Albert Cho is a partner in the Hong Kong office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and is head of the firm’s Investment Funds Practice Group in Asia. Albert focuses his practice on the formation of private investment funds, including buyout, growth capital, venture capital, special situations, debt/credit, continuation, secondary, real estate and hedge funds, as well as funds-of-funds. He has extensive experience advising fund clients on co-investment transactions, GP-led secondaries transactions, operational and structuring matters, and legal and regulatory compliance matters. He has represented private investment funds formed by a variety of sponsors, including established private equity houses, large financial services companies, spin-off/spin-out teams as well as boutique firms.

Albert regularly works with Asian, U.S. and European private fund sponsors on their fundraising activities, particularly the formation of funds focused on investing in the Asia-Pacific region. He has also represented institutional investors in their private investment fund activities, including sovereign wealth funds, employee benefit plans for major corporations, family offices, and the alternative investment arms of financial services companies.

Albert is consistently ranked as a leading lawyer and a notable practitioner for Investment Funds in China by Chambers Asia Pacific and Chambers Greater China Region, in which a client noted that “Albert’s technical expertise, commercial awareness and sound judgement have helped his clients in some very difficult situations where perhaps no one else could have got the same result.” In the Chambers Greater China Region guide, interviewed clients remarked that Albert “stands out as the leading lawyer advising Korean private equity clients on offshore fund formations,” “is technically excellent and hands-on,” has “decades of experience over multiple economic cycles and knows exactly what is important when situations arise,” “delivers a complete product for clients,” “consistently provides outstanding work and advice, even under very challenging or urgent circumstances,” “is absolutely devoted to his clients and to supporting their business,” and “gets very close to his clients, taking the trouble to know their business.” He has also been recognized for his work as a private funds lawyer in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, IFLR1000, Legal Media Group’s Expert Guides, and Who’s Who Legal. In The Legal 500 Asia Pacific guide, clients were quoted saying Albert is a “first-class lawyer” who is “at the top of his game” and is “extremely dedicated” and “hardworking and knowledgeable”. He is particularly known for his work in the Korean market and has been recognized by Chambers Global as a foreign expert for Korea in Investment Funds.

His recent experience includes advising:

• Hahn & Company, a leading South Korea-based private equity firm, on the formation of Hahn & Company IV, its fourth Korea-focused buyout fund, which raised approximately US$3.4 billion in capital commitments and is reported to be the largest single-country investment fund ever formed in Asia, excluding China. 
• Hahn & Company, a leading South Korea-based private equity firm, in the sale of its interest in Ssangyong C&E, an industry-leading Korean cement manufacturer, through the largest single-asset GP-led secondary transaction in Asia to date.
• PAG, a leading Asia Pacific-focused alternative investment firm, on the formation of PAG Loan Fund V, its fifth pan-Asia direct lending fund and the largest direct lending fund raised in the Asia-Pacific region to date.
• Glenwood Private Equity, a leading independent investment firm headquartered in Seoul, on the formation of Glenwood Private Equity Fund III, which closed with total commitments of US$1.1 billion.
• 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.
• Crescendo Equity Partners, a South Korean private equity firm, on the formation of Crescendo Private Equity Fund III (USD), L.P., which focuses on making control buyout and growth capital investments in mid-cap technology companies in or with a nexus to South Korea.
• J.P. Morgan Asset Management, the asset management division of JP Morgan Chase & Co., on the formation of Japan Multi-Family Fund IV, a fund investing in multi-family residential real estate in major cities in Japan.

Prior to joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Albert was a partner at a large international law firm since 2014. Albert graduated from Cornell Law School in 1999. He speaks basic Korean and is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, the State of New York, and Hong Kong.

Elaine Chen is a partner in the Hong Kong office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. She is a member of the firm’s Litigation and White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice Groups. Elaine represents companies and high-net-worth individuals in civil and commercial litigation and disputes, including a full range of banking, contractual, tort, companies, trust, and tax matters. She has particular experience in tax, contentious probate and estate administration, mental health, private wealth, and boardroom and shareholders disputes. She has acted as legal adviser to many Hong Kong and overseas-listed corporations and financial institutions, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and trusts, and has wide-ranging experience in challenging big-ticket litigation.

Chambers and Partners regularly recognizes Elaine as a notable practitioner in China Dispute Resolution: Litigation, as well as Hong Kong Tax and Private Wealth Disputes. She is ranked as a leading individual in Hong Kong for Domestic and International Corporate Tax, Dispute Resolution: Litigation, as well as for Private Client and Family by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific. In The Legal 500 Asia Pacific guide, a client praised that “Elaine is meticulous and technically strong. She cares about her clients and always fight for their best interests.” In Chambers Greater China Region, interviewed clients note that she is “very technical with good commercial sense, and she works very hard, which demonstrates a strong level of good professionalism,” “very well versed in the controversy. One thing that stands out is her understanding and explanation of the cases,” that she “stands out for her experience in tax litigation. Noted for her deft handling of high-stakes disputes concerning sources of profits and capital gains in transactions, she continues to attract many instructions from listed companies,” “excels in all categories. She is extremely knowledgeable and has a sharp mind. She leads her team with dedication and conviction,” and is a “litigator with immense skill, knowledge and experience, and an instinctive flair for the right answer.” Elaine has also been ranked Band 1 in the Chambers High Net Worth Guide for 3 consecutive years. She has been listed for commercial and transactions in China and Hong Kong by Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific and recognized as one of the Top 100 Women in Litigation by the same publication. Elaine is also named in the World Tax, International Tax Review 2024 guide, and Lawdragon 500’s 2023 Leading Global Litigators guide.

