The Legal 500

Within Banking and finance, Bech-Bruun is a first tier firm,

At Bech-Bruun, banking work is undertaken by the capital markets group, which provides ‘fine service’. The team was strengthened by the arrival of senior legal adviser Anne Kaas Hammer from Danske Markets, while Tue Ravnholt Frandsen was elected partner. Chairman Steen Halmind and Morten Krogsgaard recently handled acquisition finance transactions for Altor Equity Partners, Barclays Private Equity, and Goldman Sachs International. Other clients include Nordea Bank Danmark, Citigroup, Barclays Capital and RBS. Additionally, Steen Jensen advises Amagerbanken and Mezzanin Kapital, and Christian Kruse-Madsen represents The Bank of Copenhagen. The team was involved in negotiations with Finansiel Stabilitet – the state-owned company handling distressed banks.

Within Capital markets, Bech-Bruun is a first tier firm,

Bech-Bruun advises clients on secondary rights issues and listed share transactions. Notably, Regina Andersen represented Bang & Olufsen in its rights issue on OMX, and Steen Jensen advised its Norwegian client Affitech during a reverse takeover and merger with Pharmexa, a listed Danish biotech company. Jørgen Reimer Jensen advised on numerous corporate capital-raisings, including bond issues and derivatives work. The capital markets group represented several banks in connection with the Treasury’s ‘bank package 2’ providing subordinated loan capital.

Within Dispute resolution, Bech-Bruun is a second tier firm,

Bech-Bruun’s litigation department includes Jes Andersen-Møller, Morten Ulrich, Jes Anker Mikkelsen and former High Court judge Lars Lindencrone Petersen. The group takes plaintiff and defence cases, and its clients include insurers and reinsurers – notably Zurich, AXA, If, and Codan – and corporates such as A.P. Møller-Mærsk, Energinet.dk, Nordea, Novo Nordisk, TDC and Vestas. Lars Svenning Andersen represents 1,100 plaintiffs claiming approximately DKK4bn against DONG.

Within EU and competition, Bech-Bruun is a second tier firm,

Bech-Bruun has ‘good response times, industry knowledge and appropriate advice’ for state aid, anti-competitive practices, merger control and public procurement. Simon Evers Hjelmborg is handling three Court of First Instance cases concerning national broadcaster TV 2’s public service obligations. He also represented Viasat UK Broadcasting regarding TV 2’s alleged abuse of dominance, and Cheminova in a claim against Akzo Nobel. Peter Stig Jakobsen focuses on competition and public procurement, and successfully represented privately owned distributor Forbruger-Kontakt against Post Danmark.

Within Employment, Bech-Bruun is a second tier firm,

Bech-Bruun’s practice head Bjarke Vejby is representing Amagerbanken in a Supreme Court case concerning claims by retired bank employees, while Morten Ulrich successfully represented TDC in a Supreme Court case. Jette Ronøe specialises in stock options cases, while discrimination lawyer Mads Krarup was appointed partner in 2009, and Lars Svenning Andersen is also recommended. Mette Klingsten and her team joined from Abel & Skovgård Larsen Advokatfirma.

Within Energy, Bech-Bruun is a second tier firm,

Bech-Bruun provides specialist advice on oil and gas regulation, E&P transactions, licences, joint operating agreements, guarantees and offshore construction projects in Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Group head Per Hemmer advises transmission system operator Energinet.dk. The team represents E.ON Vind Sverige on the establishment of Rødsand II offshore wind farm and the waste-to-energy plants DONG Energy Generation, Amagerforbrænding and Vesterforbrænding. Wind turbine expert Jakob Østervang joined from Abel & Skovgård Larsen Advokatfirma.

Within Environment, Bech-Bruun is a first tier firm,

At Bech-Bruun, group leader Jens Auken is advising Copenhagen Metro on the 2007-2018 extension programme. Svend Paludan-Müller has experience handling mergers between municipal waste management companies, and also won a major High Court case relating to an Environmental Impact Assessment on the territorial sea. Hanne Mølbeck acts for municipalities on major urban developments, while Mads Kobberø advises some 50 municipalities on soil contamination, environmental permits and environmental law enforcement.

Within Information technology, Bech-Bruun is a first tier firm,

Bech-Bruun’s eight-strong team is ‘outstanding and attentive, and always provides inspiring input’ on IT matters, including transactional support, outsourcing and licensing agreements, system integration, compliance, e-commerce and data protection. High-profile clients include Microsoft and Business Software Alliance. Group head Niels Andersen advises on complex IT contracts including agreements regulating IT services provided by KMD to the Danish municipalities following the sale of KMD, and system integration agreements between Accenture and its customers Carlsberg, Novo and TopDanmark. Anne Becker-Christensen displays ‘impressive attention to detail and thoroughness, and delivers results’.

Within Insolvency, Bech-Bruun is a first tier firm,

Bech-Bruun group head Ole Borch, Michael Serring and Lars Lindencrone Petersen ‘are among the best in Denmark’ and are instructed by major Danish and foreign banks. The lawyers act as trustees in bankruptcies, supervisors in suspensions of payments, members of creditors’ committees and creditor representatives and have handled numerous out-of-court arrangements. The group received major mandates from Roskilde Bank, Sterling Airlines, Correll Ejendomme and Landic/Keops. Jørgen Hauschildt and three other fee-earners joined from Abel & Skovgård Larsen Advokatfirma.

Within Insurance, Bech-Bruun is a second tier firm,

Bech-Bruun’s ‘professional and skillful’ 15-lawyer team undertakes regulatory work regarding life insurance and pension schemes, represents international insurance brokers and advises on construction law, professional liability, product liability and industrial and personal injury. Group leader Henrik Valdorf-Hansen acted in a Supreme Court case concerning distributor agreements. Clients include international and Danish insurers Zurich, AIG, TrygVesta and If and commercial clients Energinet.dk, Hewlett-Packard, Nordea, TDC and Vestas. Jesper Windahl and Carsten Pedersen are recommended.

