The Legal 500

Within Antitrust, tier 4

At Clifford Chance, the ‘very experienced’ Joachim Schütze heads the German practice. M&A transaction-based advice accounts for a significant portion of the group’s work, however it also advises on a diverse range of issues, such as actions for injunctive relief under civil law and investigative proceedings into alleged abuses of market-dominant positions. The team advised 3i Europartner V Fund on the purchase of Deutz Power Systems, and advised Babcock & Brown on the purchase of 12 companies that operate wind turbines.

Within Banking and finance Bank lending, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s big-hitting team is admired for its ability to ‘cut to the chase’.The ‘well known’ Barbara Mayer-Trautmann and the ‘commercially sensible’ Bettina Steinhauer ‘ensure the timely delivery of documents.’ Alexandra Hagelüken has a good name in the market as ‘her deals run smoothly,’ while Michael Weller is a ‘brilliant lawyer’. The large finance/capital markets practice has 21 partners who are qualified under German, English and US law, and advised the consortium made up of HOCHTIEF Projektentwicklung and Redwood Grove International, on the acquisition of all shares in Aurelis Real Estate & Co and Aurelis Management. Another stand-out deal for this practice was its advice to Deutsche Bank Luxembourg as financing party and arranger on the acquisition of Hanson by Heidelberg Cement.

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

Clifford Chance has a ‘very strong’ and large project finance team, which delivers ‘consistent and high standards of legal advice around the world, and never loses its nerve’. It has a broad client base and major clients include Macquarie and RWE. The cross-border element of the practice is reflected in its advice to the sponsors and the project company on a tender awarded to the sponsors to develop Sahiha Gökcen Airport (the second Istanbul airport) and the related project financing work. In conjunction with its other offices in Dubai and London, the Frankfurt team advised SABIC and Saudi Kayan on the successful signing of a $6bn financing package for the development of a $10bn petrochemical complex to be built at Jubail Industrial City, Saudi Arabia. Beda Wortmann is available ‘around the clock’ on a deal.

Within Capital markets, Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Clients of Clifford Chance remark that it has ‘invested in building up its offices globally and as a result they probably offer the highest standards of service throughout its network’. The six-partner team has the ‘commercial‘ Sebastian Maerker, who is ‘very experienced for debt capital markets work’, and Markus Pfüller, who has ‘very good technical knowledge’. It advised the company/issuer on the dual track of Evonik Industries, and on the debt side advised Munich Re on the €1.5bn hybrid bond of Munich Re. Clients include issuers, banks, selling shareholders, guarantors and arrangers as well as stock exchanges and regulatory authorities.

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

Clifford Chance has been ‘very successful on the M&A side’ advising Siemens on the sale of a majority stake in Siemens Enterprise Communications and KfW on the sale of IKB. Key lawyers include the ‘calm and concise’ Klaus Grossmann; Alfred Herda who has ‘very good project management skills’; and Christoph Witte, who ‘provides strategic advice at the right time’. Andreas Dietzel is noted for his ‘very precise drafting and analysis’ and Oliver Felsenstein and Burc Hesse will ‘go that extra mile for clients to close the deal’. Christine Koziczinski ‘gets to the point’; Kerstin Kopp ‘properly protects his clients’ interests’ and Peter Dieners is ‘one of the best in his class for healthcare expertise’ on transactions. André Schwanna and Thomas Burmeister were named partner in May 2008.

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

Clifford Chance has a ‘brilliant dispute resolution practice’, headed by Fabian von Schlabrendorff. Uwe Hornung is ‘competent, successful and energetic’ and Burkhard Schneider is ‘pragmatic’ in financial litigation. Anke Sessler’s move to Siemens is a loss, however the practice’s team is ‘still large, and has handled a variety of international projects over the past year. International arbitration remains an important focus. It also advises on financial and securities-related cases, insolvency law disputes, white collar criminal law matters and, in conjunction with its IP lawyers, takes care of assignments in product liability and product safety. In addition, the team advises on the entire spectrum of real estate and construction law, as well as plant construction disputes.

