The Legal 500

Orrick is a leading international law firm and has had an established presence in London since 1998.

The firm: The London office is at the heart of the firm’s fully integrated European network of nine offices and has strong links with the firm’s US and Asia offices, often working closely with colleagues from across the firm’s global network on high-profile and complex transactions. The team in London consists of highly talented lawyers, qualified under English and US law, and in several other jurisdictions, offering transactional, regulatory and litigation expertise to a large number of international clients.

Types of work undertaken: Arbitration/dispute resolution: undertakes traditional litigation, including property litigation, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution techniques for its UK and international client base. The team represents clients before English courts and in arbitrations under the auspices of all major international arbitration institutions, including the ICC and LCIA, under UNCITRAL rules and bilateral investment treaties.

Competition and EU: advises UK and international clients on all matters concerning EU and UK competition law and general EU Law, including merger filings, abuse of dominance, cartels and antitrust litigation. The team frequently appears before the European Commission and national competition authorities.

Corporate and M&A: focuses on private and public M&A – both domestic and cross-border. Advice covers equity and debt capital markets. Capital markets work involves acting for issuers, as well as on the underwriter side with the distinctive capability of being able to provide on the ground US securities law advice.

Emerging growth companies/technology/venture capital: advises technology companies (particularly international internet and computer software companies) in all stages of the financing life cycle, from angel and seed financing through to venture capital financing, initial public offering and beyond. The team is one of the main sponsors for WebMission, Tech Start-Up 100 and several other industry initiatives, and forms a strong alliance with the firm’s technology practices in Paris, Munich, Silicon Valley, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Emerging markets: has a strong track record with the corporate, asset finance and debt capital markets teams, working on several high-profile transactions. Having advised issuers, financiers and other counterparties in transactions in emerging markets, the team is well versed in dealing with the issues that may arise.

Employment: undertakes all contentious and non-contentious aspects of employment law for a broad spectrum of employers, including advisory work, tribunal and High Court litigation, and corporate support.

Financial markets/securitisations/structured products: focus on financial structures and instruments for banks, funds and corporations, including cash and synthetic structures, derivatives and tax-enhanced products.

Infrastructure/project finance: advises financial institutions and organisations on a wide range of innovative, complex transactions, often cross-border. Advice also covers debt capital markets, traditional credit agreements, secured and unsecured lending, letters of credit and a range of pre-export, trade and commodities finance transactions. The team is very active in the emerging markets.

Intellectual property: works closely with corporate clients providing advice on all aspects of intellectual property law, including licensing, contract law, data protection, privacy and online regulation. The team works closely with the venture capital/technology team on technology transactions.

Real estate: focuses on commercial property work and landlord and tenant matters, with particular emphasis on shopping centre development and management, and the acquisition and development of property for developers, investors and registered social landlords.

Tax: works closely with its corporate and finance practices to provide practical solutions to clients on UK and EU tax issues.

Other offices: Beijing, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Milan, Moscow, Munich, New York, Orange County, Pacific Northwest, Paris, Rome, Sacramento, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Taipei, Tokyo, Washington DC

Number of UK partners 16
Number of other UK fee-earners 59