The Legal 500

Within Competition, Covington & Burling LLP is a second tier firm,

Covington & Burling LLP’s advocacy in the Akzo Nobel ECJ appeal was seen as being amongst the better submissions put to the court; it also has good links with European Commission officials, and is ‘increasingly acting on a bigger scale of cases’. With two excellent lateral hires in Peter Camesasca, who has wide sectoral experience. and Lars Kjølbye, who has ‘know-how, strategic thinking, and a good network’, the team has provided litigation advice for Ryanair against the Commission, alleged abuse of dominance cases, and assisted Samsung on the DRAM and LCD investigations. David Hull is recommended for his long-term Brussels experience. Damian Geradin also joined from Howrey LLP in December 2010.

Within Customs, trade, WTO and anti-dumping, Covington & Burling LLP is a second tier firm,

Covington & Burling LLP’s legal arguments are ‘consistently well-drafted and well-structured’ and demonstrate ‘a huge accumulation of know-how’. Georg Berrisch has a reputation as an ‘excellent, smart and professional’ lawyer, whose advocacy is ‘very clear’, appearing in four appeals to the ECJ in 2010. With a unique position in representing the Council of Ministers in anti-dumping cases, the firm also has an excellent reputation amongst corporate clients. Highlights included the aluminium wheels and seamless pipes and tubes cases, four cases regarding steel fasteners, and advice on sanctions and export controls.

Within EU regulatory: Chemicals (REACH), Covington & Burling LLP is a first tier firm,

Covington & Burling LLP’s Cándido García Molyneux is the lead figure, advising manufacturers of consumer goods on imports and REACH compliance, as well as participation in REACH Substance Information Exchange Fora (SIEF).

Within EU regulatory: Financial services, Covington & Burling LLP is a first tier firm,

Covington & Burling LLP has ‘excellent access to European institutions, extraordinary initiative and responsiveness’. Wim van Velzen, a former MEP, is praised for his work.

Within EU regulatory: Information technology, Covington & Burling LLP is a first tier firm,

Covington & Burling LLP is considered ‘particularly impressive’ for ‘timely, business-friendly advice’. Clients include the Business Software Alliance; it also advised a communications technology company on regulatory obligations. David Harfst’s ‘advice is well thought out and very useful’.

Within EU regulatory: Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology , Covington & Burling LLP is a first tier firm,

Covington & Burling LLP’s Peter Bogaert is a ‘superb lawyer’ who is ‘very pleasant to work with’; his involvement with proposed new legislation on counterfeit medicines demonstrated a good network of EU contacts. Clients include GlaxoSmithKline.

Within EU regulatory: Privacy and data protection , Covington & Burling LLP is a first tier firm,

Covington & Burling LLP is known for delivering ‘on-point, detailed responses, which demonstrate deep knowledge in the field’. Advice is ‘always crystal clear’ from Henrietta Tielemans; Dan Cooper is ‘good at balancing business realities with legal requirements’. The firm assisted technology companies with data security issues in all twenty seven EU member states.

Within Intellectual property, Covington & Burling LLP is a second tier firm,

Covington & Burling LLP’s EU-influenced IP practice borrows deeply from its enviable following amongst large multinationals and trade associations. Alain Strowel’s skills as a copyright lawyer extend to patent, trade mark and industrial design queries; he is a recognised IP litigator, also for public policy work, and assistance for individual clients such as BSA, HP and Microsoft. Strowel acted on several borderline trade mark cases (used by third parties in relation to completely different products) for Harley Davidson. Mainstream litigation saw him upholding Funmobile’s IP rights in the Belgian courts.

Within Legal market overview,

2010 has seen further lateral moves, particularly amongst competition law firms, including Simon Baxter’s move to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Squire, Sanders & Dempsey (UK) LLP also saw the arrival of trade lawyer Robert MacLean from Crowell & Moring. Elsewhere, Lydian was joined by Patrick della Faille; Field Fisher Waterhouse welcomed Thierry Van Innis from Allen & Overy LLP. Howrey LLP saw the departure of four IP partners to Hoyng Monegier LLP and Patricia Cappuyns to Olswang. On the competition side, it saw the exit of Lars Kjølbye and Peter Camesasca to Covington & Burling LLP, and Martina Meier to McDermott Will & Emery/Stanbrook LLP.