Laura Romero, Author at Gibson Dunn

Gibson Dunn advised UCK Partners, a Seoul-headquartered private equity firm, on the formation of its third Korea-focused fund, UCK Partners III, at KRW1.1 trillion in commitments.

Our investment funds team was led by Hong Kong partner Albert Cho and included Registered Foreign Lawyers (NY) Brian Ham and Keira Su, and associates Christina Fong and Kathy Wen.

New York partner Evan Gusler, London partner Sandy Bhogal, New York of counsel Loren Lembo, and Los Angeles associate Rebecca Friedman, Washington, D.C. associates Alissa Fromkin Freltz and Laura Pond, and London associates James Chandler and Isabella Fladée advised on tax aspects.

Law360 named Gibson Dunn one of its six Appellate Groups of the Year for 2023. The firm was recognized for its work in “convincing the U.S. Supreme Court to make it harder for shareholders to sue companies that went public via direct listing” and getting “the Ninth Circuit to side with Uber and Postmates on a California worker classification law.” The profile was published on January 31, 2024.

Gibson Dunn’s Appellate and Constitutional Law Practice Group lawyers present arguments in the Supreme Court of the United States, all 13 federal courts of appeals, and state appellate courts throughout the country. Gibson Dunn lawyers have argued more than 160 cases before the Supreme Court, with 13 current attorneys having argued at the Court.

Law360 named Gibson Dunn one of its six Competition Groups of the Year for 2023. The firm was recognized for scoring “key rulings in cases last year for clients including Merck and Chevron” and “helping guide VMWare’s $61 billion sale to Broadcom.” The profile was published on January 31, 2024.

Gibson Dunn’s Antitrust and Competition Practice Group handles leading-edge competition matters on U.S. and international competition issues. With over 150 lawyers located throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia, our antitrust team includes former high-ranking officials from the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Solicitor General’s Office and the European Commission, as well as Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

New York partner Mylan Denerstein was named to amNY Metro and PoliticsNY’s 2024 Black Power Players list, which “highlights community leaders, innovators, and politicians from different industries and organizations across the five boroughs” who “each uniquely contribute to the ever-growing tapestry of New York City.” The list was published on January 31, 2024.

Mylan Denerstein is Co-Chair of the Public Policy Practice Group, Global Chair of the firm’s Diversity Committee, and Co-Partner-in-Charge of the New York office. She leads complex litigation and internal investigations, representing companies confronting a wide range of legal issues, in their most critical times. Mylan was appointed serve as the independent NYPD Monitor to oversee the court ordered reform process.

Brussels Managing Director Nicholas Banasevic, London and Paris partner Robert Spano, and Brussels associate Ciara O’Gara are the authors of “Cos. Should Plan Now For Extensive EU Data Act Obligations” [PDF] published by Law360 on February 1, 2024.

Brussels associate Jan Przerwa contributed to this article.

Law360 named Gibson Dunn one of its four Employment Groups of the Year for 2023. The firm was recognized for its work in helping “Amazon defeat class certification in a suit over home internet expenses” and scoring “a series of wins for gig economy companies.” The profile was published on January 29, 2024.

Gibson Dunn’s Labor and Employment Practice Group covers a complete range of matters, and we are known for our unsurpassed ability to help the world’s preeminent companies tackle their most challenging labor and employment matters. Our practice covers the full range of labor and employment matters, including wage and hour class actions; employment discrimination class actions; whistleblower litigation; non-compete agreements and trade secrets; appeals, post-trial briefings and litigation management; labor-management relations; ERISA and employee benefits; and occupational safety and health issues.

London partner Rob Carr was named to The Lawyer’s Hot 100 2024 list, which recognizes “the UK’s most adventurous, most innovative and most dynamic lawyers.” The list was published on January 29, 2024.

Rob Carr advises lenders and borrowers across the market on real estate backed financing transactions in the UK and continental Europe, acting for investment banks, private equity funds and other alternative lenders and has particular expertise in representing private equity and other top tier sponsors on their borrowing transactions.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that Katlin McKelvie has joined the firm as a partner in the Washington, D.C. office, where she will practice in the firm’s FDA and Health Care Practice Group. Katlin was previously Deputy General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and served in senior roles at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and on the U.S. Senate HELP Committee.