Within Employment, Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Clifford Chance mainly focuses on employment law matters in connection with major transactions, with the practice acting as support for the firm’s strong transactional practice. That said, the firm has welcomed of counsel Kurt Kemper, who specialises in company pension schemes. Stefan Simon avised Arcandor on the sale of a majority stake in neckermann.de GmbH to Sun Capital, and Nicole Engesser Means provided advice to 3i on the acquisition of Deutz Power Systems. Rohm and Haas and Springer Science+Business Media Deutschland are among the team’s clients.

Within IP: trade marks , tier 4

Clifford Chance is perceived as transactions-driven, with clients appreciating the ‘professional and reliable’ service. Head of IP group Thorsten Vormann and his team are excellent with the ‘talent to understand technical matters and explain them to civil judges’. The takeover of the entire trade mark portfolio of a Düsseldorf-based consumer goods and cosmetics group stands out among the practice’s work. The team also represented an Italian manufacturer of coffee products in infringement proceedings.

Within Information technology and outsourcing , Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Clifford Chance is strong in outsourcing matters, with Joachim Schrey and Florian Schmitz, who ‘do not waste time with useless debates’ and have the ‘right commercial conduct and sound judgement needed for large deals’. Highlights include the advice to long-standing client T-Systems Enterprise Services on the conclusion of a co-operation agreement with Cognizant, concerning system integration services. Other notable deals included the outsourcing of Arcandor’s IT services to EDS Itellium, and the instruction by Royal Dutch Shell on the outsourcing of a large proportion of the firm’s IT and telecoms division. Further clients include Neckermann (in outsourcing matters), TUI InfoTec, Xchanging, and Verband der Sparda-Banken.

Within Insolvency and restructuring Restructuring , Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s Heinz-Günter Gondert and Kolja von Bismarck are the two leading figures in the team. The very well-connected Bismarck does a ‘superb job’ and is a ‘great mediator’ and, alongside Stefan Sax, is admired for ‘reliability, precision, high speed, and implementation power’. The team advised the Free State of Saxony on issues relating to a sub-prime portfolio acquired by SachsenLB, and the Federal Ministry of Finance on the privatisation of Deutsche Bahn. The bondholder of the Schieder, authentos Group, and a leading investment bank are clients, as is Sony Pictures Entertainment. The team has ‘excellent references’ and ‘impresses with its success’.

Within Investment funds, Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s ‘very experienced’ Sven Zeller has ‘seen everything in the market and can analyse everything’, whilethe team ‘always delivers on time’. Another key partner is Hans Stamm, who is especially knowledgeable about closed-end funds. Everyday activities for this innovative practice include listing of Exchange Traded Funds, advice on custodian bank issues, and matters involving internationally operating prime brokers. In the past year, it has focused on real estate transactions for German real estate funds, restructuring and M&A transactions where investment fund management companies have been involved. Blue-chip clients include Merrill Lynch, whom it advised on the launch of a real estate fund focused on Asia.

Within Media Entertainment, tier 4

Mainly transaction-driven, Clifford Chance advised Technicolor Network Services on the intended acquisition of ProSiebenSat.1 Produktion; and Mini Movie International Channel S.à r.l. on the acquisition of NBC Universal International, which owns broadcaster Das Vierte. Claudia Milbradt in Düsseldorf and Bernd Meyer-Witting in Frankfurt focus on media law.

Within Private equity, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance has a ‘huge private equity’ department and is ‘definitely one of the market leaders’.The dedicated private equity practice has a team of nine partners with Christopher Kellett ‘one of the most experienced guys in the market ‘ and a ‘household name’, while Oliver Felsenstein has a ‘good mix of technical and commercial excellence’.The onset of the crisis in the financial markets has meant that its strategy is to focus not only on the big-ticket deals but also on the mid-cap segment. The team continues to advise clients such as Terra Firma and Cinven on a regular basis and, on the transactional front, represented 3i on the €360m acquisition of Deutz Power Systems from Deutz and, on a mega deal, advised Permira/debitel on the acquisition of Talkline, and the recapitalisation of debitel (value €2bn).

