WEST PALM BEACH AND MIAMI – November 5, 2020 – Bradford D. Kaufman, co-president of Greenberg Traurig, P.A., and Alan I. Annex, co-chair of the firm’s Global Corporate Practice, have been named 2020 Most Effective Lawyers by the Daily Business Review.
The Greenberg Traurig shareholders, along with 19 other honorees in various categories of legal practice, will be recognized in a special edition of the publication scheduled to publish on Dec. 7. Kaufman, who is also the global chair of the firm’s Professional Development and Integration as well as co-chair of its Securities Litigation Group, was honored in the Criminal Law category of the awards. Annex was honored in the Corporate Securities Law category.
Based in Greenberg Traurig’s West Palm Beach office, Kaufman was recognized specifically for his successful roles as legal strategist, lead coordinating counsel, and personal legal counsel in the defense of Roger Jenkins, which was the first criminal action taken against any senior UK banker for events related to the 2008 financial crisis.
Jenkins, who was Barclays’ former chairman of investment banking in the Middle East, was charged along with three other former Barclays senior executives and the bank, by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in 2017 with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation related to fundraising in 2008 from Qatar, along with other related charges. In February 2020, after an eight year-long criminal investigation, a fraud prosecution, and a five-month trial, Jenkins was acquitted of all charges. Separately, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a Notice of Discontinuance in April 2020, ending the regulatory action in which Jenkins faced a potential financial penalty of 3 million pounds and a bar on conducting any future business regulated by the FCA.
In an unusual representation that saw an American attorney charting legal strategy in matters before UK courts, Kaufman was “quarterback” for Jenkins for eight years on all legal matters, including investigations and regulatory proceedings.
“The challenge was to maintain Jenkins’ spirit and the willingness to keep fighting,” Kaufman said. “Fortunately, I had a one in a billion client who wasn’t going to let up.”
Annex, who is based in GT’s Miami office, was recognized for his international renown as a leader for clients in an investment trend that skyrocketed in 2019/2020: Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) used to raise capital amidst a soft traditional Initial Public Offering market.
SPACs are single purpose, publicly-traded vehicles used to raise funds via IPOs to acquire businesses. Acquisitions generally must be made within 2 years of their IPO. SPACs represented 38% of U.S. IPOs, raising $6.5 billion through May 20, 2020, (PitchBook) and are steamrolling forward even during COVID-19.
Annex was an architect of the structure for the early SPACs of the 1990s. Now, he routinely leads 20+ attorney teams whose deals have increased exponentially in number and value over the past year: Under Annex’s leadership, GT leapt from ranking 20th on SPAC Research’s Legal Advisor League Beta Table in 2019 to ranking third in the same table by mid-year 2020.
Annex led 15+ US SPAC and UK Cash Shell deals and IPOs worth billions of dollars over the past several years. In the last nine months alone, Annex has been involved in more than 10 IPOs and nine business combinations – five of which have closed.
“We are pleased to continually assist SPACs, both in their creation and in business combinations, to achieve the business goals that are often critical to their success as investments,” said Annex, who represents both SPACs and their target companies. “It also is rewarding to assist SPACs’ target companies, many of which are operating in innovative industries that have importance on a global scale.”
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT), has approximately 2200 attorneys in 40 locations in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360 400 and among the Top 20 on the Am Law Global 100. The firm is net carbon neutral with respect to its office energy usage and Mansfield Rule 3.0 Certified. Web: www.gtlaw.com