Some of her recent and most significant experience includes advising:

• A Hong Kong-listed corporation with substantial operation in mainland China to resist injunction applications arising out of acrimonious disputes among directors and shareholders
• A member of a well-known family in Hong Kong in a successful claim for specific performance, equitable compensation, and/or account for profits against another family member in relation to the family wealth distribution more than a decade ago involving properties of over HKD20 billion
• A Hong Kong-based conglomerate with business around the globe in a dispute with the Hong Kong Inland Revenue concerning the source of profits involving very substantial amounts
• A professional trustee corporation in defending a negligence claim by the beneficiaries of the trust
• The executors of the estate of a prominent entrepreneur on various issues arising out of the administration of his estate, including handling numerous proceedings in Hong Kong, the USA, BVI, and other jurisdictions in the course of the administration

Elaine graduated from the University of Bristol in 1996 and received the prize for “Best Performance” in the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws program at the University of Hong Kong in 1997. She also holds a Master of Laws from the University of London. She is fluent in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin and is admitted to practice in Hong Kong and England and Wales.

Kelly Austin is a partner in the firm’s Denver office and a partner (non-resident) in the Hong Kong office. Kelly served as partner in charge of the Hong Kong office from 2012 to 2022 and has twice served as a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. She also served as global co-chair of the firm’s Anti-Corruption and FCPA Practice Group. Her practice focuses on investigations, regulatory compliance, and international disputes. She has extensive expertise in government and corporate internal investigations, including those involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other anti-corruption laws, and anti-money laundering, securities, and trade control laws. Kelly also regularly guides companies on creating and implementing effective compliance programs.

Kelly is consistently ranked Band 1 for Corporate Investigations/Anti-Corruption in China by Chambers Global, Chambers Asia Pacific, and Chambers Greater China Region. A client noted that she, “…provides the highest level of professional advice and guidance needed to effectively and efficiently navigate the legal complexities of the US regulatory environment and local business environment across APAC.” Another praised her “great understanding of the region and ability to enable business opportunities while complying with local and international legislation.” She is also regularly ranked as a leading lawyer for Regulatory: Anti-Corruption and Compliance in Hong Kong by The Legal 500 Asia Pacific. Among other recognitions, Kelly has been listed as a Leading Litigator for White-collar Crime in China and Hong Kong by Benchmark Asia-Pacific’s Top 100 Women in Litigation; named a Thought Leader for Investigations by Lexology Index, Global Elite Thought Leader and a Leading Individual for Asia-Pacific by Who’s Who Legal: Investigations; recognized as a star in Hong Kong White Collar Crime by Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific; named a Thought Leader for Business Crime Defense by Who’s Who Legal: Mainland China & Hong Kong SAR; named by Expert Guides in its World’s Leading Women in Business Law guide and named one of the World’s Leading White Collar Crime Lawyers by the same publication; and awarded The Mentor Award of the Year for Advancement of Women in Compliance by C5.

From 2001 to 2010, Kelly served as the Compliance and Litigation Counsel for General Electric (GE) in Asia. In that role, she coordinated litigation, alternative dispute resolution proceedings, government and internal investigations, and compliance matters for the GE businesses throughout the region.

Before moving to Hong Kong in 2001, Kelly practiced in Washington, D.C., representing individuals and entities in a wide variety of criminal and civil matters in federal and state courts across the United States. Her practice focused on government investigations, including a host of Congressional and Independent Counsel investigations. She also served as general counsel to non-profit organizations, providing guidance on a variety of legal, regulatory, and strategic matters, and regularly counseled individuals on government ethics and regulatory issues. In 2000, Kelly served as Special Counsel to the Executive Office of the President, representing the White House in federal litigation. From 1993 to 1994, Kelly served as a law clerk to The Honorable Boyce F. Martin, Jr., Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Kelly received her Juris Doctor cum laude from Georgetown University and graduated with distinction with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia. She is a member of the bars of Colorado, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, and is admitted to practice in a variety of district and appellate courts in the United States. She is admitted to practice as a solicitor in Hong Kong.

