In this year's "Faces of Deal Lawyers" section, we profile eight attorneys poised to become significant figures in the bars of cities ranging from Houston to Paris. Several were rising stars even as senior associates. Befitting the state of the economy, three are bankruptcy lawyers. ¶ Sarah Paterson of Slaughter and May in London spent months advising the U.K. Treasury on the nationalization of U.K. mortgage lender Northern Rock plc. ¶ Jonathan Henes at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Susheel Kirpalani of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges LLP are emerging as leaders at their firms while building formidable practices of their own. ¶ Two more come from Paris. Patrick Dziewolski at Bredin Prat cut his teeth on government privatizations in the 1990s before advising on such high-profile, politically charged matters as Suez SA's €90 billion ($125 billion) combination with Gaz de France SA. Ben Burman focuses on cross-border work at Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier, which is appropriate for a man who's already had a cross-border career; an Englishman, Burman started as an associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. ¶ Bill Curtin keeps an office in Paris as well, but the Hogan & Hartson LLP partner also shuttles among Washington, New York and London as he helps run his firm's European corporate practice. ¶ Meanwhile, David Buck stays focused on the oil patch at Andrews Kurth LLP in Houston. ¶ But none of our lawyers has traveled farther than Minh Van Ngo, whose parents fled with him from South Vietnam in 1976 and who became an M&A partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in January. 

Patrick Dziewolski of Bredin Prat
Ben Burman of Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier
David Buck of Andrews Kurth
William Curtin of Hogan & Hartson
Jonathan Henes of Kirkland & Ellis
Susheel Kirpalani of Quinn Emanuel Urqyhart Oliver & Hedges
Sarah Paterson of Slaughter and May
Minh Van Ngo of Cravath, Swaine & Moore