Linklaters adds market-leading finance team in New York
David Lucking, John Hwang, Derek Poon and Dan Guyder deepen US capital markets and restructuring bench
Linklaters is pleased to announce that David Lucking, John Hwang, Derek Poon and Dan Guyder will join the firm’s Finance division as partners in the New York office, adding further derivatives, securitization and restructuring strength to the firm’s US and global offering. Their arrival builds on recent high-profile partner hires for Linklaters in the US, including a preeminent M&A team led by Global Chairman of Corporate George Casey and Global Leader of the Chemicals Sector Heiko Schiwek, Head of US Capital Solutions & Special Situations Michael Torkin and Global Co-Chair of International Arbitration Joseph Profaizer.
Aedamar Comiskey, Linklaters’ Senior Partner and Chair, said:
“Building out a top talent team in the US as part of our global offering is a key priority for us. The addition to our finance team of David, John, Derek and Dan will further enhance our ability to deliver an excellent, integrated service to our clients in the US and all core markets.”
Tom McGrath, Linklaters’ US Global Practice Head, said:
“David, John, Derek and Dan are top-tier additions to our US practice. Their deep expertise across structured finance and restructuring is a perfect complement to our existing teams, and significantly enhances our offering for our clients in the US and globally.”
David has particular expertise in derivatives and structured finance transactions, as well as the regulatory framework that underpins the US derivatives market. He will further strengthen Linklaters’ premier US derivatives practice led by partners Doug Donahue and Will Liu. David also further deepens the practice’s extensive experience in Significant Risk Transfer transactions, a critical regulatory capital management tool for the firm’s core bank sector clients, and which represent an increasingly popular investment opportunity for many of Linklaters’ private credit clients, including in the US. In addition, David is one of the preeminent practitioners in the credit derivatives market. He drafted the 2014 ISDA Credit Derivatives Definitions, authored the Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee Rules and advised the Americas Determinations Committee on every Credit Event since its inception. David’s addition is highly complementary to Linklaters’ market-leading global structured finance and private credit expertise.
John and Derek led the Chambers-ranked US asset finance and securitization practice at their prior firm. They specialize in a range of structures and asset classes from traditional consumer and commercial asset securitizations to esoteric digital infrastructure, renewables and aviation financings. They have led a number of market-leading and innovative structures both in the US and in the cross-border market. The addition of John and Derek to Linklaters’ global platform will enable the firm to offer clients a fully integrated complex finance and structured solutions proposition.
Dan has over twenty-five years of experience representing secured and unsecured creditors, creditors' committees, ad hoc bondholder committees and debtors in numerous out-of-court restructurings, bankruptcy cases and cross-border insolvency proceedings throughout the US. He will provide additional depth to Linklaters’ growing US Restructuring & Insolvency practice and help support the structured finance work undertaken by the rest of the team.
“David, John, Derek and Dan add significant depth to our US finance bench, expanding our capacity to support our clients’ most intricate financial needs,” said Finance Partner Doug Donahue. Pam Shores, Global Head of US Capital Markets, added: “This impressive team solidifies our position as the global leader in capital markets and restructuring. We are thrilled to welcome them on board and look forward to working together to provide world-class solutions to our clients.”
The team joins from A&O Shearman, where David was global co-head of financial markets and a partner, and John, Derek and Dan were partners.
Linklaters has made a series of significant hires in the US over the past two years, including across M&A, international arbitration, restructuring and insolvency, real estate, intellectual property, energy and infrastructure, financial regulation, capital markets, tax, executive compensation and employee benefits and environmental, among other areas. These hires have had a significant impact on the firm, most recently evidenced by two landmark US mandates: advising Rio Tinto on its $6.7 billion acquisition of Arcadium Lithium and advising Volkswagen on its up to $5 billion joint venture and investment transactions with Rivian.