Daniel Abercromby is a partner in the Hong Kong office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and is a member of the firm’s Finance Practice Group. Daniel represents GPs across their various strategies including private equity, infrastructure, real assets, credit and special situations in a wide variety of financings in the Asia-Pacific region. Daniel has extensive experience in leveraged and acquisition financings, direct lending transactions and special situations investments, together with the refinancing and restructuring of such transactions. He has worked in Asia for over a decade and has jurisdictional expertise in the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, Greater China, Korea, and Japan.

Daniel is ranked as a leading lawyer for China Banking & Finance: Leveraged & Acquisition Finance in the Chambers Greater China Region guide, where a client noted that “Dan is excellent and my first choice on Asia-related transactions.” He is also listed as a notable practitioner for Leveraged Finance in Hong Kong in IFLR1000 and has been named a recommended lawyer for Banking & Finance in Hong Kong in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific guide, which described him as “technically strong, collaborative and very commercial.”

Some of his recent and most significant experience includes advising:*

• Advent International on a number of acquisition finance, structured finance, and margin loan transactions, including the leveraged financings for their acquisitions of RA Chem Pharma, ZCL Chemicals, Eureka Forbes, Avra Labs, and TTK Healthcare’s pharma business, the refinancing and subsequent recapitalization at exit of facilities for Manjushree Technopak, the refinancing of facilities for The Learning Lab and margin loans in respect of their investments in Aditya Birla Capital and Eureka Forbes
• Blackstone on a number of transactions, including their strategic partnership with HUMAIN to build data centers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a margin loan in respect of their investment in the Embassy Office Parks REIT, and leveraged financings for their acquisitions of Global Sources Inc. and Shya Hsin
• DigitalBridge on a number of data center-related financings, including the MYR1.125 billion financing for their purchase of a major stake in the data center business of Malaysian telecoms firm TIME dotcom, and the HK$1.8 billion financing for their carve-out acquisition of data center assets in Hong Kong and Malaysia from PCCW
• KKR on various transactions, including the financings for their acquisitions of Samhwa Co., Ltd. from TPG Capital, two Korean waste management companies from SK Ecoplant, and the EuroKids K-12 education group
• TA Associates on a number of financings, including the leveraged financing and subsequent refinancing and recapitalization in connection with their acquisition of a controlling stake in Zifo RnD Solutions, and the financing in connection with their investment in the AlephYa group of schools
• TPG Capital on a number of financings, including the approximately US$200 million-equivalent bank financing and the subsequent unitranche refinancing for their Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia-based education platform
• A number of global special situations investors on complex structured financings (both onshore and offshore) in Korea, Southeast Asia, and India

*Includes matters handled prior to joining Gibson Dunn.

Daniel received his Bachelor of Laws (with Honors) and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Auckland. He is admitted to practice in England and Wales and Hong Kong.

Cynthia (“Cindy”) Richman is Global Co-Chair of the firm’s Antitrust and Competition Practice Group. Her practice focuses on trial and appellate litigation, class actions, grand jury and civil investigations, merger review, regulatory and competition policy matters, and antitrust counseling. Over the past two decades Cindy has litigated, including through trial, “bet the company” cases touching almost every aspect of antitrust in a wide range of industries. Cindy’s practice has a strong focus on the tech sector, network industries, and digital platforms.

Cindy has been repeatedly recognized by her peers for inclusion in Chambers USA’s Antitrust: Litigation, Best Lawyers in America®’s Litigation: Antitrust, and in the Legal 500 United States as a “Leading Lawyer” in the fields of merger control, cartels and civil litigation/class action defense. She was also featured as one of Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Litigators in America” (2023-2026) and “500 Leading Antitrust and Competition Lawyers for 2025 and 2026.” Global Competition Review named Cindy to its list of Top 100 Women in Antitrust 2021; it also shortlisted her for GCR’s 2021 Litigator of the Year award. Who’s Who Legal has repeatedly recognized Cindy for her “impressive advocacy skills” and “strong track record in important cases.”

A sample of Cindy’s recent and ongoing representations include:

• Lead counsel to major technology company in numerous class actions and private damages actions in cases around the country alleging violations of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act;
• Co-led the team that successfully defended Apple Inc. against antitrust claims in the three-week Epic v. Apple trial that The New York Times referred to as “one of the biggest antitrust trials in Silicon Valley’s history”; and
• Co-lead counsel for Swisher International in Trendsettah USA, Inc. v. Swisher International, Inc., 31 F.4th 1124 (9th Cir. 2022), winning order setting aside jury verdict on Section 2 monopolization claim based on plaintiffs’ fraud.

Cindy is an active member of the antitrust bar. Among other activities, she serves as the Vice-Chair of the Unilateral Conduct Committee of the ABA’s Antitrust Section, is a member of the International Bar Association’s Antitrust Section Unilateral Conduct Working Group, authors a yearly paper for PLI on monopolization, speaks widely on a range of antitrust topics and has contributed to leading antitrust journals and treatises including Antitrust Law Developments, Antitrust Source, The Antitrust Adviser, and The Antitrust Report. Additionally, she is a member of the Fellowship of the Litigation Counsel of America.

