Honigman and Faegre & Benson form international automotive legal team

Detroit-based Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP (Honigman) and Minneapolis-based Faegre & Benson LLP have formed an International Automotive Legal Team spanning the U.S., China and the U.K. The collaboration is an outgrowth of the China-related work the firms have been doing together and reflects their focus on assisting automotive companies with strategic cross-border transactions involving these three critically important jurisdictions.

“Faegre & Benson and Honigman have a remarkably talented cross-functional team of attorneys dedicated to handling complex automotive deals involving these three countries. We share high standards for legal excellence, client service and value. This is a great fit for both firms,” said Honigman Chairman and CEO David Foltyn.

Honigman brings more than 50 years of experience in the automotive industry, including acquisitions, purchasing, insolvency and troubled supplier legal services. Faegre & Benson supports clients in China-related transactions through a dedicated group of lawyers in Shanghai with more than 40 collective years of experience in China. These lawyers work in collaboration with the firm’s lawyers in the U.S. and London.

Thomas G. Morgan, Chair of the Faegre & Benson Management Committee, observed that “Our combined industry experience, China market knowledge and collaborative working styles help our clients take full advantage of the significant automotive industry growth involving China.”

The International Automotive Legal Team will be led by Robert B. Weiss, Commercial Law, Bankruptcy and Reorganization Department Chair for Honigman, and George D. Martin, Head of Faegre & Benson’s Corporate Group and Co-chair of its Greater China Practice, based in Minneapolis.

Other legal team members include from Honigman:

• David Foltyn, Chairman, CEO and Partner, Corporate and Securities Department 
• John P. Kanan, Partner, Corporate and Securities Department
• Jonathan P. O’Brien, Intellectual Property Practice Group Chair
• Artis M. Noel, Of Counsel and former Chief of Export Compliance for General Motors (joining Honigman on November 1, 2009)

From Faegre & Benson:

• John V. Grobowski, Co-chair of the firm’s Greater China practice and Managing Partner of its Shanghai office
• Yiqiang Li (Lee),Partner, Corporate Practice, Shanghai
• Wendy Yan, Special Counsel, Shanghai
• Melanie Wadsworth, Solicitor, Corporate Practice, England
• William K. Weimer, Partner, Intellectual Property Practice