Super Lawyers 2018

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LAWYERS WORLDWIDE AWARDS MAGAZINE

SUPER LAWYERS 2018


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Lawyers Worldwide Awards Magazine Super Lawyers 2018 Lawyers Worldwide Awards is recognised all over the world for our comprehensive awards programs we run, taking votes from countries all over the world to recognise the most prestigious professionals in their specialised areas of practice. The 2018 Awards recognises a select number of leading professional firms around the world working both nationally and internationally in their field of expertise. Lawyers Worldwide Awards selects the best professional & financial institutions from around the world and showcases there work ethic and skills within their area of expertise. The Awards Magazine is aimed at not just the large corporations but the smaller companies of the advisory business sector. Lawyers Worldwide Awards is currently being read by Lawyers, Advisers, Consultants and corporate executives. We aim to showcase every company individually and to its full potential.


Lawyers Worldwide Awards Magazine Super Lawyers 2018 Index ADV Privantia Tax Structuring Law Firm of the Year – Spain Afschrift Tax Law Firm of the Year – Belgium AVRillo Conveyancing Law Firm of the Year – UK Caiado Guerreiro Corporate Tax Law Firm of the Year – Portugal Cavendish Corporate Finance LLP Mergers & Acquisitions Law Firm of the Year – UK Deep N Far Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year – Taiwan Demotech Inc Financial Analysis Firm of the Year – USA DivinaLaw Corporate, Civil & Criminal Litigation Law Firm of the Year – Philippines EagleBank Bank Legal Department of the Year – USA Fleming McGillivray & Co Compliance Infrastructure Design Consulting Firm of the Year – UK Hermanni Law Group Immigration Law Firm of the Year – USA Immigration Solutions LLC Immigration Lawyer of the Year Infinity Partnership Limited Accountancu Business Services Firm of the Year – UK Jurinter Legal Firm Shipping Law Firm of the Year – Ukraine Kemp Little Commercial Technology Law Firm of the Year – UK


Lamont Pridmore Dynamic Advisory Firm of the Year – UK Law Offices of Jose Perez SSI/SSD Law Firm of the Year – USA Law Offices of Lisa Douglas Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year – USA Linklaters LLP Corporate Law, Mergers & Acquisitions Law Firm of the Year - Belgium Lloyd Platt & Co Divorce Law Firm of the Year – UK NCI Law Group Immigration Law Firm of the Year – Switzerland OCCL Cost Consultancy Firm of the Year – UK Patent.live Patent Law Firm of the Year – Russie Paul Sreenan SC Litigation Law Firm of the year – Ireland Polski Adwokat Aleksandra Kowalik Londyn UK Criminal Defence Law Firm of the Year – Poland Sadis & Goldberg Venture Capital Law Firm of the Year – USA Scott & Scott LLP Technology Law Firm of the Year – USA Spier Harben Child Abduction Lawyer of the Year – Canada Sturgeon Ventures LLP Start Up Compliance Consultancy Firm of the Year - UK


Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year – Taiwan Deep & Far attorneys-at-law was founded in 1992 and is dealing with all phases of laws with a focus on the practice in separate or in combination of all aspects of intellectual property rights (IPRs) including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, unfair competition, and/or licensing, counselling, litigation and/or transaction thereof. Yu-Li Tsai: Partner & Patent Attorney Practice area/industry focus: Intellectual Property, Unfair Competition, Litigation Career highlights: Mr Tsai is a patent attorney who holds a degree from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Master’s degree from the Graduate Institute of Communication Engineering, both awarded from the National Taiwan University. His practice covers patents, trademarks, copyright, trade secrets, unfair competition, licensing and litigation. Mr Tsai also studied and gained a Master’s degree from the Law School, University of New Hampshire, also known as Franklin Pierce Centre for Intellectual Property. Upon graduation, he worked for InterDigital, Inc. in Delaware for a short period and later studied and passed the US Patent Registration Examination. The patent attorneys and patent engineers in Deep & Far normally hold outstanding and advanced degrees and are generally graduated from the top five universities in this country. Our prominent staffs are dedicated to provide the best quality service in IPRs in this country. As a proof, about one half of top 100 incorporations in this country have experiences of seeking patented their techniques, but more than one fifth of the top 100 incorporations has ever used services of this firm. Furthermore, Hi-Tech companies in the science-based industrial park located at Hsin Chu had ever played the most important role in booming the economy of this country. About one half of them has experiences in seeking patented their techniques, and out of more than 60% of the patent-experienced companies in that park have ever entrusted their IPR works to this firm. Certainly, we must also represent international giants, e.g. InterDigital, MPS, Schott Glas, Toyo Ink, Motorola, Armani… It is our philosophy to provide competent legal services that other firm cannot comparably provide. The necessitated ensuing problem is how we can so provide? Deep & Far so achieve by selecting, edifying and nurturing peoples who have the following personalities: learned in expertise, morally earnest and sincerely behaved in mind and strictly disciplined between give and take. It is well-believed that such properties are key factors for peoples to properly and competently behave themselves. Deep & Far (D&F) is willing to take challenges to prove that it is the best IP firm, and to verify its supreme competence by e.g.: 1) Sending to D&F a pending or granted patent for its comments about how it can improve the claims;


