America's Leading Lawyers for Business 2011: Capital Markets

Chambers & Partners has compiled its independent and objective list of America's Leading Lawyers for Business based on comments gathered from thousands of interviews with clients and lawyers from Maine to Hawaii. This guide — which is designed to reflect market opinion — contains a view of the firms and attorneys who are considered leaders in their field.

In Chambers' 2011 review of national legal talent in the area of "Capital Markets," our Firm and our lawyers are listed among the best in the country.

Chambers' comments:

Debt & Equity
Nationwide Ranking: Tier 3

The Firm: Kirkland & Ellis is increasingly famed for its practice focusing on issuer representations, having raised its visibility in key transactions over recent years, especially in high-yield deals. The group has been instructed on several of the market's largest IPOs over the past year, as well as on a variety of other debt and equity transactions. Highlights include its representation of Clearwire Communications on offerings of $2.7 billion of senior secured notes.

Commercial Awareness: "I appreciate their ability to distinguish between those which are earth-shattering issues and those that aren't."

Key Individuals: Joshua Korff is considered "one of those people that knows everything about everything, and isn't just around when things go wrong." He focuses on leveraged acquisition transactions and public and private financings. He is especially renowned for his work with IPOs and high-yield transactions.

REITs
Nationwide: Other Notable Practitioners

Bruce Gelman of Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago is a highly regarded tax expert specializing in REIT, infrastructure and other alternative-asset investment funds. In addition to being known as "exceptionally strong, both practically and technically," he wins particular acclaim for his experience of international matters. He recently represented Charter Hall Office Trust, a listed Australian property trust, in various aspects of its US operations.

Securitisation
Nationwide: Other Notable Practitioners

Kenneth Morrison of Kirkland & Ellis LLP enters the rankings following excellent feedback on his auto loan securitization practice. He is described as "very knowledgeable with good perspective and a balanced approach."

Reprinted with permission from Chambers USA, America's Leading Lawyers for Business 2011— www.chambersandpartners.com.