NEW YORK (May 27, 2014) — For an unprecedented five consecutive years, international law firm McDermott Will & Emery’s Health Industry Advisory Practice Group has once again been named the standalone Tier 1 healthcare practice by Chambers USA, one of the legal industry’s top directory services.

Over the last five years, McDermott’s Health team has also earned Tier 1 rankings from the other two top legal directories, The Legal 500 USA and U.S. News-Best Lawyers. With these designations, McDermott is now the only firm to be ranked Tier 1 in healthcare nationally by all three of the legal industry’s top directories, maintaining the firm’s undisputed leadership in the health law marketplace.

Describing McDermott’s unequalled, cross-disciplinary healthcare capabilities, Chambers USA wrote that the firm is “Held in high esteem for advising a wide range of healthcare clients including hospitals, physician groups, nursing homes and integrated delivery systems. Focuses on regulatory and transactional aspects of healthcare such as antitrust, employee benefits, bankruptcy and private equity matters. Also offers market-leading litigation capabilities, and houses an impressive bench of highly regarded practitioners.”

One client interviewed by Chambers USA noted, “The firm has true experts in the healthcare law field and their level of competence is unsurpassed.” Another client interviewed by Chambers USA said of McDermott, “Their ability to provide someone with deep knowledge on any given topic, as well as be responsive to critical deadlines, is impressive.”

Chambers USA also recognized nine McDermott partners in their rankings of top health lawyers at the national level. Health partners nationally ranked this year include Joel Michaels, Ira Coleman, Gary Davis, Eric Gordon, Bernadette Broccolo, Christopher Jedrey, Michael Anthony, Michael Peregrine, and Practice Group Leader, Stephen Bernstein. McDermott boasts nine partners nationally ranked in the category of healthcare, or a full 25 percent of the total number of lawyers nationally ranked in this category. At the state level, McDermott’s Healthcare capabilities were ranked Tier 1 by Chambers USA in California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. Some 26 McDermott health partners were specifically ranked at the state level. No other nationally ranked health practice has anywhere near this number of ranked lawyers.

“It is a true honor to be recognized for five years in a row as the number one health law firm in the United States by this very prestigious directory that is so widely respected and relied upon by the business community,” said Stephen W. Bernstein, partner and head of McDermott’s Health Industry Advisory practice. “As the health industry continues to respond to and implement the provisions of the Affordable Care Act, clients across the nation turn to our practitioners for their most important and sensitive matters. To meet this ongoing demand, our health practice group continues to add seasoned professionals to our team so that we are able to provide timely, creative client service to companies operating in this vital, fast evolving industry. We do not take this honor for granted. We continue to look for ways to team with our clients to provide value-added and differentiated services.”

Chambers USA’s rankings and editorial commentary are based on independent research, and interviews with clients and other purchasers of legal services. Chambers & Partners is one of the premier directories for legal services and in a recent survey of 20,000 in-house counsel over half reported that their directory of choice when reviewing law firms and individual lawyers is Chambers & Partners.

With an over 30-year history of serving the health care industry, McDermott Will & Emery has one of the largest and most prestigious health practice groups in the world. The Firm’s international health team, resident in the Firm’s Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Munich, New York, Rome, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. offices, counsels leading organizations in every major sector of the health and life sciences industry on regulatory and business transaction issues. Non-institutional clients include physicians and other health professionals on both an individual and group (such as medical staff or professional association) basis. Institutional clients include integrated delivery systems, hospitals (both nonprofit and public company), large physician group practices, physician and dental practice management companies, ambulatory care clients, nursing homes, visiting nurse associations, home health agencies, health maintenance organizations, and other forms of alternative delivery systems and hospices. The Firm also represents medical device, pharmaceutical and medical supply manufacturers, distributors, and health information technology/health data companies.

SRZ is pleased to announce the 2nd Annual Distressed Investing Conference to be held on Thursday, November 21 in New York. Gathering industry leaders in distressed investing and distressed M&A, the conference will cover current developments in Europe, municipalities facing debt crises and the complicated relationship between private equity sponsors and organized labor. The event is invitation only.

