Arnold & Porter Announces Significant Expansion of its New York Office
New York, January 24, 2005 — Arnold & Porter LLP announced today that it is significantly expanding the capabilities and scope of its New York office with the addition of eight new partners from the New York office of another large national law firm.
The group includes well-known litigators and transactional lawyers with diverse fields of specialization and accomplishment, encompassing both national and international practices.
“This is a significant step in our strategy to grow and diversify our New York office," said Arnold & Porter Chairman Mike Sohn. "We are adding a top-tier hedge funds practice and increasing our depth in core transactional and litigation practice areas."
"This is a strong team with solid practices that will fit well with our existing corporate, M&A, and litigation practices in New York," said John Willett, head of Arnold & Porter's New York office.
Commenting for the group, James B. Swire said, "This is an exciting day for us. We are moving as a team to a law firm with a rich tradition and a bright future. The Arnold & Porter platform is the ideal place for us to serve our clients and expand the range of services we offer them."
The eight partners, along with their practices, are:
Mr. Swire, who was previously the head of the New York office of his former firm, is a nationally recognized intellectual property litigator, specializing in trademark and unfair competition disputes.
Michael F. Griffin was the head of the financial services and hedge funds practice at his former firm. His practice focuses on the regulation of securities, futures, swaps, and related derivative markets, with particular emphasis on investment management, investment funds, and brokerage operations.
J. P. Bruynes has deep experience in the hedge fund area, including the representation of domestic and offshore hedge funds and hedge fund managers in all aspects of business.
Robert P. Wessely has a corporate transactions/private equity practice with extensive experience in international and domestic corporate transactions and general representation, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, venture capital, and corporate restructuring activities.
D. Grant Vingoe was partner-in-charge of the Toronto office at his former firm. He has substantive expertise in cross-border securities transactions, financial services, regulation, derivative instruments, and the regulatory aspects of investment management. He has been deeply involved in regulatory policy matters for the Canadian securities industry. He will move his practice to Arnold & Porter's New York office.
Robert E. Holton works closely with both Mr. Griffin and Mr. Wessely. He has both hedge fund and general corporate expertise that includes a broad variety of corporate transactional, securities, and other matters, with particular focus on M&A, hedge funds, venture capital funds, and other financing transactions.
Ramon P. Marks, who served as co-head of the international litigation and arbitration group at his former firm, has an active practice which spans not just commercial and securities law litigation, but also international business law, representing a diverse group of European, Japanese, and American clients.
Stewart D. Aaron, who was the co-head of securities litigation at his former firm, has strong commercial and securities litigation experience representing mutual funds, insurance companies, and investment banks.
The growth of Arnold & Porter's New York office is part of a larger strategic expansion of core practice areas. A group of six securities enforcement lawyers, led by Michael D. Trager, joined the firm on January 18; John D. Hawke, former head of the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, returned to the firm's financial institutions practice in November; and top securities and commercial litigator H. Peter Haveles, Jr., joined the New York office last March.
Arnold & Porter LLP, an international law firm of approximately 650 attorneys, has offices in Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, New York, Los Angeles, Denver, London, and Brussels. The firm, founded in 1946, maintains more than 25 practice areas spanning a broad spectrum of the law, with a primary focus on litigation, transactional matters, and regulatory issues.