Within Public sector, Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s team is held in ‘high esteem’ for its focus on energy matters at the Düsseldorf office. The energy team’s work is appreciated by clients, with Björn Heinlein and Thomas Burmeister, who ‘fully satisfy’ their client’s needs, singled out. The experienced Peter Rosin, whose in-house expertise ‘makes co-operation very pleasant’, is also recommended. Another hallmark of the practice is its strong interaction with the real estate team. In public procurement matters, the team is active in the health care sector, mainly in litigation. The State of Hesse instructed the practice on contracts with the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the Federal Republic of Germany instructed the team on public procurement matters regarding the reformation of Deutsche Bahn. Another highlight was advice to a consortium comprising Bilfinger Berger, Bilfinger Berger Project Investments, HSG Technischer Service, Siemens, and Siemens Project Ventures on a large PPP project in the health care sector.

Within Real estate and construction Construction , Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Not usually seen as a construction firm, Clifford Chance’s project development practice group is part of the firm’s real estate practice. The practice is praised, mainly for Stefan Löchner, who is ‘exceptionally strong in his field’. Together with Christian Keilich, Löchner has been advising Tishman Speyer on the Opernturm project development in Frankfurt, and on the Kaiserkarree project development in Frankfurt. Cornelia Thaler advised Carlyle on several projects, among them the H&M logistics centre in Hamburg.

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

Clifford Chance superb practice, only really matched by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, is held in extremely high regard across the market. Jörn Stobbe is ‘outstanding’ and the ‘efficient, farsighted and reliable’ Cornelia Thaler is ‘extremely good at real estate finance’. Klaus Minuth is ‘pragmatic, down-to-earth, and incredibly smart’. Highlights for the practice include the development of the prestigious Opernturm project in Frankfurt, where client Tishman Speyer has been advised on an ongoing basis in building-law matters. The team acted for a consortium comprising Hochtief Projektentwicklung and Redwood Grove International in the acquisition of all shares of Aurelis Real Estate and Aurelis Management. Carlyle Group is another client, as is IVG Immobilien, who the team guided through the acquisition of a €1.3bn office property portfolio from Allianz. Clients appreciate that the lawyers ‘not merely report but advise’ and ‘come up with workable alternatives and advise on the risks entailed’. Work is carried out promptly and the team was ‘better than all others we have ever worked with in Germany’, according to one client.

Within Structured finance and securitisation, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s ‘team at partner level is impressive’, including the ‘very efficient’ Oliver Kronat and the ‘technically very able’ Peter Scherer, with Kirti Vasu heading the practice. The team advises on a broad range of asset classes including covered bonds, real estate portfolios, auto loans and leases. Following the downturn in the financial markets the team became heavily engaged in restructurings of SIV and CP vehicles of German banks, and ABS portfolios held by them. The team has benefited from the renaissance of true sale trade and lease receivables transactions in the multi-seller conduit sector. On a true sale, it acted as counsel to HVB, as arranger and lead manager, on the €1.5bn sale of an SME loan portfolio of its subsidiary, HVB Banque Luxembourg, to Geldilux-TS-2008. Another example of the practice’s expertise is its advice to the Free State of Saxony on the transfer of a €17.5bn portfolio of asset-backed securities to an Irish special-purpose vehicle.

Within Tax, Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s practice is praised for its ‘international network of advisers’ headed by Josef Brinkhaus, who is described by clients as a ‘leading figure in fund creation and structuring’. Uwe Schimmelschmidt also shows a ‘remarkable ability to create solutions which fit perfectly with clients’ needs’.Marc Scheunemann joined the 15-partner practice in 2008, having previously been at Baker & McKenzie Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten, Wirtschaftsprüfern, Steuerberatern und Solicitors. The broad-ranging tax practice has a multidisciplinary approach, and a strong focus on funds/asset management, and regularly assists on transactions. It advised Statkraft on a €4.5bn asset swap with E.ON.

Within Telecoms, Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

‘Active’ in the market, Clifford Chance advised debitel in connection with the planned take-over by freenet, and T-Systems on the joint venture with, and sale of, T-Systems India to Cognizant. The team represents an international IT company in dealings with the Federal Network Agency on regulatory obligations. The practice is part of the communication, media and technology industry group, featuring the well-known and respected Martin Wissmann and Joachim Schütze in Düsseldorf, and Bernd Meyer-Witting in the Frankfurt office.