The Legal 500

Allen & Overy LLP is a leading name in debt capital markets (DCM), thanks to François Poudelet’s team, which also includes Diana Billik, Dan Lauder, Hervé Ekué and Brice Henry. This innovative group was busy in 2011, including advising Société Générale on the European Financial Stability Facility’s inaugural bond issue. The practice is also first class for securitisation and French covered bonds through Fabrice Faure-Dauphin, and the firm enhanced its equity capital markets (ECM) expertise in 2011 by hiring Marc Castagnède from Debevoise & Plimpton LLP.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP provides ‘first-class legal advice’ in the ECM field and ‘full dedication to time-critical projects’, and represented the underwriters on Michelin’s €1.2bn rights offering. It also handles DCM work, notably advising on US offerings and liability management transactions. The team includes the ‘highly dedicated and fully hands-on’ Marie-Laurence Tibi, the ‘very knowledgeable and reliable’ Andrew Bernstein, Pierre-Yves Chabert, John Brinitzer and Valérie Lemaître.

Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I. is among ‘the few French players able to compete with the Anglo-Saxon firms on ECM transactions’, with recent instructions including assisting Areva on its share-capital increase and listing of shares on Euronext. The practice is jointly led by ‘dealmaker’ Arnaud Duhamel, who is ‘strongly recommended for complex matters such as high yield or strategic equity work’; Jean-Marc Desaché, a ‘good adviser on tricky French corporate issues’; the ‘highly experienced’ Hubert du Vignaux; and Christophe Mead. The firm also shows ‘very strong knowledge and experience’ in the DCM field and fields ‘very good’ derivatives expert Alban Caillemer du Ferrage, who is adviser to clearing house LCH.Clearnet. Xavier de Kergommeaux, Gilles Saint Marc, Patrice Doat and Christine Van Gallebaert are securitisation experts and show ‘excellent industry knowledge’.

Linklaters LLP is ‘clearly among the market’s leaders for ECM transactions’, and is also highly regarded in the DCM and structured finance fields, and ‘can rely on probably the best international network’ where necessary. It is recommended for its ‘tremendous experience, its efficiency in heavy processes and its business-oriented approach’. Highlights included advising GDF Suez on the first ever 100-year euro-denominated bond issue and Michelin on its share capital increase. Philippe Herbelin, ‘a reference in both the domestic and international equity field’, heads the 26-lawyer practice. In the ECM area, Séverin Robillard is an ‘excellent and very sharp lawyer with strong experience’, and Luis Roth provides US law expertise. Gilles Endréo is an authority in the DCM space where he heads the team, and Bertrand Andriani leads on structured finance. Cenzi Gargaro maintains a very broad practice and is also recommended.

Shearman & Sterling LLP earned instructions on the market’s few major ECM transactions in 2011, and also completed some major high-yield work in 2010 and 2011, such as advising Labco on its high-yield notes offering. Practice chair Sami Toutounji also advises CAC 40 companies on employee offerings. Hervé Letréguilly, Bertrand Sénéchal and Robert Treuhold are outstanding advisers.

Bredin Prat has an ‘extremely brilliant team of partners who share common values and spirit’, and the key figures are Didier Martin, Patrick Dziewolski, Olivier Assant and Olivier Saba. The firm advises on strategic ECM transactions, such as recently assisting Carrefour with the Madrid listing of Dia, and also undertakes high-yield work, including advising the banks on CMA-CGM’s issuance of high-yield bonds.

Clifford Chance’s team of ‘very thorough and rigorous’ lawyers reassure clients and make it a top choice for high-end securitisation and derivatives matters. The ‘impressive’ Jonathan Lewis and Frédérick Lacroix, who is praised for his communication and negotiation skills, are the key contacts. The firm also fields DCM expert Cédric Burford and enhanced its ECM capabilities by hiring Aline Cardin from Shearman & Sterling LLP. The practice was recently retained by the European Financial Stability Facility to advise on its debt issuance programme and the creation of a financial stabilisation vehicle for the Eurozone.

Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier is ‘intensely client-focused, offering tailor-made and genuinely partner-led transactional advice’. It advises issuers on securities offerings in France and the US, and advised Bouygues on its bond exchange offer; and Club Méditerranée on the issuance of €80m of convertible bonds. Pascale Girard heads the team, which also includes Marie-Noëlle Dompé, the former general counsel to the French stock-market regulator, and Benjamin Burman, who handles US law aspects of transactions.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP has top-end capabilities in structured finance and securitisation, and combines high-level French and English law expertise through Hervé Touraine, Dougall Molson and Fabrice Grillo. The practice also advises on high-yield transactions, such as Alcatel-Lucent’s €500m high-yield note issue, and Patrick Bonvarlet and David Revcolevschi are able to advise on equity and equity-linked transactions.

