About the Legal 500 series
Published for over twenty years, the Legal 500 Series provides the most comprehensive worldwide coverage currently available on legal services providers, in over 100 countries.
Used by commercial and private clients, corporate counsel, CEOs, FDs and professional advisers - as well as by other referrers of work both nationally and internationally - the series is widely chosen for its definitive judgement of law firm capabilities over publications such as those compiled by Chambers and Partners or Martindale-Hubbell.
The Legal 500: Europe, Middle East & Africa
GERMANY
In 2011, ‘the new normal’ for law firms meant increasing instructions on contentious matters in the wake of the financial crisis: these included D&O liability claims, compliance matters, antitrust investigations or matters relating to the new restrictions for financial institutions and the insurance sector. Additionally, several areas of business came under scrutiny from tax authorities. All of this happened in the context of clients facing the much talked-of ‘maturity wall’, a mountain of corporate debt that will have to be paid off or refinanced over the next four years.
The Legal 500: Europe, Middle East & Africa
FRANCE
2011 was a symbolic year of transition in the French legal market as two visionary figures – Jean-Francois Prat and Thierry Vassogne – who inspired and trained several generations of lawyers sadly passed away.
The Legal 500: Europe, Middle East & Africa
THE NETHERLANDS
The Netherlands remains a key gateway to Europe and its favourable tax regime means it is often party to inbound transactions from growth markets such as those in Asia. Private equity and M&A picked up again during 2011, with a focus on cross-border and sector-specific matters, particularly energy and healthcare.
The Legal 500: Europe, Middle East & Africa
SPAIN
Spain’s economic outlook remained bleak in 2011, with unemployment reaching 21.5% in the third quarter. Labour reforms in social security and pensions kept employment lawyers busy, and employment litigation remained high. In real estate, the first half of 2011 saw a significant decrease in investments and sale-and-leaseback transactions, but restructurings and distressed deals were a source of work. In corporate spheres, the private equity market remained subdued, but insolvencies were a source of activity. The restructuring of Spanish savings banks compensated for the lack of traditional M&A, although much of this has now concluded.
The Legal 500: Europe, Middle East & Africa
PORTUGAL
Times have been extremely tough for Portugal, and the legal sector has been strongly impacted by the prevailing financial climate, political turmoil and the wider Eurozone crisis. A troika comprising the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission provided a €78bn bailout package to the country in May 2011, imposing austerity measures in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The new Social Democrat government elected in June 2011 is helping the country to adhere to these conditions, but the impact is hitting Portugal hard. All citizens have faced tax rises, and the state is beginning to sell off assets. A series of privatisations has begun, with the state planning to sell shares in energy players EDP, REN, and Galp Energia. More privatisations are expected, including that of TAP, the national carrier airline. Domestic M&A was also very fragile due to instability and lack of financing.
The Legal 500: Europe, Middle East & Africa
SWITZERLAND
Switzerland’s principal legal centres are Geneva and Zurich, with Basel, Bern and, to a lesser extent, Lugano and Lausanne also significant hubs for the legal profession. A number of firms practise throughout the country, with offices in several cities and cantons.
The Legal 500: Europe, Middle East & Africa
SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa witnessed two significant developments concerning international firms in 2011: Deneys Reitz Inc became Norton Rose South Africa in June; and Dewey & LeBoeuf (PTY) Limited recruited seven partners from Werksmans Attorneys, a bold move that put it on the South African map.
The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
CHINA
Mainland China’s domestic firms lag behind their foreign counterparts for international practice standards, but local firms dominate the domestic market, and are increasingly seen in cross-border matters. Jun He Law Offices, King & Wood, Zhong Lun Law Firm and Haiwen & Partners are among China’s top domestic firms.
Movement continues between international and domestic firms in mainland China. Former Beijing Lovells partner Robert Lewis went to Allbright Law Offices in 2010, but has since joined Beijing’s Zhong Lun Law Firm; and Michael Yu left Global Law Office for Norton Rose LLP in 2010, but rejoined Global Law Office in 2011.
Read more...The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
AUSTRALIA
With Australia having weathered the economic downturn better than many countries, 2010 and 2011 brought renewed vigour to the corporate transactional space, largely being driven by Asian investment, most notably from India and China. Australian states with strong energy or natural resources sectors have been particularly busy, and related legal work has burgeoned.
The major players nationally - Allens Arthur Robinson, Freehills, Clayton Utz, Blake Dawson, Mallesons Stephen Jaques and Minter Ellison - continue to attract top-end corporate deals, such as AXA SA and AMP’s joint bid to acquire AXA Asia Pacific Holdings, or the Singapore Exchange’s proposed takeover of the ASX.
The Legal 500 United Kingdom
LONDON - FINANCE
While liquidity was relatively constricted, new-money financings were far more prevalent in 2010 than in previous years, fuelled to a large extent by a relatively buoyant high yield market. In the leveraged finance market, law firms combining a credible bank and bond side offering have generally fared best, particularly on deals at the upper end of the market. Latham & Watkins LLP has the most comprehensive bank and bond-side practice, and is highly rated for acquisition finance, as well having a top-tier ranking for high yield. Of the Magic Circle firms, Linklaters LLP in particular has beefed up its high yield capability with some notable hires, and along with Allen & Overy LLP and Clifford Chance has the most complete finance offering across the board; the trio are able to leverage off deeply entrenched banking ties, and can draw on pervasive international networks to handle major cross-border mandates.
Instructed by a swathe of FTSE 100 corporates, Slaughter and May is the premier borrower-side practice in the market, and scores highly for bank lending and restructuring matters, where it continues to excel in government-led work. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is also very accomplished on the borrower side, in investment grade lending and acquisition finance, where it acts for an oustanding roster of private equity sponsors, and also in more esoteric areas such as derivatives, where it moves to the top tier this year.
The Legal 500: United States
LITIGATION
The leading firms in international trade are those with a global footprint who represent the interests of a variety of clients, which include multinational corporations, institutional investors and nation states. The major issues involved include export and import controls, economic sanctions, anti-bribery rules, foreign direct investment, trade agreement negotiations, antidumping and subsidy cases. There is some crossover with the international arbitration section which focuses more directly on purely contentious work.
The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
INDONESIA
Interest in Indonesia has heated up over the past few years, with investors and law firms alike attracted by multibillion-dollar projects in the mining, natural resources and oil and gas sectors. This interest has increased in the wake of the new mining law, which came into effect in early 2010 allowing foreign investors to own stakes in local mines.
International firms are still not officially allowed to open offices in Indonesia, but relationships with local alliances are frequently very close, with international lawyers often spending many years on long-term secondment to their local alliance partner. The last two years has seen a spate of Indonesian lawyers leaving more established local firms to set up on their own, and announcing alliances with international firms. In 2011 Norton Rose Australia announced an alliance with the newly formed Susandarini & Partners; In 2010 Allen & Overy teamed up with Ginting & Reksodiputro to form Ginting & Reksodiputro in association with Allen & Overy; and Blake Dawson allied with Oentoeng Suria & Partners.
The Legal 500 United Kingdom
LONDON - DISPUTE RESOLUTION
The growing volume of litigation arising from the global recession has been particularly notable in areas such as fraud, white-collar crime, and banking and shareholder disputes, as well as contentious regulatory matters and EU-related cartel claims. Particular geographical areas generating disputes include the Middle East, often in construction matters, while Russia and CIS-related issues have been clogging up London’s commercial courts. The year’s headline natural disasters, in countries such as Australia and Japan, also fuelled some practices’ workloads.
On the banking litigation side, and in the related realm of regulatory investigations, areas of activity include disputes involving derivatives and structured finance products, with a focus on mis-selling, lack of capacity/authority and alleged failure to treat customers fairly. Disputes are also increasingly international in nature, giving rise to related jurisdictional battles. Conflict-free litigation firms able to take on cases against the banks have been attracting an increasing flow of work related to the credit crunch.
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The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
HONG KONG
As one of the world’s premier financial centres, and arguably the most active at present, Hong Kong has become a market of intense focus for the international legal profession. While many local and international firms have increased their resources in the special administrative region (SAR), it is US firms that have surprised the market with a sequence of headline lateral hires. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Kirkland & Ellis International LLP, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy have all hired elite names, principally from the Magic Circle and elite UK-based firms.
In August 2011, Kirkland & Ellis International LLP made the biggest splash by hiring seven partners from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Allen & Overy and Latham & Watkins LLP. These include leading M&A partner Nicholas Norris and eminent capital markets partner Dominic Tsun.