2) Sending to D&F a pending patent specification without the claims for it to draft the claims for comparison with the original claims; or 3) Sending to D&F and the firm the client is currently using at the same time an initial disclosure so that the client can compare and find out where better claims are. Deep & Far assures the clients that no competitors can escape from the patent rights D&F safeguards for the clients at reasonable service fees. Because the tough economic downturn we are encountering in Taiwan, we are also encountering severe price competition. This situation also leads to that there are too many poor quality patents being granted because most enterprises do not have proper knowledge of the importance of patents. For example, they might only want to spend lower cost to file a patent application without considering the quality, or could not be alerted timely that narrow claims can protect their products of the current version only although there are reduced fees in responding to office actions. Therefore, the patent agents or firms of the enterprises sometimes cannot help but sacrificing the quality to keep profits under the limited budgets of the clients. Under such social environment, it is very hard to anticipate that the clients have strong patents, or the patent firms or attorneys can nurture the ability of drafting wonderful scope of the claims. Accordingly, it will not be surprised to find that there are some patent firms which cannot provide competent services but offer extreme low price to attract clients only caring about the price of filing a patent. This does also explain that there are poor quality patents being granted We persist in providing quality service rather than participating into the price war because we believe the Client will finally find the quality is the most important thing for intellectual property. If you sacrifice the quality and surrender to the price, you actually get negative return because .a poor quality IP is valueless. We did suffer a little last year in view of the reduced local generated works, but we see the situation began to change this year. This firm is used to focusing on IPR, and takes deliberate steps to practice in all fields of law. In recent year, we make progress in either general civil law, business law or criminal law fields. Contact Details 13th Fl., 27 Sec. 3, Chung San N. Rd., Taipei 104, Taiwan, R.O.C. ': 886-2-25856688 7: 886-2-25989900/25978989 Email: email@deepnfar.com.tw www.deepnfar.com.tw


Compliance Infrastructure Design Consulting Firm of the Year – UK Background Established in 2004, FMConsult is a specialist compliance, collective investment schemes, and operational and investment risk management consultancy that services a whole host of global financial services firms. We have made it our mission to provide solutions to our clients so that they can continually meet regulatory requirements. Headquartered in London, FMConsult has offices in Ireland and USA, with an associate in Italy. Our highly experienced team have first-hand experience in asset management, wealth management, financial regulations and investment risk which provides us with the allround expertise you would require from a consultancy. To learn more about our senior team, please refer to our website www.fmconsult.co.uk. FMConsult is an independent regulatory, product development and operational risk consultancy committed to assisting clients in aligning financial services processes with regulatory requirements. We provide risk and compliance solutions that enable senior management of financial services firm’s to demonstrate that they and their firm are currently, and will continue to be, aligned with regulatory requirements. We major on the wholesale firms and funds industry but also have the capacity and experience to assist retail and market infrastructure companies. Examples of the types of work performed for our clients to date include •

Corporate Authorisation

Compliance Outsourcing and Interim Resources

Due diligence & expert witness assignments

Fund establishment & authorisation

Consumer Credit

Compliance Monitoring and in-depth investigations

Dallas J McGillivray Group Managing Director Experienced international regulatory and business manager. Previous Global Head of Compliance and Operational Risk at a major asset management company for all business outside of the Americas with circa 30 years experience in UK and global regulatory issues, covering both retail and institutional. Over 8 years with Coopers & Lybrand (now PWC) in four different countries covering audit, accounting services, insolvency and regulation. Specialist in providing corporate governance and operational risk services to asset management and investment companies.


Contact: dmcgillivray@fmconsult.co.uk 020 7220 9073

Andrew J Hicks Group Director More than 10 years experience as a manager for a major international asset management company, covering compliance monitoring/advisory, internal audit and operational risk roles. This role primarily covered the UK market place but also extended to US, Irish, Luxembourg, German, French and Italian regulated businesses covering both retail and institutional clients. Also a further 8 years as a financial and regulatory auditor for a medium size audit and accountancy firm based in London. Specialist in providing accountancy, audit, compliance monitoring, regulatory, advice and operational risk services to asset management and investment companies. Contact: ahicks@fmconsult.co.uk 020 7220 9074 Ross Revell Director Ross is an experienced regulatory professional who has held CF10 and CF11 roles at both a leading Insurer and separately at an IFA Network, and has also worked at two of the Big Four Consultancy firms. He has previously worked at the FSA and started his career in financial services in the Banking sector 28 years ago. His experience covers Banking, Mortgages, Life & Pensions, General Insurance, Wealth Management, Private Banking and Stock Broking. Contact: rrevell@fmconsult.co.uk 020 7220 9078 Colette Panebianco Director FMConsult USA Colette is an experienced financial services executive. With circa 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. Colette has a detailed knowledge of the US asset management industry from working with high-level investment advisers, hedge funds, broker-dealers and family offices both domestic and offshore. Colette specialises in designing the compliance infrastructure for start-up and established registered and unregistered US and non-US funds, investment advisors and private equity firms. Colette has proven to bring personalised and assured quality services tailored to meet a firms compliance needs. Colette is a Certified Investment Advisory Compliance Specialist. Contact: cpanebianco@fmconsult.co.uk John Clare General Manager – FMConsult Ireland John is an experienced financial services executive and has a detailed knowledge of the Irish Financial Services Industry with over 22 years of proven business experience. John has been registered with the Central bank since 1996 and is a member of the Association of Compliance Officers Ireland. Contact: jclare@fmconsult.co.uk


