Cadwalader Nets Multiple Awards at IFLR Americas Awards Ceremony -- Wins Big in Both Deal and Team Categories

NEW YORK, April 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP (Cadwalader), a leading counselor to global financial institutions and corporations, announced today that the Firm had received multiple awards in both Deal and Team categories at the IFLR Americas Awards Ceremony 2012 which took place in New York on March 29. The awards annually spotlight firms that were involved in the most innovative and cutting-edge deals of the past year.

In another standout year for the Firm, the Financial Services and Financial Restructuring Groups picked up two of the major deal awards which included 'Structured Finance and Securitization Deal of the Year' and 'Restructuring Deal of the Year.' The Financial Services Group is led by partners Steven Lofchie and Richard Schetman while the Financial Restructuring Group is headed by partners John Rapisardi and George Davis.

For the team category, Cadwalader was awarded 'Securitization and Structured Finance Team of the Year.'  As primary derivatives counsel for leading buy-side and sell-side companies, the Cadwalader team successfully advised on diverse client matters involving bankruptcy treatment for swap products, Dodd-Frank compliance and exposure to stocks and indices in emerging markets such as China, Taiwan and India.

The "finance and securitization deal of the year" involved an arrangement between US-based Janus Capital Group and BNP Paribas enabling Janus to provide a capital-protected public investment fund that was the first of its kind where the amount of capital protection increased with the value of the fund. Chief among the accomplishments as Firm's counsel to BNP Paribas was the development of a novel structure for a capital protection agreement.  Under the terms of the agreement, Net Asset Value (NAV) of each mutual fund share class is protected at eighty percent (80 %) of the highest previously achieved value (NAV).  

"In the first instance we are fortunate to have great clients like BNP Paribas who are working on the development of innovative products that respond to the public's desire for asset value protection," said Steven Lofchie, who served as lead counsel to BNP.  "Beyond that, the really satisfying element of a transaction like this is that it allows us to showcase, not only our derivatives capabilities, but how that capability is expanded by the quality and diversity of our regulatory expertise.  In this transaction, we called upon expertises in the Investment Company Act, Advisers Act, broker-dealer regulation, banking law issues, tax, secured credit and bankruptcy, the Securities Act, and even a bit of Dodd-Frank." 

Richard Schetman, Financial Services Department co-chair added, "We would like to congratulate BNP Paribas, Janus and our team members for their hard work. A principal-protected vehicle of this type is a breakthrough for the public fund sector and responds to client demands in a volatile market."  

The "Restructuring Deal of the Year" was led by partners John Rapisardi and Scott Greenberg who advised an ad-hoc group of senior unsecured holders of floating rate notes issued by Angiotech Pharmaceuticals in connection with negotiating the terms of an exchange offer.

"We are pleased that the talented lawyers involved in these deals have been recognized by the IFLR," said Christopher White, Cadwalader's Chairman. "With the assistance of their colleagues in other divisions, the Financial Services and Financial Restructuring Departments have engineered complex and innovative deals that set new precedents in their respective markets."

In addition to the three wins, the Firm was shortlisted for another Restructuring Deal of the Year involving Caribbean Petroleum in its Chapter 11.

About Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, established in 1792, is one of the world's leading international law firms, with offices in New York, London, Charlotte, Washington, Houston, Beijing, Hong Kong and Brussels. Cadwalader serves a diverse client base, including many of the world's top financial institutions and corporations, undertaking business in more than 50 countries. The firm offers legal expertise in antitrust, banking, business fraud, corporate finance, corporate governance, energy, environmental, financial restructuring, healthcare, intellectual property, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, private wealth, real estate, regulation, securitization, structured finance, and tax. More information about Cadwalader can be found at www.cadwalader.com. 

About IFLR
IFLR is a leading magazine for in-house counsel and practitioners in the financial markets, covering the innovations in areas such as capital markets, banking, project finance, corporate governance, bankruptcy, litigation, fund management, and M&A. The International Financial Law Review awards are based on research from IFLR's journalists in consultation with private practice lawyers, in-house counsel and financing specialists at investment banks around the world. 

SOURCE Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP