The Legal 500

Within Aviation finance Other recommended firms

Within Banking and finance, Latham & Watkins LLP is a first tier firm,

Latham & Watkins has ‘excellent skills in leveraged finance with major ability to address complex situations’, and this 15-lawyer team’s strengths extend to asset, property and high-yield finance. It has a strong banking client roster including Crédit Agricole, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank, and also advises numerous investment funds. Highlights included assisting lenders on the senior credit facilities and high-yield financing of the LBO acquisition of Spie. Highly recommended practice head Xavier Farde shows ‘good business acumen and flexibility’, and Etienne Gentil is the other key figure.

Within Capital markets, Latham & Watkins LLP is a second tier firm,

Latham & Watkins is ‘the number-one firm for high-yield work’, and structured finance and derivatives expert Basil Zotiades was in high demand for advice on issues arising from the financial crisis. DCM lawyer John Watson often advises on offerings governed by New York law, and recently acted for JPMorgan and Deustche Bank on two secured bond issuances by Europcar. Thomas Vogel was promoted partner in 2011.

Within Commercial litigation , tier 4

Latham & Watkins’ ‘response time is excellent’, ‘availability is never an issue’, and the practice shows ‘real capability to understand the complicated technical factors that are key to a case’. Valérie Bouaziz Torron, a ‘great listener and fast thinker’, and Myria Saarinen lead the practice, which represents major French and international companies in corporate and contractual litigation, notably in the energy, IT and packaging sectors.

Within International arbitration, tier 5

Rachel Thorn leads Latham & Watkins’ practice, following Robert Volterra’s departure. The team handles major cases, often in close collaboration with colleagues internationally. It is mainly involved in ICC disputes, with energy matters being a key area of instruction. It is representing state entities in certain investment cases, such as acting for the Republic of Lithuania in arbitration proceedings against E.ON, Ruhrgas and Gazprom.

Within EU competition and distribution, Latham & Watkins LLP is a third tier firm,

Latham & Watkins has a busy merger control practice, notably for private equity funds. It also handles antitrust work for longstanding client Presstalis and represented Groupement des Cartes Bancaires in proceedings regarding bank interchange fees. Hugues Vallette Viallard, Frédéric Pradelles and counsel Alain Georges lead the team.

Within Employment , Latham & Watkins LLP is a second tier firm,

Latham & Watkins’ nine-lawyer practice gives ‘good legal and business-oriented’ advice, has expertise in major restructuring projects and mass litigation and is also well versed in criminal risk audits and harassment, health in the workplace and discrimination issues. It has many key clients in the banking, luxury goods and industrial sectors. Agnès Cloarec-Mérendon and Matthias Rubner lead the practice.

Within IT, telecoms and the internet, Latham & Watkins LLP is a second tier firm,

Latham & Watkins provides ‘a very good level of service and business knowledge’ for clients including L’Oréal, Publicis and technology start-ups. Jean-Luc Juhan focuses on transactions, advising corporate users on large IT, cloud-computing and network-integration projects. Myria Saarinen deals with IT and telecoms litigation and data protection.

Within Insolvency, tier 4

Latham & Watkins’ practice, led by the ‘very commercial’ Hervé Diogo Amengual, represents lenders and debtors and can leverage the firm’s complementary expertise in finance and corporate law. Highlights included assisting several bondholders in a dispute relating to Orco Property’s financial restructuring.

Within Mergers and acquisitions, tier 5

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP’s ‘great’, compact team fields well-regarded advisers in Pierre Clermontel, Antoine Kirry and Raman Bet-Mansour. Its cross-border capabilities and French and US expertise make the practice popular with CAC 40 companies including Air France-KLM, Alstom and PPR. It advised Lagardère on transferring to Hearst its foreign activities and subsidiaries pertaining to Elle magazines. Patrick Laporte joined Latham & Watkins.

Within Private equity, Latham & Watkins LLP is a first tier firm,

Latham & Watkins’ superb team advised on a record number of LBO transactions in 2011. Thomas Forschbach is the star name in the practice, and Olivier du Mottay, Nathalie Alibert, Gaëtan Gianasso, Alexander Benedetti, Charles-Antoine Guelly and Denis Criton are also recommended. Key clients include Sagard Private Equity and Bridgepoint, and the team also advised AXA Private Equity on its acquisition of Photonis.

Within Real estate Other recommended firms

Within Tax, Latham & Watkins LLP is a second tier firm,

Latham & Watkins’ seven-lawyer practice is chaired by the ‘very good’ Olivia Rauch-Ravisé, with Xavier Renard and Olivier Delattre also recommended. The team advises on transactions, especially LBOs. Key clients include LBO France and AXA Private Equity.