Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance appoints 24 new partners globally

Yusuke Abe, Timothy Democratis and Edith Leung are promoted in Asia Pacific

Leading international law firm Clifford Chance today announced the promotion of 24 new lawyers to its global partnership. These promotions will take effect from 1 May 2016, bringing the total number of partners in the firm to 577. Three of the promotions are from Asia Pacific: Yusuke Abe in Tokyo, Timothy Democratis in Beijing and Edith Leung in Hong Kong.

Regional Managing Partner Peter Charlton said, "It's wonderful to have such highly talented people recognised. These three new partners support the ambitions of our clients and of the firm in Asia Pacific. The appointments are well deserved and exemplify our desire to continue promoting outstanding talent. Both Timothy and Edith are fluent Mandarin speakers, and Yusuke is our new bengoshi partner in Tokyo."

The promotions underscore the firm's commitment to Asia Pacific. While these new partners fall under the broader Banking and Finance practice, their expertise is varied and covers a range of specialities for which the firm is a recognised market leader. This includes leveraged and acquisition finance, corporate debt restructurings, project finance and asset finance.

Matthew Layton, Clifford Chance Managing Partner commented, "These promotions recognise talent, commitment and entrepreneurialism. Each of these new partners has already made their mark: by virtue of the quality of their expertise and service delivery, they are seen as 'go-to' advisors by their clients; they are role models for our teams; and they play a critical part in delivering the firm's strategy. I congratulate each of them for their impressive achievements to date and the valuable contribution they have already made to the firm and I look forward to working alongside them as they further develop their careers at Clifford Chance."

Across the globe, the new partners are drawn from all of the firm's market-leading practices and reflect the range and depth of the firm's capability in those areas most critical to the world's leading businesses. Practices include public M&A and IPOs; Private Equity, funds and trusts; leveraged, acquisition, asset and project financing; investigations, commercial litigation; tax and employment matters; and sanctions.  The new partners are based in 13 of the firm's 35 international offices.

Biographies below:

Yusuke Abe, Finance, Tokyo
Yusuke advises on a full range of banking and finance transactions including project, acquisition and asset finance and regulatory matters. His clients include Japanese and international sponsors and lenders and export credit agencies on both inbound and outbound transactions. He has acted on headline deals such as JPY2.2 trillion concession of Japan's Kansai and Osaka international airports for VINCI Airports S.A.S. He has also worked in the Hong Kong office. Yusuke obtained his LLM at Duke University and was admitted to the New York bar in 2009. He also has a law degree from Waseda University. In 2003, he was admitted as a bengoshi in Japan and the same year joined Clifford Chance in Tokyo.

Timothy Democratis, Finance, Beijing
Timothy specialises in cross-border financings and other forms of structured, secured and corporate lending, including leveraged and acquisition finance and corporate debt restructurings. Timothy acts for borrowers, banks and other financial institutions and in recent years has focused on transactions involving Chinese parties, including the financing for outbound investments by PRC corporates and private equity funds. He joined Clifford Chance in 2003 and since then has worked mainly in London, with periods spent in the Hong Kong and Shanghai offices, before more recently relocating to Beijing. Timothy is a graduate of the University of Cambridge, is admitted as a Solicitor in England & Wales and is fluent in Mandarin.

Edith Leung, Finance, Hong Kong
Edith is experienced in a wide range of leveraged acquisition and syndicated loan financings, representing both lenders and borrowers, with a particular focus on PRC inbound and outbound investments. Her recent matters include advising Ping An Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank on the US$1.1billion financing for the US take-private of Wuxi Pharma Tech by a consortium including Ally Bridge, Boyu Capital, Temasek, Ping An, Hillhouse and the chairman. Edith joined Clifford Chance in 2010 and is qualified in Hong Kong, England and Wales. She is fluent in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.  

The other newly promoted partners are:

Americas
Jake Farquharson – Capital Markets, New York
Patrick O'Reilly – Finance, New York
Daniel Winick – Finance, New York

Asia Pacific
Yusuke Abe – Finance, Tokyo
Timothy Democratis – Finance, Beijing
Edith Leung – Finance, Hong Kong

Continental Europe
Luis Alonso – Corporate, Madrid
Guillermo Guardia – Corporate, Barcelona
Niek De Pauw – Corporate, Brussels
Marianne Pezant – Corporate, Paris
Ioana Talnaru – Corporate, Bucharest
Miloš Felgr – Finance, Prague
Fabian Böhm – Real Estate, Frankfurt
Floris van de Bult – Tax, Pensions & Employment, Amsterdam
Alexandre Ooms – Tax, Pensions & Employment, Brussels

London
Paul Deakins – Capital Markets
Louise Keary – Capital Markets
Alexandra Davidson – Corporate
Katherine Moir – Corporate
Christopher Sullivan – Corporate
Andrew Husdan – Finance
Michael Pearson – Finance
Michael Lyons – Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Christopher Yates – Litigation & Dispute Resolution