International law firm Ashurst late last month announced it had brought over a group of partners from McKee Nelson LLP in New York and Washington, D.C., to launch a U.S. structured finance business.
The McKee Nelson group works on a variety of structured products, including those used in the municipal market.
The group has worked with Ashurst the past few years through an alliance and liked the idea of joining a firm they already knew well, said William Gray, who headed the group at McKee. In addition, Ashurst has complementary structured finance businesses throughout Europe and Asia. The firm has more than 200 partners in 13 countries.
"The overall idea was to link up with a global firm with global reach and a large overall effort so that we essentially cover all the basic product areas and all the clients around the globe that do this kind of work," Gray said in an interview.
Erica Handling, head of securities and structured finance, said in a statement: "The addition of a team of this caliber greatly enhances the strength of Ashurst's international offering in a market in which we see continued opportunity and future growth potential."
Those joining the firm along with Gray include Douglas A. Bird, Richard Davis, Scott Faga, Eugene Ferrer, Tom Glushko, Joyce Gorman, Steven L. Kopp, David Nirenberg, Patrick B. Quill, Michael Volstad, and Alice F. Yurke.
McKee Nelson had strengthened its municipal practice in recent years by bringing in some of those attorneys, according to Gray.
"Our clients that we have in municipal area, the response has been great," he said. "We moved over without any questions at all - it's been gratifying for us."
Ashurst senior partner Charlie Geffen also applauded the deal.
"These appointments present us with a unique opportunity to acquire a strong and entrepreneurial team that we know well operating in a core business area for the firm," he said in a prepard statement. "Ashurst's award-winning securities and structured finance team already has a market-leading reputation and the new hires will fit perfectly with our existing team and areas of expertise. This is an exciting step for Ashurst and demonstrates our resolve to develop our business even in the current difficult markets."
