Thomas Graf
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, Brussels
Counsel for Real Networks in the widely reported dispute between the European
Commission and Microsoft, Thomas Graf is a fast-rising competition
specialist known for his quick mind and creativity. Graf, 35, started as a
corporate lawyer with Waldmann Faesch & Partner in his native
Switzerland before a desire to travel and broaden his legal experience saw
him move to Bruges in 1998 to undertake an LLM in private international law
at the College of Europe. Graf then secured a place with Cleary Gottlieb’s
highly rated Brussels antitrust team. “What I love about my job is the mix
of intellectual problem-solving and the excitement of being involved in
adversarial proceedings,” he says. A fluent speaker of four languages, Graf
has recently been acting for Sony BMG in the European Commission's
investigation into Apple’s iTunes.
Claire Julhiet
Gide Loyrette Nouel, Paris
Gide Loyrette Nouel’s nomadic associate Claire Julhiet has no plans to settle
down. Back in Paris after a two year spell in the firm’s Shanghai office,
Julhiet is already planning her next move. “I like the US,” she says:
Julhiet is New York-qualified and in 2003 she completed an LLM in
international business law at the American University in Washington, D.C.
“But,” she adds, “I also want to go back to China.” At present, Julhiet is a
member of Gide’s European and economic law department. The 30-year old
advised Michelin on its international advertising campaign, negotiated
franchise agreements on behalf of Yoplait and represented Europcar
International in a cross-border dispute over its worldwide franchise
network. Outside of work, she is a member of SOS Attentat, a French
association that supports the victims of terrorism. She is currently
assisting with the pending action brought before an American court by the
families of the victims of the 1989 terrorist attack on UTA flight 772.
Rita Alarcão Júdice
PLMJ, Lisbon
In order to balance a thriving real estate practice with the rigours of
looking after her two young children, Rita Alarcão Júdice, a senior
associate in the Lisbon office of PLMJ, has to be supremely well organised.
“Having two kids has made me a very efficient worker. I don’t waste time,”
says the 33-year old. After graduating first in her class from the
Portuguese Catholic University Law School, Júdice, born in Coimbra, trained
with PLMJ, qualifying into its property team in 2000. Her work involves a
mixture of providing advice to international institutional investors such as
Credit Suisse Asset Management and the Blackstone Group on real estate fund
transactions, and assisting local organisations with tourism-related
projects. She is currently acting for a Portuguese company in its
development of a luxury resort in Madeira and advising on the construction
of two hotels in the Oporto area. Júdice was part of the PLMJ team that
earlier this year handled Portugal’s first ever Sharia-compliant real estate
transaction.
Nicolas Laurent
Bredin Prat, Paris
Nicolas Laurent’s career has been on an upward trajectory since he bagged a
prestigious position lecturing on bankruptcy law at the Sorbonne at the age
of 24. A training contract at Koudert Brothers’ Beijing office followed,
with Laurent cutting his teeth assisting on the first wave of joint ventures
between European and Chinese companies. Returning to Paris in 2001, the
Assas graduate joined Bredin Prat’s corporate team. He has worked on a
series of big money M&A deals, including the acquisition of Bull's
European services activities by Steria, the French IT group, and the sale of
Endemol. Laurent, who made partner last year, has spent the last month
advising the Lagardère group on the sale of its regional press wing to
Groupe Hersant. A wine fanatic, the 34-year-old partially credits his
success to a sideline supplying senior Bredin Prat members with the latest
vintages.
Stefano Mazzotti
Chiomenti Studio Legale, Milan
A member of the Italian bar and also admitted as a solicitor in England and
Wales, Chiomenti associate Stefano Mazzotti is in demand among his firm’s
international clients. After finishing law school in Milan, Mazzotti headed
to the UK for two years of English legal study at Exeter University and the
College of Law. A training contract with Slaughter and May followed, but
Mazzotti returned home in 2001 to join the corporate department of
Chiomenti’s Milan office. Of his time in London, Mazzotti says: “I admire
very much the practical, commercial style of English lawyers, but I don’t
miss the commute on the District Line from Earl’s Court to the City.” The
34-year old senior associate has played a major part in various recent
multi-jurisdictional M&A deals, including Intesa Sanpaolo’s €6 billion
sale of Cariparma and Friuladria to Crédit Agricole, and Cinven’s €1.5
billion purchase of Avio from the Carlyle Group.