“We are excited to welcome Katlin to the firm,” said Gustav Eyler, Co-Chair of Gibson Dunn’s FDA and Health Care Practice Group. “With her significant government experience handling matters across FDA-regulated product categories – including food, drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics – Katlin is an excellent addition to Gibson Dunn’s leading regulatory, litigation, and policy team. Her versatility to handle issues across the FDA-regulated spectrum will be an exceptional complement to our capabilities and an invaluable asset to our clients.”

“Through her prior senior posts at HHS, FDA, and the Senate, Katlin has seen the FDA and regulated-product issues from all angles,” said Greta Williams, Co-Partner in Charge of Gibson Dunn’s Washington, D.C. office. “Her background and unique experiences, including related to the life sciences, health care, and technology spaces, will help our clients navigate the complex landscape of laws, regulations, and policies affecting those industries.”

“I am thrilled to be part of the talented team at Gibson Dunn,” said Katlin. “The firm’s dedication to providing world-class client service, along with a commitment to staying at the cutting edge of regulatory and policy developments, offers an opportunity to help clients across FDA-regulated sectors.”

Gibson Dunn has award-winning practices dedicated to helping life sciences, health care, and consumer product companies. The firm’s team includes senior officials from the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, and other agencies at the forefront of consumer protection, competition, white collar investigations, transactional, and policy areas. Those former officials include several who recently joined the firm, including Gus Eyler, who served as Director of the Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch, Svetlana Gans, who served as Chief of Staff at the Federal Trade Commission, and former federal judges Gregg Costa and George Hazel.

About Katlin McKelvie

Katlin has extensive experience spanning all FDA product categories, with a particular focus on drug regulatory matters. At Gibson Dunn, Katlin will provide regulatory advice to companies engaged in manufacturing, distributing, marketing and selling FDA-regulated products. She will also advise FDA-regulated companies on issues related to enforcement, compliance, and litigation, corporate transactions, as well as legislative policymaking and agency regulatory strategy.

Before joining the firm, Katlin served as Deputy General Counsel at the Department of Health and Human Services. Prior, she served as Deputy Health Policy Director and Senior FDA Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions for Chair Patty Murray. During her career, she also served as Associate Chief Counsel for Drugs in FDA’s Office of the Chief Counsel and as Regulatory Counsel in the Office of Prescription Drug Promotion in FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Katlin graduated cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 2001, where she served as Executive Editor of The Georgetown Law Journal. She clerked for Judge Douglas P. Woodlock in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

The Who’s Who Legal Germany 2024 guide recommended Frankfurt partners Dirk Oberbracht in M&A, Georg Weidenbach in Competition, and Finn Zeidler in Commercial Litigation, and Munich partners Lutz Englisch in M&A, Ferdinand Fromholzer in Corporate Governance and M&A, and Benno Schwarz in Investigations. The list was published in December 2023.

The Fund Finance Association has honored New York associate Aja Sanneh with its DEI Emerging Leaders Award, which recognizes “individuals in the industry for their outstanding overall contributions to furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the fund finance market, their workplace, and/or the broader community.” The award was announced on January 26, 2024.

Aja Sanneh’s representation focuses on financings for private equity, senior credit, real estate, infrastructure, and other investment funds during all parts of the fund life cycle. Clients benefit from Aja’s experience in asset-based facilities, subscription-based facilities, and hybrid facilities, and in other types of investment fund leverage.

The Los Angeles Business Journal recognized Century City partner Candice Choh and Los Angeles partner Marcellus McRae in its Leaders of Influence: Minority Attorneys list, which honors “standout minority attorneys considered to be particularly impactful on the legal scene while serving as trusted advisors in the LA region.” The profiles were published on January 25, 2022.