Cindy served as a law clerk to the Honorable Thomas Penfield Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She received her law degree magna cum laude in 2002 from the Georgetown University Law Center, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as Executive Editor of the Georgetown Law Journal. Cindy earned a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from St. Mary’s College of Maryland in 1998.

Cindy is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Maryland.

Wladimir Soltmann is an associate in the Brussels and Paris offices of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Antitrust and Competition Practice Group.

His practice spans all aspects of competition law at both national and European levels before competition authorities and the European courts. He has developed in-depth knowledge of proceedings before the French Competition Authority, the European Commission, and the EU courts.

Wladimir’s experience includes merger control, foreign direct investment and foreign subsidies matters, abuse of dominance and anti-competitive agreements, State aid, stand-alone and follow-on litigation, as well as research and development, distribution, and commercial agreements.

Wladimir brings extensive experience from both enforcement and judicial perspectives. He previously served as a case handler in the Merger Unit of the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la concurrence) and was subsequently appointed Référendaire at the General Court of the European Union in Luxembourg. Before joining Gibson Dunn, he practiced competition law at a leading international law firm in Paris and Brussels.

In addition to his practice, Wladimir lectures on antitrust issues related to intellectual property rights at the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.

Admitted to the Paris Bar, he holds a PhD in competition law and is the author of “Technical Standards and Innovation: Cross Analysis of IP Rights and Competition Law” (PhD thesis, 2015). Wladimir also graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a LLM degree with a certificate of specialization in intellectual property law. He has been a speaker at numerous symposiums in France and internationally.

He is fluent in French and English.

Dominique Holbrook is an associate in the London office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Labour and Employment Practice Group. 

Dominique’s practice includes a mix of contentious litigation, advisory and transactional work across the full spectrum of employment matters, with a particular focus on high-value litigation and crisis management. Dominique has experience advising on a wide variety of employment disputes including enforcing restrictive covenants, breach of confidential information issues, whistleblowing, discrimination, harassment, victimisation and unfair dismissal. She also advises on employment issues arising in corporate transactions, including due diligence, contractual protections and cross border matters.

Dominique is experienced at acting for clients in the Employment Tribunal, Employment Appeal Tribunal, High Court and the appellate courts. 

Dominique also maintains an active pro bono practice, which has included acting for a pro bono client on an appeal to the Supreme Court. 

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Dominique was a senior associate at another international law firm.

Sean Howell is Of Counsel in the San Francisco office of Gibson Dunn. He is a member of the firm’s Litigation Department.

His practice focuses on antitrust and competition litigation, as well as class action litigation. He has experience in a wide variety of matters, including civil antitrust litigation, antitrust counseling, government antitrust investigations, class actions, media litigation and counseling, and appeals.

Sean’s recent experience includes*:

• Defending a social media company in class actions involving unfair competition and privacy claims;
• Defending a technology company in antitrust class actions;
• Representing a different technology company in a civil antitrust investigation;
• Defending a biotechnology company against monopolization claims;
• Defending a news organization against a defamation claim; and
• Representing a petitioner in a successful immigration appeal in the Ninth Circuit.

He also completed a six-month secondment to Facebook’s antitrust group. He has published several articles on competition law, including one that was recently cited by the Ninth Circuit in a published decision.

Sean received his law degree from Berkeley Law in 2016, where he was an editor for the California Law Review and an articles editor for Ecology Law Quarterly. He received several academic awards while in law school, including American Jurisprudence awards in five courses and Prosser Prizes in four courses. Prior to law school, Sean worked for several years as a journalist and nonprofit communications manager. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English from Stanford in 2007.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Sean was an associate at Covington & Burling LLP in San Francisco. He also clerked on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California for the Honorable Charles Breyer, and on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for the Honorable Kim Wardlaw.

Sean is a member of the State Bar of California. He is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

*Includes recent experience prior to joining Gibson Dunn.

Lindsey Young is Of Counsel in the Palo Alto office of Gibson Dunn. She is a member of the firm’s Litigation department and has represented clients in a wide variety of securities, corporate dispute, class action, and general litigation matters.

Her practice focuses on the representation of companies and their officers and directors in litigation in California, Delaware, and federal court. Lindsey also has substantial experience representing clients in governmental and internal investigations. In particular, she has significant expertise crafting and implementing end-to-end discovery strategy on complex matters. Lindsey’s clients have included companies and individuals in the software, social media, hardware, cryptocurrency, biotechnology, venture capital, and financial services industries, among others. 

Lindsey also maintains an active pro bono practice, with a focus on domestic violence litigation, and has a long-standing relationship with the Family Violence Appellate Project.

She earned her law degree in 2014 from Stanford Law School, where she was student attorney at the Stanford Community Law Clinic in East Palo Alto, California, President of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund chapter, and Editor of the Stanford Journal of Animal Law & Policy. Prior to attending law school, she worked in media and consumer behavior research in New York City. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude from Tufts University in 2006 with a major in Psychology and minors in Italian and Media & Communications.