Mergers & Acquisitions Law Firm of the Year – UK For nearly 30 years, Cavendish has only acted for business owners. In the last past year, we have advised on the sale of 19 businesses, helping proprietors achieve the best possible price for their companies, finding new owners who can take those businesses forward and accelerate their growth and performance. Understanding the range of businesses and technologies to a micro level is the challenge we at Cavendish have set ourselves. Helping us achieve this objective are our specialist team led by experts with backgrounds in fields such as engineering and finance together with years spent in corporate finance. Our entrenched expertise in so many subsectors is matched by unrivalled contacts with leading UK and multinationals. In addition, we can leverage centres of excellence within Oaklins such as the oil and gas team in Dallas, our aerospace team in Seattle or the automotive and aerospace hub in Germany. Oaklins is the world’s most experience mid-market M&A advisor. Over the last 5 years, Oaklins specialists have closed over 1,500 deals involving industry specialists, taking a global view and leveraging our deep local connections. The relationships across the alliance underpin our commitment to continuous investment in innovation, leadership and the incorporation of best practices from across all of our business activities. To achieve such success, in a challenging market wrestling with the challenges of Brexit, we have developed an unrivalled knowledge of potential buyer pools and established teams of sector specialists, who are recognised authorities in their areas offering business owners expert advice on the best preparation, strategy and likely buyers to ensure a successful sale. Utilising our international network of M&A advisors we have continued to source overseas buyers, who typically pay a premium for UK businesses – about half of the companies we sold last year were to international buyers. There are almost no other firms that operate in the corporate finance arena that have the sole purpose of selling businesses; most represent buyers as well and this invariably begs the question by astute owners of business, are our advisors completely aligned with us? For nearly 30 years, Cavendish’s answer has been unequivocally “yes”. Contact Details Company: Cavendish Corporate Finance Email: info@cavendish.com Web Address: www.cavendish.com Address: 40 Portland Place, London W1B 1NB Telephone: 020 7908 6000


Patent.Live Patent Law Firm of the Year – Russia Sergey Zuykov graduated from the State University of Management. In 2015 graduated from the law faculty of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia. From December 2008 Sergey Zuykov is a patent attorney in the field of inventions, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks and appellations of origin of goods. During the work Sergey Zuykov proved its ability in organizing the work of their subordinates, in full compliance with corporate rules and regulations, an experienced leader who has great skills of business communication, aimed at improving his professional skills. Accomplishments • •

Membership in international associations: INTA, AIPLA, AUTM, ECTA, ITMA, MARQUES, PTMG and ABA. In 2010 Sergey Zuykov was elected as President of the Noncommercial partnership "Guild of patent attorneys and patent experts", members of which are more than 50 patent attorneys of the Russian Federation.

Work experience Sergey Zuykov has work experience in the field of intellectual property from 1995. • • • • •

1994–2002 — General Director of the LLP “Akorus”. 1998–2004 — Executive Director of the Regional common organization “Center of assistance in protection of legal and individual entities rights”. From 2004 — General Director of the “Zuykov & partners”, which provides services in all fields of industrial and intellectual property protection. 2010–2014 — President of the Noncommercial partnership "Guild of patent attorneys and patent experts", members of which are more than 50 patent attorneys of the Russian Federation. In 2016 Sergey Zuykov was elected as Vice-President of the Association of patent attorneys and specialists, members of which are more than 100 patent attorneys of the Russian Federation and specialists

Contact Details: sergey@zuykov.com


Technology Law Firm of the Year – USA Firm Profile Scott & Scott, LLP is a boutique intellectual property and technology law firm with an emphasis on software licensing and disputes, technology transactions, and software copyright litigation. The firm is committed to monitoring the developing technology and emerging law in order to provide highly focused representation to clients that range from mature small businesses to publicly traded multi-national corporations. Robert J. Scott Managing Partner 214.999.2902 rjscott@scottandscottllp.com

Robert J. Scott, Managing Partner, represents mid-market and large enterprise companies in software license transactions and disputes with major software publishers such as Adobe, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP. He has defended over 225 software audit matters initiated by software piracy trade groups such as the BSA and SIIA. He is counsel to some of the world's largest corporations on information technology matters including intellectual property licensing, risk management, data privacy, and outsourcing. He is regularly called upon by his peers and the media to share his expertise. His work has been published in Northwestern Journal of Technology & Intellectual Property, Westlaw Journal Intellectual Property, The Licensing Journal, and Texas Lawyer among others.


Julie Machal-Fulks Partner 214.999.2905 jfulks@scottandscottllp.com Julie Machal-Fulks, Partner, leads a team of attorneys in representing and defending clients in legal matters relating to information technology. Her practice focuses on complex litigation ranging from privacy and network security, data breach notification and crisis management, intellectual property disputes, service provider negligence claims, and content-based injuries such as copyright and trademark infringement in software, the Internet, and all forms of tangible media. Her focused practice has made Julie a trusted resource in her field. She is often invited to submit papers and present on topics including data breach notification, security incident response, software licensing and defense against regulatory and consumer class actions. Texas Lawyer, The Licensing Journal, Texas Wesleyan Law Institute, American Bar Association, and the IT Compliance Institute are a few of the publications that have published Julie’s work.

Practice Areas • • • •

Intellectual Property IT Transactions Software Audits Software Licensing & Disputes


SSI/SSD Law Firm of the Year – USA Jose is admitted to practice law in New York, New Jersey, and Venezuela. Jose began his career as an attorney in Venezuela. Jose’s outstanding Venezuelan practice was recognized several times by the Miranda State Bar Association, which awarded him with honors in three different years. In 2002, Jose decided to come to the United States to further develop himself academically and professionally. In 2004, Jose was admitted to Syracuse University College of Law, where he graduated cum laude. During law school, Jose clerked for a US District Court in Florida. Jose joined the Smith Sovik law firm in 2007. Since joining the firm, Jose was involved in all areas of litigation. Jose has been and is a member of the Latin American Law Student Association; Hispanic National Bar Association; Black Law Student Association; DRI; American Bar Association; New Jersey State Bar; New York State Bar; Law Students in Action Project-Spanish Translation and Interpretation Assistance Team; Onondaga County Bar Association; AILA, among others. In 2012, Jose decided to open his new and independent law firm. After opening the Law Offices of Jose Perez, Jose has been involved in all areas of litigation, including construction, labor and employment, premises liability, motor vehicle accidents, workers’ compensation, SSI/SSD, and immigration. Jose has been a speaker/panelist at numerous events dealing with his legal practice, Workers’ Compensation, and immigration issues. Jose also has a “Know-Your-Rights” column in the CNY Latino newspaper. Jose has received numerous awards and recognitions in New York State: · 2009 Latino Leadership Award; · 2010 40 Under 40 Rising Latino Star in New York State; · 2011 HNBA Presidential Pro Bono Recognition Award; · 2011 40 Under 40 of Central New York; · 2011 Service Award in Recognition of Outstanding Pro Bono Service; · 2012 New York State Bar Association Empire State Counsel; · 2013 Super Lawyers Upstate New York Rising Star; · 2013 Keynote Speaker of the Opening Ceremony of the Onondaga County Hispanic Heritage Month; . 2014, 2015 and 2016 and 2017 Super Lawyers Upstate New York Rising Star; . 2016 Keynote Speaker of the Opening Ceremony of the Syracuse University College of Law Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration; among others. Jose has dedicated countless hours to community service. Jose has been representing clients successfully before the immigration courts and the USCIS on a pro-bono basis. The Fifth