Candice Choh is co-partner in charge of the Century City and Los Angeles offices of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. She has a broad-based practice encompassing public and private company mergers and acquisitions across a wide variety of industries and other private equity transactions, including investment fund formation, co-investments, secondary transactions, and investments in sponsors.

Marcellus McRae serves as co-chair of the firm’s Trials Practice Group. His litigation and white-collar criminal defense practices focus on a wide variety of business disputes, internal investigations, and criminal prosecutions including defense of individuals and corporations in cases involving allegations of: financial fraud, False Claims Act violations, public corruption, violations of federal and state environmental laws, health care fraud, wrongful death, criminal antitrust violations, and other matters.

The Daily Journal named Los Angeles partners Theodore J. Boutrous Jr. and Theane Evangelis and New York partner Orin Snyder to its annual list of Leading Commercial Litigators. The list honors “the best attorneys working within the broad scope of commercial and bet-the-company litigation across the country.” Their profiles were published on January 24, 2024.

Theodore J. Boutrous Jr. has represented clients in federal and state appellate courts throughout the nation in a wide spectrum of cases. He has argued hundreds of appeals, including before the Supreme Court of the United States, 12 different federal circuit courts of appeals, and 11 different state supreme courts (including 14 arguments in the California Supreme Court), and he has led a multitude of other complex civil, constitutional and criminal matters.

Theane Evangelis is Co-Chair of the firm’s global Litigation Practice Group. She has served as lead counsel in a wide range of bet-the-company appellate, constitutional, class action, labor and employment, media and entertainment, and crisis management matters in trial and appellate courts across the country.

Orin Snyder is Co-Chair of the firm’s Trials Practice Group. Fortune 100 companies, financial institutions, technology companies, pharmaceutical companies, media companies, and other enterprises hire Orin for their most important enterprise-shaping matters.

Los Angeles partner Bradley Hamburger, San Francisco associate Ryan Azad and Los Angeles associate Matt Aidan Getz are the authors of “Calif. High Court Ruling Outlines Limits On PAGA Actions” published by Law360 on January 23, 2024.

Los Angeles partner Michael Holecek contributed to the article.

Law360 named Gibson Dunn a Firm of the Year for 2023, featuring the law firms that received the most Practice Group of the Year awards. Law360 noted that its Firms of the Year are honored for “steering some of the largest deals of 2023 and securing high-profile litigation wins, including at the U.S. Supreme Court.”

The firm was named a Practice Group of the Year in the following categories:

Appellate – Gibson Dunn’s Appellate and Constitutional Law Practice Group’s lawyers present arguments in the Supreme Court of the United States, all 13 federal courts of appeals, and state appellate courts throughout the country. Gibson Dunn lawyers have argued more than 160 cases before the Supreme Court, with 13 current attorneys having argued at the Court.
Competition – Gibson Dunn’s Antitrust and Competition Practice Group handles leading-edge competition matters on U.S. and international competition issues. With over 150 lawyers located throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia, our antitrust team includes former high-ranking officials from the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Solicitor General’s Office and the European Commission, as well as Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Employment – Gibson Dunn’s Labor and Employment Practice Group covers a complete range of matters, and we are known for our unsurpassed ability to help the world’s preeminent companies tackle their most challenging labor and employment matters. Our practice covers the full range of labor and employment matters, including: wage and hour class actions; employment discrimination class actions; whistleblower litigation; non-compete agreements and trade secrets; appeals, post-trial briefings and litigation management; labor-management relations; ERISA and employee benefits; and occupational safety and health issues.
Energy – Our Energy Practice Group has a wide array of experience across all parts of the energy sector – from traditional sources of energy such as oil and gas and electric utilities to renewable forms such as solar and wind. The firm has handled energy-related matters involving numerous practice areas, including mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; debt and project finance; capital markets; joint ventures; fund formation; project and infrastructure development; dispute resolution; commercial arrangements; and all manners of energy-related regulatory and antitrust issues.
Intellectual Property – The Intellectual Property Practice Group’s lawyers offer strategic insights and solutions to companies facing complex intellectual property issues. We understand that such issues must be considered in the context of larger business needs and interests. We partner with our clients to develop strategies that effectively and efficiently advance and protect their interests. We have deep capabilities across all categories of IP litigation and transactional matters.
International Arbitration – The International Arbitration Practice Group advises leading multinational corporations in arbitration proceedings around the world. We regularly assist clients in litigation involving arbitration issues and have represented clients in national court proceedings under the Hong Kong Arbitration Ordinance, the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act, the English Arbitration Act and the New York Convention. The International Arbitration group’s lawyers have appeared before many of the world’s leading arbitrators and work with all major arbitral institutions and rules.
Securities – The Securities Litigation Practice Group offers integrated solutions to corporations in times of unexpected crisis. The Securities Litigation group offers solutions to the overlapping array of challenges involved in cases ranging from headline-grabbing corporate takeover battles to major financial restatement cases, SEC insider-trading probes or government enforcement actions. Our team of experienced litigation lawyers provide integrated solutions for crisis-related events.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that it has appointed Benno Schwarz as the new Partner in Charge of its Munich office.

