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December 13, 2018
Promotions Include Attorneys across Practice Areas and Geographies
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, a leading advisor to global financial institutions, corporations and funds, today announced that attorneys Melis Acuner, Suzanne Bell, Robert Cannon, Gregory Langsdale and Jed Miller have been elected to the firm’s partnership, effective January 1, 2019.
In addition, the firm promoted Kathryn Borgeson, Nicholas Brandfon, Trent Lindsay, Sabah Nawaz, Adam Risell and Lex Urban to special counsel, and Taylor Speers to counsel.
“Our newly promoted partners reflect what Cadwalader is about: legal excellence, extraordinary client service and a steadfast commitment to our core values,” said Pat Quinn, Cadwalader’s Managing Partner.
He added, “I am certain that all of our promoted lawyers – partners, special counsel and counsel – will serve our clients, our firm and the profession with distinction for years to come.”
The firm’s new partners are as follows:
Melis Acuner, Global Litigation, London – Acuner advises clients in high-profile cross-border disputes, criminal and civil investigations and regulatory matters. She also focuses on international arbitration and litigation, including complex multijurisdictional disputes involving multiple parallel proceedings. Acuner also has experience defending government inquiries and conducting internal investigations related to anti-corruption, money laundering and fraud. She has conducted reviews of corporate compliance provisions and structures, and advised on the improvement of these structures and related policies and procedures designed to prevent and detect potential violations of law. Acuner received her Postgraduate Diploma in Law from University Paris II Panthéon-Assas and an LL.M. from London School of Economics.
Suzanne Bell, Capital Markets, London – Bell has advised leading financial institutions and corporations in connection with a wide range of domestic, European and international structured finance and capital markets transactions. Her experience includes structuring and documenting commercial paper conduits, structured investment vehicles, and public and private securitizations of a range of asset classes, with particular focus on credit card receivables, auto loans and leases, and trade receivables. Bell also has experience in advising a range of stakeholders (including receivers, directors and creditors) on debt restructurings and insolvency matters involving structured finance borrowers. She received degrees from Nottingham Law School, the University of Nottingham and the University of Dundee.
Robert Cannon, Capital Markets, London – Cannon focuses on structured finance and securitization and has acted for arrangers, originators and asset managers on transactions involving a variety of structures and asset classes, including CDOs, CLOs, mortgage securitizations and commercial paper conduits. He is also highly experienced in EU risk retention rules and the regulatory framework that applies to insurers and reinsurers, and he counsels clients on insurance-linked securities and loan-origination and investment structures. Cannon received an undergraduate degree in law from Trinity College and a master's degree in law from the University of Oxford.
Gregory Langsdale, Global Litigation, Washington, DC – Langsdale represents clients in complex commercial litigation and arbitration concerning a broad range of issues, including contract disputes, business torts, theft of trade secrets, commodities litigation, dealer terminations and antitrust claims. He also provides counseling regarding supplier-distributor relationships, beer franchise laws and alcoholic beverage control regulations. Langsdale’s breadth of experience includes federal court jury trials, litigation in state courts, international and AAA arbitrations, ITC proceedings and appellate work. He earned his J.D., with honors, from George Washington University Law School and his bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Wake Forest University.
Jed Miller, Financial Services, New York – Miller’s practice encompasses all manner of complex financial transactions, with an emphasis on structures that utilize securitization techniques and derivatives. He regularly represents banks, hedge funds and other financial institutions in connection with securitizations of a wide range of asset classes, including CRE CLOs, derivative product companies, municipal tender option bond programs and securitizations of non-performing mortgage loans; funded and unfunded derivative products, including credit-linked notes and fixed-income and credit derivatives; and the restructuring of distressed structured financial products. Miller earned his J.D., cum laude, from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law and his B.A., magna cum laude, from Oklahoma State University.
The following attorneys have been promoted to Special Counsel:
Kathryn Borgeson, Financial Restructuring, Washington, DC – Borgeson's practice is concentrated in the areas of bankruptcy and financial restructuring, and she regularly advises financial institutions on bankruptcy issues relating to trading contract and derivative issues. Borgeson also advises lenders in connection with bankruptcy-remote commercial mortgage loan originations, commercial mortgage-backed securitizations and asset-backed securitizations. Borgeson received her J.D. from George Washington University Law School, with honors, where she served as a member of The Federal Circuit Bar Journal, and earned a bachelor’s degree from Villanova University.
Nicholas Brandfon, Finance, New York – Brandfon’s practice is concentrated in the area of real estate finance. He represents clients in a variety of transactions, including the origination of balance sheet and securitized mortgage and mezzanine loans, loan syndications, loan restructurings and loan sales. Brandfon's experience spans many segments of the marketplace, including office, hotel, condominium and retail properties. He received his J.D. from the Northwestern University School of Law and his B.A. from Williams College.
Trent Lindsay, Finance, Charlotte – Lindsay’s practice is focused on fund finance, including the negotiation of syndicated subscription credit facilities involving leading private equity sponsors. Lindsay received his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law, an LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center and his B.A. from the University of South Carolina.
Sabah Nawaz, Capital Markets, London – Nawaz has acted on a wide range of cross-border structured finance and debt capital markets transactions (including the first European CMBS 2.0 deals). She also has extensive experience in refinancing and restructuring transactions. Nawaz earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Liverpool and completed her legal practice course at Nottingham Law School.
Adam Risell, Capital Markets, Washington, DC – Risell focuses his practice on representing issuers, underwriters and commercial banks in CLOs and securitization finance facilities backed by pools of middle market loans, broadly syndicated corporate loans, student loans, equipment leases and asset-backed securities. He also advises on the structuring and organizing of onshore and offshore hedge funds and other investment vehicles. Risell received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, an M.B.A. from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and a bachelor’s degree from Lehigh University.
Lex Urban, White Collar Defense and Investigations, Washington, DC – Urban has extensive experience leading domestic and cross-border internal investigations for global corporations, financial institutions and boards of directors in connection with potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Bank Secrecy Act and securities laws/regulations. Additionally, he regularly represents executives in white collar matters before the SEC, DOJ and other federal and state agencies. Urban received a J.D., magna cum laude, from Catholic University – Columbus School of Law and bachelor’s degrees from Williams College.
The following attorney has been promoted to Counsel:
Taylor Speers, Capital Markets, New York – Speers focuses his practice on transactional matters surrounding the financial services industry, most notably in the residential mortgage space. His practice encompasses whole loan sales (including new origination, performing and non-performing), servicing transfers (including bulk, flow and co-issue), warehouse financing facilities and securitization of mortgage servicing rights. Speers received his J.D. from Cornell Law School and his bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University.