Headlining the conference are SRZ partners who are leading lawyers in the distressed investing space. In addition, guest speakers will represent all areas of distressed investing including fund managers, investment bankers, restructuring consultants and a former union head, among others.

As part of the conference, SRZ’s 2013 Distressed Investing M&A report, produced in association with Mergermarket and Debtwire, will be released. SRZ M&A partner David E. Rosewater will present the study, which is based on the findings of a recent survey of investment bankers, private equity practitioners and hedge fund investors, in the U.S. and Europe. The complete report will be released on the day of the conference and available on SRZ’s website.

SRZ partner Adam C. Harris, head of the business reorganization group and a member of the firm’s executive committee, commented, “We are very excited about this year’s conference. Building on the success from last year, we expect more than 300 attendees representing a broad cross section of the distressed investing community. The agenda topics are timely and of significant interest to our clients, and the speakers are highly experienced and well versed on the subject matters.”

For the conference, Mr. Harris will provide introductory remarks and moderate the panel “Private Equity Sponsors and Organized Labor: Friends or Foes?” which will also feature SRZ partner Ronald E. Richman, co-head of the employment & employee benefits group and a member of the firm’s executive committee.

SRZ M&A partner Stuart D. Freedman will moderate the panel on “Investing in Distressed Municipal Debt.” The panel will focus on the key issues that investors should consider in investing in distressed municipals, using Detroit and Puerto Rico as examples. “While Detroit is an extreme case, the factors that led to its Chapter 9 filing — underfunded pension plans, surging health care costs for an aging or retired work force, the funding of cash flow shortfalls through debt are prevalent in state and local governments and more municipal restructurings are inevitable,” said Mr. Freedman.

Representing SRZ’s growing London practice, business reorganization partners Peter J.M. Declercq, Sonya Van de Graaff and David J. Karp will lead a discussion on “Distressed Opportunities in Europe.” SRZ’s distressed investing group in the firm’s U.K. office focuses on cross border insolvencies, European restructurings, distressed M&A transactions and debt trading.

“As a preeminent law firm for alternative investment managers in the U.S. and U.K., Schulte Roth & Zabel attorneys offer the highest level of representation and advice in all manners of large and complex distressed situations. Our annual Distressed Investing Conference provides an excellent opportunity for our team to share and gather knowledge on emerging markets worldwide,” commented Alan S. Waldenberg, chair of the firm’s executive committee and chair of the tax group, who regularly represents clients in M&A deals, restructurings and workouts, in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Schulte Roth & Zabel attorneys have collaborated to update and expand Insider Trading Law and Compliance Answer Book 2014, a book published by Practising Law Institute. This comprehensive treatise offers an explanation of both the basics and complexities of insider trading law.

Written in a question-and-answer format, this new edition fully integrates recent regulatory changes and provides a step-by-step understanding of the legal requirements imposed upon all investors. Insider Trading Law and Compliance Answer Book 2014 walks readers through the elements of an insider trading claim, what is legitimate company research that can be freely acted upon and what is nonpublic information that may not, when acting on a “tip” can incur legal liability, and the framework of civil and criminal penalties when insider trading has been successfully proved. In addition, the authors provide an in-depth discussion of the application of the insider trading law to specific issues, including tender offers, private investments in public equity (PIPEs), and Big Boy Letters.

Insider Trading Law and Compliance Answer Book 2014 serves as a reference for corporate insiders, investment advisers, compliance personnel, and both sophisticated and lay investors, as well as for the attorneys who advise and represent them. In today’s turbulent financial markets, a claim of insider trading often hits the newspapers, and this timely treatise is a concise road map to help readers safely navigate the major legal regulatory requirements related to insider trading.