Barbara Becker, Gibson Dunn’s Chair and Managing Partner, said: “Benno is already an important leader for our firm in Germany, and I look forward to working with him in this new role. We are continuing to expand Gibson Dunn’s presence throughout Europe, and the world more broadly, and the office stewardship of our Partners in Charge is particularly important as we grow.”

Commenting on his appointment, Benno said: “I am excited to serve as Partner in Charge of the firm’s Munich office. My focus will be the continued enhancement of our global solutions for the ever changing challenges facing our German and international clients.”

Benno follows Ferdinand Fromholzer as Partner in Charge of the Munich office.

Gibson Dunn has over 55 lawyers across its offices in Munich and Frankfurt. In the past two years, the firm has promoted lawyers Kai Gesing (Antitrust and Competition), Katharina Humphrey (White Collar Defense), Sonja Ruttmann (M&A) and Jan Schubert (M&A) to its partnership, and hired lateral partner Lars Petersen (public law and regulatory).

About Benno Schwarz

Benno Schwarz is a partner in the Munich office of Gibson Dunn and Co-Chair of the firm’s Anti-Corruption & FCPA Practice Group. He focuses on white collar defense and compliance investigations in a wide array of criminal regulatory matters. For more than 30 years, he has handled sensitive cases and investigations concerning all types of compliance issues, especially in an international context. He is recognized as a leading lawyer in Germany in the areas of white collar crime, corporate advice, compliance, and investigations by publications such as Chambers, The Legal 500, and JUVE. He was named one of four Leading Individuals in Internal Investigations in Germany by The Legal 500 in 2023.

About Gibson Dunn’s Munich Office

Gibson Dunn’s Munich office was opened in 2002 and focuses on corporate transactional advice and private equity transactions, white collar defense and compliance investigations, litigation, and antitrust. Other areas of practice include technology and intellectual property, data protection, sanctions and export controls, and ESG-related advice. The team advises German and international clients from a range of industries, including blue-chip corporations, DAX^®, MDAX^®, and TecDAX^® companies, medium-sized companies (SMEs), financial institutions, and private equity and venture capital investors. Our lawyers in Munich work closely with Gibson Dunn’s Frankfurt office and other offices around the world to provide seamless legal advice across all practice areas and jurisdictions.

D Magazine named Dallas associates John Adams, Travis Jones and Claire Piepenburg among its 2024 Best Lawyers in Dallas Under 40, as chosen by their peers. The list was published on January 19, 2024.

Washington, D.C. partner F. Joseph Warin, San Francisco partner Winston Chan, Los Angeles associate Chris Jones and San Francisco associate Duncan Taylor are the authors of “Self-Reporting to the Authorities and Other Disclosure Obligations: The US Perspective” [PDF], Chapter 4 in The Practitioner’s Guide to Global Investigations 2024, Volume I: Global Investigations in the United Kingdom and the United States, Eighth Edition, published by Global Investigations Review in January 2024.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that Lisa Stevens—who was an associate at the firm from 2011 to 2015— will rejoin the firm as a partner in its Business Restructuring and Reorganization Practice Group in London.

