold the aces.

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This publication is provided for your convenience and does not constitute legal advice. This publication is protected by copyright.
© 2017 White & Case LLP

Global law firm White & Case LLP has promoted 21 lawyers to counsel and 16 to local partner.

"These promotions span 21 offices and 12 global practices, reflecting the quality and achievement of our lawyers and the truly diverse and global nature of our Firm," said White & Case Chairman Hugh Verrier. "Taken as a whole, these lawyers demonstrate the Firm’s ability to advise our clients on their most complex, cross-border legal challenges, wherever they are."

In addition to the internal promotions, White & Case has hired 11 counsel and nine local partners during 2017.

At White & Case, counsel is a role for senior lawyers with significant experience in a particular practice area. The title is used across the Firm, in all offices, as an alternative career path to partnership but does not preclude consideration for promotion to partner.

The position of local partner is offered in select White & Case regions and locations where it is common market practice. At present this includes offices in Asia-Pacific, Central & Eastern Europe, Belgium, Germany, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The title of local partner is a recognized career step towards admission into Firm partnership.

The promotions are effective January 1, 2018 except where noted.

AMERICAS

Daniel González Estrada has been named a local partner in our Global Commercial Litigation Practice. Based in Mexico City, he advises clients on commercial litigation and arbitration, bankruptcy, amparo complaints and white collar matters, with an emphasis on commercial and civil law matters.

Poonam Gupta, Director of Immigration Services, has been named counsel. Based in New York, she advises White & Case and its clients on US immigration law concerning business-related immigrant and non-immigrant visas and proceedings before the US Departments of State, Homeland Security and Labor.

Pedro Morales has been named counsel in our Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. Based in Mexico City, he advises clients on environmental and climate change, as well as operational health and safety and sanitary law matters.

Jeremy Ostrander has been named counsel in our Global Antitrust Practice. Based in Silicon Valley, he advises clients on general commercial disputes, civil and criminal antitrust claims, intellectual property disputes and commercial arbitration.

Keith Schomig has been named counsel in our Global International Trade Practice. Based in Washington, DC, he advises clients on Exon-Florio reviews before CFIUS, and foreign ownership, control or influence mitigation matters before the US Departments of Defense and Energy.

Reuben J. Sequeira has been named counsel in our Global Antitrust Practice. Based in Washington, DC, he advises private companies, sovereigns and multilateral institutions on litigation, international disputes and government investigations, representing clients before various US courts, international arbitral tribunals and US government agencies.

Amit H. Thakore has been named counsel in our Global Intellectual Property Practice. Based in New York, he advises clients on patent litigation and on complex patent infringement litigations, as well as conducting due diligence investigations on patents.

Jason Xu has been named counsel in our Global Intellectual Property Practice. Based in Washington, DC, he advises clients on intellectual property litigation and post-grant review proceedings, as well as domestic and international intellectual property matters in the fintech, eCommerce, consumer electronics and medical device sectors.

EMEA

Charbel Abou Charaf has been named a local partner in our Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. Based in London and Doha, he advises clients on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, equity investments and divestitures across a range of industries.

Michael Bark-Jones has been named counsel in our Global Banking Practice. Based in Stockholm, he advises clients on debt and equity capital market products, primarily advising underwriters and issuers on Regulation S and Rule 144A offerings for entities in Central & Eastern Europe, the Nordics and emerging markets.

Meredith Campanale has been named counsel in our Global Project Finance Practice, effective January 30, 2017. Based in London, she advises lenders and sponsors on multi-sourced financings, including the involvement of export credit agencies, multilateral agencies and development finance institutions across various sectors.

Melanie Davies has been named counsel in our Global Capital Markets Practice. Based in London, she advises clients on a range of structured finance and other debt capital market transactions, with a primary focus on CLOs and securitizations.

Chris Duncan has been named counsel in our Global International Arbitration Practice. Based in London, he advises clients on non-contentious construction law, with an emphasis on large construction and infrastructure projects across a range of sectors including power, oil and gas, metals and mining, transport and infrastructure.

Britta Elsner-Gündel has been named counsel in our Global Banking Practice. Based in Frankfurt, she advises clients on acquisition and investment grade financing (secured and unsecured) as well as real estate financing, representing national and international banks, private equity investors and strategic investors on domestic and cross-border finance transactions as well as refinancings in the German and European markets.

Cristina Freudenberger has been named a local partner in our Global Capital Markets Practice. Based in Frankfurt, she advises clients on domestic and international public and private placements of equity-linked, hybrid, regulatory capital and straight bonds, including various EMTN, Structured Note and Commercial Paper Program establishments and updates, as well as issuances of highly structured and secured capital market products.

Sven Hentschel has been named a local partner in our Global Financial Restructuring and Insolvency Practice. Based in Hamburg, he advises clients on the continuation of insolvent businesses and restructurings by transfer, as well as advising creditors, companies and their directors on insolvency law in the preliminary stages of insolvency.

Felix Höpker has been named a local partner in our Global Financial Restructuring and Insolvency Practice. Based in Düsseldorf, Felix advises clients on all aspects of insolvency law as well as the administration and winding-up of companies from all economic sectors.

Estelle Jégou has been named counsel in our Global Antitrust Practice. Based in Paris, she advises clients across a range of sectors on anti-competitive practices, competition litigation, merger control, antitrust risk management and distribution.

Gero von Jhering has been named a local partner in our Global Commercial Litigation Practice. Based in Hamburg, he advises clients on litigation and arbitration in all areas of business and commercial law, with a focus on multijurisdictional litigation, trade law, contract law, insolvency law, competition law and corporate law.

