The Legal 500

Within Bank lending, tier 4

Baker & McKenzie advised Novapars Capital on its purchase of DSB Bank’s German credit portfolio, and Natixis on a cross-border non-conforming residential mortgage warehousing facility for a major European mortgage lender. Oliver Socher and Matthias Eggert are recommended. Sadly, Olaf Gebler passed away.

Within Mid-sized deals, Baker & McKenzie is a second tier firm,

Baker & McKenzie’s ‘superb’ Asian network allows the team to handle deals such as advising Chinese Chongqing Light Industry & Textile on the acquisition of SaarGummi. It also advised Dover Corp during the $885m acquisition of NXP Semiconductor NV’s Sound Solution business, and advised Osram on its acquisition of Siteco Lightning. The team has a notable practice advising on cross-border corporate issues. The impressive Nikolaus Reinhuber is recommended.

Within Dispute resolution , Baker & McKenzie is a second tier firm,

Baker & McKenzie has particular expertise in compliance and arbitration matters, and the team recently represented a German company in an ICC arbitration concerning a large infrastructure project. The group also acted for Landesbank Baden-Württemberg in litigation regarding the alleged invalidity of the sale of certain credit derivatives. Clients appreciate the team’s ‘competent advice and creative solutions’, ‘involvement and commitment’. Practice head Jörg Risse is recommended along with Günter Pickrahn, who ‘reacts swiftly to surprising twists’.

Within Employment , Baker & McKenzie is a second tier firm,

Baker & McKenzie’s ‘very strong’ team provides ‘good, practical advice’ at an ‘extremely high service level’. It is a good choice for complex cross-border matters, particularly on large restructurings. It advised Opel on restructuring of its European business; Clariant on setting up under SE status; and Ticona on relocating one of its factories. Günther Heckelmann heads the group.

Within Litigation Other recommended firms

Within IP: trade marks , Baker & McKenzie is a second tier firm,

Portfolio management and cross-border trade mark strategy are strengths of Baker & McKenzie, which also maintains a notable litigation practice. Regular clients include The Body Shop, Calvin Klein and Columbia Sportswear, and the team also recently represented Unilever in contentious matters. Michael Fammler is ‘absolutely professional, responsive and knowledgeable’.

Within Information technology and outsourcing , Baker & McKenzie is a second tier firm,

Baker & McKenzie’s broad practice covers all areas of IT, including data protection and outsourcing, and it typically advises on high-end matters, often with an international element. It advised Hewlett-Packard on a €3bn outsourcing deal with E.ON and acted for a DAX 30 corporation regarding the evaluation of global data privacy risks. Christoph Rittweger is ‘very client-friendly and pragmatic’, and Matthias Scholz is recommended for his ‘outstanding knowledge and quality of advice’.

Within Restructuring Other recommended firms

Within Private equity , tier 4

Baker & McKenzie’s small practice recently advised a private equity fund on its auction acquisition of a portfolio of German loans, and represented ILP Fund III regarding the acquisition and associated financing of MineWolf Systems. Nikolaus Reinhuber heads the team, which works with the wider practice group internationally.

Within Public sector , tier 4

Baker & McKenzie gives ‘clear and decisive’ advice and has a good reputation for public procurement law, and it has been advising Novartis in tender procedures concerning rebate contracts for pharmaceuticals. Swedish defence authorities instructed the team regarding new procedures for the awarding of contracts. Joachim Scherer and Marc Gabriel are recommended.

Within Real estate Other recommended firms

Within Structured finance and securitisation , Baker & McKenzie is a third tier firm,

Baker & McKenzie has a high market share for asset-backed securities (ABS) transactions and has particular expertise regarding auto loans, where it recently acted for Volkswagen Financial Services concerning a €953m auto lease receivables backed securities transaction. The team also advised WestLB on Gallinat Bank’s first public transaction to securitise lease receivables and hire purchase receivables originated by affiliates. Matthias Eggert is ‘an excellent negotiator’ and displays ‘a high level of knowledge’, and Dietmar Helms is regarded as ‘the expert in auto loan securitisations in Germany’.

Within Tax , tier 4

Baker & McKenzie has particular expertise in direct taxation, transfer pricing and VAT. It recently advised Gulfstream Aerospace on VAT and customs law structuring, and also handled tax-efficient restructuring for several large international corporations. Nicole Looks heads the team.

Within Telecoms , Baker & McKenzie is a second tier firm,

Baker & McKenzie’s broad practice is led by regulatory expert Joachim Scherer. Longstanding clients include E-plus and Federal Network Agency, and the team recently advised the latter regarding the revocation of UMTS frequencies that had been assigned to Quam. It also acted for the Serbian government on the partial privatisation of Telecom Srbija.