Commenting on the addition, Scott Greenberg, Global Chair of Gibson Dunn’s Business Restructuring and Reorganization Practice Group, said: “2023 was an extremely busy year in the restructuring space, and 2024 shows no signs of slowing down. Lisa’s addition bolsters our practice and capabilities in the UK, and continues to make our practice a destination for new and existing clients in the US, and across the UK, Europe and Asia.”

Ali Nikpay, Co-Partner in Charge of Gibson Dunn’s London office, said: “We are delighted to welcome Lisa back to the firm. Our office has been growing and expanding our offerings to support our clients. Lisa’s talent and skills are an excellent complement to our platform.”

Lisa’s arrival is another step in the expansion of Gibson Dunn’s premier restructuring practice, following the arrival in 2023 of partners Lee Wilson and Joe Zujkowski in New York, and Chad Nichols in Houston.

About Lisa Stevens

Lisa advises clients on complex cross-border restructuring and special situations transactions. She has deep experience as a leveraged finance lawyer and with cross-border financing structurings involving loans and bonds. Her clients include capital solutions funds, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, other large asset managers and corporates. She earned her Bachelor of Laws from the University College, London.

About the Gibson Dunn Business Restructuring and Reorganization Practice Group

The Business Restructuring and Reorganization Practice Group brings extensive experience to companies in financial distress, their creditors and investors, and parties interested in investing in distressed debt and equity, such as hedge funds, private equity funds and financial institutions. The firm excels in the innovative use of Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to implement restructuring of highly complicated, multijurisdictional, non-U.S. companies, and is a leader in U.S., European, and cross-border insolvencies and workouts. The group is well-known for crafting cutting-edge and practical solutions, including complex out-of-court workouts and in-court restructuring. Gibson Dunn was named in the Global Restructuring Review GRR 100 2023, the annual guide to “the world’s leading law firms for cross-border restructuring and insolvencies.”

Gibson Dunn earned 10 firm rankings and 20 individual rankings in the 2024 edition of the Chambers Greater China Region guide. The firm was recognized in the following International Firms categories: Banking & Finance: Leveraged & Acquisition Finance; Competition/Antitrust; Corporate Investigations/Anti-Corruption; Corporate/M&A: The Elite; Dispute Resolution: Litigation; Financial Services; Investment Funds: Private Equity; Private Equity: Buyouts & Venture Capital Investment; Tax: Hong Kong-Based; and Technology, Media, Telecoms (TMT).

The following lawyers were ranked individually in their respective categories: Kelly Austin – Corporate Investigations/Anti-Corruption; Elaine Chen – Dispute Resolution: Litigation, and Tax: Hong Kong-based; Albert Cho – Investment Funds; Sébastien Evrard – Competition/Antitrust; Brian Gilchrist – Dispute Resolution: Litigation, and Tax: Hong Kong-based; William Hallatt – Financial Services: Contentious Regulatory, and Financial Services: Non-contentious Regulatory; Scott Jalowayski – Private Equity: Buyouts & Venture Capital Investment; Connell O’Neill – TMT: Information Technology, and TMT: Telecommunications & Broadcasting; Patricia Tan Openshaw – Projects & Infrastructure; Brian Schwarzwalder – Private Equity: Buyouts & Venture Capital; Oliver Welch – Corporate Investigations/Anti-Corruption; Fang Xue – Corporate/M&A: Mainland China-based; Qi Yue – Corporate/M&A: Mainland China-based; and Yi Zhang – Corporate/M&A: Hong Kong-based.

The rankings were published on January 18, 2024.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s Hong Kong office provides an extensive range of U.S., Hong Kong and English legal advice to global and Asia-based clients. We offer our clients all the advantages of deep local expertise combined with the strengths of a global firm. Our Hong Kong lawyers handle some of the most challenging and complex transactions and regulatory matters across Asia.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s Beijing office is dedicated to servicing the needs of our clients establishing operations and doing business in China and those of our Chinese clients in their international transactions. The Beijing office works closely with lawyers in our Hong Kong office, enabling us to provide Hong Kong law capability where relevant.