Lindsey has been recognized in the 2026 edition of the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America for Commercial Litigation.

She is admitted to practice in the State of California.

Matthew A. Kidd is a partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and a member of Gibson Dunn’s Real Estate Practice Group. He advises clients on a wide range of matters, including acquisitions, dispositions, financings, joint ventures, preferred equity investments, as well as development transactions. Matthew’s finance experience includes representing both borrowers and lenders in the origination of different types of debt such as construction financings, balance sheet loans and mortgage/mezzanine loans, as well as intercreditor and co-lender arrangements. He also advises clients in connection with workouts and restructurings of debt. Matthew’s transactions take place both in New York and throughout the United States and involve a variety of asset classes, including office, retail, residential and hotel properties. Matthew has also handled a number of international matters.

Matthew is recognized as a leading real estate lawyer in New York by Chambers USA. He is also recognized in Lawdragon‘s 500 Leading Global Real Estate Lawyers in 2024 and 2025.

Highlights of Matthew’s experience include representing:

• MSD Partners in numerous mortgage and mezzanine loans along with related intercreditor and co-lender arrangements, participation agreements, and back-leverage transactions;
• Apollo in numerous acquisitions of net leased properties;
• Derby Lane Partners in the origination of various construction and conversion loans;
• Strategic Value Partners in a variety of financings, acquisitions and joint venture transactions;
• Sculptor Capital Management in numerous bespoke structured financing and preferred equity investments; and
• Logistics Property Company, as the GP, in the formation and fund-raising of their funds for development of logistics assets.

Matthew earned his Juris Doctor in 2001 from the University of Southern California, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Berkeley in 1992.

Michael Brandon is Of Counsel in the New York office of Gibson Dunn. He has extensive experience representing major technology companies, both in litigation and as a product counsel.

Mike’s litigation practice focuses on legal strategy and appellate advocacy. He has briefed dozens of critical motions and appeals in state and federal courts across the country, primarily in the areas of data privacy, products liability, and contract law. Mike’s briefs have resulted in numerous significant victories for his clients, including summary judgment in a biometric privacy class action seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in statutory damages and vacatur of $157 million judgment on appeal from a jury verdict in an individual action. Mike has also been responsible for legal strategy and appellate preservation during several high-stakes jury trials. In one such trial—a $2 billion contract dispute challenging a company’s ownership of a breakthrough virtual reality technology—Mike authored the directed verdict motion that secured judgment for the company and briefed the jury instructions that led to a complete verdict for the individual defendant associated with the company.

In addition to litigating, Mike regularly counsels social media, internet, and other technology companies on compliance with various privacy and consumer-protection frameworks, particularly laws governing the treatment of biometric and human-characteristic data. Mike is frequently brought in on the ground floor of product launches—often those involving cutting-edge technologies in extended reality and artificial intelligence—to conduct risk assessments and devise risk-mitigation strategies. He has drafted numerous public-facing privacy policies, in-product notices, and consent flows, and he has assisted clients with drafting the contents of, and securing user assent to, policy updates. Mike also has substantial experience preparing contractual releases and “dogfooding” agreements for participants in research, model training, and product testing, as well as licensing agreements with vendors and other partners. Additionally, he has advised on acquisitions that involve the transfer of sensitive personal data and assisted with communications strategies around his clients’ use of such data.

Previously, Mike spent a year seconded to Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.).

Mike received his Juris Doctor magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. Following graduation, he served as a law clerk to Judge Sandra Lynch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, Judge Dennis Jacobs of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Mike is admitted to practice in the State of New York and the United States Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, and Ninth Circuits.

Cason Moore is of counsel in the London office of Gibson Dunn. He is a member of the Private Equity, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Capital Markets Practice Groups.

Cason advises on a broad range of corporate transactional and advisory matters, with a focus on cross-border M&A transactions representing sponsors and their portfolio companies. He also advises both issuers and underwriters on capital markets transactions, particularly in high-yield issuances (including green bonds) and solvent debt restructurings. Cason was recognised by the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom as a leading lawyer for Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity Law.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Cason was a counsel at a prominent international law firm in London and also practiced with another international firm in New York and London. He has also worked at the Bank of England, in-house at a leading global asset manager and as a Director at a leading W&I insurance broker.

Cason received his B.A with distinction in 2003 from the University of Virginia, where he was a Jefferson Scholar, and received his J.D. in 2007 from Columbia Law School, where he was a James Kent Scholar and the recipient of the Andrew D. Fried Memorial Prize. He is admitted to practice in New York and is a Registered Foreign Lawyer (England & Wales).

