IFLR 1000
The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms

Walkers' global reach includes offices in Cayman, Delaware, Dubai, Dublin, Hong Kong, Jersey, and Singapore.

The firm took a significant hit this year when partner Richard May moved to Maples and Calder in November 2010, where he will head the investment funds group. May is widely considered to be one of the jurisdiction's best lawyers and the market will wait to see how the firm reacts.

One client describes the firm as "phenomenal, they were able to step in and provide us at a moment's notice with the documents we needed to revise to make them BVI-worthy". Another client says the firm's lawyers are, "knowledgeable, proactive and helpful". Walkers also gets points for its billing, which another client describes as "fair and very honest".

Under partner Catherine Ross, who heads Walkers' Finance and Corporate Group, the firm participated in a number of impressive transactions over the past year. Highlights included advising Apollo Management, one of the largest private equity firms in the world, in connection with Puerto Rico's Banco Popular's sale of a 51% stake in its payment technology subsidiary EVERTEC to a fund managed by Apollo. The newly-formed joint venture was valued at $900 million.

Walkers is an international firm with offices in the British Virgin Islands, Delaware, Dubai, Dublin, Hong Kong, Jersey, London and Singapore. The firm's Cayman practice has been active in corporate finance and funds throughout 2010-2011. The Cayman team of 45 lawyers includes 14 partners, who focus on corporate and international finance law, with an emphasis on investment funds, capital markets and structured finance. Walkers also has one of the leading hedge fund and private equity funds practices in the Cayman Islands.

Of partner Philip Paschalides, who heads the Cayman corporate and finance practice, one client remarks: "He has a very clear understanding of the documents and the law. I trust his analysis and he's very willing to explain things." Another client, who has worked with the firm for over a decade, says he is "very satisfied with their work" and gives Nicole Pineda, now a partner at the firm, "the highest grade". Pineda was one of four Walkers Cayman Islands attorneys promoted to partner in the summer of 2011. She was joined by former senior counsel Rob Jackson, who focuses on finance and corporate matters, and funds lawyers Julian Ashworth and David Marshall.

Walkers' banking team is known for representing both the borrower and lender for US and European banks as well as corporate, private equity and hedge fund borrowers. The firm has done a high volume of transactions using Cayman structures for the financing and leasing of commercial aircraft, corporate jets, commercial vessels and private yachts. Walkers also acted as Cayman counsel on over $10 billion of debt issued by the Brazilian oil giant Petrobras' finance subsidiary, Pifco, in 2010 and 2011 alone. This figure includes the largest ever corporate bond offerings by a South American company in the international markets.

The firm was also active on financing transactions involving hedge funds and private equity funds in 2010, acting for approximately 70% of the Private Equity International Top 50 private equity houses.

Highlights included acting for Pacific Century Group on Cayman Islands aspects of its purchase of AIG's investment advisory and asset management business, now known as PineBridge Investments, in a deal that closed in March 2010.