Within Intellectual property, Bech-Bruun is a second tier firm,

Bech-Bruun’s 14-lawyer team is particularly strong in trade mark and design, patent and copyright law, handling more cases than any other Danish law firm before the Maritime and Commercial Court. Claus Barrett Christiansen is ‘second to none with very good industry knowledge’. High-profile clients include Business Software Alliance (BSA), Crocs, Dell, Mars and Microsoft. Lisbet Andersen is an ‘excellent trade marks lawyer’ with a successful record in domain name disputes.

Within Legal market overview,

The Big Four firms – Kromann Reumert, Bech-Bruun, Plesner, and Gorrissen Federspiel – dominate the market. Meanwhile, the financial crisis has provided steady work for top banking and finance practices, notably Gorrissen Federspiel and Kromann Reumert. Although many lawyers switched from M&A to insolvency activity, transaction-focused firms such as Accura Advokataktieselskab and Rønne & Lundgren have kept busy on a steady diet of smaller deals. Full-service firms Lett Law Firm and Horten have benefited from their strength in regional and public sector work.

Within Legal market overview,

2009 saw high-profile individuals moving to larger firms, reversing the trend of recent years. The most talked about defection in 2009 was Claus Bennetsen, former head of banking at Accura Advokataktieselskab who joined Horten. Well-reputed employment lawyer Mette Klingsten – who joined Bech-Bruun – was among several departures from Abel & Skovgård Larsen Advokatfirma. Elsewhere, departures from employment boutique Norrbom Vinding included Marianne Granhøj and Jens Lund Mosbek, who moved to Kromann Reumert.

Within Media and entertainment, Bech-Bruun is a first tier firm,

Bech-Bruun’s broad practice represents high-profile clients including Bonnier Publications, Capella Music, Electronic Arts and Universal. Ole Borch focuses on sports law and sponsorship, while group head Niels Andersen ‘provides well-qualified advice based on strong industry knowledge’ and acted for The Music Business Organisation (MBO) in selling a division of Copenhagen Records to Sony Music. Anders Rubinstein is an ‘up-and-coming talent’. Strange Beck retired and was replaced as media department head by technology expert Arly Carlquist, who advises the Danish Game Producers’ Association.

Within Mergers and acquisitions, Bech-Bruun is a first tier firm,

Jacob Hjortshøj and his team at Bech-Bruun represented Kommunernes Landsforening in its €269m disposal of KMD to EQT, and Altor in its €142m acquisition of MedTech. Monica Reib advised the majority shareholder on Fullrate’s sale to TDC, and represented Wayport during its €195m sale to AT&T. Niels Kornerup is ‘extremely helpful during sales negotiations’, while Niels Erik Nielsen, Søren Meisling, Jacob Hjortshøj and Mikkel Baaring Lerche are also recommended.

Within Real estate and construction, Bech-Bruun is a first tier firm,

Bech-Bruun’s practice ‘combines law expertise and business mindedness’, and its areas of expertise include property sales for bankruptcy estates for which it has a dedicated internet site to support this work. Practice head Torben Schön assisted Danica Pension Livsforsikringsselskab with the DKK1.1bn purchase of an office building. Andreas Antoniades is commended for his ‘fast response and positive demeanour’ – he and Torben Schøn and Lars Kjær assisted Swedish company Allokton with a SEK1.2bn cross-border restructuring. The group was strengthened by the recruitment of Jesper Bøge Pedersen from Abel & Skovgård Larsen Advokatfirma.

Within Shipping and transport, Bech-Bruun is a first tier firm,

Bech-Bruun’s ‘professional, good and friendly team’ advises P&I clubs, shipowners, operators and carriers and frequently appears before the Maritime and Commercial Court. Clients include Maersk, Stena Line and Thomas Cook, and insurers TrygVesta and If P&C Insurance. The group has handled matters caused by the financial crisis, including termination of charter party arrangements and detention disputes. Group head Jes Anker Mikkelsen represented Transurance/Codan in a high-profile case before the Maritime and Commercial Court regarding the interpretation of institute cargo clauses, and is representing SAS in disputes regarding handling charges at Copenhagen Airport. Jesper Windahl is ‘one of the best lawyers for marine cargo law’ and handles multijurisdictional disputes, while Henrik Valdorf-Hansen offers ‘particular expertise in marine insurance’, including Supreme Court cases and arbitrations.

Within Tax, Bech-Bruun is a first tier firm,

Bech-Bruun’s 18-lawyer group has broad expertise and represents a genuine alternative to the big accountancy firms for certain services. Nikolaj Bjørnholm and Carsten Pals provide structured finance expertise to Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Santander and Nordea. Anders Oreby Hansen specialises in M&A-related tax planning, group restructuring and transfer pricing. Aarhus-based Christian Bachmann is a key player locally and Michael Serup specialises in changes in business ownership and company structure. Tax controversy is another important part of the practice. Nikolaj Bjørnholm, who also handles National Tax Tribunal cases, won a significant Supreme Court case concerning employee travel allowances.

Within Telecoms, Bech-Bruun is a first tier firm,

Bech-Bruun’s Niels Andersen and Arly Carlquist head a team that ‘offers legal advice in a brief and business-oriented way, excellent drafting and value for money’. Recent activities include having negotiated agreements for the purchase of telecom services from TDC, advising clients on regulatory matters and handling a data protection project for Wayport. Key clients include ACN, Comitel, Microsoft and payment processor PBS.