The Legal 500

Within Banking, finance and capital markets, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is a first tier firm,

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP’s ‘very professional and trustworthy’ practice provides ‘a high quality of service’, and frequently advises financial institutions and blue-chip companies on large financings at Belgian and European level. Recently promoted partner Laurent Ruzette led the team’s advice to BNP Paribas and Fortis Bank on various financings and capital markets transactions.

Within Competition, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is a first tier firm,

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP’s ‘solution-oriented’ team has ‘excellent expertise in competition law’, and is appreciated for ‘considering business implications when providing legal advice. Nicholas Levy, who divides his time between London and Brussels, assisted Sony with obtaining phase one clearance for its acquisition of EMI’s music publishing division, and also handled the antitrust aspects of its joint venture with Honeywell. ‘Top-tier practitioner’ Francisco Enrique González-Díaz is ‘very smart’ and ‘well connected’. He recently advised Western Digital on its acquisition of Hitachi’s hard disk drive operation and, alongside Thomas Graf, assisted Google with obtaining unconditional clearance of its $12.5bn purchase of Motorola Mobility. In a busy year of behavioural work, Robbert Snelders and Maurits Dolmans defended IBM in an EC investigation into its activity in the computer mainframe maintenance market. Antoine Winckler and state aid expert Till Müller-Ibold advised Dexia on antitrust issues concerning its restructuring.

Within Corporate and M&A, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is a first tier firm,

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is ‘among the best’ law firms in Belgium, and continues to attract major new instructions as well as handling ongoing work for longstanding clients such as Telenet. Capital markets and private equity expert Laurent Legein is acting as lead counsel to Dexia on its entire restructuring and dismantling plan. Other key lawyers include the very highly regarded Jan Meyers, and ‘very good’ counsel Deborah Janssens. Laurent Ruzettewas promoted to the partnership in January 2012.

Within Customs, trade, WTO and anti-dumping, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is a third tier firm,

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP’s thriving trade practice is particularly strong at advising on financial services regulations. Till Müller-Ibold and James Modrall are the key contacts.

Within Financial services, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is a first tier firm,

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP advises large European and domestic banks on the regulatory aspects of mergers, restructuring and litigation. It advised key client BNP Paribas on an intra-group restructuring following its acquisition of Fortis’ insurance and commercial finance divisions. Nicholas Levy advised Ernst & Young on the EC’s investigation into the audit sector.

Within Information technology, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is a first tier firm,

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP acts for an impressive stable of technology clients on antitrust matters, which helps to attract numerous regulatory mandates. Robbert Snelders recently advised Lexmark on an EC decision concerning a complaint brought by European Federation of Ink and Ink Cartridge Manufacturers, and the team also acted for Texas Instruments on distribution matters. Google is another notable client.

Within Telecoms, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is a first tier firm,

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP’s leading telecoms group is supplemented by its expertise in state aid. It advises European telecoms providers on regulatory issues driven by competition law, and also represents clients in litigation before the EU General Court. Maurits Dolmans is ‘a real player’ in the market.

Within Information technology, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is a third tier firm,

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is particularly expert in EU regulatory matters. The firm has represented Google in various matters including the EC’s investigation into a dozen different complaints covering virtually all aspects of Google’s business.

Within Insolvency and restructuring, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is a first tier firm,

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, which excels in cross-border matters, drawing on its geographical reach, is advising longstanding client Dexia regarding its proposed €5.5bn recapitalisation by the Belgian and French states. Laurent Legein is recommended along with Laurent Ruzette, who was promoted to the partnership in January 2012. Jacques Reding, who is based in Brussels and Frankfurt, is recommended for his restructuring experience.

Within Media and entertainment, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is a first tier firm,

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP is acting for Google in various matters, including pending investigations before the EC and the German Bundeskartellamt. Other clients include Sky Italia, HarperCollins and JC Decaux. Maurits Dolmans and Thomas Graf are recommended.