The Legal 500 United Kingdom
SCOTLAND
Edinburgh and Glasgow: Emerging from three years of economic turmoil, the Scottish legal market looks significantly different to that which rode the crest of the transactional wave in 2007. With no firm untouched by the downturn in transactions, different and competing strategies and goals have emerged. As a result, Scotland’s ‘Big Four’ have moved forward: Dundas & Wilson CS LLP, Maclay Murray & Spens LLP, McGrigors LLP and Shepherd and Wedderburn are still dominant players in Scotland but also deliver a broader capability, offering English law advice in London and across the UK. Brodies LLP is among the vanguard pursuing the Scotland-only strategy, increasing critical mass to provide a full service to the local market. Dickson Minto WS continues to plough a successful furrow in the corporate finance sector; and Turcan Connell is dominant on the private client front. DLA Piper Scotland LLP continues to build its reputation, particularly in corporate restructuring following some key lateral hires, while CMS Cameron McKenna LLP’s Edinburgh offering is also expanding.
The Legal 500: United States
MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS AND BUYOUTS
Firms within the M&A section are generally divided up into four areas according to the type of deal that a practice typically draws in. The range is based on mega, large, and upper and low mid-market values. Mega deals means transactions in excess of $5bn, with large deals falling within the $1bn-5bn space. The middle market is split between the high-end range of $500m-$999m and the sub-$500m mark. Of course, several of the largest national practices also carry out chunks of mid-market work, more so in recent times with less of the multibillion-dollar mandates up for grabs. Consequently, the largest firms have also been chasing mid-market work they might once have turned down, while there are practices whose sweet spot may be the $25m-$500m levels, but they are occasionally mandated on billion-dollar transactions.
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The Legal 500 Asia Pacific
JAPAN
Mirroring the dignified stoicism that the Japanese population as a whole showed in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck in March 2011, the business and legal markets in Japan, for the most part, continued to operate business as usual.
Some trends have emerged over the last 18 months. On a regional level, energy and natural resource projects continue to lead the way in Asia with focus and competition among Japanese, Chinese, Korean and Indian companies to secure long-term access to natural resources. The disaster has raised concerns over nuclear power and has forced greater LNG activity that looks set to increase further.
The Legal 500: United States
FINANCE
Aviation finance and finance in general has had a difficult few years with restrictions on access to capital markets making life especially difficult for leasing companies and private equity investors. The disappearance of insurance companies from the lending markets also led to a virtual closure of the securitization market for aircraft lease portfolios, previously a common source of capital raising. However, clients have been able to look elsewhere for capital and, for example, capital market secured debt-related transactions have featured strongly in recent years. Several airlines have issued high-yield notes secured by certain novel assets such as international flight paths and slots, while credit agency financings have been particularly popular due to high interest rates imposed by the banks.
The Legal 500 United Kingdom
NORTH
The legal market in Newcastle is undergoing a sea change caused by a combination of lateral hires and the ongoing fallout from the recession. With the heavy public sector focus in the North of England, further turbulence is expected in light of the coalition government’s budget cuts. 2010 saw the departure of several personal injury insurance firms from the region, an increasing volume of employment law work, and fewer insolvency-related mandates than anticipated. The renewable energy sector continues to provide growth opportunities.
The Legal 500: United States
INDUSTRY FOCUS
Recently, it has been a busy period for energy litigation, with firms such as Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Covington & Burling LLP and King & Spalding LLP involved in various litigation arising out of the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion and the resulting oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This matter has involved environmental aspects and many law firms such as Bingham McCutchen LLP, ranked for environment, have also been involved. Many firms have a fully integrated approach to handle issues which bridge energy and environmental matters, and firms recognise that environmental issues are at the forefront of energy company concerns. The Trans Alaska Pipeline Project System (TAPS), which involves transactional, regulatory and litigation issues, is a notable example that involves firms prominent in both arenas.
The Legal 500: United States
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
The leading players in the intellectual property market consist of larger IP boutiques, full-coverage firms and general practice commercial firms. Full-service firms are increasingly specialising in IP to capitalize on the growing workload in global brand protection, while smaller IP boutiques continue to struggle in an increasingly competitive market. New media continues to present challenges and opportunities to dispute what and where protection rights lie.
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