McGuireWoods continues to expand its global derivatives and structured finance capabilities with the arrival of partner Charles Wakiwaka, who joins the firm’s highly ranked securities and capital markets practice in London. Wakiwaka joins McGuireWoods from Clifford Chance, where he was a senior derivatives lawyer.
Wakiwaka advises buy-side and sell-side market participants on complex derivative and structured transactions such as fixed income, deal-contingent instruments, repackagings, structured notes and bespoke collateral arrangements across a range of asset classes, including equities, credit and commodities.
He also completed secondments with Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, providing senior-level support for multiple trading desks.
At McGuireWoods, Wakiwaka joins partner Jennifer Kafcas and associates Lauren Blaber and Alvino van Schalkwyk in growing the derivatives practice in the London office.
“Charles has a wealth of experience and clients value his insight as an excellent technical derivatives lawyer,” said Greg Kilpatrick, chair of the firm’s Securities & Capital Markets Department. “He understands how sophisticated clients operate and knows how to address their needs efficiently.”
“Charles is highly respected in the London and European markets for his business savvy and impressive track record guiding clients through complex derivatives and structured deals,” added Daniel Peyton, managing partner of the London office. “He is another outstanding addition as we continue to bolster our capabilities in London.”
Wakiwaka joins a McGuireWoods practice that consistently ranks among the leaders for advising corporate issuers and underwriters in capital markets transactions and has earned global recognition for its work representing clients in corporate and securities matters.
“McGuireWoods has built one of the world’s pre-eminent debt and capital finance practices and I look forward to working with colleagues in London and the U.S. to build on that success and deliver the highest level of service to clients,” Wakiwaka said.
McGuireWoods’ finance practice is one of the largest in the United States. The firm represents leading financial services institutions, including the top 10 U.S. banks ranked by assets. Law360 named McGuireWoods a “Banking Practice Group of the Year” for 2020, the second time in three years the legal news service recognized the firm for excellence representing financial services institutions in litigation, transactional and regulatory matters.
Source: www.mcguirewoods.com
