Neil Campbell, one of ex-Japan Asia's most prominent securitization lawyers, has left Sidley, Austin, Brown & Wood to US law firm Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker as partner in the Hong Kong office. He takes with him four members of his former team, including Michelle Taylor, Nima Farkhondeh, Rachel Purchas and Tracy Kung.
Taylor will act as Of Counsel to Paul Hastings, while Farkhondeh, Purchas and Kung join as associates.
The addition of Campbell and Co. will be seen as a real coup for Paul Hastings as it seeks to expand its regional securitization structured finance presence. During his time at SABW, Campbell advised on ABS transactions in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Korea and Mainland China.
Some of the most notable deals include the Asiana air tickets receivables deal, which was the first future flow deal out of Korea, and the 1st Silicon deal from Malaysia, which was Asia's first ever whole business securitization and both COSCO (China Ocean Shipping Company) deals, two rare securitizations to come out of the People's Republic of China.
"We are very pleased to welcome Neil Campbell and his team to the firm," says Neil Torpey, vice chairman of Paul Hastings in Hong Kong. "The use of securitisation is growing rapidly among multinationals, leading companies and financial institutions in countries throughout the Asia Pacific region, as they seek to improve the efficiency of their balance sheets and free themselves from capital constraints."
