The Legal 500

Within Antitrust, tier 5

Bird & Bird LLP added Düsseldorf and Brussels-based Anne Federle from Linklaters to the team in a move to enhance the group’s international footprint. Highlights included advising Nokia on the antitrust aspects of international patent law disputes, and Eiffage on the acquisition of Faber Group. It also provides ongoing advice to Delphi on merger control matters. Jörg Witting heads the team that has a particular strength in advising on IP-related matters.

Within Corporate and M&A: Mid-sized deals, Bird & Bird is a second tier firm,

Bird & Bird LLP has teams in several offices including Munich and Düsseldorf, with the latter regarded as being particularly strong, and clients comment positively on the firm’s Eastern European practice. Highlights included advising Alcoa in seven jurisdictions on the Europe-wide restructuring and subsequent sale of its wire harness and electrical distribution business to Platinum Equity, and acting for French Eiffage on the acquisition of the railway construction division of Dutch construction company Heijmans. Stefanel instructed the team in the sale of its shares in Hallhuber. Alexander Schröder-Frerkes and Alfred Herda are both singled out.

Within Employment Other recommended firms

Within IP: patents: Litigation, Bird & Bird is a first tier firm,

Bird & Bird LLP acted in landmark cases, including representing Nokia against IPCom. Clients praise the team’s ‘excellent lawyers’ who are ‘uniquely placed to advise our in-house team’. New client Dow Chemical instructed the team regarding preliminary injunction proceedings in the field of fruit and vegetable conservation, and ECB receives ongoing advice in the international patent dispute against Document Security Systems. ‘However large the litigation, it has high quality lawyers who achieve excellent results’, say clients. The team is able to rely on its international network for coordinating cross-border cases and ‘remains our first choice in Germany’. Christian Harmsen heads the group that includes ‘strong court advocate’ Oliver Jan Jüngst, whose advice is ‘carefully considered and well reasoned’.

Within IP: trade marks , Bird & Bird is a first tier firm,

Bird & Bird LLP’s team of ‘incredibly bright people’ had a successful 2010, adding household names, such as Peek & Cloppenburg, to the roster. The practice further managed to expand its activities for a leading cosmetics manufacturer, representing the client in a competition law dispute with a competitor, and deepened its relationships with 3M and Creative. Several public utility companies are new clients in the energy arena, particularly regarding competition matters. Wolfgang von Meibom, the ‘excellent’ Richard Dissmann, and the ‘dedicated’ Markus Körner, who ‘easily manages large international projects and reports back in a concise manner’, are recommended. Clients ‘truly feel in good hands during a difficult litigation’.

Within Information technology and outsourcing , Bird & Bird is a third tier firm,

Bird & Bird LLP acquired new clients ADAC and European Central Bank, and has been involved in advising on cloud computing matters, underlining the team’s dynamic development. Deutsche Postbank, Atos Origin, Google and PayPal are further clients of the team, which includes the recommended Alexander Duisberg, Fabian Niemann and Jörg-Alexander Paul.

Within Private equity , tier 4

Alexander Schroeder-Frerkes heads the team at Bird & Bird LLP, which has seen notable success in renewables projects. The firm advised AMP Capital Investors on the acquisition of various solar projects, and Deutsche Biofonds and Siemens on the financing of a 100MW solar project in Italy, the largest such project worldwide. It also advised Bank of America Merrill Lynch on the acquisition of Clean Energy, a large developer of Polish wind farms.

Within Public sector , tier 4

Bird & Bird LLP has a good reputation for public procurement law matters, particularly relating to the transport sector. A German research centre instructed the team in a Europe-wide public procurement procedure to implement the legal infrastructure of the PRACE project, and a worldwide operator of container terminals was advised regarding the JadeWeserPort project. Jan Byok heads the team that bolstered its public procurement expertise with Hans von Gehlen joining from Orrick Hölters & Elsing.

Within Telecoms , Bird & Bird is a third tier firm,

Bird & Bird LLP’s practice is thriving under leadership of Sven-Erik Heun, who joined in from Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. The team was instructed by Kabel BW on a pay TV platform development, Inquam regarding frequency-related matters, ACN on contractual matters, and Verizon regarding regulatory issues. 1&1 Internet, Kabel Deutschland, Mobilcom/Debitel, The Phone House and Google are also clients. Heun increasingly advises the firm’s IT clients on telecoms matters.