Crowell & Moring surges foursome derivatives from McGuireWoods in London

Crowell & Moring surges foursome derivatives from McGuireWoods in London

Attainment of Wall Street financial services boutique Kibbe & Orbe with hires earlier 2021

Crowell & Moring has appointed a four-lawyer derivatives team, where two partners from London-based, McGuireWoods, are included.

Jennifer Kafcas, head of the derivatives and structured finance team at McGuireWoods in London, led the team. The team includes Charles Wakiwaka, a former-associate of Clifford Chance has newly joined the New York firm in summer as a partner. With the joining of Alvino van Schalkwyk and Lauren Blaber as counsel, completes the team of the new firm.

Their arrival builds on Crowell's attainment of Wall Street financial services boutique Kibbe & Orbe in March, 2021. The agreement has added two partners and four associates in London. It has also revealed the firm's description as a strategic focus on growing its financial services competence.

The investment banks and private equity funds were advised on structured finance and derivatives transactions in the US, the UK and European markets by the new joiners.

Their focus was on a range of derivative products supporting leveraged finance, securitisation and infrastructure contracts and projects. It also included deal-contingent trades, holding company and fund-level hedging strategies, credit derivatives, strategic equity transactions and bespoke collateral arrangements.

In 2017, Kafcas joined McGuireWoods' debt finance practice from O'Melveny & Myers. Schalkwyk, Blaber and Wakiwaka were all hired under her leadership.

Robert Weekes, Crowell's London managing partner, said: "The team's outstanding derivatives and organised finance experience is an important value-addition for our firm. Particularly, the London office complements the work that our ex-Kibbe & Orbe, colleagues are doing in both New York and London."

Crowell's London office comprises of 15 partners and 20 other lawyers out of 45 staff in all. The financial service sector team includes ten partners.

Including Andrew Martin, the managing partner of London office, the Kibbe deal handed over 13 partners and 24 lawyers to Crowell in all, who joined the New York, London and Washington offices.

Crowell announced a merger with Chicago-based tech and IP firm Brinks Gilson & Lione in June. With an additional 61 Brinks lawyers including 27 partners, will enable its expansion plan to the Midwest region.