Recent Transactions:*

• Advised KKR in their investment into Dukes Education, a UK-based premium school operator.
• Advised KKR and John Laing on John Laing’s agreement to acquire HICL Infrastructure PLC’s interest in four UK public-private partnership projects (the Oxford John Radcliffe Hospital PFI Project, the Queen’s Hospital PFI Project, the South Ayrshire Schools PFI Project and the Priority Schools Building Programme North East Batch.
• Advised Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) P.J.S.C. and ADNOC Gas plc (ADNOC Gas) in connection with the initial public offering (IPO) of ADNOC Gas, marking the largest-ever listing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX).
• Advised H.R.L Morrison on its acquisition of 33.3% in Lyntia Networks, one of the leading dark fibre providers in Spain.
• Advised the consortium formed by AXA IM and Swiss Life in their acquisition of Lyntia Networks, a leading wholesale operator in the Spanish telecommunications market and the only neutral provider operating both lit and dark fibre.
• Advised The Carlyle Group in its acquisition of a majority stake in Spain-based plywood manufacturer Garnica from Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) and certain shareholders.
• Advised KKR and Oslo Pensjonsforsikring in their investment in 30% of Telenor Fibre ASA, Telenor’s fibre optic business, for $1 billion.
• Advised KKR in connection with the investment, alongside OTPP, in Caruna Oy, Finland’s largest electricity distribution company.*
• Advised Helios Towers plc in the acquisition of Airtel’s passive infrastructure operating companies in Madagascar and Malawi and the potential acquisition of Airtel’s passive infrastructure assets in Chad and Gabon, together with related long term service contracts.*
• Advised KKR in the sale of European Locomotive Leasing, a leading pan-European provider of electric locomotive leasing solutions, to AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets and Crédit Agricole Assurances.*
• Advised Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, the Belgium-based investment holding company, in its acquisition of a majority stake in Webhelp, one of the world’s leading call centre operators headquartered in Paris; Deal values Webhelp at €2.4 billion (enterprise value), making the acquisition both the largest LBO transaction in France in 2019 and the first for Groupe Bruxelles Lambert.*
• Advised the initial purchasers in connection with NH Hotels’ private placement offering of €400 million five year 4.00% senior notes due 2026.*
• Advised Vía Célere, the largest homebuilder in Spain and Värde Partners portfolio company, in its offering of €300 million aggregate principal amount of Senior Secured Notes due 2026 and €30 million super senior revolving credit facility. The offering represented the first green bond by a residential real estate developer in the Euro market.*
• Advised El Corte Inglés, the leading department store in Spain and one of the world’s largest retailers, in its offering of €600 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2024.*
• Advised KKR in its bid to acquire Miya Water, a water concession company, from Bridgepoint (ultimately acquired by Antin).*
• Advised Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund (MEIF 5) and its portfolio company, Empark, in the group’s issuance of €575 million Senior Secured Notes due 2028 and Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due 2027.*
• Advised the initial purchasers in multiple high yield issuances, including Altice, Neptune Energy, Tullow Oil, and Aker BP.*
• Advised a leading global asset manager in connection with its minority investments in several private companies, including (i) a developer and provider of cloud-based software to automate back-office financial operations for SMEs, (ii) a US-based online food delivery company and (iii) a farmer-to-farmer network and e-commerce platform offering online tools to assist farmers in agronomic resource management.*

*Some of these representations occurred prior to Cason’s association with Gibson Dunn.

Nicholas Linke is of counsel in the Denver office of Gibson Dunn. He currently practices in the firm’s Corporate Transactions Practice Group.

Nicholas earned his Juris Doctor with Honors from the University of Chicago Law School in 2017. While in law school, he was a member of the Doctoroff Business Leadership Program and participated in the Innovation Clinic and International Refugee Assistance Project. Prior to law school, Nicholas was a Certified Public Accountant (State of Illinois) and tax associate in the Chicago office of PricewaterhouseCoopers. He earned his Master of Professional Accountancy and B.S. in Business Administration with Highest Distinction from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2012 and 2011, respectively.

Nicholas is admitted to practice law in the State of Colorado.

Rachel Chalmers is an associate in the London office of Gibson Dunn, where she practises in the firm’s Disputes Resolution Group.

Rachel has particular experience guiding clients in high-value commercial disputes across the technology, climate/energy and consumer markets sectors. She advises clients on a broad range of complex commercial litigation and international arbitration matters, often involving multiple jurisdictions and parallel proceedings. Rachel also advises on public international law, international human rights law and climate change law, including regulation and policy that may impact clients’ operations. Rachel has also represented clients in high-stakes international arbitration proceedings and human rights-related disputes involving sovereign states, including before the European Court of Human Rights and UN Treaty Bodies.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Ms. Chalmers practised at a top-tier law firm in Sydney, where she advised on corporate and financial litigation and intellectual property disputes. She also served as a Judicial Clerk to the Honourable Justice Yates of the Federal Court of Australia, working on trials and appeals in commercial, intellectual property, and competition matters.

Rachel earned her Master of Law (LLM) from the University of Cambridge, graduating first in her cohort of 195 with a Class I with Distinction. She received the BRD Clarke Prize for best overall result, as well as subject prizes in International Dispute Resolution, Advanced Private Law, Criminal Justice and Human Rights, and Law of Armed Conflict.

