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

White & Case moves up a tier. The firm has an especially good reputation in cartel work, but also has a good track record in merger cases and state aid.

Feedback in the market suggests that the firm's reputation briefly wobbled when it lost some of its team to Gibson Dunn, however "along with the new Shearman & Sterling they are one to watch," says a competitor.

James Killick is well thought of by clients. "Brussels, Bejing, Tokyo, South Africa and Turkey... they were quite seamless, very good. James had to meet all the people he worked with," says one. Ian Forrester is also recommended by clients, notably for a "classic" style. "He always makes you feel you are the focus of their attention; we never hear complaints or taking calls from other clients," says a client, adding that he is "pretty business-like and realistic".

Other clients also give good feedback: "excellent depth of knowledge," says one, another says: "From Eastern Europe to Poland they were very coordinated".

The firm advised Toshiba on some critical matters, among them an appeal against the commission's findings in investigations, resulting in fines, related to power transformers, gas insulated switchgears among others.

The firm has also been helping Intel appeal against a fine for abuse of dominance and Nexans confront the commission in relation to methods used in a dawn raid. Czech Airlines and SAS Air Cargo also engaged the firm, in a state aid matter and cartel investigation, respectively.

In a merger case, the firm advised Nordic Capital on its $790 million acquisition of Munters.

There is little doubt among market commentators that White & Case is naturally placed as a market leader. However, some peers have questioned whether it should exclusively occupy the top tier with one saying: "They're not completely ahead of the pack." Nevertheless, client feedback highlights the requisite cutting edge for the top flight with one emphasising: "They're the only firm in the Czech Republic with English law and US law capabilities in Prague, and of course Czech law."

Partner Michal Dlouhy, who is active in the firm's most high-profile transactions, is singled out for praise and described as a "top player".

Clients are full of praise for the firm, noting its sound technical ability and "high concentration levels". When compared with other firms on the market, one client stated: "There have been strong points with others but they were the most professional in every element covering the widest range of products." There were some concerns raised as to pricing but this was partially offset by the firm being considered "approachable in price negotiations".

Over the last year, White & Case have demonstrated its equity & debt capabilities on the chief deals on the market. The firm still acts for Belgium's KBC bank and its local subsidiary CSOB on the largest planned IPO in the Czech Republic (since 2008).

In another testament to its innovation the firm represented Ceská sporitelna in the issue of €82 million of floating rate municipal bonds in Liberec. Apart from being secured by a mortgage over the issuer's real estate, this was the first ever issue of bonds secured by a sinking fund in the Czech Republic. The firm also helped introduce the placement of German notes into the market. This development is set to increase competition (thus far, notes are listed under Czech and English law). White & Case also have a mandate for the European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET). It acts for EFET in preparing the netting and collateral opinion in respect of the EFET General Agreements used for the trading of electricity, gas and emissions allowances.

Since 2004, the firm has acted as the only transactional counsel on the EMTN programme of the Czech Republic. Since 2007, the firm acted for the arranger in connection with the establishment, all updates and increases of the €3 billion EMTN programme of the Czech Export Bank. The firm's high profile clientele include Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas and Morgan Stanley and Ceská sporitelna.

Like its peers, White & Case's top tier ranking is confirmed by virtue of its ability to run and direct local and international deals. The firm's banking and finance team (with 20 members) is the largest in the country and is able to provide clients with optimal staffing on deals across all areas of financing. David Plch's peers have noted him as being among the market leaders in banking and finance. "Names which pop into mind, in banking and finance, as leading in Czech are for White & Case, Plch," says one such peer.

Clients were full of praise: "We are very comfortable with their company culture and their working skills," says one, "They are highly dedicated to their work and we can say that they are usually one step ahead of others in terms of their knowledge and awareness of surrounding commercial and legal environment".

In one such deal the firm represented BNP Paribas as it acted as security agent for the lenders and notes trustee in respect of a revolving credit facility provided to the CME Group (the operator of TV Nova, a leading television network in the Czech Republic). The transaction involved the refinancing of a loan provided by Erste Bank (from the proceeds of a revolving credit facility provided by the new lenders) and the issuance of senior notes by CME Group. The transaction also involved a complex shared security package created in favour of BNP Paribas.

The firm also represented Ceskoslovenska obchodni banka (a Czech subsidiary of KBC Bank) in relation with the €80 million club project and export financing provided to OJSC Naftan (a major Belarusian refining enterprise). This transaction was one of the first of its type and contained Belarusian law elements.

