Cadwalader Opens Brussels Office Headed by Prominent European Competition Attorney

BRUSSELS, April 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, a leading counsellor to global financial institutions and corporations, today announced that Alec J. Burnside, a prominent European competition attorney, will be joining the Partnership.  Burnside, formerly with Linklaters in Belgium, will open and manage Cadwalader's new office in Brussels.

"Alec is recognised as one of the leading competition lawyers in Europe.  His attraction to Cadwalader and our investment in him and the opening of an office in Brussels reflect a mutual commitment to fielding the finest global antitrust team practicing today.  We welcome him to our Partnership," said W. Christopher White, Chairman of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.

Mr. Burnside specialises in EU competition law and over the past two decades has practiced across a wide range of competition law disciplines regularly working on high-profile cases with implications for global industries, governments and blue chip corporations. Given this experience, he has become a recognised and highly sought expert in merger clearances, cartel defence, state aid and abuse of dominance with deep sector expertise that spans financial services, IT, consumer products, energy, natural resources, manufacturing, military, pharmaceuticals, transport & logistics and telecoms.

"I have been familiar with Cadwalader for many years, given the outstanding work of Rick Rule and his exceptional antitrust team. As I have talked with Cadwalader I've been impressed by the remarkable talent in the firm in every group from financial services, reorganisation and capital markets to investigations and antitrust. I am excited about this new chapter in my career and my new affiliation with Cadwalader," said Mr. Burnside.

As a result of his credentials and front line experience in European Competition issues, Mr. Burnside has consistently advocated for law reform in connection with a variety of international and EU competition matters.

"To be able to bring on board a solicitor of the calibre of Alec Burnside is a game changer for our global antitrust group," stated Rick Rule, head of the Antitrust group at Cadwalader. "Our ability to service our international corporate clients has just been strengthened considerably and we look forward to growing this global practice."

Mr. Burnside's recent and leading transactions include advising:

• Microsoft on its acquisition of Yahoo!'s search function
• Aer Lingus on its successful defence of Ryanair's hostile takeover bids, and court appeals
• Deutsche Borse on its pending merger with NYSE Euronext
• Billiton on its merger with BHP
• British American Tobacco on its acquisitions of the cigarette business of Scandinavian Tobacco and Tekel
• Sir Michael Bishop on the Lufthansa acquisition of British Midland
• DHL on state aid issues at Leipzig Airport and on the international removals investigation
• SmithKline Beecham on its merger with Glaxo
• BP on the creation, and unwinding, of its European downstream JV with Mobil.

Mr. Burnside studied at Downing College, Cambridge; College of Law, London; and Institut d'Etudes Europeennes, Brussels. He is a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales and a foreign member of the Brussels Bar.

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, Washington, Charlotte, Houston, London, Hong Kong, Beijing and now Brussels. Cadwalader serves a diverse client base, including many of the world's top financial institutions, undertaking business in more than 50 countries in six continents. The firm offers legal expertise in antitrust, banking, business fraud, corporate finance, corporate governance, environmental, financial restructuring and reorganisations, healthcare, intellectual property, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, private client, private equity, real estate, regulation, securitisation, structured finance, and tax. More information about Cadwalader can be found at www.cadwalader.com.

SOURCE Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP