Global law firm White & Case LLP has promoted 14 lawyers to local partner and 25 lawyers to counsel, representing ten global practices and 21 offices across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions.
“Our competitive edge is in how we collaborate across borders and practices,” said White & Case Chair Heather McDevitt. “These lawyers are thriving at White & Case because they tap deeply into these connections to deliver exceptional results for our clients. We are proud of all they have achieved in their careers to date and excited by what they will contribute in the future.”
At White & Case, the position of local partner is offered in select regions and locations where it is common market practice. These include Mexico in the Americas; Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, the Middle East, Poland, South Africa and Spain in EMEA; and China, Japan and Korea in Asia-Pacific. It is a recognized career step toward admission into Firm partnership.
The role of counsel is for senior lawyers with significant experience in a particular practice area. The title is used across White & Case, in all offices, usually as an alternative career path to partnership.
The promotions are effective January 1, 2026.
Americas (seven promotions)
Taylor Akerblom
Taylor Akerblom has been named counsel in our Litigation Practice. Based in Los Angeles, he represents clients in a variety of contentious matters in jury and non-jury trials, appeals, binding arbitration and mediation, and has experience in a range of disputes including consumer class actions, contract disputes, business torts, bankruptcy actions, trust and probate claims and employment claims.
John Dalebroux
John Dalebroux has been named counsel in our International Arbitration Practice. Based in Washington, DC, he focuses on international dispute resolution and transnational disputes involving sovereigns and Latin America across a variety of sectors, with experience in investment arbitrations before ICSID and under the UNCITRAL rules as well as in commercial arbitration and litigation in various fora.
Dylan Fay
Dylan Fay has been named counsel in our Litigation Practice. Based in Miami, he focuses on complex litigation before trial and appellate courts and in commercial arbitrations, with emphasis on cross-border disputes, representing corporates before regulatory agencies on compliance and prelitigation matters and litigating bankruptcy matters where he represents creditors, creditors’ committees and debtors’ estates in disputes arising from restructurings.
Deland Ji
Deland Ji has been named counsel in our Debt Finance Practice. Based in New York, she advises investment banks and private credit funds as lenders on a wide range of financings.
Brian Schmelkin
Brian Schmelkin has been named counsel in our Asset Finance Practice. Based in Miami, he focuses on asset finance and leasing transactions, in particular aircraft financing and leasing.
Graham Silnicki
Graham Silnicki has been named counsel in our Debt Finance Practice. Based in New York, he advises major financial institutions and corporate borrowers on a broad range of finance transactions, as well as utilizing advanced legal technology to provide strategic, high-value advisory work to clients engaged in complex debt transactions.
Shana Vantusko
Shana Vantusko has been named counsel in our Debt Finance Practice. Based in New York, she advises commercial banks, institutional lenders, private equity sponsors and corporate borrowers on leveraged acquisition financings, recapitalization transactions, asset-based facilities, mezzanine facilities, financial restructurings and other debt financing transactions.
EMEA (27 promotions)
Reem Albakr
Reem Albakr has been named a local partner in our Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. Based in Riyadh, she advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, restructuring and divestitures as well as antitrust matters and inbound foreign direct investment.
Hamzeh Al Rasheed
Hamzeh Al Rasheed has been named a local partner in our Capital Markets Practice. Based in Dubai, he advises corporates, financial institutions and quasi-sovereign entities on conventional and Islamic equity capital markets transactions.
Phillan Amin
Phillan Amin has been named counsel in our Capital Markets Practice. Based in London, he advises clients on OTC derivatives, structured finance, repurchase transactions, finance-linked hedging, transactions for regulatory capital purposes and related regulatory matters.
Edoardo Avato
Edoardo Avato has been named a local partner in our Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. Based in Milan, he advises private equity sponsors, multinational corporations and investment banks in a range of industries on mergers and acquisitions, private equity and corporate transactions.
Agmal Bahrami
Agmal Bahrami has been named a local partner in our Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. Based in Frankfurt, he advises corporates, financial institutions and investors on mergers and acquisitions and corporate law matters as well as fast growth businesses on venture capital transactions.
Peter Becker
Peter Becker has been named counsel in our Capital Markets Practice. Based in Frankfurt, he advises corporates and financial institutions on the issuance, subscription and placement of bonds, hybrid-instruments, structured financial products, IPOs, capital increases, other listing procedures and company takeovers.
Cornelius Börner
Cornelius Börner has been named counsel in our Antitrust Practice. Based in Brussels, he advises clients in a range of industries on all aspects of European and German competition law, including cross-border merger control, abuse of dominance and horizontal and vertical agreements.
Martina Castrén
Martina Castrén has been named counsel in our Antitrust Practice. Based in Helsinki, she advises clients on all aspects of European and Finnish competition law, including merger control reviews, global and Nordic merger filings, cartel proceedings and abuse of dominance.
Amparo de Leyva
Amparo de Leyva has been named a local partner in our Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. Based in Madrid, she advises private equity firms, infrastructure funds and other financial sponsors on mergers and acquisitions as well as disposals, joint ventures, co-investments and restructurings.
Prema Govind-Hitti
Prema Govind-Hitti has been named a local partner in our Debt Finance Practice. Based in Dubai, she advises sovereigns, corporates, banks, DFIs and other finance providers on various types of transactions including acquisition finance, leveraged finance, trade finance, general bank lending and restructuring.
Thomas Killeen
Thomas Killeen has been named counsel in our Capital Markets Practice. Based in Helsinki, he advises private equity firms, issuers and underwriters on US and European securities law and ongoing reporting matters related to a variety of complex, cross-border corporate financings, including general debt and equity capital markets transactions, leveraged finance and high yield debt offerings, IPOs and rights offerings and public and private mergers and acquisitions.
Dimitar Kondev
Dimitar Kondev has been named counsel in our International Arbitration Practice. Based in Paris, he focuses on construction law and disputes with experience in a variety of sectors including commercial development, energy and infrastructure.
Sarah Kouchad
Sarah Kouchad has been named counsel in our Tax Practice. Based in Paris, she focuses on all aspects of taxation, primarily the tax aspects of private equity transactions, mergers and acquisitions, group structure reorganizations and financings as well as tax litigation and estate planning.
Arnold Krutilins
Arnold Krutilins has been named a local partner in our Financial Services Regulatory Practice. Based in Dubai, he advises alternative investment funds, asset managers, fund managers, investment firms, government entities, technology companies and fintechs on a wide range of financial services regulatory, funds regulatory, licensing, compliance, fintech, data protection and employment matters.
Salvia Matonyte
Salvia Matonyte has been named a local partner in our Capital Markets Practice. Based in Dubai, she advises financial institutions, investment funds and corporates across a range of asset classes on a variety of structured finance matters including sukuk transactions, cash and synthetic securitisations, warehouse financings, asset-based lending transactions and performing and non-performing loan portfolio acquisitions and financings.
Fabian Mayer
Fabian Mayer has been named a local partner in our Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. Based in Berlin, he advises clients on mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures, particularly in the energy, infrastructure and technology sectors.
Miriam Gyun-Mie Meixner
Miriam Gyun-Mie Meixner has been named counsel in our Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. Based in Frankfurt, she advises private equity firms on mergers and acquisitions and equity investments in a broad range of industries, in particular during the investment phase between entry and exit.
Malerato Motloung
Malerato Motloung has been named a local partner in our Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. Based in Johannesburg, she advises clients in a variety of industries on public and private mergers and acquisitions, equity capital market transactions, commercial aspects of renewable energy projects, rights offers, unbundlings, placements, schemes of arrangement, mandatory and voluntary offers and stock exchange listings and delistings.