Another highlight saw the firm assist the Bonatrans Group and ZDB Group in connection with financing from Ceskoslovenska obchodni banka and HSBC in the cumulative amount of €160 million. The financing was provided for the purpose of refinancing existing loans. The complete refinancing and replacement of existing loans, guarantees and hedging lines were affected in the short time frame of two weeks.

White & Case's also demonstrated its experience in export finance last year advising Czech Export Bank in connection with export financing provided to Adularya Enerji Elektrik Uretimi for the purpose of purchasing mining equipment and the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Turkey.

The firm was also involved in the largest solar project in the Czech Republic to date when assisting FVE Czech Novum in connection with project financing (arranged for by UniCredit Bank Czech Republic) in respect to the financing and construction of a 35MW photovoltaic power plant.

"They are highly approachable and very responsive," says one satisfied client, adding: "we are very satisfied with their work mainly with their professionalism and their legal knowledge. With them we feel that our legal issues are handled properly resulting in favorable outcome."

White & Case has been described as "a solid powerhouse" by one peer. There is little doubt that the firm commands respect in the market. "We view them as our main competitor, more than any other firm," says one partner. Moreover, as one client says: "Compared with other firms, they have huge responsibility and commitment beyond professional expectations." Such commitment is not to be taken lightly, as another client says: "They're extremely available. Even in a medical emergency, they were still available and got others to cover. They're there, anytime day and night."

Last year, the firm was involved in the largest corporate deal in the country and the second largest private equity sale in the CEE region. It represented Falcon Group (a consortium of investors 75% controlled by funds managed or advised by Mid Europa Partners) on its €574 million sale of Ceske Radiokomunikace to a consortium of funds managed by the Macquarie Group.

The firm was also involved in a large succession based transaction that received wide media coverage. It represented Bonatrans Group Holding (an entity controlled by certain members of the Komarek family) in a settlement with Karel Komarek Jr. This resulted in the KKCG Group, a multinational financial and investment group formerly jointly controlled by the Komarek family being split up. The settlement was achieved in the midst of heavy litigation among the family members and several injunctions.

The team also helped the founder/shareholders of Avast Software (one of five world antivirus giants) in connection with its restructuring under a Dutch holding company and the subsequent sale of a minority stake to a private equity investor, Summit Partners. The firm also advised on the creation of a complex Management Stock Option Plan for the employees of Avast group.

Clients were impressed with the firm's commercial awareness, with one saying: "They helped us negotiate properly. They understand the buyer/seller interpersonal dynamics and are very good at navigating that."

With the largest restructuring and insolvency practice in Prague, covering insolvency, litigation and white-collar crime, it is undisputed that White & Case is one of the strongest and most visible practice on the market. This is true, both in terms of the number of high-profile mandates the firm has and the number of experienced lawyers it can call upon. This last attribute has been further enhanced by the recent merger with Horak & Chvosta (a leading Czech law firm).

With the relatively new insolvency act starting to generate heat on the market, clients are drawing on the firm's capacity for innovation. "We're creating case law. For sure they had to be innovative. Their general approach is hardworking," says one client, adding: "They have a great advantage working on the case with us. They have a huge amount of knowledge." Jiri Tomola has received praise from the market. "He commercially thinks for us," says one client.

The firm represented a syndicate of senior creditors (six CEE-based commercial banks) in connection with the complex court reorganisation of Kord Group (an industrial group consisting of several companies with operations in three CEE countries) and the implementation of the court reorganisation. This is one of the largest insolvency cases so far, with the total exposure of the banks exceeding €120 million. It is also the first insolvency case in the Czech Republic involving the successful shifting of the centre of main interest of three foreign group companies to the Czech Republic. The reorganisation resulted in the successful sale of the major businesses of the Kord Group to a private investor.

Furthermore, the firm is helping UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and UniCredit Infrastructure with regard to the exposure towards an insolvent project company (Palcro Czech) and related litigation. The firm's strong restructuring and real estate groups are assisting the bank in connection with litigation over the validity of real estate transfers and the insolvency of the project company.

This edition, White & Case remains the sole representative of tier one as the firm continues to work on the market's highest value instructions. This is despite the fact that the firm was rocked in 2010 by the sad news of the death of partner Yuriy Maltsev. "He built the firm. He built the practice. His death was a blow," says one partner, while another adds: "White & Case's outstanding guy passed away, so I think most deals are done from London." Following the appointment of an interim executive partner, Maxim Telemtayev was drafted in from Macleod Dixon. "Time will tell" what benefit Maxim can confer on White & Case as the new executive partner takes the helm.

