NEW YORK- LAWFUEL – Law News Network -Sept. 13, 2006–Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, one of the world’s leading international law firms, is pleased to announce the arrival of seven Special Counsel: Leslie W. Chervokas in the Financial Restructuring Department; Peter C. Gyr and Chiahua Pan in the Corporate/Mergers & Acquisitions Department; Mark A. Holdsworth in the Tax Department; Tara L. Reinhart in the Antitrust Practice Group of the Litigation Department; and Steven Z. Hodaszy and Craig A. Wolson in the Capital Markets Department.
“Each of these individuals brings a wealth of knowledge and diverse experience that will help us enhance the level of service we provide to our clients,” stated Robert O. Link, Jr., Cadwalader’s Chairman. “We are delighted to welcome them to the firm and look forward to their continued success.”
Leslie W. Chervokas, resident in New York, focuses her practice on the insolvency aspects of structured finance transactions, including CDOs, commercial mortgage-backed and other securitizations, and derivatives. She has substantial experience in corporate reorganizations and creditors’ rights, asset-backed finance and real estate. Prior to joining Cadwalader, she was a senior associate at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP. She received her B.A. from S.U.N.Y. at Stony Brook and her J.D. from Duke University School of Law, where she was a member of the Duke Law Journal.
Peter C. Gyr, resident in New York, concentrates on domestic and international corporate law, principally representing insurance companies and other financial institutions in private and public transactions, as well as in corporate governance matters. His experience includes hybrid and convertible instruments, warrants, equity units, swaps, securitizations, initial public offerings, spin-offs, private and public mergers, and stock and asset acquisitions. Before joining Cadwalader, Peter was special counsel at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. He received his J.D. and his S.J.D., both magna cum laude, from the University of Basel School of Law in Switzerland and an LL.M., with honors, from Northwestern University School of Law. He speaks German, French, Italian and Spanish.
Steven Z. Hodaszy, formerly a partner a Sidley Austin LLP, will focus his practice on publicly offered and privately placed mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities transactions. He has represented clients in securitizations of residential mortgage loans, home equity loans, motor vehicle loans, and farm and construction equipment loans. He also has experience in resecuritizations of residential mortgage-backed securities, net interest margin securities transactions and warehouse financings. Resident in the New York office, Mr. Hodaszy received his A.B., magna cum laude, from Amherst College and his J.D. from New York University School of Law, where he was a Note and Comment Editor of the New York University Law Review.
Mark A. Holdsworth, resident in New York, focuses his practice on executive compensation and employee benefit aspects of mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, spin-offs and other extraordinary corporate transactions. He also routinely represents clients in connection with the design and implementation of equity compensation, non-qualified deferred compensation and performance-based incentive plans and programs and the negotiation of employment, consulting and change in control agreements and severance and retention arrangements. He received his B.S. from Lehigh University, his J.D. cum laude, from Albany Law School of Union University and a Master of Laws in Taxation, with distinction, from Georgetown National Law Center. He was most recently a senior counsel at Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. and, prior to that, an associate with Proskauer Rose LLP.
Chiahua Pan concentrates her practice in insurance and reinsurance transactional and regulatory work, including advising on mergers, acquisitions, financings, insurance-linked notes, securitizations and structured reinsurance products, and life settlement, premium finance and other insurance related products. Resident in the New York office, she received an A.B., cum laude, from Radcliffe College, Harvard University, an M.A in Mathematics from Columbia University, an M.A. in linguistics from Yale University, and her J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law of the University of California. Prior to joining Cadwalader, she was special counsel at Sullivan & Cromwell and Skadden Arps. In addition to speaking on insurance topics and authoring various insurance-related articles, Ms. Pan has served as a lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and at the City University of New York.
Tara L. Reinhart, resident in Washington, has more than a decade of experience representing corporate entities and executives in civil antitrust litigation matters, criminal and civil antitrust investigations and a variety of white collar criminal matters. In particular, she has significant experience managing global price-fixing investigations and related civil actions. She also develops and implements corporate antitrust compliance and audit programs tailored to specific industries. She received a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her J.D., cum laude, from the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, where she was Notes & Comments Editor of the Health Law Journal. Ms. Reinhart was a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP prior to joining Cadwalader.
Craig A. Wolson, resident in Charlotte, has extensive experience in securitization, derivatives, bank finance, corporate finance, securities and general corporate matters. He focuses on analyzing and structuring asset-backed securitizations, collateralized debt obligations (both cash and synthetic), and other instruments and products, as well as transactions involving interest rate swaps, credit default swaps and other derivative instruments, on behalf of sponsors, underwriters, collateral managers and investors. Formerly a partner at Duane Morris LLP in New York, he is a graduate of the University of Michigan, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, where he was a James B. Angell Scholar. He received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, where he served as Articles & Administrative Editor of the Michigan Law Review. He currently serves as Chairman of the Structured Finance Committee of the New York City Bar Association and was selected by Law & Politic as a New York Super Lawyer for 2006.
About Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, established in 1792, is one of the world’s leading international law firms, with offices in New York, London, Charlotte, Washington and Beijing. Cadwalader serves a diverse client base, including many of the worlds top financial institutions, undertaking business in more than 50 countries in six continents. The firm offers legal expertise in antitrust, banking, business fraud, corporate finance, corporate governance, environmental, healthcare, insolvency, insurance and reinsurance, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, private client, private equity, real estate, securities and financial institutions regulation, securitization, structured finance, and tax. More information about Cadwalader can be found at www.cadwalader.com.