Sharon Lewis heads Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP’s DCM practice globally with Philip Boys leading the Paris DCM practice. The team is strongly recommended for securitisation work, and recently advised Lloyds TSB Bank on an innovative €250m pan-European Smurfit Kappa securitisation of trade receivables. The firm also has expertise in the ECM field through practice head Jean-Marc Franceschi.

Jones Day provides a ‘very high level of service’ for ECM transactions in terms of ‘expertise, reactivity and ability to negotiate’, and also handles DCM matters. It advised Sanofi on its $7bn notes issuance. Linda Hesse, who heads the 11-lawyer team, is regularly instructed by CAC 40 companies and is hands-on at handling international transactions, notably those with US aspects. Renaud Bonnet is also a leading name for advising start-ups. Charles Gavoty is also recommended.

Latham & Watkins is ‘the number-one firm for high-yield work’, and structured finance and derivatives expert Basil Zotiades was in high demand for advice on issues arising from the financial crisis. DCM lawyer John Watson often advises on offerings governed by New York law, and recently acted for JPMorgan and Deustche Bank on two secured bond issuances by Europcar. Thomas Vogel was promoted partner in 2011.

Norton Rose LLP provides ‘a very good level of service for small and medium-sized ECM transactions’, and has ‘a good team to work on complex and sophisticated transactions’. This five-lawyer practice, which undertakes creative equity and equity-linked work for prominent banks, advised CACIB on Terreïs’ €96m rights issue. Roberto Cristofolini and Marie-Aude Noury ‘are brilliant lawyers with tremendous ability to spot key issues, always very passionate about finding tailor-made and innovative solutions’.

Orrick Rambaud Martel advises a high number of major issuers, including public entities, on public debt offerings. Louis de Longeaux has ‘real expertise’ in corporate-side advice in the field of DCM. The team has built a strong client base, working on the EMTN programmes of clients such as Danone, Vivendi, Areva and SNCF. Richard Parolai and Pascal Agboyibor, a ‘general corporate lawyer with an in-depth knowledge of securitisation law’, run a notable securitisation practice.

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is a strong adviser for ECM transactions, especially SEC-registered offerings. Gauthier Blanluet, Dominique Bompoint, Richard Vilanova and Olivier de Vilmorin advise major French issuers and underwriters, and Krystian Czerniecki regularly assists German, Austrian and Swiss issuers. William Torchiana focuses on insurance and financial institutions, and advised AXA Global P&C on a large catastrophe bond issuance.

Ashurst LLP ranks among the market’s top advisers for derivatives work, and displays ‘excellent response times and industry knowledge’. Clients include LCH.Clearnet and JPMorgan Chase. Practice head Julien Bacus is ‘very responsive’, and newly promoted partner Hubert Blanc-Jouvan is also recommended. Yann Gozal and new recruit Joël Corcessin, who joined as counsel from Bredin Prat, are the key contacts for ECM work.

Although relatively new, CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre’s practice is ‘quick, efficient and nice to work with’, and ‘already ranks among the few laws firms of reference for DCM work’. It added new capabilities in 2011 by hiring a small team, led by Marc-Etienne Sébire, from Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I.. Sébire is strongly recommended by banks as being ‘very client-focused and reliable in terms of know-how’. Grégory Benteux heads the structured debt and finance practice.

DLA Piper’s Anne Maréchal has thorough expertise in financial markets. She was retained by Areva, the CEA and the French state to handle Areva’s IPO on NYSE Euronext. The team, in which counsel Adrien Debré is also a key figure, also advises companies on regulatory issues including subprime-related matters.

Large French corporations and banks regularly turn to Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP for assistance with offerings and private placements in the US. The firm recently assisted the banks on ArcelorMittal’s $3bn SEC-registered offering. Andrés Gil and Arnaud Pérès lead the practice.

De Pardieu Brocas Maffei A.A.R.P.I advises on DCM, structured finance and securitisation transactions. Antoine Maffei and Olivier Hubert lead the practice. Pierre Minor left the firm.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP’s Raman Bet-Mansour and Pierre Clermontel advise large corporations on equity and equity-linked transactions, but in 2011 the practice was busiest advising on debt offerings in the US, issues of convertible bonds and IPO projects. For example, it represented Pernod Ricard in its $1bn Rule 144A debt offering and €1bn bond issue. Marc Castagnède joined Allen & Overy LLP.

JeantetAssociés AARPI has great experience handling public offering and share capital increases. Frank Martin Laprade is also recognised for his expertise in ORNANES issuance, and recently assisted Assystem and Oddo Corporate Finance with work in this area.

Erwan Barre heads Paul Hastings LLP’s team, which handles IPOs, public offerings and private placement work for financial institutions, such as Société Générale, and issuers including Acadomia. Barre is recommended, as are Aline Poncelet, Joel Simon and Samia Sellam. The firm’s experience includes assisting French companies and investors with US securities transactions, and it recently advised the selling shareholders on Sequans Communications’ IPO on the NYSE.