The Legal 500

With its excellent track record, France’s leading corporate firm Bredin Prat is also a top choice for high-profile commercial, financial and criminal cases. Many leading French and international groups are clients. Key partners include Didier Martin, Sylvie Morabia, Claude Bendel, Sébastien Prat, Jean-Daniel Bretzner, Florian Bouaziz, and Sophie Cornette de Saint Cyr.

Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier fields some of the Paris Bar’s most renowned figures in Jean-Michel Darrois and Emmanuel Brochier. Cyril Bonan and Christophe Ingrain are also strongly recommended. The firm is routinely instructed to represent clients during takeover battles, and also acts in commercial and contractual litigation.

Orrick Rambaud Martel is recommended for sophisticated and high-risk litigation, and provides ‘excellent, insightful and strategic advice’. Its growing caseload has been fuelled by the financial crisis, and spans insolvency, financial services and shareholder disputes, and its clients include leading corporations, banks and large accountancy firms. The ‘experienced’ Frédéric Lalance heads the practice, which also includes Jean-Pierre Martel, who is one of France’s most respected corporate lawyers.

Veil Jourde’s impressive practice acts in large and complex commercial, corporate and criminal cases. Jean Veil, Pierre-François Veil, Eric Deubel, Georges Jourde and Emmanuel Rosenfeld are all highly experienced.

Ashurst LLP has built a loyal client base of large French and international clients which it assists with strategic-level contentious matters or high-stakes disputes, particularly corporate and insolvency-related cases. Practice head Jean-Pierre Farges is ‘a fantastic litigator with a great approach towards the client’, and Eric Bouffard is also a key partner.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP manages a very impressive caseload for leading corporations involved in high-stakes cases, such as including post-acquisition and commercial litigation. The team has recently represented numerous clients in shareholders’ disputes, regularly acted as mediator between parties, and handled large private enforcement cases. The firm recently defended Sanofi-Aventis in proceedings brought by Rhodia. Jean-Yves Garaud is a first-class litigator who provides ‘very precise analysis of given situations’, and counsel Delphine Michot is ‘a good professional’.

Under the supervision of Jean-Pierre Grandjean, Clifford Chance’s 16-lawyer team handles a large commercial and corporate caseload, for blue-chip clients including SFR, L’Oréal, Carrefour, and Apple Inc, and is increasingly acting for leading pharmaceuticals manufacturers such as Pfizer and Novartis in product liability litigation. The firm is also well regarded for advising financial institutions on sensitive matters such as cases pertaining to toxic loans. Thomas Baudesson and newly promoted partner Diego de Lammerville are also recommended.

De Pardieu Brocas Maffei A.A.R.P.I’s ‘very efficient’, ‘top-level’ practice represents banks in complex derivatives cases, and has expertise in commercial, property and insolvency-related litigation. Clients include BNP Paribas, Société Générale, Bolloré, France Télécom and Havas. Philippe Dubois, Paul Talbourdet, Jacques Henrot and Dominique Lefort are the practice co-heads. Barbara Levy is ‘an extremely good litigator for commercial, IP and related litigation issues’.

Dimitri Lecat and practice head Stéphane Bénouville are ‘very professional, efficient and knowledgeable’. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP has a busy practice representing leading banks in derivative cases, and frequently acts for large corporations in commercial or post-acquisition litigation.

Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I. is a key adviser to various financial institutions such as Caisse Nationale des Caisse d’Epargne or BNP Paribas. Bruno Quentin and Michel Pitron are particularly active in high-stakes financial services disputes, while the firm also represents companies in securities, post-acquisition and criminal cases in France and internationally. Aurélien Boulanger and Gilles Duquet are recommended for criminal cases.

Under the thorough Thomas Rouhette, Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP is a go-to-firm for product liability cases, especially in the aviation and healthcare industries. The team is acting for Boeing in matters arising from airline disasters. The practice also has great experience in multi-jurisdictional cases with a US element, and has strong expertise in commercial litigation. It is defending eBay in several strategic disputes with LVMH, L’Oréal and Hermès. Cécile Derycke is recommended for sensitive cases relating to pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and Christine Gateau’s main focus is also on product liability. Antoine Juaristi has expertise in regulatory, banking and finance litigation, and acts for clients such as Natixis Asset Management, Barclays and Sanofi.

Linklaters LLP is particularly good at ‘assessing what is the most effective way to sort out a dispute in the best interest of its client’, and is highly recommended for its business-oriented approach. Arnaud de La Cotardière is a partner with ‘high added value’ and strong client skills, and Kiril Bougartchev is also recommended. Large corporations, financial institutions and investment funds turn to the firm for complex commercial, M&A and finance cases. Other recent work includes high-profile bankruptcy-related matters.

Allen & Overy LLP is ‘well connected in the legal world’ and shows ‘good industry knowledge’ in the banking and finance sector, where the firm represents financial institutions such as UBS and Credit Suisse in key cases. The team notably defended Goldman Sachs in proceedings brought against it by founders and former shareholders of Autodistribution. The practice is also experienced in cross-border cases and regularly pleads before African courts. Product liability is another strong area of expertise, especially in the life sciences and aviation sectors. Erwan Poisson, Laëtitia Bénard and practice head Denis Chemla are recommended.

Altana represents many high-profile French clients, including banks and industrial companies, in corporate, commercial, finance and product liability litigation, as well as several fraud and corruption cases. The five partners are Michel Jockey, Guillaume Forbin, Christophe Lapp, Julien Balensi and Philippe Goossens.

