The Legal 500

Within Banking, finance and capital markets, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

‘Comparing very well with its peers’, Clifford Chance’s finance practice includes highly regarded figures in the ‘amiable and devoted’ Lounia Czupper, private equity and equity capital markets specialist Philippe Hamer, and the ‘very bright and technically excellent’ Bert De Maeyer. The practice is ‘one of the best for securitisation matters’, and also has a growing project finance practice, where it acted for the lenders in successfully completing on agreement for the Eupen Schools €150m PPP, involving the construction and 25-year availability of eight schools across three sites. Clients also include BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC and RBS.

Within Competition, Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Linklaters’ four-partner antitrust practice suffered a double blow when Johan Ysewyn joined Clifford Chance and Alec Burnside moved to Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP’s new competition group, but it remains a ‘high-quality firm’ with ‘one of the best competition lawyers in Brussels’ in the form of Gerwin van Gerven. He recently defended a global electronics producer against a statement of objection issued by the EC, advising on the potential liability for alleged involvement in a technology cartel. Wolfgang Deselaers successfully guided Hypo Real Estate Holding through an investigation into the receipt of €150bn in state aid, and Bernd Meyring advised Sanofi-aventis on a $16.5bn animal health joint venture with Merck.

Within Corporate and M&A , Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Clifford Chance is ‘a truly excellent firm’ for corporate and M&A matters. The group is particularly strong in the energy and utilities sector, where the ‘very dedicated and knowledgeable’ Xavier Remy is the key figure. Recent work includes acting for Publigas and Fluxys G on the €150m investment in Fluxys G by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Quebec. Philippe Hamer co-heads the department alongside Remy and is ‘a hardworking and diligent lawyer with a fine eye for detail’.

Within Customs, trade, WTO and anti-dumping, tier 4

Tony Reeves heads Clifford Chance’s international trade group, which works closely with the firm’s EU regulatory and competition practices. Highlights included advising Access Corporation on EU and German control regulations relating to the export of its NetFront web browser; and advising Panasonic on IP issues concerning the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.

Within Dispute resolution, Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s key partner for dispute resolution is Sébastien Ryelandt, who is particularly experienced in the financial sector and was part of the team which won the headline securities fraud case for Dexia, following Lernout & Hauspie’s collapse. New clients include Bank of America and Bodum.

Within Financial services, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance advises trade associations and Belgian financial institutions on short-selling, licensing and clearing and settlement services. The team was recently instructed by a prominent international bank to assist with regulatory issues relating to downsizing of its Belgian arm.

Within Information technology, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Experienced antitrust and technology lawyer Thomas Vinje is the key figure in Clifford Chance’s ‘excellent’ IT regulatory group. He recently acted for Amazon on regulatory matters pertaining to cloud computing, and advised eBay on mobile payment issues. ECIS, Netgear and Oracle are key clients.

Within Information technology, tier 4

Clifford Chance is recommended for EU regulatory, competition and IP-related IT matters. The group, led by antitrust partner Thomas Vinje, recently represented Versata Software in connection with a complaint against SAP regarding bundling and refusal to supply. Other clients include Nokia, Amazon, eBay and Oracle.

Within Intellectual property, Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Clifford Chance focuses on the EU law and competition aspects of IP. In 2010, for example, it completed a case for the European Committee for Interoperable Systems in a complaint against Microsoft concerning anti-competitive practices and the refusal to supply interoperability information, which Microsoft claimed is protected by IP rights. Department head Thomas Vinje is the key contact.

Within Legal market overview,

High-profile lateral hires in the market included Field Fisher Waterhouse poaching employment partner Stefan Nerinckx from Laga, and NautaDutilh recruiting Pascal Faes from Van Bael & Bellis to bolster its tax department. Linklaters’ competition team lost former department head Johan Ysewyn to Clifford Chance and Alec Burnside to Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP. Niche IP firm Hoyng Monégier LLP absorbed a number of partners from the dissolved Howrey LLP.

Within Real estate, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance advises on corporate real estate and tax matters, and recently advised a consortium, led by Goodman Group, on a €1.8bn bid to acquire 100% of the ASX-listed ING Industrial Fund. Other clients include Allianz, KBC and Union Investment Real Estate GmbH. Practice head Henri d’Ursel is ‘very knowledgeable and well liked’, and Thierry Blockerye is also recommended for real estate tax issues.

Within Tax, Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Clifford Chance had a strong year advising on real estate tax matters, financial structures and products, employee incentive plans and internal reorganisations. Thierry Blockerye heads the group, which recently advised Eurostar on restructuring its Belgian, French and English railway companies into one single entity; this involved the negotiation of a transfer pricing ruling. Other clients include BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC and Copeba.