She also holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honours Class I) and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Adelaide, where she served as a student editor of the Adelaide Law Review legal journal and graduated as Valedictorian of her commerce degree.

She is admitted as a solicitor in the High Court of Australia, the Federal Court of Australia, and the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

Evan Shepherd is a corporate transactional of counsel in the Houston office of Gibson Dunn where he practices in the firm’s Transactional Department. He focuses his practice on representing public and private companies and investors on a broad range of complex transactions, including tender offers, cross-border transactions, mergers and acquisitions, asset sales, joint ventures, spin-offs, PIPEs, royalty financings and synthetic royalty financings and other strategic transactions. Evan also counsels companies on general corporate and governance matters.

His corporate representations include XOMA Royalty Corporation, Robert Bosch GmbH, Crescent Biopharma, Inc., Jade Biosciences, Inc., RTW Investments, LLC, Tang Capital Partners, The Kraft Heinz Company, NetApp, Inc., General Electric, Amazon.com, Inc., Mondelez International, Inc., Brown Forman Corporation, Viavi Solutions and Ziff Davis, Inc. (formerly J2 Global), among others.

Evan received his Juris Doctorate from the NYU School of Law, where he was President of the Student Bar Association, editor of the NYU Law Review and recipient of the Vanderbilt Medal for outstanding contributions to the NYU School of Law, and his Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science (Law & Public Policy) from the University of Louisville, cum laude. Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, he was an associate with a top international law firm in London, United Kingdom.

Evan is admitted to practice law in the states of New York and Texas.

Publications

• A Current Guide to Direct Listings
• Open Questions Remain after SEC Approves Primary Direct Listings on the NYSE

Leo Plank is a partner in the Munich office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Business Restructuring and Reorganization practice group.

He advises hedge funds, debtors and private equity firms on complex, high-stakes financial restructuring and bankruptcy matters. His clients include high-yield and distressed debt investors as well as companies involved in leverage buyouts and multinational restructurings. Leo has been involved in some of the most significant and challenging restructuring cases in recent decades, developing innovative solutions that have served as blueprints for future restructuring projects, such as A.T.U, HETA, and IVG.

Leo is consistently recognized as a market leader in restructuring and insolvency by leading publications and rankings including Chambers Europe, The Legal 500, IFLR1000, Handelsblatt/The Best Lawyers^TM in Germany, WirtschaftsWoche and the JUVE Handbook.

His experience includes representing*:

• a group of German and international banks as lenders under LEONI AG’s €750 million revolving credit facility on the restructuring of the German automotive supplier through the first-ever large-scale financial restructuring under German Scheme (StaRUG)
• the Flint Group, a global leader in print consumables for the print and packaging industries, on its €1.1 billion recapitalization and restructuring
• an ad hoc bondholder group in the financial restructuring of Adler Real Estate group
• an ad hoc group of noteholders in the successful financial restructuring of Löwen Play group involving a complex debt-for-equity-swap through an English scheme of arrangement
• an ad-hoc group of institutional investors in the bond restructuring of Metalcorp group pursuant to the German Bond Act
• Galapagos SA in its contentious restructuring and subsequent multi-jurisdictional litigation in Germany, Luxembourg, England & Wales and New York, leading to several groundbreaking judgements on COMI isssues and distressed disposals by the European Court of Justice, the German BGH and the English High Court
• several private debt funds in connection with various restructurings
• Agrokor d.d. in its extraordinary administration proceedings in Croatia
• the ad hoc committee of senior bondholders of HETA Asset Resolution (previously Hypo Alpe Adria), recognized as European Restructuring Deal of the Year at the 2017 IFLR Europe Awards
• A.T.U in its cross-border financial restructuring and subsequent sale to Mobivia
• the ad hoc committee of SynLoan I lenders in the insolvency proceedings of IVG Immobilien AG
• SVP in the restructuring of Klöckner Pentaplast
• APCOA in its restructuring, including the first Scheme of Arrangement in England & Wales over a German company where the governing law was changed
• Rodenstock (company) and TeleColumbus (creditors) in their restructuring through an English Scheme of Arrangement – these were the first German companies reorganizing through an English Scheme of Arrangement

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Leo built the German restructuring practice group at Kirkland & Ellis. He is admitted to practice in England and Wales, New York, and as a German lawyer (Rechtsanwalt).

Leo regularly publishes and speaks about restructuring and insolvency topics. He is a board member of the German Turnaround Management Association (TMA Deutschland). He also serves as a member of the German honorary advisory board of Right to Play, an international non-profit organization dedicated to empowering children through play.

In addition to his native German, Leo is fluent in English.

*Includes experience prior to joining Gibson Dunn

Yi Zhang is a partner in the Hong Kong office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. He is a member of the firm’s Corporate, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Private Equity Practice Groups. Yi has 30 years’ experience with China-related work, including investment funds, foreign direct investment, outbound investment, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital, real estate and distressed asset transactions, and large-scale project development and infrastructure work. His clients include multinational companies, regional developers, PRC companies, commercial and investment banks, and international private equity funds.

