The Legal 500

Within Aviation finance Other recommended firms

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

Latham & Watkins’ practice head Xavier Farde leads a well-regarded leveraged finance and restructuring practice, while Etienne Gentil handles acquisition and aviation finance work. Highlights included advising ICG on the mezzanine financing of Labco, and several leading financial institutions on the financing of the acquisition of Gras Savoye.

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

Latham & Watkins has a strong DCM practice in John Watson, and a team able to advise on French, UK and US law. The department assisted Compagnie de Financement Foncier on the establishment of a US medium-term securities programme. The firm also has leading structured finance expertise in Basil Zotiades, who heads the practice at global level and is regularly consulted on post-Lehman issues. He recently assisted Pernod Ricard on its multi-jurisdictional securitisation programme.

Within Dispute resolution Commercial litigation , tier 4

Valérie Bouaziz Torron and Myria Saarinen manage Latham & Watkins’ eight-lawyer team. The practice acts for large industrial groups on post-acquisition and contractual litigations.

Within Dispute resolution International arbitration, tier 5

Latham & Watkins’ commercial and investment practice is led by Rachel Thorn and Robert Volterra, who splits his time between the London and Paris offices. The seven-lawyer team handles a high amount of ICC and energy work, representing the Republic of Macedonia in ICSID and ICC arbitrations against Austrian EVN.

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

Latham & Watkins’ practice numbers four partners including Alain Georges, Hugues Vallette Viallard, Frédéric Pradelles and Eric Barbier de La Serre – Christophe Clarenc joined August & Debouzy in 2011. The group has a strong antitrust practice, acting for Groupement des Cartes Bancaires in the payment card cartel investigations. On the merger side, the team assisted Presstalis on stage II proceedings under the new regime.

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

At Latham & Watkins, Agnès Cloarec-Mérendon and Matthias Rubner’s nine-lawyer team handled high-profile restructuring and mass litigation work. The practice has strong litigation expertise and is also selected by large companies to advise on compliance and criminal risk matters. Representative clients include Axa and Accor.

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

Latham & Watkins’ IT practice is led by Jean-Luc Juhan and Myria Saarinen, who advise large users (Publicis) on their agreements with IT providers. The firm lost its strong expertise in the telecoms fields after Christophe Clarenc moved to August & Debouzy in 2011.

Within Insolvency, tier 4

Led by the ‘very smart’ Hervé Diogo Amengual, Latham & Watkins’ practice also includes finance specialists Xavier Farde and Etienne Gentil and corporate partner Thomas Forschbach. The team acts for lenders, bondholders and shareholders, representing Cognetas and Sagard as majority shareholders on SGD’s restructuring.

Within Mergers and acquisitions, tier 5

Headed by Thomas Forschbach, Latham & Watkins’ practice focuses on private M&A deals. The eight-partner team also includes Nicolas Bombrun, Olivier du Mottay and Gaëtan Gianasso. The firm has a strong involvement in cross-border deals and often acts for foreign investors and the FSI. It also advises several French listed companies such as Accor, which it represented on the sale of Compagnie des Wagons Lits.

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

Thanks to its superb client base of funds, Latham & Watkins advised on most of the market’s landmark transactions, while continuing to handle LBO restructuring work. The practice is headed by Thomas Forschbach, with Olivier du Mottay, Nathalie Alibert and Gaëtan Gianasso also recommended. Highlights included assisting Cinven on the acquisition of Sebia from Montagu Private Equity. 2010 also saw the appointment of Denis Criton.

Within Real estate Other recommended firms

Within Tax, tier 4

Latham & Watkins’ practice has a strong private equity focus. The eight-lawyer team, including Xavier Renard, Olivia Rauch-Ravisé and Olivier Delattre, also handles debt and structured finance transactions. Highlight included assisting Axa Private Equity on the acquisition of Go Voyages. Former practice head Christian Nouel joined SarrauThomasCouderc.