The Legal 500

Within Administrative and public law Other recommended firms

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

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP stands out for its outstanding litigation capabilities through Thomas Rouhette and senior associate Cécile Di Meglio, who represent the world’s largest aircraft manufacturers following major air disasters. The team is assisting Boeing in several high-profile cases including the Sharm El-Sheikh, Maracaibo, Kenya Airways and Tamanrasset crashes. The firm also offers first-class finance expertise and handles several commercial arbitration cases.

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

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP’s Richard Jadot is advisor to the largest French financial institutions on the financing of commercial aircrafts used by major airline companies. Landmark deals included representing Natixis, CACIB, Sumitomo Mitsui and HSH Nordbank on the financing of Air France’s first two Airbus A380.

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

Led by Richard Jadot, Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP has a strong aviation finance practice and is developing its involvement in the project and energy fields through Michel Quéré, who joined from Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP in 2010. The team, which also includes Olivier Fille-Lambie, acts for a large banking client base. It represented Natixis, CACIB, Sumitomo Mitsui, HSH Nordbank on the financing of Air France’s first two Airbus A380, and a banking consortium including BNP Paribas and Société Générale on the financing of Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière’s mining project in Mauritania.

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

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP’s recent merger created a comprehensive practice spanning securitisation, debt and equity transactions. In the DCM field, Sharon Lewis heads the firm’s global practice, while Philip Boys managed the Paris team. Jean-Marc Franceschi is a renowned expert for ECM work. The firm is a strong advisor for issuers, assisting EDF on its €3.2bn public retail bond issue and Carbone Lorraine on its €63.4m share-capital increase.

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

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP’s practice head Thomas Rouhette stands out for his ‘incredible skills and commitment to clients’, which make him ‘one of the best litigators in France’, especially for product liability cases. The practice also has strong commercial and product liability litigation expertise in newly promoted partner and ‘result-oriented’ Cécile Derycke, who represents leading pharmaceutical companies such as Sanofi-Aventis, and consultant Antoine de Brosses, a specialist in the food and beverage industry who joined from Simmons & Simmons LLP in 2009. Antoine Juaristi focuses on financial disputes, representing large banking institutions. The firm is involved in most of the market’s high-profile aviation cases, and is also acting for eBay in three landmark proceedings against LVMH, L’Oréal and Hermès.

Within Dispute resolution International arbitration, tier 4

The ‘up-and-coming’ Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP has a ‘very dynamic’ practice, the firm gaining new high-profile clients in 2010. The 10-lawyer team is led by the ‘very combative’ Jean-Georges Betto, who is ‘well-versed in the defence sector’, and Laurent Gouiffès, whose practice focuses on energy and investment. The firm runs an active ICC practice, advising key clients in the defence, aerospace and energy sectors.

Within Dispute resolution Stock market litigation Other recommended firms

Within EU competition and distribution, tier 4

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP now has a seven-lawyer practice by combining Michel Debroux’s leading expertise on state-aids with Pierre de Montalembert and counsel Ombline Ancelin’s experience on cartels and EU freedom law. The firm is involved in major cases, representing Esso in the jet-fuel case in La Réunion and PMU on a freedom of services litigation before the Court of Appeal. It also advises on merger-control work, assisting Astorg Partners on the sale of Geoservices to Schlumberger.

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

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP’s merger created a large employment team of some 20 lawyers. Practice head Dominique Mendy is highly-regarded, while Philippe Thomas, Jean-Marc Albiol, Thierry Meillat and Murielle Pariente are also recommended. The firm recently advised on major restructuring work in the life-sciences and car device manufacturing fields. The practice is also a good choice for high-executive termination issues.

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

Newly promoted partner Cécile Derycke heads up Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP’s growing practice. An expert in product liability, she is entrusted by leading laboratories, including Baxter, which she represents on all its cases in France. Derycke is also acting for BrainLAB in a high-profile dispute regarding the alleged radiation of patients in French hospitals. IP is another area of strength in Xavier Buffet Delmas and patent specialist Dominique Ménard, who is representing Eli Lilly in several major cases including against Sandoz. Counsel Mikael Salmela advises large pharmaceutical companies on regulatory issues.

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

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP has true specialists for telecoms work in Xavier Buffet Delmas, Winston Maxwell and competition expert Michel Debroux. BT, the French telecoms authority and Alcatel Lucent are regular clients. The firm is also home to one of the market’s leading names on domains, the ‘very proactive’ David Taylor, whose team advises an impressive internet client base (Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Yahoo!).

Within Insolvency Other recommended firms

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

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP has superb litigation expertise in Thomas Rouhette, who handles landmark cases in the aviation sector, combined with corporate and regulatory capabilities through Bénédicte Denis. The firm is an advisor to leading insurers and reinsurers (Axa, Scor, Swiss Re).

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

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP’ recent merger brought together a large and comprehensive 15-lawyer team. The four-partner practice includes the ‘excellent’ co-managing partner Marie-Aimée de Dampierre for trade mark matters, the ‘friendly and competent’ patent specialist Dominique Ménard, all-round IP expert Xavier Buffet Delmas and domain-name guru David Taylor. The team is handling strategic cases in the health sector where it is representing Laboratoires Servier in a landmark case regarding the use of the princeps’ name and layout, and Eli Lilly in a multi-jurisdictional dispute versus Sandoz over the patent manufacturing process for Gemcitabine and Raloxifene.

Within Media and entertainment: Full-service firms, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a first tier firm,

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP’s Winston Maxwell and Xavier Buffet Delmas represent showbusiness celebrities, leading French and American movie studios and publishing companies.

Within Mergers and acquisitions, tier 4

The newly merged Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP now has a large eight-partner team. The practice is led by Isabelle MacElhone, and includes key partners Pierre Todorov and Jean-Marc Franceschi. The team advised Edenred on the demerger of Accor’s two core businesses, and the management of Sperian on Honeywell’s takeover offer. The financial, retail and life-science sectors are notable areas of focus for the team. Pascal de Moidrey joined Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker (Europe) LLP in 2011.

Within Private equity,

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP has great LBO capabilities in practice head Pascal de Moidrey, Jon Harry, and the ‘exceptional’ Alexis Terray. In a difficult market, the nine-lawyer team succeeded in playing a significant role in major transactions, including assisting key client Astorg Partners on the sale of Geoservices to Schlumberger.

Within Project finance and energy: Project finance Other recommended firms

Within Real estate, Hogan Lovells International LLP is a third tier firm,

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP’s eight-lawyer practice is led by Corinne Knopp, and includes Jean-Pascal Bus and James Vaudoyer for the tax aspects. The practice advises investors (Amundi Immobilier) and lenders. Highlights included assisting Resolution Property on the acquisition of MacArthur Glen’s outlet centre in Troyes, and Barclays Capital on the lease of its future office in Paris.

Within Tax, tier 5

Hogan Lovells (Paris) LLP’s co-managing partner James Vaudoyer is a strong reference for international and property tax work, while Xenia Legendre focuses on international taxation. The duo assisted the Russian Federation on the acquisition of the Météo France building in Paris. The tax department also took on some tax litigation work in 2010. Former practice head Hervé Israël joined Holman Fenwick Willan LLP.