Global law firm White & Case LLP has expanded its Global Capital Markets practice with a new team of lawyers. Joel Rubinstein, Jonathan Rochwarger and Elliott Smith join as partners in New York, and Daniel Nussen joins as a counsel in Los Angeles. The group joins White & Case from Winston & Strawn LLP.

“This team offers industry-leading expertise in capital markets and is a destination practice for special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) transactions,” said John Vetterli, Head of White & Case’s Global Capital Markets practice. “SPACs account for more than a quarter of IPO deal volume since the beginning of 2019 and for US$23.4 billion in M&A activity over the same period. With SPACs playing an increasingly critical role in the market, we are delighted that this team is joining White & Case to continue the growth of their practice.”

The team represents issuers, underwriters and institutional investors in IPOs, follow-on offerings and other corporate finance transactions. They bring extensive expertise in SPAC transactions, having represented clients in more than 35 SPAC IPOs that raised aggregate gross proceeds of more than US$11 billion, and more than 20 SPAC business combination transactions with an aggregate enterprise value of more than US$15 billion. The team also has substantial experience advising public companies on the securities law aspects of M&A, securities law compliance and other corporate matters.

“The addition of this team represents the continuation of our US-focused growth strategy in key areas,” said David Koschik, Vice Chair of White & Case. “SPACs are an example of an area that has continued to be active through COVID-19. As we continue to draw strength from our global footprint, this is the right time for us to make this investment.”

“SPAC M&A transactions have grown in size and prominence, with US-listed SPACs seeking targets globally,” said John Reiss, Head of White & Case’s Global M&A practice. “White & Case’s M&A practice has consistently ranked in the top 10 for deal value in leading M&A league tables globally for more than six years. With the addition of this team, we offer SPAC market participants an unrivaled breadth and depth of M&A capabilities to achieve their goals.”