Judicial District ProBono Action Now Program, a probono program that was funded by the New York State Unified Court System, Catholic Charities of Tioga/Tompkins Counties, and The Worker's Rights Group, a Syracuse task force, which advocates for immigrants in Central New York, have referred ProBono cases to Jose for representation in several fields. Jose is the Vice-President of the Board of Directors of Nosotros Radio Inc. Nosotros’ mission is to provide quality Spanish & English language radio entertainment combined with on-air education for the encouragement and strengthening of the Latino community, and the promotion of intercultural sharing among Central New York’s diverse communities. Jose is also the Vice President of the League of United Latin American Citizens-(LULAC), Syracuse-NY-chapter, a Board Advisor of Syracuse University La Casita, and an Ad-hoc member of the Civil Rights Committee of Alliance of Communities Transforming Syracuse. Contact Detail: 120 East Washington Street, Suite 925 Syracuse, New York 13202 (t) (315) 422-5673 (f) (315) 466-5673 joseperez@joseperezyourlawyer.com


WE PRACTICE LAW

BUT WE LIVE BUSINESS Sadis & Goldberg represents over 800 hedge and private equity funds. Above all else, we value our client relationships. Our attorneys strive to provide excellent, consistent, practical and efficient legal services. We distinguish ourselves from other law firms by assisting our clients in the development of their businesses. This comprehensive approach has often earned us recognition as one of the top five law firms in the U.S. for our hedge fund practice. Invest a few minutes to learn what our attorneys can do for your business.

SADIS & GOLDBERG LLP RANKED NUMBER FIVE IN SERVICING HEDGE FUNDS IN THE 2016 PREQIN GLOBAL HEDGE FUND REPORT Best Law Firm Hedgeweek USA Awards 2011, 2014 - 2016

Best Hedge Fund & Private Equity Law Firm USA InterContinental Finance 2011 - 2015

Best Law Firm of the Year - USA 2013 - 2016 Lawyers World

Private Funds Law Firm of the Year ACQ Law Award 2011 - 2016

Investment Funds’ Law Firm of the Year Finance Monthly 2010 - 2016

Financial Services Industry Law Firm of the Year - USA, Acquisition International 2013 - 2016

Law Firm of the Year DealMaker Law Awards, 2011 - 2015 DealMaker Global Awards 2012 - 2015

Private Funds Law Firm of the Year M&A International Global Award 2013 - 2016

Hedge and Private Equity Fund Formation | Transactional Counseling Compliance Services | Regulatory Representation | Litigation | Derivatives Tax, ERISA and Estate Planning | Real Estate 551 Fifth Avenue, 21st Floor ,New York, NY 10176 212.947.3793 | www.sglawyers.com


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Corporate, Civil & Criminal Litigation Law Firm of the Year – Philippines DivinaLaw is a leading full-service law firm in the Philippines. We take pride in advocating and practicing dynamic lawyering – prompt, proactive and result-oriented. We offer depth and range in experience and resources and a professional, collaborative work ethic – qualities that clients appreciate in an emerging and challenging market like the Philippines. At DivinaLaw, we endeavor to understand our clients’ needs so we can give them the best legal service possible. We aim to exceed their expectations at every turn. Our practice includes the entire spectrum of Philippine law. Our litigation practice covers corporate, criminal and civil litigation, alternative dispute resolution, estates and trusts, immigration, labor and employment, elections, administrative regulation, and maritime law. Our corporate practice includes banking, finance and construction, mergers and acquisition, foreign investments, securities, corporate rehabilitation, insurance, publicprivate partnerships, mining and natural resources, energy, utilities regulation, intellectual property, sports and entertainment, and taxation. Our clients include leading companies in banking and finance, manufacturing, retail, power, oil and gas, education, health care and insurance, realty and property development, and technology. Our lawyers are some of the most qualified and experienced in their respective fields, and we recruit only the top graduates from the leading law schools. DivinaLaw is the sole Philippine member of Lawyers Associated Worldwide, a top-rated international association of over 100 independent law firms from more than 50 countries. We are also the only Philippine member of LEGALINK, also a top-ranked global network of 68 independent law firms from a majority of the world’s commercial centers.