August & Debouzy represents many clients in high-value commercial, contractual and corporate litigation, and is defending France Télécom in a contractual dispute with Numéricable. Veolia Transport is also a client. The 18-lawyer team is headed by Gilles August, Pierre-Charles Ranouil, Marie Danis and the ‘extremely good’ Kami Haeri.

Beauquier Belloy Gauvain is famous for its high-quality work and strong understanding of the banking sector. Antoine Beauquier, Félix de Belloy, Raphaël Gauvain and former Justice Minister Dominique Perben are recommended. Franck Poindessault joined the firm from Norton Rose LLP.

Bird & Bird’s Vonnick Le Guillou is highly recommended for her product liability and industrial risk expertise. Le Guillou represents insurers and manufacturers, and is frequently involved in prominent cases following airline disasters. Marion Barbier heads the commercial litigation practice, and the team also manages major IT-related disputes.

Bouckaert Ormen Passemard Sportes’ responsive and client-oriented practice provides ‘the level of quality and dedication of an international law firm’. It is recommended for insurance and reinsurance liability claims, and also handles product liability claims in various sectors such as the aviation, life sciences and environment fields, where it acts for leading insurers and major corporations. The firm also represents various leading financial institutions. Christian Bouckaert, Carole Sportes and Rémi Passemard are recommended.

Cotty Vivant Marchisio & Lauzeral advises on corporate deals and related litigation as necessary. The firm represents many investment funds, including hedge funds, for which it handles very significant matters. Its growing reputation also earns the team appointments by CAC 40 companies and other major clients, and it is acting for ArcelorMittal in a contractual dispute with GDF Suez. Philippe Lauzeral, Thierry Cotty, Fabrice Marchisio and Frédéric Beccaria are the key partners. Arthur Dethomas left the firm to found Dethomas Kopf.

Foucaud Tchekhoff Pochet & Associés’ professional, responsive team shows ‘a special ability for solving complex situations’. It acts for high-profile French industrial and technology companies in commercial, finance and industrial cases. Edouard Fabre is among ‘France’s best attorneys for bank guarantees’ advice, Serge-Antoine Tchekhoff is ‘very good at amicably settling difficult disagreements’, and Robert Corcos and Rajeev Sharma Fokeer are also recommended.

Franklin’s Yann Colin is an ‘efficient’ litigator, ‘sharp and to the point – results are never less than expected’. Colin represents several blue-chip corporations in corporate and commercial cases involving high financial or reputational risks. Recent instructions include acting in a difficult dispute between shareholders.

Laurent Martinet heads Jones Day’s up-and-coming practice, which represents leading corporations, notably from the healthcare, energy, transport and retail sectors, in major corporate, contractual and other commercial disputes. Ozan Akyurek was promoted to the partnership.

Latham & Watkins’ practice is led by Valérie Bouaziz Torron and Myria Saarinen, who represent large French and international technology clients in corporate and commercial litigation, including contractual disputes.

Laude Esquier Champey handles commercial litigation and recently defended France Télécom in proceedings brought by SFR regarding interconnection issues. Other clients include Bolloré, Goodyear and EADS Astrium. Olivier Laude, Victor Champey and Richard Esquier head the practice.

Paul Hastings LLP represents leading financial institutions in major cases and also regularly defends accountancy firms facing liability claims. The firm also acts for several large industrial groups in corporate and commercial litigation, and has experience advising on US regulatory investigations. Nicolas Faguer, practice head Philippe Bouchez El Ghozi and the highly experienced Dominique Borde are recommended.

Litigation is Reinhart Marville Torre’s flagship practice in Paris, and the firm fields six dedicated partners. The firm handles all types of litigation and acts for many major French corporations, notably from the banking, distribution and services industries. Jean Reinhart, Louie-Marie Absil, Antoine Dérot, Jérôme Marsaudon and Marc Susini are key figures in the practice.

Simmons & Simmons LLP’s Jacques-Antoine Robert and the ‘very knowledgeable and user-friendly’ Alexandre Regniault represent leading companies in headline product liability cases in the life sciences industry, and also act in major commercial cases. Thierry Gontard has strong experience in securities and financial litigation. Clients of the practice include EDF and Merck.

Soulez Larivière et Associés is a leading name for product liability, and also acts in cases, notably in the transport, environmental and financial services sectors. This highly experienced team includes star partner Daniel Soulez-Larivière, who has ‘excellent diplomatic and analytical skills’, and Simon Foreman and Mauricia Courrégé.

Viguié Schmidt Peltier Juvigny is particularly recommended for contentious matters involving delicate situations. Nicolas Viguié, Yves Schmidt and Frédéric Peltier are thorough professionals.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges’ Bernard Casanova and Didier Malka have great corporate and securities litigation expertise.

White & Case LLP has great experience in cross-border cases, including the co-ordination of complex multi-jurisdictional cases. It acts for banks such as BNP Paribas and CACIB in high-profile cases. The team also represents several large corporations in international commercial, property or product liability matters. Philippe Métais heads the practice.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP provides ‘high-quality advice and performance’, and excels in ‘major commercial matters with significant risk exposure’. The team’s ‘exceptional know-how and experience of US litigation rules in comparison to French rules’ makes it ‘one of the best for US clients’. As such, the practice is popular with large US or French corporations. It was recently involved in major hotel and post-acquisition disputes, and notably successfully represented the owner of the Hotel Hilton Arc de Triomphe in its claims against the Hilton Group. Dominique Mondolini is ‘an excellent lawyer with extraordinary strategic thinking’, and co-heads the practice with the highly regarded Maurice Lantourne.