It was a year for repair--and we're not just talking about Ballard Spahr's role in obtaining upkeep funds for New York City public housing projects. Notable among the year's cleanup projects: the relaunch of General Motors Company and the downsizing of AIG International Group, Inc. Government involvement--whether direct, through stimulus money and bailouts, or indirect, through export credit agencies--played an outsize role in many of the year's most interesting deals.
In M&A work, some of the most impressive showings were on the target side, as lawyers worked to win top dollar for shareholders, despite the tough economy. In the equities world, issuers in developing markets, especially China and Brazil, ordered up complex, multi-exchange offerings that resulted in plenty of work for lawyers. And that gave a boost to another repair project--shoring up firms' bottom lines.
Joseph Gromacki, Jenner & Block - GM's Jump Start
Show-Mao Chen, Davis Polk & Wardwell - Go Big or Go Home
John Vasily, Debevoise & Plimpton - Change of Identity
Nicolas Grabar, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton - Priming the Pump
William Voge, Latham & Watkins and Frederic Rich, Sullivan & Cromwell - Guinea Bigs
William Curtin III, Hogan Lovells - Inventory Reduction Sale
Stephen Fraidin & William Sorabella, Kirkland & Ellis - Fries With That?
William Andrews & Lori Green, Nixon Peabody - Power Players
Paul Casey, Ballard Spahr - Maintenance Job
Thomas Lauria, White & Case - The Winning Pitch
Jay Goffman, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom - Box Office Record
David Shapiro, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz - Pool Man
Keith Pagnani, Sullivan & Cromwell - Swiss Armor
Faiza Saeed, Cravath, Swaine & Moore - Growth Spurt
David Narefsky, Mayer Brown - Getting on Track
VIDEO FEATURESGuinea Bigs: Latham partner William Voge and Sullivan & Cromwell partner Frederic Rich describe the experience of working out the funding on an $18 billion liquefied natural gas project in Papua New Guinea, one of the most remote locations on earth. CLICK HERE.
Maintenance Job: Ballard Spahr real estate and public finance partner Paul Casey and New York City Housing Authority general counsel Sonya Kaloyanides discuss the problems facing housing authorities. CLICK HERE.
The Winning Pitch: In the spring of 2010, White & Case partner Tom Lauria was pulled into one of the most high profile and hotly contest bankruptcies of the year--the restructuring of the Texas Rangers baseball team. Here, Lauria talks about the bidding war that erupted for the team. CLICK HERE.
Inventory Reduction Sale: Hogan Lovells partner and Dealmaker of the Year William Curtin III represented Ford Motor Company in its $1.8 billion sale of Volvo to a Chinese company last year. Here, Curtin addresses the cultural and legal challenges in cross border transactional work and the future of the international M&A Market. CLICK HERE.
Nixon Peabody's William Andrews and Lori Green
Photograph by Paul Godwin