Practice Areas: 

Corporate, criminal, and civil litigation 

Alternative dispute resolution 

Estates and trusts 

Immigration

Labor and employment 

Elections

Administrative regulation


Transportation and maritime law 

Family law

Banking, finance, and construction 

Mergers and acquisition 

Foreign investments 

Securities

Corporate rehabilitation 

Insurance

Public-private partnerships

Mining and natural resources    

Utilities regulation Intellectual property

Sports and entertainment  

Energy

Taxation

Environmental law Information Technology

Contact Details: Metro Cebu Office: Unit 1504 Ayala Life- FGU Center, Mindanao Avenue corner Biliran Road, Cebu Business Park, Cebu City 6000, Philippines Phone No: (63)(32) 416-8018 nilo.divina@divinalaw.com


Insurance Litigation Law Firm of the Year – USA McKennon Law Group PC represents a full range of individuals, professionals, and businesses in all types of insurance coverage, including bad faith litigation, disability insurance, life insurance, health insurance, ERISA/employee benefits, long-term care insurance, property & casualty insurance, professional liability insurance, insurance agent & broker liability, unfair competition and business litigation matters. We primarily specialize in disability insurance; life insurance and ERISA litigation matters and we have been doing so for over 30 years. Our law firm is committed to the highest level of client service while maintaining the highest standards of legal excellence and professional ethics. Our litigation practice is thoughtful, experienced, and integrated with each client’s needs, budgets, and goals. We pride ourselves on our impeccable reputation for work product and professional and client relationships along with our intelligent, innovative and practical approach to the practice of law. McKennon Law Group’s attorneys have attended the top law schools in the country and bring a strong sense of pride and quality work ethic to everything they do. McKennon Law Group’s attorneys have big firm experience because they previously practiced at some of California’s finest law firms. Therefore, they combine a rare mix of big firm expertise and legal quality with small firm attention to your case. We are also able to provide our clients with a level of trial experience rarely found in firms of our size. McKennon Law Group PC and its attorneys have also received many prestigious awards and recognitions. Our law firm specializes in arbitrations, trials and appeals on all lines of ERISA/Employee, insurance—life, health, disability, property/casualty, commercial general liability, professional liability, officers and directors liability, employment practices liability, and homeowners and business owners property and liability— successfully resolving both coverage and bad faith claims on behalf of our clients. We represent our clients’ interests in all state and federal courts in California and in federal courts nationwide. We have been involved with recovering multi-million dollar judgments, arbitration awards, and settlements for our clients. Our attorneys have extensive experience representing insurance companies and policyholders in life, health, disability and ERISA litigation, and in general liability, environmental, marine, and property/casualty litigation. We have been involved with recovering several multi-million dollar judgments, arbitration awards, and settlements for our clients. Although we primarily litigate in California, we take cases nationally and we have extensive experience litigating cases in other states, especially in the western United States, including Hawaii, Arizona and Nevada. Most of our consumer litigation cases, and many of our business litigation cases, are taken on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay nothing and we recover nothing unless you win your case by way of settlement or verdict. We welcome referrals from the legal community, and honour referral fee commitments in keeping with the rules of professional conduct. Robert J. McKennon is a founding shareholder of McKennon Law Group PC. He represents individuals and small-to-large corporations in sophisticated litigation matters in state and federal court. He has recovered millions of dollars for our clients from such insurance companies as: Unum, Prudential, Lincoln National, Standard Life, Sun Life, Met Life, Hartford Life, Mass Mutual, Paul Revere, Provident, Trustmark and Aetna for all types of insurance claims, including:


Disability Insurance

Life Insurance

ERISA

Health Insurance

Long-Term Care

Property & Casualty

Mr. McKennon is admitted to all federal and state courts in California, and regularly handles litigation matters in federal courts in the Western United States. He is a nationally recognized expert in insurance litigation matters and has tried, litigated, and resolved hundreds of insurance litigation matters, including ERISA/employee benefit, life, health and long-term disability and short-term disability insurance, insurance coverage, insurance bad faith, unfair trade practices, and insurance agent/broker litigation. Mr. McKennon has also handled numerous business litigation cases in the areas of general business and contract disputes and unfair competition. Mr. McKennon frequently serves as a guest speaker at local and national conferences concerning life, health, long-term disability, short-term disability and ERISA issues, and has chaired numerous national conferences on these topics. Mr. McKennon formerly represented numerous insurance companies in first-party insurance lawsuits involving life, health and short-term and long-term disability insurance disputes, insurance bad faith and punitive damages for over twenty-four years. He now represents insureds, claimants, businesses and other consumers who believe that their insurance companies have improperly denied their claims for insurance benefits. Mr. McKennon was the founder and editor of the Life, Health & Disability Insurance Law Blog at lifehealthdisabilityinsurancelaw.com while he was a partner at Barger & Wolen LLP. He is currently the editor of the California Insurance Litigation Blog at californiainsurancelitigation.com. He is also a regular contributing author of insurance articles in the Los Angeles Daily Journal, the most read and respected legal journal in California. The nationally respected Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory and the nationwide Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers has awarded Mr. McKennon their highest possible rating, “AV.” This assessment is based on confidential recommendations received exclusively from lawyers and judges. The rating highlights an attorney’s competence, ethical conduct, professional ability, diligence and overall performance. Mr. McKennon has been also awarded AVVO’s rating of “Superb,” 10.0 out of a possible 10.0, which also highlights an attorney’s competence, ethical conduct, professional ability, diligence and overall performance. Mr. McKennon has also been recognized as a 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 Southern California “Super Lawyer,” which recognizes him as one of California’s top attorneys in ERISA and insurance coverage matters. Mr. McKennon was recently profiled in Forbes, American Lawyer, Coast magazine, Los Angeles Times, Corporate Counsel, and National Law Journal as a top Southern California insurance and business litigation attorney. Mr. McKennon was named as one of Orange County Register Metro’s Top Southern California Attorneys for 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. Mr. McKennon was also named as a Corporate Livewire’s Global Awards for several years as Newport Beach, Orange County, California “Insurance & Reinsurance” Lawyer of the Year. The American Society of Legal Advocates has recognized him as one of the top 100 Insurance lawyers in the State of California for several years. Aggressive Advocacy Unlike many firms that are interested in doing as little work as possible because they know they will settle all cases, we aggressively litigate our cases, and we are not afraid to take our cases to trial. Our attorneys have extensive trial experience, and our strong reputation for excellence in trial advocacy will inure to your benefit when settlement discussions occur. This will maximize your settlement potential.