Béla Knof has been named a local partner in our Global Financial Restructuring and Insolvency Practice. Based in Hamburg, he advises clients on out-of-court restructurings, as well as advising management, shareholders and creditors on insolvency law, company law and banking law.

Jean-Julien Lemonnier has been named counsel in our Global Antitrust Practice. Based in Paris, he advises clients across a range of sectors on investigations concerning alleged anti-competitive practices instigated by the French Competition Authority and/or the European Commission, and on distribution issues including distribution agreements, negotiations between suppliers and distributors, and delays in payment.

Sylvia Lorenz has been named a local partner in our Global Intellectual Property Practice. Based in Hamburg, she advises clients on intellectual property and information technology, in particular internet law issues including provider liability, consumer protection, international civil procedure and privacy law in relation to national and cross-border transactions.

Piero de Mattia has been named a local partner in our Global Capital Markets Practice. Based in Milan, he advises clients on Italian and international initial public offerings, private placements, rights and debt issuances including bonds, convertible notes and high yield, as well as cross-border mergers and acquisitions, general corporate law and securities compliance matters.

Jean Paszkudzki has been named counsel in our Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. Based in Paris, he advises clients such as French and foreign corporate clients and investors on corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures and corporate reorganizations.

Paddy Patrick has been named counsel in our Global Commercial Litigation Practice. Based in London, Paddy advises clients on contentious issues relating to a broad variety of commercial contracts, with experience in proceedings with multijurisdictional elements in the English courts, particularly the Commercial Court, the courts of the British Virgin Islands, international arbitration and mediation.

Anastasia Pitchouguina has been named counsel in our Global White Collar Practice. Based in Paris, Anastasia advises financial institutions, major corporations and individuals on domestic and international criminal fraud and contentious regulatory matters, including criminal banking litigation, fraud, money laundering and criminal aspects of public procurement and employment law.

Daria Plotnikova has been named counsel in our Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. Based in Moscow, she advises international and Russian developers on a broad range of real estate and construction projects, including major investment projects, real estate sales and purchase transactions, and complex infrastructure projects.

James Rimmer has been named counsel in our Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. Based in Riyadh, he advises vendors, purchasers, joint venture partners and financial advisers on complex, cross-border and domestic public and private mergers and acquisitions across a range of industries.

Jan Stejskal has been named a local partner in our Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. Based in Prague, he advises clients on private equity and private mergers and acquisitions, primarily cross-border transactions with Czech aspects.

Aneta Urban has been named a local partner in our Global Banking Practice. Based in Warsaw, she advises Polish and foreign banks, financial institutions, borrowers, sponsors, investment funds and private equity funds on Polish and cross-border financing transactions.

Sara Vanetta has been named a local partner in our Global Commercial Litigation Practice. Based in Berlin, she advises clients on dispute resolution with a particular focus on insurance law, including extensive experience advising insurance companies and policy holders on D&O insurance and corporate litigation.

Martin Weber has been named a local partner in our Global Banking Practice. Based in Berlin, he advises clients on public commercial law, with an emphasis on financial regulation, representing public institutions, banks and insurance companies on corporate and product-related issues in the financial services sector.

Anne Wicks has been named counsel in our Global Project Finance Practice. Based in Abu Dhabi, she advises government entities, sponsors and developers on the development of oil and gas and power projects, particularly in the Middle East.

ASIA-PACIFIC

Tess Fang has been named a local partner in our Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. Based in Hong Kong, she advises clients on cross-border mergers and acquisitions and divestitures, private equity transactions and joint ventures.

Keisuke Imon has been named a local partner in our Global Asset Finance Practice. Based in Tokyo, he advises clients on a range of financing matters, with a particular focus on asset finance.

Kazuo Kasai has been named counsel in our Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. Based in Tokyo, he advises clients on all aspects of real estate transactions, including complex financings and renewable energy transactions, particularly solar and wind.

Gee Hou Tng has been named a local partner in our Global Banking Practice. Based in Beijing, he advises clients on regional and domestic syndicated loans, and structured and acquisition financings.

During 2017, 11 counsel and nine local partners have joined the Firm.

AMERICAS

• Mauricio Gonzalez, counsel, Global Commercial Litigation Practice, Los Angeles
• Danli Guo, counsel, Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice, Silicon Valley
• Juan Federico Ruenes Rosales, counsel, Global Project Finance Practice, Mexico City

EMEA

• Jose Blanco, local partner, Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice, Madrid
• Thilo Diehl, local partner, Global Capital Markets Practice, Frankfurt
• Christophe Goossens, local partner, Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice, Brussels
• Andreas Horn, local partner, Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice, Düsseldorf
• Charles Julien, counsel, Global International Trade Practice, Geneva
• Florian Kleinschmit, local partner, Global Banking Practice, Berlin
• Muzi Kubeka, local partner, Global Project Finance Practice, Johannesburg
• Peter Lu, counsel, Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice, London
• Ziad Saad, counsel, Global Capital Markets Practice, Dubai
• Sebastian Schrag, local partner, Global Banking Practice, Frankfurt
• Francis Tierney, counsel, Global Intellectual Property Practice, London

ASIA-PACIFIC

• Andrew Bishop, local partner, Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice, Hong Kong
• Fiona Curl, counsel, Global Project Finance Practice, Melbourne
• Nels Hansen, local partner, Global Mergers & Acquisitions Practice, Tokyo
• Mark Montag, counsel, Global Project Finance Practice, Melbourne
• Anna Margaret O'Reilly, counsel, Global Project Finance Practice, Melbourne
• Candice Ota, counsel, Global Project Finance Practice, Melbourne

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