SRZ litigation partner Harry S. Davis served as editor and authored several chapters of the book. Additional SRZ chapter authors include litigation partners Eric Bensky, Howard O. Godnick, William H. Gussman, Jr., Marcy Ressler Harris, Taleah E. Jennings, David K. Momborquette, Martin L. Perschetz,  Howard Schiffman, Gary Stein, Michael E. Swartz, Robert J. Ward and Peter H. White, lawyer Betty Santangelo and special counsel Michael G. Cutini and Jeffrey F. Robertson; business reorganization partner Adam C. Harris; business transactions partners Eleazer Klein and Marc Weingarten;  investment management and regulatory & compliance partner Marc E. Elovitz; and former Schulte lawyer Alan R. Glickman.

SRZ litigators prevailed on behalf of interdealer broker Tullett Prebon plc in a three-year, “bet the company” case brought by the company’s rival, BGC Partners. On Nov. 14, 2013, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division unanimously affirmed an American Arbitration Association (AAA) award in Tullett’s favor, rejecting every argument that BGC advanced in its case seeking damages for Tullett’s alleged misappropriation of BGC’s trade secrets. BGC first sued Tullett in 2010 and sought approximately $2 billion in damages. By the time the case came to trial, BGC had reduced its claim to approximately $250 million. An experienced AAA arbitrator rejected BGC’s arguments and found that the contractual damages provision that BGC relied upon in support of its damages claim was an unenforceable penalty provision. In doing so, the arbitrator awarded BGC a fraction of the damages it had been seeking, limiting recovery to $800,000 and finding that BGC was not the prevailing party and, therefore, was not entitled to any attorney’s fees. BGC subsequently challenged the arbitrator’s judgment and award. In its decision, the court found that the arbitrator’s judgment to reject BGC’s damages theory was “inescapable” in light of the evidence that SRZ had introduced at trial. The court rejected BGC’s argument for attorney’s fees, finding that BGC’s argument was “flawed” and “does not withstand scrutiny.”

The SRZ team that achieved this victory for Tullett was led by litigation partner Harry S. Davis and included litigation partners Robert M. Abrahams, Taleah E. Jennings and David K. Momborquette and associate Barbara G. Reid.

Schulte Roth & Zabel attorneys have written a comprehensive new book on hedge funds for both fund sponsors and investors. Hedge Funds: Formation, Operation and Regulation, published by ALM’s Law Journal Press, is an up-to-date and forward-looking guide that clearly and fully explains the complete spectrum of hedge fund investment structuring, operations and regulation.

As the hedge fund industry has grown dramatically in size and complexity, it has become both an important part of global asset management and the focus of new legislation and regulation. This all-encompassing book provides an expert look at the state of the industry, providing legal and practical insights into taxation, regulation, documentation, and strategic issues. Specific topics include hedge fund investment strategies and structuring a hedge fund management company, domestic and off-shore hedge fund structures and tax considerations, terms, fees and related considerations, regulatory requirements and fiduciary obligations of investment advisors, and fund documentation, including marketing materials, offering memoranda and governing documents.

Offering an unparalleled understanding of the legal and operational aspects of the hedge fund industry, the SRZ authors represent a broad range of practices and include investment management partners Stephanie R. Breslow, David J. Efron, Steven J. Fredman, David Nissenbaum, Paul N. Roth, Jennifer Dunn, Kenneth S. Gerstein, Christopher Hilditch, Daniel F. Hunter and Jason S. Kaplan; investment management regulatory & compliance partner Marc E. Elovitz; employment & employee benefits partners David M. Cohen and Holly H. Weiss; finance partner Daniel V. Oshinsky and former SRZ lawyers Nancy R. Finkelstein and Lawrence S. Goldberg; mergers & acquisitions partner Peter Jonathan Halasz; structured finance & derivatives partner Craig Stein and former SRZ lawyer Joseph Suh; and tax partners Philippe Benedict and Shlomo C. Twerski. The authors also received significant contributions from and litigation attorney Betty Santangelo, as well as associate Patrick Dundas; former Schulte lawyers Brad L. Caswell, Pamela Poland Chen, Jacob Preiserowicz, S. Beverly Prewitt, Naama Rosen, Benjamin A. Newman and Joseph P. Vitale; and tax special counsel David S. Griffel with associate David Wermuth.