The international law firm Dorsey & Whitney LLP announced today that Brian E. McGunigle, formerly a partner at Coudert Brothers, has joined the firm’s New York office as a partner in the Corporate practice group. McGunigle, who will be engaged primarily in representing European corporations and their U.S. affiliates, is especially experienced in handling international mergers and acquisitions. 

McGunigle, 57, has been a partner at Coudert Brothers since 1981. He held a number of firm-wide management roles there, including service on the firm’s Executive Committee and Inter-Office Policy Committee, and he also served as administrative partner of the New York office for several years.

In 2004 McGunigle represented RAG Coal International AG in four separate transactions involving the sale of the company’s coal mining operations in the United States, Australia and Venezuela. Other clients represented in recent M&A transactions include Robert Bosch GmbH, Porsche AG, Metro AG, DBT GmbH and Yazaki Corporation. He has also represented several funds-of-funds in secondary portfolio acquisitions and direct investments in non-U.S. private equity funds.

Robert J. Dwyer, Jr., partner in charge of the Dorsey & Whitney New York office, said, “Brian’s experience and capability in corporate transactions in general, and mergers and acquisitions in particular, fit well with the capabilities of our firm. Over the past decade, Dorsey & Whitney has ranked number one or two in terms of the number of M&A deals completed, and Brian’s client base will extend our reach in the cross-border arena.”

McGunigle, noting that the Dorsey New York office has always been well-known for international corporate work, said that the firm’s worldwide network of offices, its international capital markets capability, and its strong litigation presence internationally all would be good support for his practice. He also expects that the Dorsey integrated practice network in the continental United States will enable him to expand the range of services available to his European clients. 

McGunigle is the latest in a series of attorneys with cross-border expertise to join Dorsey offices worldwide. In recent weeks, John Chrisman, who also was a partner at Coudert Brothers, joined the firm’s International Capital Markets practice in London as a U.S. capital markets lawyer. He has years of international experience practicing in London, the Asia-Pacific region, and India.  Another new attorney who handles cross-border securities and M & A work for Canadian clients, Dan Miller, recently joined the Dorsey Vancouver office.  Formerly, he was with Torys LLP.

McGunigle, a resident of Lloyd Harbor, New York, is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He holds masters degrees from the National University of Ireland and the University of London. He was a Fulbright Scholar and received a Knox Fellowship.