Chadbourne & Parke Continues London Office Expansion With Addition of Three Partners

NEW YORK, May 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The international law firm Chadbourne & Parke LLP today announced that Martin Thomas and Dearbhla Quigley will join the firm as partners, effective June 1, and Magnus Rodrigues has joined as an international partner. All are resident in the London office.

Mr. Thomas and Ms. Quigley, both corporate transactional lawyers, were previously partners at Hunton & Williams in London, while Mr. Rodrigues was counsel in Clifford  Chance's energy and infrastructure group in Singapore.

"Chadbourne is pleased to welcome Martin, Dearbhla and Magnus to our London office as we expand our footprint in the UK," said Chadbourne Managing Partner Andrew A. Giaccia. "Each of these attorneys will bolster existing practice areas in London and provide greater depth in corporate transactional and project finance work."

Mr. Thomas is highly regarded in London for his advice to companies and investment banks on flotations and transactions on the Official List and the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. Over the past decade, he has consistently been sought out by clients seeking counsel on public offerings of shares in London. Mr. Thomas also regularly advises clients regarding public takeovers, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, and domestic and cross-border joint ventures. He has worked with clients in many industries, including oil and gas, renewable energy and climate change, carbon trading, financial services and early stage technologies.

Ms. Quigley counsels public and private companies on UK and cross-border transactions, with particular expertise in the mining and cleantech industries. She has significant experience advising companies and institutional brokers on initial and secondary public offerings of shares on the Official List and AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, as well as working with clients on public takeovers, private offerings of shares, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, and domestic and cross-border joint ventures.

Mr. Rodrigues has more than 14 years of experience of advising sponsors, lenders and other parties on energy and infrastructure-related projects, as well as other transactions in more than 40 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia and the Americas. In particular, he has extensive experience in India and the rest of Asia, including having spent substantial time working "on the ground" in that area. He was instrumental in the development of Clifford Chance's India practice and served as a director of that firm's India group for several years.

"The addition of these talented lawyers increases our offerings to clients and continues our record of growth in London," said Claude S. Serfilippi, London office Managing Partner. "Their experience complements our existing practice areas and will help to solidify our reputation for sophisticated legal service in emerging markets and across Europe."

"Numerous English and foreign companies doing business in emerging markets have taken advantage of Martin and Dearbhla's experience in connection with IPOs and other equity capital markets transactions," added Mr. Serfilippi. "Given Chadbourne's strong presence in many of the world's largest emerging markets, we believe this will give Chadbourne a competitive advantage in securing equity capital mandates from emerging market issuers as the global equity market starts to recover."

Mr. Thomas, Ms. Quigley and Mr. Rodrigues are each admitted as Solicitors in England and Wales.

Mr. Thomas, described by The Lawyer as "popular and highly regarded in the City of London," was also named by that publication as one of its "Hot 100" attorneys in the UK and Europe. He earned his LL.B. with honors from Reading University and is a graduate of Chester College of Law.

Ms. Quigley was also named by The Lawyer as one of the "Hot 100" in the UK and Europe for her "fantastic reputation in the AIM arena." She received both her LL.B. and LL.M. with honors from Trinity College in Dublin and is a graduate of Chester College of Law.

Mr. Rodrigues has been involved in numerous deals that have won industry recognition, including the 2010 Indian Power Deal of the Year by Project Finance and the 2008 European Power Deal of the Year by Project Finance International. He obtained his M.A. in law from the University of Oxford in 1993, his LL.M. in European community law from the College of Europe in 1994 and his postgraduate diploma in legal practice from the College of Law in London in 1995.

About Chadbourne & Parke LLP

Chadbourne & Parke LLP, an international law firm headquartered in New York City, provides a full range of legal services, including mergers and acquisitions, securities, project finance, private funds, corporate finance, venture capital and emerging companies, energy/renewable energy, communications and technology, commercial and products liability litigation, arbitration/IDR, securities litigation and regulatory enforcement, special investigations and litigation, intellectual property, antitrust, domestic and international tax, insurance and reinsurance, environmental, real estate, bankruptcy and financial restructuring, executive compensation and employee benefits, employment law and ERISA, trusts and estates, and government contract matters. Major geographical areas of concentration include Russia, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Turkey and Latin America. The Firm has offices in New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Mexico City, São Paulo, London, Moscow, Warsaw, Kyiv, Almaty, Dubai and Beijing. For additional information, visit www.chadbourne.com.

SOURCE Chadbourne & Parke LLP