Gibson Dunn has been recognized in 23 categories in the 2024 edition of The Legal 500 Asia Pacific. The Beijing office was ranked in the Corporate and M&A: Foreign Firms category. The Hong Kong office was ranked in the Antitrust and Competition, Banking & Finance, Corporate (including M&A), Dispute Resolution: Litigation, Domestic and International Corporate Tax, Investment Funds, Private Equity, Private Client and Family, Projects and Energy, Regulatory, Regulatory: Anti-Corruption and Compliance, and TMT categories. The Singapore office was ranked in the following Foreign Firms categories: Banking and Finance, Corporate and M&A, Energy, Fintech and Financial Services Regulatory, International Arbitration, Investment Funds, and Restructuring and Insolvency. Additionally, the firm was ranked for its work in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Brian Gilchrist was named to the Hall of Fame in the Hong Kong: Dispute Resolution: Litigation category and also named a Leading Lawyer in the Hong Kong: Domestic and International Corporate Tax and the Hong Kong: Private Client and Family categories. Kelly Austin was named as a Leading Lawyer in the Hong Kong: Regulatory: Anti-corruption and Compliance category; Elaine Chen was named as a Leading Lawyer in the Hong Kong: Dispute Resolution: Litigation, Hong Kong: Domestic and International Corporate Tax, and Hong Kong: Private Client and Family categories; Albert Cho was named as a Leading Lawyer in the Hong Kong: Investment Funds category; Sébastien Evrard was named as a Leading Lawyer in the Hong Kong: Antitrust and Competition category; William Hallatt was named as a Leading Lawyer in the Hong Kong: Regulatory category; Scott Jalowayski was named as a Leading Lawyer in the Hong Kong: Private Equity category; Patricia Tan Openshaw was named as a Leading Lawyer in the China: Projects and Energy and Philippines: Foreign Firms categories; John Fadely was named as a Leading Lawyer in the Singapore: Investment Funds category; Jai Pathak was named as a Leading Lawyer in the Singapore: Corporate and M&A: Foreign Firms category; Brad Roach was named as a Leading Lawyer in the Singapore: Energy – Foreign Firms and Indonesia: Foreign Firms categories; Brian Schwarzwalder was named as a Leading Lawyer in the Hong Kong: Private Equity category; Paul Tan was named a a Leading Lawyer in the Singapore: International Arbitration category; Jamie Thomas was named as a Leading Lawyer in the Singapore: Restructuring & Insolvency – Foreign Firms, Singapore: Banking & Finance – Foreign Firms, and Indonesia: Foreign Firms categories; and Fang Xue was named as a Leading Lawyer in the China: Corporate and M&A: Foreign Firms category. Grace Chong was also named as a Next Generation Partner in the Singapore: Fintech and Financial Services Regulatory – Foreign Firms category, and Oliver Welch was named as a Next Generation Partner in the Hong Kong: Regulatory – Anti-Corruption and Compliance category. Additionally, Youjung Byon was named as a Rising Star for Hong Kong: Investment Funds, Xuanyi Liu was named as a Rising Star for Singapore: Investment Funds, Emily Rumble was named as a Rising Star for Hong Kong: Regulatory, Kathy Wen was named as a Rising Star for Hong Kong: Investment Funds, and Alex Wong was named as a Rising Star for Hong Kong Dispute Resolution: Litigation and Hong Kong Domestic and International Corporate Tax.

The rankings were published on January 17, 2024.

Gibson Dunn’s Singapore lawyers deliver exceptional service to our international clients doing business in the region and our Asia-based clients with respect to their international matters. Our lawyers have lived and worked extensively in the region and possess U.S., English, Singapore and Indian law qualifications and experience. Furthermore, having been awarded a Qualifying Foreign Law Practice (QFLP) license by the Singapore Ministry of Law in 2013, we are one of the few firms that are able to provide our clients with local Singapore law advice in permitted areas.