Integrity We place a very high value on integrity and fidelity to our clients’ interests. You will get an honest assessment of your case during all phases of the pre-litigation and litigation process. You can expect a full and honest accounting of expenses relating to your case, including outlays for court costs, preparation of exhibits, hiring expert witnesses, obtaining medical records and depositions. Excellence Our attorneys are graduates of the top law schools in the country and previously have practiced law at large firms where we honed our litigation skills. We take pride in the quality of law that we practice. We engage in the necessary investigation and preparation of your case to ensure we achieve the best possible results for our clients. This preparation will include thorough investigation of facts and documentation, appropriate legal research, development of appropriate courtroom exhibits, hiring of experts, engaging in necessary discovery and more. Trust We pride ourselves on the relationships we have built with our clients. Our practice has been built on the confidence our clients have placed in us. When we commit ourselves to your case, you can count on the fact that you will receive the best representation available. We maintain regular and appropriate communication with you throughout your case and treat you as a vital and necessary team member as we litigate your case. As a result, we are proud of the referrals we receive from our clients, other attorneys and professionals. Personal Attention Rather than create a high-volume law practice, we limit the cases we accept to provide you with the personal attention you need and deserve. You will not be passed off to case managers or intake personnel, a common practice in many firms. We are committed to the highest level of client service and we are committed to ensuring you are satisfied with our level of service to you and the results we receive on your behalf. As your case progresses, you will be apprised of developments and important events as they occur Experience There are few firms anywhere that have more experience in handling insurance coverage, ERISA and insurance bad faith litigation than our firm, and we bring that experience to bear in every case we litigate. For nearly 30 years, we have successfully arbitrated and litigated insurance, business and employment litigation cases. Mr. McKennon is an accomplished trial attorney and is a nationally recognized expert in disability insurance, life insurance and ERISA/employee benefits litigation. He has chaired, and been a frequent speaker at, numerous local and national conferences on the subjects of disability insurance, insurance coverage, and life insurance and ERISA/employee benefits litigation. He has also authored numerous articles and book chapters on the subjects of disability insurance, insurance coverage, and life insurance and ERISA/employee benefits litigation. Mr. McKennon has received the highest possible rating for legal ethics and legal abilities. He is AV® Peer Review Rated and has received the highest AVVO rating of “Superb.” Mr. McKennon was recognized as a 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Southern California Super Lawyer, a recognition given to fewer than 5% of attorneys in the country. As indicated in his attorney profile section of this website, Mr. McKennon has been recently profiled in several magazines and other articles, and has received several recognitions and awards as a top California insurance coverage, ERISA and business litigation attorney. Contact Details: Robert J McKennon Address: 20321 SW Birch St., Suite 200, Newport Beach, California 92660 Tel. (949) 387-9595 Fax: (949) 385-5165 Email: rm@mckennonlawgroup.com Web: www.mckennonlawgroup.com Blog: www.californiainsurancelitigation.com


Shipping & Maritime Law Firm of the Year – Singapore Haridass Ho & Partners is boutique law firm with a niche practice in the fields of Admiralty, Shipping and International Trade whilst handling a broad spectrum of legal services. We handle both dry and wet admiralty contentious matters. Additionally we also do non contentious matters and in particular, ship finance work which includes advising clients and preparing all documentation necessary for sale and purchase, mortgage and/or charter of vessels. The firm was established in 1985 and since then we have represented clients from all aspects of the marine industry. Although we started off representing shipyards and still continue to do so, our client base has expanded to include ship-owners, P&I clubs, charterers, ship chandlers, bunker suppliers, traders and bankers. Our team of lawyers include a number of senior admiralty practitioners each with more than 20 years of experience who work with the younger lawyers who are hungry for the experience. The firm has always worked towards providing practical and commercial solutions which will assist the clients in getting the best results. Not everything needs to be litigated. Driving a hard bargain and negotiating a good deal for the clients has served our clients well. We act for Jurong Shipyard and Keppel Shipyard, amongst others. Mr Haridass Ajaib sits on the board of directors of Sembcorp Marine Ltd as well as the Singapore subsidiaries of Precious Shipping, Thailand, which are the ship owning entities. The firm also represented both ship-owners and several bunker suppliers in the recent slew of problems caused by the OW Bunker debacle. We understand the clients’ needs and the circumstances that is sometimes beyond their control and in which they need immediate assistance. Giving them support in terms of advising them on the best course of action, be it litigation or sitting with the other parties and exploring opportunities to amicably resolve matters is our strong suit. The oil and gas sector of the marine industry has been hit hard and this has also had an adverse effect on the rest of the industry including the bulkers. A number of clients have needed advice on restructuring their debts. We have assisted them with this too. The Industry is still suffering from the effects of the hit to the oil and gas industry and the challenges have not been overcome yet. It looks to be a difficult period but we expect to meet the challenges and as always, we aspire to do our best for the clients be it in recovery of their claims, protection of their rights or restructuring of their debts. We expect that things will continue to be difficult for some time yet. We have weathered other economic downturns and believe that by working with our clients and helping them, we too will ride out this period. Contact Details: 24 Raffles Place #18-00 Clifford Centre Singapore 048621 Tel: 6533 2323


