The Legal 500

Within Administrative and public law, tier 4

Bird & Bird AARPI’s seven-lawyer team is led by Sophie Pignon-Xardel who joined from Ashurst LLP in 2010 – former practice head Jean-Dominique Bloch left the firm to set up its own practice. The group focuses on PPP and public procurement work in the transport, telecoms, energy and public domain fields, and assisted the Département des Hautes-Pyrénées on a road project in Tarbes.

Within Aviation, Bird & Bird is a first tier firm,

Bird & Bird AARPI’s eight-lawyer practice is led by ‘skilled’ litigator Vonnick Le Guillou. The firm acts for a large aircraft manufacturer, several airline companies and insurers, which it assists on commercial and litigation work. The team is highly valued for its product liability expertise and is involved in major crash proceedings, successfully representing one of the individuals responsible for the Concorde programme in the highly-publicised Concorde case.

Within Banking and finance Other recommended firms

Within Dispute resolution Commercial litigation , tier 4

Bird & Bird AARPI’s team comprises 12 lawyers, including new senior European consultant Guillaume-Denis Faure who joined from BFPL in 2010, strengthening further the corporate, media and IT litigation practice, co-led by Marion Barbier. The client base is made up of prominent names from the telecoms and internet sectors. Co-practice head Vonnick Le Guillou is a strong reference for product-liability disputes, especially in the aviation field where she acts in high-profile cases.

Within EU competition and distribution, tier 5

Michel Roseau manages Bird & Bird AARPI’s four-lawyer practice – Romain Ferla joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges. The team has a busy antitrust practice, notably in the telecoms and energy sectors, while also handling merger-control work. The client base includes some major French companies.

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

Bird & Bird AARPI’s practice head Benjamine Fiedler and Philippe Danesi have built a large client base, including prominent names in the telecoms, IT and life sciences sectors. The seven-lawyer team handled numerous restructuring projects in 2010.

Within Health and life sciences, Bird & Bird is a second tier firm,

Bird & Bird AARPI’s Alain Gorny has wide experience in the life-sciences sector, representing leading medical device, drug, cosmetic and vaccine manufacturers. The three-lawyer team handles regulatory, price, product liability, clinical trial contract and commercial dispute matters.

Within IT, telecoms and the internet, Bird & Bird is a first tier firm,

Bird & Bird AARPI has a strong track-record in the telecoms field in managing partner Frédérique Dupuis-Toubol. The team, which also includes competition expert Michel Roseau and public law specialist Sophie Pignon, represents public sector entities, governments and alternative operators on regulatory, contract and litigation matters. The firm also has IT capabilities in Stéphane Leriche, while Ariane Mole deals with data protection issues – Stéphane Lemarchand joined DLA Piper in 2010. Key clients include Cap Gemini, Amazon.fr and LVMH.

Within Insolvency Other recommended firms

Within Intellectual property: Full-service firms , Bird & Bird is a first tier firm,

Bird & Bird AARPI has a ‘strong patent litigation practice’ while the trade mark expertise is also of sound-knowledge, through Isabelle Leroux and Yves Bizollon. The 13-lawyer team has a busy litigation practice, winning a number of cases in 2010. The firm successfully represented the European Central Bank in a patent case against DSSI regarding the manufacturing of the Euro notes, and Coca-Cola in a trade mark and design infringement case versus Yoplait. The practice also acted for L’Oréal, Lancôme, Cacharel and Giorgio Armani in a high-profile trade mark infringement dispute against eBay.

Within Intellectual property: Patent and trade mark attorneys Leading individuals: Intellectual property: trade marks

Within Media and entertainment: Full-service firms Other recommended firms

Within Mergers and acquisitions Other recommended firms

Within Private equity Other recommended firms

Within Real estate, tier 4

Bird & Bird AARPI’s Constance de la Hosseraye and two associates are advisers to French and foreign institutional clients (AEW Europe, Gecina, CDC), as well as companies on project development, investment, asset management and litigation matters.

Within Tax Other recommended firms