Milbank hires two partners to boost LA and DC offices

In DC, Winthrop Brown joins from Shaw Pittman, where he was head of financial institutions and a member of the firm's management group. And in Los Angeles partner Gregory Bray joins from Strook & Strook & Lavan, where he was head of the restructuring practice.
Brown will join the banking and institutional investment group, as he specialises in international banking and securities law for US and international companies. His work includes the sale of foreign banking products into the US and regulatory work for banking institutions.
Frank Puleo, a member of Milbank's executive committee, said: "Winthrop is going to be basically adding capacity to our corporate finance practice. We're always looking to grow it in the right ways, and this was a great opportunity. We've obviously got a lot of financial institution clients, so it makes sense for us to add this banking and banking regulatory capability."
Brown will also work closely with the New York practice. He is Milbank's second banking regulatory partner in DC, but Puleo says it is a growing area. "Banks are getting into so many areas now - merchant banking, insurance and expanding their securities role - so that's really what's driving this move," he said.
In Los Angeles, Bray's arrival will give the firm three financial restructuring partners, and comes in the wake of the triumph in winning work advising the creditors' committee of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (The Lawyer, 28 May). The Californian company's bankruptcy is one of the most complicated ever in the US, and also involves some of the firm's finance partners.
Puleo said: "We've got a ton of work in that area with Pacific Gas and Electric and others."