Shearman & Sterling LLP Elects Seven New Partners

NEW YORK, Dec. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Global law firm Shearman & Sterling LLP has elected seven counsel and associates to the partnership across its worldwide platform. The new partners practice in six offices – Abu Dhabi, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, New York, Tokyo and Washington, DC – and in the asset management, international arbitration, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, project development and finance, and tax practice areas.

"This fine group of new partners reflects the broad scope of our business – both in terms of areas of practice and geographic coverage," said Rohan S. Weerasinghe, Shearman & Sterling's senior partner. "Their admission is a tribute to their technical excellence, strong leadership abilities and extraordinary commitment to our clients and our firm."

The following lawyers were elected partner:

Paula Howell Anderson (New York - litigation), Dr. Bodo Bender (Frankfurt - tax), Lorna Xin Chen (Hong Kong - asset management), Brian Clayton (Abu Dhabi - project development and finance), David Connolly (New York - mergers and acquisitions), Etienne Gelencser (Tokyo - project development and finance, asset management) and Christopher M. Ryan (Washington, DC - international arbitration). 

Paula Howell Anderson, a lawyer in the litigation practice area in New York, has advised clients on a wide range of topics, including US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigations, complex commercial litigation, bankruptcy litigation and international arbitration. Her clients have included global leaders in the finance, insurance, automotive, telecommunications, oil and gas, engineering, media and entertainment, and manufacturing industries. Ms. Anderson has taught Advanced Trial Advocacy Training programs for prosecutors at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and has also served as a faculty member in a training program for International Criminal Court prosecutors. In 2001 she earned a JD from Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Black Letter Law Journal, and in 1998 she was Class Valedictorian at the City University of New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice, graduating summa cum laude with a BA degree.

Dr. Bodo Bender is a lawyer in the tax practice area in Frankfurt, with a focus on multinational and national mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and restructurings, as well as the structuring and implementation of executive and employee participation and incentive plans.  Prior to joining the Frankfurt office, he worked in the firm's Dusseldorf and Munich offices. Dr. Bender has written and spoken on a variety of tax topics. He graduated magna cum laude with a Dr. iur. from Julius-Maximilians-University Wurzburg in 2007 and completed the Second State Exam (Wurzburg) in 2001 and the First State Exam (Wurzburg) in 1999. 

Lorna Xin Chen, a lawyer in the asset management practice area in Hong Kong, represents private funds and their sponsors in their global investments, including fund structuring and fund formation, negotiations with investors, and regulatory and compliance matters. She also counsels institutional investors, funds of funds, sovereign wealth funds, affluent individuals and family offices regarding their investments in private funds. Ms. Chen worked in the firm's New York office for eight years before relocating to Hong Kong in 2008. She is a frequent speaker on private fund formation, regulatory issues for private fund managers and related topics. She attended the Columbia University School of Law, where she earned a JD in 2001 and an LLM degree in 1999. She graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University in 1994 with an MA degree and from Capital Normal University in 1991 with a BA. Ms. Chen is qualified in Hong Kong, the People's Republic of China and New York. 

Brian Clayton, a lawyer in the project development and finance practice area in Abu Dhabi,  focuses on construction and projects and has represented sponsors, developers, contractors and lenders in a variety of industries. These include the oil and gas, petrochemical, LNG, power, water, mining, industrial, renewables, commercial, residential, leisure and infrastructure sectors. Mr. Clayton was a lawyer in the firm's London office from 2005 to 2007 and, prior to that, worked in construction and projects law practices in New Zealand, Australia and London. He is a member of the Society of Construction Law. Educated in New Zealand, he earned an LLB with honors from the University of Canterbury in 1998 and a Bachelor of Commerce and Forestry degree from Lincoln University in 1995. 

David Connolly is a lawyer in the mergers and acquisitions practice area in New York, representing multinational corporations and financial institutions in acquisitions and sales of public and private companies and their assets, solicited and unsolicited transactions, takeover defense strategies, joint ventures and corporate governance matters. Mr. Connolly's clients also include professional sports franchises and their owners, and he has been recognized by Legal 500 for his representation of those clients. From 2002 through 2004, Mr. Connolly focused on the capital markets practice area, representing clients in public and private securities transactions, including offerings of high yield and investment grade debt, convertible securities, and common and preferred stock. He received his JD from Fordham University School of Law in 2002 and his BA from the College of the Holy Cross in 1994.  

Etienne Gelencser is a lawyer in the project development and finance and asset management practice areas in Tokyo. His project finance clients include government-owned financial institutions, banks, trading houses, and corporates that are developing or financing projects in Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. Mr. Gelencser also regularly represents financial institutions and private equity funds sponsoring the formation of Japan- and Asia-focused funds, including LBO, distressed asset, and infrastructure funds, as well as investors in their subscription for and divestment of fund interests. He worked in the firm's Hong Kong office before joining the Tokyo office in 2004. Mr. Gelencser received an LLB and BA from Murdoch University in 1997.

Christopher M. Ryan is a lawyer in the international arbitration practice area in Washington, DC. He has significant experience representing private and governmental clients before international arbitral institutions, international trade dispute resolution panels and US federal courts. Mr. Ryan has also advised companies around the world on various issues related to public and private international law, investment and trade policy and foreign investment risk management. He is a Lecturer on international investment law and investor-State disputes at the University of Virginia School of Law, teaches a course on international commercial arbitration at the George Washington University Law School and in 2005 was a Visiting Scholar at Yale Law School. He has published extensively on international investment law and related topics and often speaks about these subjects at conferences. Mr. Ryan  earned a JD with honors in 2000 from the George Washington University Law School, an MA in 1993 from Villanova University, and a BA in 1992 from Temple University, where he was in the Honors Program. 

Shearman & Sterling LLP is a global law firm with approximately 900 lawyers in 20 offices in 12 countries around the world. The firm is a leader in mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, project development and finance, complex business litigation and international arbitration, asset management and tax.

SOURCE Shearman & Sterling LLP

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