The Legal 500

Within Administrative and public law Other recommended firms

Within Aviation, Herbert Smith LLP is a second tier firm,

Herbert Smith LLP is strongly recommended for product liability cases through Denis Chemla, who ‘understands the French legal system very well’ while also being able to ‘abide by US standards of legal representation’. The firm handles high-profile air crash and contractual disputes, acting for aircraft device manufacturers. It is representing Honeywell in the Rio-Paris disaster and Pratt & Whitney in the West Caribbean jetliner crash in Venezuela.

Within Banking and finance, Herbert Smith LLP is a third tier firm,

Herbert Smith LLP’s 12-lawyer practice is led by Régis Oréal and Jacques Bertran de Balanda – former practice head Georges Dirani left the firm in 2010. The department focuses on projects and renewables in France, the team assisting BPCE on the financing of three photovoltaic power stations. The practice also advised on refinancing deals, representing Société Générale on the debt refinancing of Novacap.

Within Capital markets Other recommended firms

Within Dispute resolution Commercial litigation , Herbert Smith LLP is a second tier firm,

Herbert Smith LLP stands out for the quality of its client services; ‘a client can call at anytime and be guaranteed an extremely efficient response to its problems’. The practice consists of the ‘very sharp’ Denis Chemla, who is ‘always ready to help his clients in difficult decision making’ while ‘being great fun to work with’, newly promoted partner Erwan Poisson and of counsel Dominique Jardin. The team has a strong finance practice and is also renowned for its product liability expertise in the aviation sector. It is representing Pratt & Whitney following the West Caribbean jetliner crash in Venezuela and Goldman Sachs in a case against the former shareholders of Autodistribution.

Within Dispute resolution International arbitration, Herbert Smith LLP is a third tier firm,

Herbert Smith LLP’s ‘solid and very dynamic’ 15-lawyer team increased the number of instructions by French multinationals and state entities in 2010. The practice is made up of four partners; Charles Kaplan who co-heads the firm’s global arbitration practice, the ‘extremely responsive and very sharp’ Michael Young, Isabelle Michou and newly promoted partner and public international law specialist Emmanuelle Cabrol. The firm handles a high volume of cases, notably ICC, while taking on investment disputes.

Within Dispute resolution Stock market litigation Other recommended firms

Within Dispute resolution White-collar crime Other recommended firms

Within EU competition and distribution, Herbert Smith LLP is a third tier firm,

Co-headed by Jacques Buhart and Sergio Sorinas, Herbert Smith LLP was called upon to advise on merger-control and antitrust work. The eight-lawyer team, including consultant Dominique Brault, also gained further new major clients in Casino and Fast Retailing. It represented Lagardère in the pay-TV case, HSBC in a major case dealing with interbank fees on cheques and Mitsubishi Motor on its alliance project with Peugeot.

Within Employment , Herbert Smith LLP is a third tier firm,

Herbert Smith LLP’s practice is led by Sophie Brézin, and also includes of counsel Emma Röhsler. The six-lawyer team dealt with a number of restructuring and litigation cases in 2010, and continued to advise on the high-profile Nortel case. The practice was also selected by clients to assist on the issue of executive departures.

Within IT, telecoms and the internet, Herbert Smith LLP is a third tier firm,

Led by Alexandra Néri, Herbert Smith LLP includes many of the world’s leading internet companies, such as Google and Amazon in its client portfolio. The firm also handles telecoms work in Africa, recently assisting Bharti Airtel on the acquisition of Zain Africa mobile company.

Within Insolvency Other recommended firms

Within Intellectual property: Full-service firms , Herbert Smith LLP is a second tier firm,

Herbert Smith LLP’s Alexandra Néri is acting for Google in the market’s most strategic court battles regarding trade mark rights on the internet, shaping the jurisprudence at French and European levels. In 2010, the firm won a groundbreaking ECJ decision which ruled that Google’s Adwords system was not in breach of Louis Vuitton trade mark rights as previously stated by the French courts. The practice, which is also defending the leading search engine in a case against French publishers including Le Seuil, lost before the Paris court and has now appealed the judgement. Of counsel Céline Bey is also acting for Hella in an important case in the car industry sector regarding copyright, trade mark and design rights of automotive spare parts. The seven-lawyer team is adept at handling innovative trade mark cases.

Within Mergers and acquisitions, tier 6

Headed by Jacques Buhart, Herbert Smith LLP’s practice comprises five partners and 16 associates, including the ‘very bright’ Hubert Segain, who is a ‘great advisor to publicly-listed firms’ and Anglo-Saxon clients. In 2010, the team was also selected by Asian clients undertaking corporate deals in France and in Europe, the firm notably advising Mitsubishi on its alliance project with Peugeot.

Within Private equity Other recommended firms

Within Project finance and energy: Energy Project finance and energy: Energy

Within Project finance and energy: Project finance, Herbert Smith LLP is a first tier firm,

Herbert Smith LLP’s ‘historical base’ in Africa and its lawyers’ in-depth knowledge of the region make the firm a top choice for projects on the African continent. Serving a large client base of sponsors, the firm advises on infrastructure, mining and energy projects and leads a busy practice in the energy sector in France. The practice also ‘has an insight in the world of oil and gas in Africa that no other firms has’. Heading the Paris and the firm’s global mining group, Stéphane Brabant stands out for his experience on the ground in Francophone African countries. Bertrand Montembault is a mining and oil and gas expert, handling work in France and Africa, French and Algerian-qualified Mehdi Haroun focuses on power and renewable projects in France and North Africa, newly promoted partner Nina Bowyer adds common law capabilities to the practice, while Jacques Bertran de Balanda advises lenders on the finance side. Rebecca Major joined the firm’s Tokyo office and Laurent Vandomme is now a partner at Jones Day. Highlights included advising EDF on France’s second EPR in Penly, and Rio Tinto on mining exploration activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Within Real estate, Herbert Smith LLP is a second tier firm,

Herbert Smith LLP’s dynamic practice gained a series of new clients in 2010 including significant German investors (AIK, Fedreim) and major French players (Aviva). The practice, led by Pierre Popesco, has three core-partners including Florence Chérel and Pierre-Nicolas Sanzey and ten associates. The client base is first-class and well balanced between investment funds, insurance companies, property companies (Icade, Rodamco), banks and developers. The team handles high-profile instructions, including assisting Predica on the joint acquisition of Cap 3000 shopping-mall.

Within Tax, tier 4

Herbert Smith LLP has a compact three-lawyer team, which advises on strategic matters, notably in the real estate, energy and restructuring areas. Practice head Jean-Luc Calisti and of counsel Jérôme Le Berre were involved in France’s largest property deal in 2010, acting for Predica on the acquisition of shopping centre Cap 3000.