The Legal 500

Within Administrative and public law, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP advises on public transport and other infrastructure projects, often assisting public entities but also representing key sponsors. It recently assisted the Ministry of Defence on the French Pentagon project. Bruno Cantier heads the practice, in which Ludovic Babin is the other key figure.

Within Aviation, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a first tier firm,

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP stands out for its product liability litigation practice with the ‘excellent’ Thomas Rouhette and senior associate Cécile Di Meglio representing leading manufacturers, insurers and reinsurers following aircraft accidents. The practice also handles commercial advice, French-American aviation proceedings and arbitrations. The firm is representing Boeing in several matters including litigation pertaining to the Sharm El-Sheikh crash.

Within Aviation finance, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a second tier firm,

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP advises major French banks and airline companies, and was involved in the financing of two A380 aircraft for Air France. Practice head Richard Jadot ‘always finds a way to get a deal done’.

Within Banking and finance, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP advises Natixis, BNP Paribas and Société Générale on acquisition finance, asset finance and corporate loans. It assisted Natixis and the other lenders with the financing of Euromedia. Practice head Richard Jadot, Michel Quéré and Olivier Fille-Lambie are recommended.

Within Capital markets, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a second tier firm,

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.

Within Commercial litigation , Hogan Lovells International LLP is a second tier firm,

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP’s ‘real and deep litigation expertise’ makes it ‘one of the best references in Paris’. The practice is led by Thomas Rouhette, a recognised expert in product liability litigation, who is representing Boeing in several cases following major air disasters and is defending eBay in three landmark cases against LVMH, L’Oréal and Hermès. The practice is also very successful in the healthcare sector, where Cécile Derycke represents clients such as Baxter and Brainlab; in the financial sector through Antoine Juaristi; and in food and beverages cases through consultant Antoine de Brosses. Newly promoted partner Christine Gateau is also a product liability specialist.

Within International arbitration, tier 4

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP’s ‘highly reliable practice’ is ‘often acting on the winning side’. Its nine-lawyer team is jointly led by Jean-Georges Betto, ‘a creative, dynamic and cool-minded lawyer, recommended for difficult cases’, and Laurent Gouiffès, ‘an excellent and very enthusiastic attorney with a sharp legal mind’. It is representing key clients in the defence and energy sectors in major ICC cases, and an energy investment dispute.

Within Stock market litigation Other recommended firms

Within EU competition and distribution, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

Pierre de Montalembert heads Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP’s practice, which advises on merger control, antitrust and freedom of establishment matters. Michel Debroux runs a top state aid practice, and recently obtained an ECJ ruling cancelling the EC’s decision to order €1.2bn of reimbursements by EDF. Counsel Ombline Ancelin is also recommended.

Within Employment , Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP’s 17-lawyer team represents companies in litigation and restructuring, notably in the healthcare sector where clients include Merck & Co and Johnson & Johnson. Practice head Dominique Mendy is recommended along with Jean-Marc Albiol, Thierry Meillat, Muriel Pariente and Lorelei Gannat. Philippe Thomas joined Dechert.

Within Health and life sciences, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a second tier firm,

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP’s life sciences group is increasingly prominent in product liability cases, where its clients include Bayer, Baxter and Laboratoires Servier. Practice head Cécile Derycke is representing Brainlab in a case concerning patients’ exposure to radiation in several hospitals. The firm also has patent and trade mark expertise through Xavier Buffet Delmas and Dominique Ménard, and has recently represented ALK-Abelló, AETS-Etablissement Français du Sang and Eli Lilly in IP matters. Mikael Salmela handles regulatory work.

Within IT, telecoms and the internet, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a second tier firm,

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP’s David Taylor is expert in internet matters, and he advises online giants such as Facebook on issues including protection or recovery of domain names worldwide. Xavier Buffet Delmas, Winston Maxwell and Michel Debroux advise telecoms operators and French and foreign regulatory authorities regarding contentious and non-contentious regulatory and state aid issues. The firm also assists several technology users and providers with data protection and IT projects.

Within Insurance, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a second tier firm,

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP is ‘very responsive and commercially focused’. Thomas Rouhette, who is recommended for litigation, represented Global Aerospace in a number of high-profile aviation cases. For corporate and regulatory work, Bénédicte Denis is ‘excellent and commercially astute’.

Within Full-service firms, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a first tier firm,

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP is ‘one of the most prominent firms for patent matters in France’. The Paris practice is also part of a ‘real one-stop shop for Europe-wide patent litigation with well-integrated teams and a consistently high quality of lawyers between offices’. The 11-lawyer Paris team is headed by ‘excellent litigator’ and trade mark expert Marie-Aimée de Dampierre. Dominique Ménard provides ‘outstanding strategic views on patent litigations and is very persuasive before courts’. Generalist IP lawyer Xavier Buffet Delmas is recommended for strategic IP advice. The practice is involved in several strategic multi-jurisdictional patent litigations, including representing AETS-Etablissement Français du Sang in a case regarding a blood derivatives manufacturing process. Other key clients include Eli Lilly, Dassault Systèmes and Honeywell.

Within Full-service firms, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a first tier firm,

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP’s Winston Maxwell and Xavier Buffet Delmas advise major studios such as Pathé and Studio Canal on movie production, distribution and regulation. The team also represents numerous showbusiness celebrities.

Within Mergers and acquisitions,

Thanks to a new enlarged team of some 30 lawyers, Paul Hastings LLP was able to increase its deal flow in 2011. The firm mainly handles mid-cap transactions for listed clients such as Bull, Iliad and Publicis, and advised Ausy on investments in the group by CDC and Siparex. Aline Poncelet shows ‘high business acumen’, and is recommended along with Pascal de Moidrey, Edith Boucaya and Guillaume Kellner.

Within Project finance, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a second tier firm,

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP often acts for public entities, and increasingly for sponsors and lenders, in high-profile French projects. Practice head Bruno Cantier and Ludovic Babin are public law experts, and Olivier Fille-Lambie is a financing expert. The firm is involved in key projects in the transport and public infrastructure sectors, and is advising French rail network manager RFF on various major railway projects. The practice is also advising lenders on several infrastructure projects in Africa.

Within Real estate, tier 4

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP gives ‘sound advice’ to investors on transactional and portfolio management issues, and represents occupiers in asset management work. Clients include Amundi Immobilier, Geodis and SITQ. Practice head Corinne Knopp is a ‘very persuasive and knowledgeable’ property specialist. Other key figures in the team are Jean-Pascal Bus, whose expertise also encompasses litigation, urban planning and construction matters, and tax expert James Vaudoyer.

Within Tax, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP’s practice is led by Xenia Legendre, who has strong credentials in international taxation, and property tax expert James Vaudoyer. Clients include Edenred and Carlson Hotels.