Yi’s China investment experience covers the entire range of investment options, including both equity (common and preferred) and debt (senior, mezzanine, convertible, and acquisition financing), and both onshore and offshore structures. He has extensive expertise with the issues encountered by foreign investors investing into China. Yi’s project experience includes power plants, liquefied natural gas receiving terminals, and greenfield developments and acquisitions in various other industries, such as petrochemicals, mining, real estate, and renewable energy. In addition to his wide China-focused practice, Yi has also advised on infrastructure projects in the United States, Korea, Thailand, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.

Yi has consistently been recognized as a leading individual in Corporate/M&A by various legal publications including Chambers Global, Chambers Asia Pacific, and Chambers Greater China Region. A client noted that “he is a good communicator and negotiator who is able to fight strongly for our position.” He is also recommended in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific where a client was quoted saying that the team’s “legal knowledge and client service is also exceptional.”

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Yi was the head of another large international firm in Hong Kong. Yi received his Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan in 1993 and his Master of Arts from the University of Virginia in 1986. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts from Shanghai International Studies University in 1982 and studied at De Montfort University (1979-1981) and University of West London (1978-1979). He has native fluency in Mandarin and is admitted to practice in Hong Kong and New York.

Katie Hall is an associate in the London office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Labour and Employment Practice Group.

Katie advises on employment, incentives and pensions matters arising from transactional, contentious and advisory work.

Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Katie was an associate at another international law firm.

Katie received her law with Spanish and Spanish Law degree from the University of Nottingham and completed the Legal Practice Course at BPP University. She is admitted as a Solicitor of England and Wales and is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association.

Katie’s experience includes: *

• Advising The Co-operative Bank Holdings p.l.c on its £780 million acquisition by Coventry Building Society.
• Advising TCV in relation to its role as lead investor of Allica Bank’s £100 million Series C funding round.

*Some of these representations occurred prior to Katie’s association with Gibson Dunn.

Prerak “Pre” Shah is a partner in the Houston office of Gibson Dunn, where he serves as Co-Chair of the firm’s State Attorneys General Practice. Drawing on his experience at the highest levels of the Texas Attorney General’s Office, U.S. Department of Justice, and U.S. Congress, he advises companies and executives facing state, federal, congressional, and internal investigations. He also represents clients in high-stakes civil litigation, with a particular expertise in state attorney general enforcement actions.

Pre previously served as the Senior Counsel to the Attorney General of Texas, advising the AG directly on the most consequential legal and policy issues facing the state. He supervised landmark litigation and enforcement actions, oversaw sensitive investigations, and helped craft the state’s legal strategy in cases with nationwide impact.

Pre was instrumental in coordinating Texas’s participation in high-profile multistate lawsuits and investigations, including matters involving consumer protection, antitrust enforcement, data privacy, and environmental regulation. In this role, Pre worked closely with attorneys general across the country to advance joint legal and policy objectives, while also serving as a public-facing representative on major litigation and enforcement matters.

Pre later served as the Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, where he led one of the largest and busiest districts in the nation. As the chief federal law enforcement officer for a population of more than 8 million, he oversaw a team of 120 prosecutors handling matters involving securities and healthcare fraud, the False Claims Act, public corruption, cybercrimes, and national security threats. Under his leadership, the office handled numerous high-profile matters, including convicting a cryptocurrency founder for securities fraud, investigating the death of MLB pitcher Tyler Skaggs, prosecuting a would-be bomber plotting to attack an Amazon facility, and capturing a capital murder suspect on the FBI’s “10 Most Wanted” list.

Before joining the Justice Department, Pre served as Chief of Staff to Senator Ted Cruz and as his Chief Counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he provided strategic counsel on all policy, communications, political, and legal issues. He played a key role in numerous high-profile congressional investigations and hearings, including testimony from the CEOs or General Counsels of Facebook, Microsoft, T-Mobile, Twitter, SoftBank, and Equifax, as well as the confirmation hearings of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

Pre also helped shape the federal judiciary, personally spearheading the selection, nomination, and confirmation of over 20 federal judges in Texas, as well as working on the confirmation of over 150 federal judges nationwide. He currently serves on the Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee, appointed by Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz to advise them on all judicial and U.S. Attorney appointments in Texas. He has also twice been appointed by the judges of the Eastern District of Texas to their Magistrate Judge Selection Committee.

Pre also held multiple senior leadership positions at the Department of Justice, including Deputy Associate Attorney General in the office overseeing the divisions responsible for antitrust, civil rights, environmental litigation, and tax matters. He also served as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General leading the Department’s Natural Resources Section, handling litigation over the Keystone XL Pipeline, the Dakota Access Pipeline, federal fracking regulations, and even the salvage of the wreckage of the infamous RMS Titanic.

Pre earned his J.D. with honors from the University of Chicago Law School and clerked for the Honorable Jerry E. Smith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.