Lawyer Monthly - August 2021 Edition

LAWYER MOVES Hogan Lovells hired capital markets partner Biswajit Chatterjee into its Singapore-based Corporate & Finance practice. He joins the firm from Squire Patton Boggs, where he is currently co-chair of its India practice and head of its South East Asia corporate practice. Chatterjee’s focus is on capital markets, M&A and private equity transactions, having advised on some of the largest equity and debt offerings in India and South East Asia. Singapore serves as Hogan Lovells’ hub for the India, South East Asia and South Asia regions. As partner, Chatterjee is expected to work closely with Stephanie Keen, the firm’s Head of Corporate & Finance for Asia Pacific, and various other colleagues across Hogan Lovells’ integrated global India desk. The team’s recent deals in the region include advising Facebook on a $5.7 billion investment for a 9.99% stake in Jio Platforms – reportedly the largest minority tech investment in history and the largest foreign direct investment in India’s tech industry – and advising leading Indian eCommerce organisation Flipkart on almost $2 billion worth of fundraisings in 2020. “Biswajit brings with him not only a wealth of industry experience in the transaction space, but deep relationships that are key to successfully doing business in India,” commented Stephanie Keen. “We have an excellent market reputation for our work in India, and I look forward to working with Biswajit as we grow our practice.” Hogan Lovells Expands India PracticeWith Singapore Partner Hire Magic Circle firm Linklaters appointed its head of finance, Paul Lewis, as its new firmwide managing partner. Lewis succeeds Gideon Moore, who held the position since January 2016, before which he acted as Linklaters’ banking head. His appointment means that Linklaters will have established an entirely new top management team following the election of corporate head Aedmar Comiskey as senior partner in May. Comiskey became Linklaters’ first female senior partner at the beginning of the month, succeeding Charlie Jacobs, who departed the firm to join JPMorgan as co-head of its UK investment banking division. In addition to his role as head of Linklaters’ finance team, Lewis was also co-head of its innovation group. A capital markets lawyer specialising in derivatives and structured securities, he first joined Linklaters as a trainee in 1997 and qualified in 1999, entering the partnership seven years later. “The firm has a simple formula — exceptionally talented, high-performing teams delivering outstanding results for clients,” he said. Jones Day bolstered its financial markets practice in London with the hiring of former General Electric executive counsel Hannah Ward. Ward joins the firm as counsel after three years as executive counsel for GE’s international capital markets group, before which she worked in-house at Deutsche Bank. She also spent six years at Clifford Chance in London and Milan as a senior associate. Ward brings a wealth of cross-border experience of advising on all stages of business deals, particularly in complex transactions in global financial markets. Her new role at Jones Day will involve advising clients on structured finance, real estate finance, special situations and restructurings. Alban Caillemer du Ferrage, chair of Jones Day’s financial markets practice for EMEA and APAC, lauded Ward’s arrival. He stated that her experience in the corporate and legal sides of the profession will “offer a unique perspective on how outside counsel can prove to be most valuable to the clients that engage their services.” Linklaters Appoints Finance Head as Firmwide Managing Partner Jones Day Adds General Electric Executive Counsel to Financial Markets Group 10 WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM | AUG 2021