Lukasz Pawlak
Dewey & LeBoeuf, Warsaw
Unlike many of his Polish peers, Dewey & LeBoeuf takeover specialist
Lukasz Pawlak isn’t drawn to the idea of working in the UK. “As a lawyer,
Warsaw is a great place to be right now,” he explains. “There’s a lot of
space to be creative as regulations are still developing and there are some
great opportunities to work on really groundbreaking deals that don’t exist
in more established markets.” The Poznan University graduate was recently
second in command advising UniCredit on the acquisition of HVB and Bank
Austria, the largest recent cross-border merger in Europe. The deal, which
threw up a host of previously unconsidered Polish regulatory issues, saw
Pawlak frequently “invent wheels” in order to facilitate a successful
outcome for UniCredit. “Lukasz has got the best analytical ability of any
lawyer I’ve ever worked with – literally, there’s no intellectual issue that
he can’t fathom,” says Dewey & LeBoeuf’s European senior
partner, Lejb Fogelman. Pawlak, 33, also assisted in the initial public
offering of IVAX, the first ever US company to have its shares listed on the
Warsaw Stock Exchange.
Javier Redonet
Uría Menéndez, Madrid
Javier Redonet, a newly made-up partner at Madrid-based Uría Menéndez, is one
of a new wave of young Spanish corporate lawyers who have spent the last
decade honing their skills on the flow of deals generated by the booming
Iberian M&A market. More Rafa Benitez than Enrique Iglesias, Redonet is
known for his unflashy style and tactical thinking. “He’s an extremely
clever and thoughtful lawyer,” says Uría Menéndez managing partner Luis de
Carlos. The 33-year old Madrileño’s career highlights to date include acting
as part of the team that advised on the initial public offering of INDITEX
(the parent company of clothing company Zara) and assisting in the listing
of the renewable energy subsidiary of Iberdrola, a deal expected to become
the biggest ever Spanish IPO. Despite speaking excellent English, Redonet
isn’t tempted to try his luck outside Spain. “Madrid has become a really big
financial centre. I get exposure to important, international deals here, so
why move?”
Viola Sailer
Hengeler Mueller, Munich
On January 1, Viola Sailer will become only the third woman to make partner in
the history of the acclaimed German law firm Hengeler Mueller. Specialising
in high-end corporate work, Sailer, 33, is known for her “brilliant mind”
and “ability to get work done in a quarter of the time it takes everybody
else.” Having studied law to doctorate level in Frankfurt (winning the prize
for best thesis in the process), Sailer was drawn to Munich, beginning her
career at Baker & Mackenzie’s fledgling office there in 2000. “During the
early part of the decade many international firms were setting up in the
city. It was an exciting time and I wanted to be part of it,” she explains.
Sailer moved on to Freshfields in 2002, spending three years working under
renowned German corporate lawyer Hans-Jörg Ziegenhain, before a lateral hire
took her to Hengeler Mueller three years later. Since joining the firm,
Sailer has acted for Puma in its takeover by PPR and assisted one of the
defendants of a €17 billion damages claim raised by hedge fund shareholders
of the German bank, HVB.
Stephan Waldhausen
Freshfields, Dusseldorf
While an impoverished law student at Bochum University, Stephan Waldhausen
started trading shares in order to bring in some extra cash. The experience
sparked an interest in the corporate world, leading him to complete a
doctorate on German capital markets law. After giving serious thought to a
full time career in academia — he lectured in law at the universities of
Essen and Bochum while studying — Waldhausen succumbed to the lure of the
international legal scene, joining Freshfields’ Dusseldorf office in 2001.
Described by Freshfields co-head of corporate Axel Epe as “the kind of lad
who is still in good spirits at midnight when the pressure is on”,
Waldhausen has just finished assisting Schwarz Pharma on its €4.4 billion
public takeover by UCB. Previous experience includes acting as a member of
the defence team in the corporate fraud trial of Dr. Klaus Esser, the former
CEO of Mannesmann, and spending six months on secondment with Simpson &
Thacher’s M&A group in New York.
Vladimir Zotov
Clifford Chance, Moscow
Vladimir Zotov, a capital markets lawyer in Clifford Chance’s Moscow office,
has had a busy few years dealing with a torrent of Russian IPO activity.
After starting his career advising on corporate regulatory matters, Zotov
did his first initial public offering in 2003 (for Irkut, a Russian military
aircraft producer) and hasn’t looked back. “I love the variety of capital
markets work,” says the Moscow State University graduate. “You’re out there
in the real world, every transaction is different and you learn a lot about
business.” Memorable deals include the IPO of Raspadskaya, one of Russia’s
largest coal mining companies, which involved several trips to mines in
Siberia, and the first ever listing of a Russian vodka producer. Zotov, 29,
is currently combining involvement on several further IPOs with overseeing
the construction of a country house on the outskirts of Moscow, where he
plans to move with his family in the New Year.
