Regulator in the house

A team at London-based law firm Clifford Chance which advises private equity firms on regulatory issues has gone the extra mile to ensure that its clients get the advice they need – by hiring one of the UK's leading regulators.

Carlos Conceicao will join Clifford Chance in January 2007 as director of regulatory enforcement within the firm's financial services regulatory enforcement team. The team advises on regulatory and compliance problems for private equity firms and other fund managers as well as banks, insurance companies and listed corporations.

Conceicao is currently head of UK regulator the Financial Services Authority's (FSA) wholesale group in enforcement, where he heads a 50-strong team focused on investigating and taking disciplinary action against firms in cases of insider trading and market manipulation.

Notably, Conceicao's team ordered a £17 million ($32 million) fine on FTSE 100 oil giant Shell in 2004 for market abuse and breaching listing rules. The penalty was the largest ever handed out by the FSA and, according to the FSA website, was imposed ?as a result of unprecedented misconduct in relation to misstatements concerning its oil reserves.? Shell was accused of over-reporting the extent of its oil reserves by almost 25 percent.

At Clifford Chance, Conceicao will be part of a team of 75 specialist regulatory partners based in the major financial centers in the US, continental Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Roger Best, a litigation and dispute resolution partner at Clifford Chance, said of Conceicao's appointment in a statement: ?His depth of understanding of regulatory enforcement issues affecting financial institutions will be a real benefit for our clients. Moreover, he will provide additional resource and expertise to our busy regulatory enforcement team, which has seen huge growth in demand for its regulatory expertise.?

Best added that demand for regulatory advice is expected to increase in the months and years ahead, particularly as a result of the European Commission's Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). The directive, which has a final implementation date of November 2007, imposes a long list of regulatory and compliance demands on financial organizations, including private equity firms.

Cunningham leaves Jones Day, joins Gibson Dunn
Robert Cunningham has joined Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as a partner at the law firm's New York office and will also serve as cochair of the firm's global finance practice group. Cunningham will work on both domestic and international financial transactions. He was previously at the law firm Jones Day, where he was partner since 1995 and served as co-chair of the global lending and structured finance practice. Steve Shoemate, co-partner in charge at the firm's New York office, noted in a press release that Cunningham's arrival will help in the expansion of the New York office. ?He has very broad experience in finance, from leveraged finance to structured finance and restructuring work,? said Shoemate. Gibson Dunn's global finance practice group, a group of approximately 60 attorneys, represents lenders, borrowers, underwriters and issuers in a range of debt and structured finance transactions. According to the press statement, Gibson Dunn handled finance transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $89 billion in 2005.

Kirkland bolsters London office with trio of new partners
International law firm Kirkland & Ellispromoted three attorneys at its London office to partner early last month. The three new partners include corporate attorneys Christopher Field and Abrielle Rosenthal, as well as banking attorney Neel Sachdev. According to a press statement, Field focuses on mergers and acquisitions, while Rosenthal advises US and European private equity funds and is qualified to practice in both New York and England. Sachdev works on banking and debt finance issues. The press statement noted that these three appointments are part of a growth period at the firm's London office. In less than two months, 10 new associates joined the firm, seven as part of the corporate team and three as part of the banking, tax and restructuring teams.

Cooley merges with Kronish Lieb
A merger between US law firms Cooley Godward and Kronish Lieb Weiner & Hellman took place last month, resulting in a single firm known as Cooley Godward Kronish LLP. The new firm contains 550 attorneys that represent clients in the technology, life sciences, financial services, retail and energy sectors. The firm has offices in Palo Alto, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Reston (Virginia), Broomfield (Colorado) and Washington DC. According to a press statement, the resulting firm's litigation team includes prominent trial lawyers and former federal prosecutors. ?The reaction to the merger announcement has been overwhelmingly positive both internally and externally as the value and benefits of the combination for clients, attorneys and staff were quickly realized,? said Stephen Neal, Cooley Godward Kronish's chairman and chief executive officer, in the press statement.

Merger talks between two US law firms
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham (K&LNG) and Preston Gates & Ellis (PG&E), both US law firms, announced in late September that they are considering merging before the end of the year. According to a press statement, the merger would create a firm consisting of approximately 1,400 lawyers working in 21 offices in the US, Europe and Asia. The press release indicates that K&LNG consists of 1,000 lawyers and represents entrepreneurs, growth and middle market companies, capital markets participants and leading FORTUNE 100 and FTSE 100 global corporations nationally and internationally. The more than 420 lawyers at PG&E represent clients in complex transactions, strategic litigation, public law and policy, and intellectual property and technology law. A merger would result in a combined firm with a presence in 21 offices around the world.

Davis joins Taylor Wessing
Mark Davis, formerly of Dechert law firm, has joined Taylor Wessing as a corporate partner. According to a press release, Davis has represented private equity funds and management teams in leveraged buyouts, UK and cross-border transactions for more than eight years. At Taylor Wessing, he will be part of an 84-person team of fee earners in the UK corporate department as well as part of the 30-person firm-wide team of specialist private equity partners. The press statement indicates that Taylor Wessing's private equity group ?provides an integrated, ?one-stop shop? service across France, the UK and Germany for some of Europe's leading equity houses.?

Basta joins Kirkland's NY office
Paul Basta has joined Kirkland & Ellis' New York office as a partner in the law firm's restructuring practice. He has left the business finance and restructuring department of competing law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges. Basta represents debtors, creditors and investors in restructuring distressed companies, a press release indicated. ?Paul is an -accomplished and highly respected figure in his field and will be a tremendous asset to our firm,? said Thomas D. Yannucci, the chairman of Kirkland's management committee, in a press statement. ?His arrival will only further enhance Kirkland's strong and growing New York office, which now numbers more than 250 lawyers.?

Advanced Equities names Chorle to top legal post
Advanced Equities Financial Corp (AEFC) named Erhard R. Chorle general counsel and executive vice president in September. AEFC provides investment management, securities brokerage and venture capital investment banking services. Chorle has left Shefsky & Froelich in Chicago where he worked since 1993. According to a press release, while at Shefsky, Chorle worked in corporate and securities law, government and financial regulation, and government and public affairs lobbying and counseling. ?Erhard's time serving the state of Illinois gives him a rare perspective on serving our clients,? said Dwight Badger, CEO of Advanced Equities Financial Corp., in a press statement.

Sossen joins KKR Financial
Andrew Sossen joined KKR Financial, a publicly traded investment company affiliated with buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, as general counsel in September. He will also serve as part of KFL's distressed investment team. Sossen left the New York office of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett law firm, where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions and private equity since joining the firm in 2002. There, Sossen represented KKR Financial and KFL. In a press statement, Saturnino Fanlo, co-founder and member of KFL said, ?We are delighted to welcome Andrew Sossen, who brings significant corporate, mergers and acquisitions, and private equity experience and expertise. Furthermore, Andrew's historical involvement with KFL and KKRFinancialCorp since their respective formation in 2004 is very beneficial.?

Mayer Brown scoops two from Kirkland
Gary Jungels and Olga Loy joined the Chicago office of law firm Mayer, Brown, Rowe, & Maw in September as partners in the law firm's private equity practice. Jungels and Loy left positions as partners at Kirkland & Ellis where they both specialized in the formation of private equity funds. ?Gary and Olga bring an exciting dimension to our private equity practice, and their addition significantly expands the range of expertise we can provide to our private equity clients,? said Fritz Thomas, co-practice leader for Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw's corporate and securities group, in a press statement. ?We are committed to aggressively expanding our presence in the private equity area, and we are thrilled that Gary and Olga share our vision.?