Some commentators have suggested that the firm has lost some market share in light of recent events. "I'm puzzled why White & Case stand alone in the top tier. A definite number one is not correct, it was never correct...White & Case here is a limited very narrow practice. White & Case used him [Yuriy Maltsev] to get mandates from local banks but did the work from London. The office here is quite small. Walter Daniel left the firm and has gone to Pricewaterhouse[Coopers]," says one partner. However, most commentators see the firm as a clear tier one. "They belong in the top tier, they have up until recently. They're clearly dominant in finance, they have more instructions, I almost always saw them on big deals. The people in London do a lot of work, this hasn't changed but there is some loss," says another partner.

Furthermore, clients have been extremely pleased with the service provided by the firm. "The quality was very high. It was a combination of strong international and local expertise together with a very good commercial sense," says one client. Clients have also highlighted the firm's innovation. "We did debut transactions which are a bit more complicated and it's good to have White & Case on board. These transactions are not the norm," says a client.

The firm continue to represent BTA Bank in the $17 billion restructuring of debt which allowed it to emerge from the crisis as a going concern. This meant that the bank did not have to rely on taxpayer state aid or the creation of a 'bad' bank. Additionally, the firm acted for Credit Suisse Securities, RBS and UBS as joint lead managers, in the update of the $7.5 billion GMTN Programme of KazMunaiGaz Finance and JSC National Company KazMunayGas. To this end, the firm advised on the issue of an aggregate of $1.25 billion 6.375% Notes due in 2021.

Continuing a trend from previous years, White & Case's predominant focus in Moscow appears to be on the debt side, with the sizeable deals coming on that side of their markets practice. "White & Case do a lot of debt work, yes," agrees a partner.

In terms of deals, they have been acting for a number of big name clients. On one deal, a team led by Carter Brod advised the Republic of Belarus on the legal aspects of its debut Eurobond offering. The deal is notable for many reasons, including the fact it is the first international sovereign bond issue by Belarus and also the first time a Belarusian issuer has offered international securities. The deal completed in August 2010 for a figure of $1 billion, with the offerings coming in two tranches of $600 million and $400 million.

Another good deal came in the energy sector saw a team, led by returning partner Sven Krogius, advising OAO Novatek, the largest independent natural gas producer in Russia, on a set of sizeable Loan Participation Note offerings. The deal came in two parts, the first being an offering of 5.326% five year notes worth $600 million and the second being ten year notes worth $650 million. Done through an Irish SPV (special purpose vehicle), the notes are traded on the Irish Stock Exchange. Work on the deal completed in February 2011 for an overall stated value of around $1.3 billion.

As mentioned above, a plus point for the firm this year was the return of Sven Krogius, a partner who has also worked in the Stockholm and London offices of White & Case.

"Sven Krogius is going back out to the Moscow office of White & Case and he's very good. It shows their capability," comments one partner.

Despite peers noting that the firm has not been all that visible over the past year, White & Case continue to display through its deal flow a solid year's work, which is enough to keep them in a tier two placing here.

The practice is headed up by the respected Irina Nesvetova, described as "very, very good at what she does" by a competitor and she has had a hand in some way on all the team's standout deals this year.

The latter months of 2010 actually provided a number of good mandates for White & Case. In one, Carter Brod and Irina Nesvetova advised Gazprombank with regard to a $900 million loan facility provided by a bank syndicate including Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citigroup and JPMorgan.

A similar deal involved Nesvetova leading a team working on the other side, advising a syndicate, comprised of Crédit Agricole, Natixis, Société Générale and UniCredit on a $500 million financing deal for ENRC, a natural resources group.

The firm did also made a positive recruitment move this year, with Thomas McDonald, an experienced partner previously based at White & Case in both Bucharest and Paris, joining the Moscow team effective February 2011.

The market doesn't have all that much to say about White & Case, only really meriting a mention to say that, based on deals and visibility, the firm still more than merits its top tier position.

"White & Case definitely deserve to be in tier one," comments a rival partner, while another competitor says: "We do see W&C a lot. They deserve to be up there in the top tier."

Leading lawyer Igor Ostapets led on arguably the firm's highlight deal of the year, advising oil company TNK-BP on its acquisition of Vietnamese and Venezuelan production and pipeline assets from BP. Utilising the White & Case network, including offices in London, Singapore, Miami, Frankfurt and Brussels as well as Moscow, the deal was agreed for $1.8 billion in October 2010.

Moving into this year, fellow leading lawyer and head of practice Eric Michailov took the lead in advising RUSNANO, the Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies, as it looked to place an investment in to Plastic Logic, the Cambridge-based technology company that are the leaders of the emerging market in plastic electronics, that would give it control of the company. The deal, said to be worth $700 million, completed in January 2011, despite some concerns surrounding the possible transfer of cutting edge technology away from Britain being raised.