Financial Analysis Firm of the Year - USA Demotech, Inc. is a financial analysis firm located in Columbus, Ohio. Since 1985, Demotech has been serving the insurance industry by providing actuarial consulting as well as accurate and proven Financial Stability Ratings® (FSRs) for Property & Casualty insurance companies and Title underwriters. FSRs are a leading indicator of the financial stability of an insurer. In 1989 Demotech became the first insurer rating services in the United States to review and rate independent, regional and specialty insurers based upon the company’s execution of its business model and not its size. The rating process provides an objective baseline as well as insight as to the financial stability of an insurer. Demotech levels the playing field by offering FSRs to insurers of all sizes. Demotech distinguishes itself from other rating services in many ways. Four distinguishing characteristics are the industry experience of our analysts, long tenure of our analysts, our focus on an insurer’s business model rather than its size, and the transparency of our analysis process. In total, our four primary analysts average more than 30 years of progressively responsible insurance experience. Furthermore, the same four primary analysts average more than twenty years of tenure with Demotech. As a result, carriers that contact Demotech can be assured of comparable treatment, institutional memory and consistent outcomes due to the professionalism and tenure of our staff. As noted, our analysts, including myself, are experienced professionals. I am an actuary with forty years of insurance and financial analysis experience. Sharon Romano Petrelli, co-founder of Demotech, has earned the designations of CPCU, AIAF, CCP and ARC. She has served on the board of an insurer as well as the board of governors of the CPCU Society. She has thirty years of insurance experience. Barry J. Koestler, II, Chief Ratings Officer, a Chartered Financial Analyst, has more than twenty years of insurance and financial analysis experience including rate filings, loss and loss adjustment expense reserving and financial analysis. He has coordinated the development and monitoring of FSRs since 1996. Robert M. Warren, CPCU, CPA, Client Services Manager, has served as the chief financial officer of several insurers. His forty years of experience includes more than ten years with Demotech. Although other rating agencies seem fascinated by the size of an insurer and its diversification, neither size nor diversification has kept insurers out of liquidation. In fact, some of the largest insolvencies in the history of insurance were substantial publicly traded carriers that touted their diversification. As such, Demotech focuses on a carrier’s business model and its execution of that model. In 2007 we introduced our Company Classification System to initiate dialogue on business models. A Comment from Joseph Petrelli: “I am the President and Founder of Demotech, Inc. Organized in 1985, Demotech is a Columbus, Ohio based financial analysis company. Demotech reviews and rates more than 420 carriers domiciled in the United States. Our clients include larger, publicly traded carriers as well as regional insurance companies, title underwriters, risk retention groups and specialty insurance markets. Financial Stability Ratings® of A or better are accepted by the secondary mortgage marketplace, virtually all mortgage lenders and an increasing number of umbrella insurance markets, insurance agents errors and omissions insurance carriers, reinsurance carriers and other informed third parties. Prior to forming Demotech, I was employed by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, Countryway Insurance and ISO. I am a member in good standing of the Casualty Actuarial Society, American Academy of Actuaries,


the Conference of Consulting Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries. I graduated from The College of Insurance and have an MBA from The Ohio State University.” In addition to our efforts reviewing and rating insurance carriers, two of our clients during 2015 were the State of Ohio Office of Risk Management and State of Iowa Title Guaranty Division. When these public entities needed experienced, credentialed actuaries to assist them with the pricing and evaluation of their casualty insurance exposure and title guaranty exposure, respectively, our actuaries were the first choice. Recent acknowledgements of our insurer rating capabilities include HUD’s re-affirmation of our acceptance in its Section 232 Handbook and expanding our acceptance to its Section 241(a) program, Fannie Mae Multifamily acceptance of risk retention groups and captive insurers rated A or better, our nomination for Intelligent Insurer’s Global Award – Best Rating Agency (2014 and 2015) and securing the ACQ5 award for US – Niche Financial Analysis Provider – Insurance, two consecutive years, 2014 and 2015. In addition Demotech was nominated for the Rating Agency of the Year at the fall 2015 Reactions North America Gala. We were also honoured with the Florida Association for Insurance Reform’s Founder’s Award at its 2015 annual meeting. More recently we secured the Financial Monthly – M&A Awards 2015 – Financial Analysis Firm of the Year – USA and the Corporate Vision – Corporate Excellence Award 2015 – Best Evaluator of US Regional and Specialty Insurers & Sustained Excellence in Insurer Financial Analysis. Our clients operate in an environment dominated by low interest rates and the pressure of same on earnings yet many of our insurer clients benefit from alternatives to insurance and reinsurance. Additional coverages, such as cyber liability, data breach, and gap coverages associated with addressing the need to supplement personal automobile insurance policies for commercial use associated with transportation network companies focused our experienced, professional insurance company analysts on a collaborative role with clients. Our analysts are well versed in the traditional aspects of insurance and reinsurance. Concurrently, as educated professionals they were comfortable with the development or analysis of creative strategies and products to address emerging consumer needs. Our experienced and credentialed analysts often provided clients with peer review and independent feedback on several aspects of the client’s current and future operations. Demotech is focused on continuing to grow and serve our current and our future clients. With a team of experienced, credentialed professionals, we are uniquely positioned to address the current as well as the emerging issues that must be addressed. In May 2016, we will host a seminar addressing the needs of regional and specialty carriers in the important areas of product development, client retention, and the identification and response to emerging issues.

Contact Details: Joseph Petrelli Demotech, Inc. 2715 Tuller Parkway Dublin, Ohio 43017-2310 Main: (800) 354-7207 Direct: (614) 526-2160 FAX: (614) 526-2161 JPetrelli@demotech.com www.demotech.com


