Schiff Hardin Expands International Practice With Addition of Corporate and Litigation Partner Duo

Schiff Hardin LLP today announced the addition of two partners in its New York and San Francisco offices, who together will significantly expand the firm’s international practice.

Philippe Manteau has returned to Schiff Hardin in New York after four years at Loeb & Loeb, where he chaired its Western Europe Corporate Practice. He will chair Schiff Hardin’s International Practice. Patrick Downes, also formerly at Loeb & Loeb, joins the San Francisco office, bringing extensive litigation experience on employment matters, contract disputes, and product labeling and advertising. Working together as a team, the duo will serve as outside general counsel for foreign clients investing and litigating in the United States.

“We are thrilled to welcome back Philippe and to have Patrick join our firm,” said David McHugh, leader of Schiff Hardin’s Corporate and Transactional Practice Group. “Philippe’s experience as a trusted advisor to multinational companies in cross-border transactions and dispute resolutions will benefit our clients in this period of rapid change. His ‘think global, act local’ approach, relying on an extensive network of local counsel worldwide and the national U.S. presence and strength of Schiff Hardin, will help clients respond to the changing times and address their local needs.”

Philippe Manteau

Philippe Manteau has extensive experience counseling mid- and large-cap private and public companies, governmental agencies, and high-net worth individuals in the European Union on their U.S. investments, cross-border transactions, and litigation matters. He acts as outside U.S. general counsel to many European clients, providing legal compliance and general business guidance. He was a partner at Schiff Hardin before joining Loeb & Loeb four years ago. Prior to that, he practiced law in Europe, where he established the Paris-based Merger/Antitrust and Commercial Law practice of Herbert Smith Freehills LLP before serving as the U.S. head of the European Union desk of Donahue & Partners, a U.S. firm affiliated with Ernst & Young. Transitioning into a U.S. lawyer, he worked from the New York-based offices of international and U.S. law firms before joining Schiff Hardin eight years ago.

“After four great years, I am excited to be back at Schiff, which I call home,” said Manteau. “Schiff Hardin has always had a wonderful culture of collegiality and solidarity, where people collaborate and efficiently move matters forward in the clients’ best interest. As counterintuitive as it may sound, transitioning back to Schiff in these challenging times is an excellent move and it really shows the true and amazingly supportive culture of the firm.”

Manteau earned his Juris Doctor at Fordham University School of Law (Corporate Law and Finance, LL.M., cum laude), and has received degrees from the Université Paris X - Nanterre, European Business Law, D.E.S.S. (LL.M.), with honors; the Université Paris X - Nanterre, French, German and European Business Law, J.D.; and the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris, Economics and Finance Section, M.B.A. He is a frequent speaker at seminars and events hosted by various French-American and international organizations, such as Paris EUROPLACE, a nonprofit organization comprising the major representative institutions of the Paris financial market as well as government agencies, the French-American Conference of Entrepreneurs (FACE), and the French-American Chamber of Commerce in the United States.

Patrick Downes

Based in Schiff Hardin’s San Francisco office, Patrick Downes focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation. He works closely with international companies and with U.S.-based entities to provide guidance regarding compliance and regulatory issues on a range of topics, including employment, false advertising, consumer claims, contract disputes, and cyber insurance policies.

“I am pleased to be joining Schiff Hardin and, as a member of the International Practice Group, teaming up with both corporate and litigation groups,” Downes said. “Schiff Hardin has excellent, strong litigators whose practical, pragmatic approach mirrors my own. They work hard, deliver results, and recognize the value of their clients’ resources.”

Downes earned his B.A. at University of Michigan and J.D. (cum laude) at Boston University School of Law.

“By combining Patrick’s impressive complex commercial litigation credentials and business acumen with Philippe’s corporate practice and deep understanding of how litigation and dispute resolution is handled in the United States, Schiff Hardin will be able to offer a holistic outside general counsel service for our international clients,” McHugh said.

Schiff Hardin’s International Practice Group represents foreign companies on a comprehensive range of issues they face in the United States, including mergers and acquisitions, commercial transactions, intellectual property, securities compliance, financings, litigation and dispute resolution, antitrust and competition law, labor and employment, construction, environmental, and tax. The group advises large multinational corporations, mid-sized and small companies, investor groups, and individuals in all legal matters relating to their business activities in the United States.