Kai Neumann
Kai Neumann has been named a local partner in our Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. Based in Frankfurt, he advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions and corporate law.
Aleksandra Orzeł-Jakubowska
Aleksandra Orzeł-Jakubowska has been named counsel in our Litigation Practice. Based in Warsaw, she advises clients on arbitration, mediation and court proceedings, including post-mergers and acquisitions, construction, tech and legal malpractice disputes.
Amitaben Patel
Amitaben Patel has been named professional support counsel in our Debt Finance Practice. Based in London, she monitors and analyzes legal, practice and market developments and reporting these both internally and to clients, capturing and managing know-how, designing and developing internal and external training, authoring client alerts and thought leadership and delivering innovation and legal technology initiatives.
Olivier Poinsignon
Olivier Poinsignon has been named a local partner in our Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. Based in Luxembourg, he focuses on a range of alternative investment funds including private equity, real estate, debt and infrastructure funds, advising on the setting-up, structuring and administration of investment funds and related general corporate, transactional and regulatory matters.
Julius Schrader
Julius Schrader has been named a local partner in our Litigation Practice. Based in Berlin and Frankfurt, he advises global technology companies on a broad range of product, litigation and regulatory matters, in particular commercial and intellectual property law.
Miles Tonkin
Miles Tonkin has been named counsel in our Project Development and Finance Practice. Based in London, he advises commercial banks, institutional investors, sponsors, infrastructure funds, private equity funds and corporates on energy, natural resource and infrastructure financings including project finance, acquisition finance and syndicated lending.
Xuefeng Wu
Xuefeng Wu has been named counsel in our Project Development and Finance Practice. Based in London, he advises clients in the mining and natural resources sectors on project development and financing, joint ventures, strategic partnerships, sovereignty risk mitigation and dispute resolution.
Man Hay Yip
Man Hay Yip has been named counsel in our Debt Finance Practice. Based in London, she advises financial institutions, private equity firms and corporate borrowers on a range of banking and finance transactions, including cross-border acquisition finance and general bank lending.
Agnieszka Zarówna
Agnieszka Zarówna has been named counsel in our International Arbitration Practice. Based in London, she represents private individuals, companies and states in investment treaty arbitrations under the ICSID, UNCITRAL, ICC, LCIA and SCC rules, applicable bilateral and multilateral investment treaties and foreign investment laws across a variety of sectors including mining & metals, energy, telecom and finance.
Asia-Pacific (five promotions)
Yu Babasaki
Yu Babasaki has been named counsel in our Litigation Practice. Based in Tokyo, she represents multinational companies, particularly in the tech, construction and renewable energy sectors, in a variety of litigation and dispute matters.
Mark Burrows
Mark Burrows has been named counsel in our Mergers & Acquisitions Practice. Based in Melbourne, he advises corporate and state government clients on a broad range of real estate-related transactions, including all aspects of dispositions and acquisitions of land, subdivisions and easements, commercial and industrial leasing and land due diligence.
Kibbeum Kim
Kibbeum Kim has been named a local partner in our Debt Finance Practice. Based in Seoul, he advises private equity funds and their portfolio companies, lenders, financial institutions, credit and other special situations funds on a variety of financings in Asia-Pacific with experience in leveraged and acquisition financings, direct lending, special situations investments, refinancings and restructurings.
Anna O’Reilly
Anna O’Reilly has been named professional support counsel in our Project Development and Finance Practice. Based in Melbourne, she monitors and analyzes legal, practice and market developments, capturing and managing know-how, designing and contributing to internal and client training across Asia-Pacific, delivering knowledge, innovation and legal technology initiatives and providing the Australian offices with corporate governance and operational support.
Cherry Zhou
Cherry Zhou has been named counsel in our Debt Finance Practice. Based in Beijing, she advises international and Chinese financial sponsors and Chinese banks and borrowers on private credit investments, acquisition finance, corporate finance and project finance transactions.
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