The office did make an astute move in recruitment this year in taking on partner Denis Bazlov, who used to work at fellow US firms Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom as well as working in-house. He joined officially in March 2011.

"We see White & Case from time to time but not too much," remarks one partner, reflecting the market opinion that the firm not been quite so visible this year, though the deep expertise of the team in Moscow, its status and the deals it has been working on are more than enough to keep it in the top tier here.

Partner Marc Polonsky, who divides his time between Russia and London, is one member of the team that comes in for praise from competitors: "He is brilliant, very calm and reasonable. He makes sure he takes care of his clients and there is no nervousness with him," comments a partner.

Clients too are impressed with the knowledge and skill of the team, as one comments: "We profoundly benefited from the team's project finance expertise. Their approach was a proactive one and they were also good at translating legal jargon to the layman. In fact, regarding commerciality they sometimes provided better advice than our financial advisor!"

The team's standout deal was led on by Irina Nesvetova, as White & Case acted for Nordstream on the project financing for their Baltic pipeline, the third-largest project finance deal in the world for 2010. The pipeline runs through the Baltic Sea from Russia through Finland, Sweden and Denmark before reaching Germany. The first phase completed last March for €3.9 billion, with the second phase closing in March 2011 for a figure of €2.5 billion.

White & Case is another of the international brands that dominate the Slovakian legal landscape. In the Republic, it is very apparent that it, along with Allen & Overy, is involved in the leading deals the market has to offer. "It's clear cut, the distinguishing factor [is that both firms] keep the brand and flavour of truly integrated global firms," one partner says. "[White & Case is a] international office and profit[s] from their network," another partner says. Nevertheless, appraisal of the firm's proficiency in finance hasn't been subject to unqualified praise. "Their team in Bratislava is quite limited. Very often they cooperate with other offices. Often its cross-border financing," one partner says. "White & Case's M&A and corporate team is much better [than] finance," another partner says.

Nevertheless, clients have been in no doubt as to the firm's finance capabilities. "They're a first tier supplier for us. They deliver excellent work. They're the preferred choice," one client says. Partner Marek Staron and associate Stanislava Valientová have been subject to praise from clientele. "They're people we're happy with. They're very accessible and when you call they're ready to help," one client says.

Despite reservations being held as to the firm's banking and finance practice; White & Case's deal list is imposing. The firm recently acted as an advisor on three bond issues, with an aggregate value of €4.25 billion, by the state. It advised a syndicate of banks, as joint lead managers, including HSBC, Société Générale and UniCredit Bank Slovakia in the first transaction and CSOB, Slovenská sporitelna and VÚB in the second. The firm then advised Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank and ING in the third transaction. The three issues were efficacious, enticed interest from investors and were substantially oversubscribed. Additionally, the firm is currently supporting the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) in connection with its implementation of the second phase of "Slovak Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Finance Facility – SLOVSEFF II". This financing program, at over €120 million, was launched in collaboration with the Slovak Ministry of the Economy to support the construction of sustainable energy sources in the Slovak Republic.

In summary, the firm's established experience inspires confidence among its clients. "They have done most of the transactions in Slovak Republic, so they've developed an understanding for banker's typical needs, or they learn it really fast," one client says.

Led by partners Ivo Bárta, who splits his time between Prague and Bratislava, and the locally based Marek Staron, White & Case is one of the leading M&A law firms in the Slovak Republic. "These are the guys we work against the most. They have good lawyers like Marek Staron," one partner says, adding: "They're active in M&A in the big deals. They're competitors on the big tickets." The firm is also building itself quite a presence in the region as it tries to match its success in the Slovak Republic at the regional level. "They're here to stay. They believe in being in most of the European capitals and have a reasonably sized office," another partner says.

Clients have been pleased with the services offered, one says: "They're reliable [and] deliver what is most important. I have full trust in their services. They jump in when needed."

The firm has had another successful year and continues to attract the market's leading mandates. It is currently advising Transpetrol with regard to its envisaged acquisition of the gas transit business in the Slovak Republic. To this end, the firm is advising on potential transaction structures and on the effects of Third Energy legislative Package passed by the European Parliament. Should this transaction materialise, at over €1 billion, it will be the largest acquisition in the country in the last five years. Additionally, the firm supported Yasheya and Goldenboat Holding, a group working in the trading of industrial and raw materials, in its planned €30 million MLB acquisition of a stake in Slovenské magnezitové závody, the largest magnesite mining and manufacturing plant in Central Europe, from a group of individual shareholders.