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Pillsbury Expands International Corporate Capabilities with Thelen China Practice Acquisition
Team focuses on corporate & securities for public companies and FDI transactions
29-Sep-2008
New York: Pillsbury today announced that it has acquired Thelen’s China practice, a group of approximately 20 attorneys, including partners Tom Shoesmith, Meg Utterback, Joe Tiano and Lou Bevilacqua, to be based in Pillsbury’s Shanghai, Washington, DC and San Francisco offices.
"Pillsbury opened a small Shanghai office approximately one year ago, and in that time we made key inroads in the China market,” said Pillsbury Vice Chair Steve Huttler, who oversees the firm’s international offices. “But from day one we knew that we would need a much larger presence to achieve long-term success in China. When this opportunity presented itself, we found it an ideal solution, particularly when we recognized that the team’s unique business model and capabilities would translate well into other international markets.”
The model offers a two-pronged integrated corporate transactional and securities law practice that represents 80 clients throughout the world. On the inbound side, a foreign direct investment (FDI) team concentrates on the representation of U.S. and European companies investing or doing business in China by way of M&A, joint ventures, and greenfield investments. On the outbound side, the group focuses on taking small to medium-sized companies with operations in China or elsewhere public in the United States through PIPE financings, reverse mergers and other Alternative Public Offerings. Of the 25 public company clients the team represents, seven are listed on NASDAQ, and one is listed on the NYSE.
“As these clients grow larger in size, they increasingly require more complex corporate & securities counsel or experience in a wide range of legal services, such as corporate governance and compliance issues, international disputes resolution, litigation, and labor and employment matters. These matters dovetail nicely with Pillsbury’s current range of offerings and is one reason why we are so pleased to be joining the firm,” said partner Tom Shoesmith.
Shoesmith will be the new Managing Partner of Pillsbury’s Shanghai office, while current Pillsbury Shanghai Managing Partner Joseph Chan will remain lead firm representative and local section leader of the Corporate & Securities practice.
Shoesmith has more than 25 years of experience in international business transactions, advising on corporate finance transactions (such as reverse mergers, PIPEs, and cross-border IPOs); mergers and acquisitions; joint ventures and strategic alliances; venture capital and private equity matters; and counseling clients on the expansion of their international operations. His practice focuses primarily on FDI transactions, representing multinationals, mid-size companies and private equity and venture capital firms interested in taking advantage of the booming Chinese economy.
Also based in Shanghai is partner Meg Utterback, who works on both transactional and litigation matters. She frequently counsels Chinese companies on outbound matters, such as addressing their risk management issues on large international projects, and is also actively involved in the FDI practice. Fluent in Mandarin, she has strong relationships with Chinese law firms, and often works with them in tandem to provide full service to foreign and Chinese clients. On the litigation front, Utterback has represented both domestic and foreign corporations in litigation nationally and in arbitrations internationally, including before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and in regional proceedings, such as the Indian Council of Arbitration.
Partners Joe Tiano and Lou Bevilacqua will join Pillsbury’s Washington, DC office, focusing on public companies work. They have broad experience in public offerings and private placements of securities, Exchange Act compliance, angel and venture capital financings, other areas of equity and debt financing and mergers, acquisitions and other business combinations, including "roll up" transactions and "reverse acquisition" transactions. In addition to working with NYSE and NASDAQ listed companies, they have several years of experience working with microcap and nanocap public companies whose securities are quoted on the over-the-counter Bulletin Board.
“The addition of this team materially enhances Pillsbury’s market leading corporate & securities practice, and significantly expands our international capabilities in alignment with the needs of our clients. Moreover, this practice is consistent with Pillsbury’s long history of transforming emerging companies into the world’s top multinationals, such as incorporating Intel in 1968 and most recently taking WebEx from a two-person start up in 1996 to its $3.2 billion acquisition by Cisco last year. This group reflects that same entrepreneurial spirit,” said Pillsbury Firm Chair Jim Rishwain. Indeed, the majority of new clients this China group brings to Pillsbury hail from the very same industries which form the bedrock of our client base, including energy and technology.”
Pillsbury’s previously planned October reception and seminar in Shanghai has been rescheduled for December 11 and 12 to give clients the opportunity to meet with our new integrated team and learn more about Pillsbury’s expanded international capabilities.
About Pillsbury
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP is a dynamic full-service law firm with market-leading strengths in the energy, financial services, real estate and technology sectors. Our lawyers serve clients throughout the U.S. and internationally from key global financial centers including New York, London, Tokyo and Shanghai. Industry-driven client teams and a multidisciplinary approach to crucial business issues of the day also ensure our clients receive thorough counsel on all aspects of a matter.
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