Fraud Law Firm of the Year – UK Edmonds Marshall McMahon was founded in February 2012 to offer a novel service to companies and individuals who have been the victims of crime. Our success is based on the creation of a private, high-powered team of senior prosecutors with an unrivalled track record in conducting major fraud prosecutions and regulatory work. We have invested significant time into making sure that we can always provide the services our clients require, including working with other specialist firms where this is in our client’s best interest. We also guarantee our clients that their case will be managed and overseen by one of the firm’s directors. Edmonds Marshall McMahon has three founding partners each with vast but varying expertise and experience: Tamlyn Edmonds – Tamlyn was called to the Bar in 2000, prior to founding EMM she specialised in the most complex and high-value prosecutions on behalf of the DWP & Pensions and Department of Health. She was chosen to lead the Department of Health, Medicines and healthcare produces Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) specialist team of prosecutors, a role in which she gained an impressive reputation. During this time she had conduct of the largest fraud and trademark cases for the Department of Health, including the largest ever counterfeit medicines case. Tamlyn has considerable experience in restraint and confiscation & enforcement. She also has significant experience in the area of extradition, both within and outside the EU. Andrew Marshall – Andrew is a barrister of almost 30 years’ experience has led the prosecution of major fraud and regulatory matters for a range of government agencies. He has been involved in the notoriously difficult prosecutions of many corporates such as Shell and Schindler Lifts. He is a committed and experienced advocate whose former practice principally relates to large scale, organised crime cases requiring a strategic overview, normally concerning complex fraud or drugs. Other areas of work include wide ranging advisory and review work on criminal and quasi-criminal matters (with a particular speciality in disclosure) appellate work and asset forfeiture and restraint. In addition to being a Grade 4 Advocate for the CPS, Andrew was appointed to the A-G’s list of prosecuting counsel in 1990 and to the list of Standing Counsel in 2005. In June 2012 he was appointed to the Regulatory list of Advocates for the Health & Safety Executive, Office of Rail Regulation and Environment Agency. Kate McMahon – Kate is a specialist, dual-qualified prosecutor. Prior to founding EMM she prosecuted for the Serious Fraud Office where she works as a senior lawyer on some of the


UK’s largest criminal prosecutions. Kate has also prosecuted a number of high-profile, highvalue international ‘boiler room’ frauds operating across a number of countries, involving thousands of victims. Kate also has significant experience in the area of confiscation, having obtained confiscation orders in excess of £1m. She has also successfully conducted many large-scale fraud trials, including the famous ‘transit thefts’ of pharmaceuticals in transit from the EU factories to wholesale dealers in the UK. She has also prosecuted serious and violent crime in Australia as a Crown Court Advocate. Since founding EMM, Kate has specialised in cases involving serious fraud, serious and violent crime, international crime and perverting the course of justice. Edmonds Marshall McMahon is the first and only specialist private prosecution law firm in the UK. Edmonds Marshall McMahon is described by the UK Legal 500 (2013) & (2014) as a leading firm in “Fraud: white collar-crime”. The firm is staffed by highly experienced prosecutors and offers tailor-made private prosecution services to companies and individuals. The Directors have a combined total of 45 years of experience in criminal justice and are focused on helping victims negotiate the system. We are fully versed in all manner of fraud or offending and however complex, understand the problem. We don’t believe in a ‘one size fits all’ approach, we prefer to use our extensive experience, hard won reputation and expertise in criminal law to provide the most effective solution to a problem.

• R (Mirchandani) v Ketan Somaia Ketan Somaia was convicted in June 2014 following a private prosecution brought by Mr Mirchandani for 9 counts of obtaining money transfer by deception totalling $19, 6960,000, Following conviction, Edmonds Marshall McMahon were instructed to commence confiscation proceedings in order to deprive Mr Somaia of the benefit of his criminal conduct, after State bodies indicated that they did not have the capacity to pursue the matter. Restraint proceedings were instituted in the High Court. Following the trial, EMM were able to secure the largest ever confiscation order for a private prosecutor in the sum of £20,434,691 in confiscation to the state, £18,220,723 compensation in favour of Mr Mirchandani and £200,233 compensation in favour of a second victim, Mr Shah.

• R (William Orenstein) v Soloman Pradhan. Following an 8 day trial, Mr Pradhan was convicted and sentenced to 8 months imprisonment for charges of Perverting the Course of Justice & Fraud. Mr Pradhan, who owned a property which shared a border with Mr Orenstein’s tenanted property, knocked through a wall, commandeered Mr Orenstein’s rear yard and erected a hookah bar. When Mr Orenstein tried to claim his property back, Mr Pradhan claimed that he had acquired the title by way of adverse possession, deliberately lied in his application to the land registry and enticed others to lie on his behalf. These individuals eventually gave statements to support the prosecution at trial.


• TM EYE Ltd - Edmonds Marshall McMahon prosecutes a range of cases on behalf of TM Eye Ltd, nationwide. TM Eye represent a number of well-known clients including the manufacturers of brand named, high class, luxury goods such as designer label clothes, handbags, perfumes and watches. They are one of the few organisations in the UK that carries out proactive actions against those involved in this form of criminality. They are experts in surveillance, case preparation, disclosure and giving evidence and have brought the tactics used in fighting organised crime into the area of Intellectual Property theft to catch and convict those involved. Edmonds Marshall McMahon and TM Eye have so far achieved a 100% conviction rate with sentences ranging from fines to 6 months imprisonment. During a recent, ongoing operation, goods valued in the region of £1m were seized.

• Edmonds Marshall McMahon is providing ongoing advice to a high-net worth individual based offshore, with significant corporate and beneficial trust interests, in relation to the potential prosecution of an associate for bribery. The advice provided is set against the background of high-profile civil litigation involving a global corporation, a cash seizure and subsequent investigation by multiple authorities. Edmonds Marshall McMahon are strategizing to manage the client’s exposure to a bribery prosecution and assisting with dealings with the authorities. The case additionally requires consideration of bribery, before and after the introduction of the Bribery Act 2012. The economic downturn has meant that there have been further cuts to the justice budget, in particular with police forces and the CPS. This has meant that more and more people are feeling unsatisfied with the way their cases have been dealt with and many feeling that justice has not been achieved for them. In times such as these more and more people are looking to other means of obtaining justice and private prosecutions are a key tool in this. Edmonds Marshall McMahon have found that not only has there been an increase in financial crime cases but in other types of crime also. Our firm is growing rapidly to accommodate the increase in cases being referred to us. It is a very exciting time for the Edmonds Marshall McMahon team! Contact Details: Edmonds Marshall McMahon 2-5 Warwick Court, London, WC1R 5DJ DX 450 LDE Office: 0207 583 8392


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