Firm Adds Four Senior Attorneys

July 10, 2006

Office Expands to 27 Lawyers Since Opening One Year Ago

NEW YORK (July 10, 2006) – Bracewell & Giuliani LLP announced today that its New York office has added four senior attorneys, including two partners, bankruptcy and corporate restructuring expert David C. Albalah and broker-dealer and market regulation expert Julian Rainero. 

Also joining Bracewell & Giuliani is former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig S. Warkol, who will serve the firm as counsel in the White Collar Crime and Regulatory Defense Practice.  Associate Scott M. Gutmanstein has also signed on to become a part of the Broker-Dealer and Market Regulation Practice group. 

Rudolph W. Giuliani, senior partner at Bracewell & Giuliani, said, "Our growth in New York stems from client demand for M&A, capital markets, corporate restructuring and regulatory advice, especially in the energy and financial service sectors.  I’m pleased that we’ve been able to build such a high-caliber team in little more than a year.”

The addition of these new lawyers follows the announcement last month that Mark Palmer joined Bracewell & Giuliani to head the New York corporate practice together with his core team of two partners, Jonathan Gill and Robb Tretter.  Since Bracewell & Giuliani announced the opening of its New York office on May 31, 2005, the office has grown to include 27 attorneys.

Prior to joining Bracewell & Giuliani, David C. Albalah was a partner with McDermott Will & Emery.  During his tenure at McDermott, Albalah advised purchasers of assets and providers of funding to distressed companies—whether in or out of bankruptcy—as well as debtors and creditors on bankruptcy and insolvency matters. 

Before that, Albalah served as a certified public accountant in the audit and tax departments at Ernst & Young for three years.  Albalah will lead the firm's New York bankruptcy efforts, advising special situations funds, creditors' committees, and lending providers and bidders on distressed assets.  He will also advise on general insolvency matters for both creditors and debtors.  Albalah received his law degree from New York University School of Law, and he holds a Bachelor of Science from the State University of New York at Albany.

Prior to joining Bracewell & Giuliani, Julian Rainero was a partner in Bingham McCutchen's broker-dealer group, where he advised broker-dealers and private investment funds on compliance with SEC, SRO and Federal Reserve Board rules.  His practice involves all aspects of broker-dealer regulation, but is concentrated on correspondent clearing, prime brokerage, net capital, margin, securities lending, customer protection and NYSE and NASDAQ trading practices.  Rainero will lead the firm's New York Broker-Dealer and Market Regulation Practice Group, which advises leading financial institutions and private funds on compliance matters and regulated transactions.  Rainero graduated with a law degree from American University (Washington College of Law) and a Bachelor of Arts from Dickinson College.

Craig S. Warkol served as Senior Counsel in the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, and most recently as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.  As a prosecutor, Warkol worked on investigations involving allegations of securities fraud, insider trading, money laundering and other corporate fraud cases.  He was a key member of the trial team that prosecuted Symbol Technologies Inc.'s chief financial officer and two senior vice presidents for securities fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion.  Warkol obtained his law degree from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan.

Scott M. Gutmanstein was previously an associate in the broker-dealer practice at Bingham McCutchen, where he provided support in the arena of securities regulation.  Before that, he served as an equity trading supervisor for a NASDAQ market maker and was a registered representative for several major Wall Street firms.  Gutmanstein holds a law degree from Pace University School of Law, a Master of Business Administration from Baruch College and a Bachelor of Arts from State University of New York at Albany.