The Legal 500

Within Administrative and public law, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a third tier firm,

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP’s Thierry Laloum and Vincent Brenot are leading advisers for major public projects. The seven-lawyer practice also has strong expertise in public finance law and litigation. Highlight included assisting Autostrade per l’Italia on the innovative eco-tax project. Other clients include public entities (Mairie de Paris), sponsors (Vinci), and various lenders.

Within Banking and finance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a second tier firm,

Large banking institutions turn to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP for banking, restructuring, leveraged and property finance work. Highlights included advising Société Générale, Natixis, HSBC and CACIB on the financing of Lactalis’ public offer on Parmalat. Dougall Molson heads this 20-lawyer group, which also includes Antonin Besse, Hervé Touraine and Fabrice Grillo. Jean-Luc Michaud retired.

Within Capital markets, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a second tier firm,

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.

Within Commercial litigation , Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a second tier firm,

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP’s ‘incredible strength’ lies in its large team, which allows it to staff teams tailored with appropriate expertise. It is representing various financial institutions in financial claims brought by public entities, and also handles corporate and commercial litigations. The practice is led by the ‘excellent and very proactive’ Stéphane Bénouville, who manages major subprime and swap-transaction disputes. New managing partner Elie Kleiman now mainly focuses on arbitration. The ‘talented’ Dimitri Lecat was promoted to the partnership.

Within International arbitration, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a second tier firm,

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP has superb teams in London, New York and Paris. The 26-lawyer Paris team is chaired by Peter Turner and includes ‘brilliant’ attorneys Georgios Petrochilos and Elie Kleiman as well as the ‘gifted’ Noah Rubins. Jan Paulsson, who divides his time between Paris and Bahrain, is now involved in the practice as principal consultant. The firm has a first-class investment practice, representing state entities, such as the Kingdom of Cambodia, and companies. It is acting for Total in ICSID proceedings against the Republic of Argentina. The team also handles a large amount of commercial arbitration work.

Within Stock market litigation Other recommended firms

Within White-collar crime Other recommended firms

Within EU competition and distribution, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a second tier firm,

Led by Jérôme Philippe and the ‘excellent’ Maria Trabucchi who is ‘not afraid to stand on her grounds’, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP has very impressive merger control, antitrust and state aid practices. It advised EADS and Astrium on the acquisition of Vizada and is representing Laboratoires Pierre Fabre before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in a case that will decide on the future of online sales of products that are normally retailed through selective distribution networks.

Within Employment , Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a first tier firm,

Emmanuel Bénard and Gwen Senlanne lead Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP’s 20-lawyer practice, which is working hard to maintain its good reputation following Gilles Bélier’s retirement. It advises top clients on the employment aspects of corporate transactions and large-scale restructuring, and represents them in litigation. It assisted Bristol-Myers Squibb with the reorganisation of its French operations, and also counts France Télécom as a key client.

Within Insolvency, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a third tier firm,

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP combines strong corporate and finance expertise to advise on complex restructuring, and advised the banks’ steering committee and senior creditors in the Thomson restructuring. The practice is in the hands of Alan Mason, who is ‘technically very strong’ and co-heads the practice with ‘very good strategist’ Antonin Besse.

Within Legal market overview,

The market’s elite are French firms Bredin Prat, Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier, De Pardieu Brocas Maffei A.A.R.P.I and Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I.; British firms Allen & Overy LLP, Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and Linklaters LLP; and US firms Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, White & Case LLP and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.

Within Mergers and acquisitions, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a second tier firm,

Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier’s 12-partner group advises on top-end transactions and is outstanding for public tender offers involving potential litigation or complex securities matters. Clients praise the high level of partner involvement in deals. It recently handled high-profile work for Casino in Brazil and Thailand. It also acted for Hermès during LVMH’s unsolicited acquisition of a 20% stake in the company. This first-class team includes leading names Jean-Michel Darrois, Olivier Diaz, Alain Maillot, Emmanuel Brochier, Bertrand Cardi, Ben Burman and newly promoted partner Hugo Diener. Hervé Pisani joined Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, while David Scemla founded a new boutique firm along with six colleagues.

Within Private equity, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a second tier firm,

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP’s Fabrice Cohen and Jean-Claude Cotoni advise on large-cap transactions. Key clients include Cinven and Qualium Investissement, and the team also advised Permira on the sale of Provimi.

Within Project finance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a second tier firm,

In a short period of time, Amir Jahanguiri, Thierry Laloum and Vincent Brenot have turned Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP into a leading destination for large projects in France. The firm combine strong public law and finance capabilities in assisting lenders, sponsors and public entities. It is adviser to the City of Paris on all its major projects and represented the European Investment Bank on the Tours-Bordeaux railway PPP project. The firm is also involved in port infrastructure projects in Scandinavia and Morocco.

Within Real estate, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a second tier firm,

Pascal Schmitz leads Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP’s nine-lawyer practice, in which the ‘charismatic’ Benoît Marcilhacy is the other key contact. The client base includes leading US, European and Middle Eastern investors, for which it handles a range of matters including investments, refinancing, leases and fund formation. The team advised Grosvenor on its acquisition of a portfolio of European commercial centres from Unibail Rodamco.

Within Tax, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a second tier firm,

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP’s ‘very responsive’ group has wide-ranging expertise encompassing domestic and international corporate and property tax advice, structured finance, transfer pricing and litigation. It advises leading investment funds and corporations, and assisted General Mills on the acquisition of a 51% stake in Yoplait. The ‘very reliable’ Cyril Valentin leads the nine-lawyer team, which also includes Antoine Colonna d’Istria.