The Legal 500

Within Administrative and public law, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance has an excellent team, which has developed a comprehensive practice in PPP with David Préat, who is recognised for his ‘high expertise and understanding of the French state expectations in PPP’ and his ‘great knowledge of the PPP market, including the private and public sector players’. Rémi Sermier is also well regarded, while the team combines ‘great and accurate knowledge in French public and European law’. The firm worked for the French Ministry of Transport and Reims Tramway Concession, and represented Air France on its airport charges policy, in proceedings before the Conseil d’Etat against the charges applied by Aéroports de Paris; and also Eiffage on its bid on a railway concession project of the high-speed rail link between Tours and Bordeaux.

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

Clifford Chance’s ‘efficient and dedicated’ team includes Anthony Giustini, Jonathan Lewis, and Thierry Arachtingi, who is ‘extremely talented and good to work with’. The breadth of expertise covers acquisition, infrastructure, real estate and asset finance, as well restructuring work. The team receives instructions from major international banks, and also recently assisted Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe, RBS and WestLB as arrangers in the financing of the acquisition of Cegelec by Financière QD. The team also assisted BNP Paribas, Calyon, JPMorgan, Natixis, RBS and Société Générale on the financing of the acquisition of Vin & Spirit by Pernord Ricard from the Kingdom of Sweden, and Merill Lynch International as mandated lead arranger on the financing of the acquisition of 24 private clinics in France by Blackstone.

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

Clifford Chance is well-regarded in debt capital markets, and has ‘French and UK law capabilities’. The team is led by partners Diane de Moüy and Cédric Burford, who is ‘relaxed’ and has ‘sound knowledge of French law and the market whilst being able to switch easily to UK law when needed’. The team recently assisted HSBC as lead manager on the issuance of €200m notes by Solvay, and Natixis as lead manager on the issue of €200m bonds by SFR. The practice also has capabilities in structured finance and equity capital markets, notably working alongside real estate companies such as Altarea and ANF.

Within Dispute resolution: Commercial litigation , Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

At Clifford Chance, Jean-Pierre Grandjean enjoys a good reputation in commercial litigation, alongside Thomas Baudesson. The firm has an impressive client base with blue-chip French and international clients, including Airbus, Carrefour, Natixis, LVMH, Honda, Nokia and Vivendi. The team handled pre-litigation and litigation work linked to the financial crisis.

Within Dispute resolution: International arbitration, tier 4

Clifford Chance’s practice is led by the ‘very professional’ Jean-Pierre Grandjean and counsel Peter Rosher, who delivers ‘great work’. The team includes ‘high-level associates’ and is ‘present on major arbitration cases’. The group combines French and English capabilities. Clients include Siemens, Shell and Carrefour. The team recently acted for Russian state-owned company Tenex on claims relating to the annulment of an arbitration award rendered in June 2007 in connection with the distribution of uranium-derived fuel feed components.

Within Dispute resolution: Stock market litigation

Within Dispute resolution: White-collar crime

Within EU competition and distribution, Clifford Chance is a first tier firm,

Clifford Chance demonstrates a ‘very good level of expertise’. The team includes the great Claude Lazarus, and a rising generation of lawyers represented by Patrick Hubert and Stanislas Martin. The team was strengthened further in 2008 with the arrival of Michel Petite, who was previously director general of the legal service at the European Commission. The group is ‘business minded and flexible’, and has recognised expertise in merger control, antitrust litigation and compliance matters. The team recently assisted Vivendi and SFR on the antitrust aspects of the acquisition of NeufCegetel in the telecoms sector, and represented EDF in proceedings for possible abuse of dominant position on the French electricity market. The practice acted for Shell before the Competition Council for alleged anticompetitive practices in relation to jet fuel supply in La Réunion.

Within Employment , Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

At Clifford Chance, François Farmine and Christian Lachèze lead the employment practice, with counsel Viviane Stulz recognised as ‘a very good lawyer’. The team provides employment support in M&A transactions but also has a stand alone practice, recently assisting Visteon in a mass redundancy procedure, and L’Oréal in the acquisition of Yves Saint-Laurent Beauté from PPR. Other clients include Carrefour and Apple.

Within Environment, Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

At Clifford Chance, partner Pierre Bechmann and of Counsel Patrick Hubert manage the environment practice, advising on the context of acquisitions and assisting clients on contaminated site matters. The team recently represented a Japanese consortium in connection with its proposed investment in a joint venture for the construction and operation of a uranium enrichment plant; and a manufacturer of synthetic mineral fibres against French and Italian authorities on health and safety regulations.

Within IT, telecoms and the internet

Within Insolvency

Within Insurance

Within Intellectual property: Full-service firms , Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Clifford Chance advises on trade mark and patent matters, including litigation. Christian Lachèze and Jean-Frédéric Gaultier, who is ‘extremely competent’ and has ‘good understanding of how to work with American clients’, are recognised in the sports industry. The team manages the French trade mark portfolio of Fédération Française de Football, Kimberly-Clark and Gap, and recently represented The Times before the Paris criminal court in a libel litigation case against the Barclays twins, owners of the Telegraph. Other clients include EADS, Airbus, Carrefour and Lagardère.

Within Legal market,

DLA Piper continued its growth strategy by hiring leading IT and telecoms specialist Marc d’Haultfoeuille from Clifford Chance.

Within Legal market,

UK law firms have a significant presence in France led by Magic Circle firms Allen & Overy LLP, Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and Linklaters LLP, who dominate at the top end of the market.

Within Media and entertainment: Full-service firms, Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Clifford Chance has few rivals in the sport industry, and is ‘technically excellent’. Managing partner Yves Wehrli is ‘adept at managing high-stake matters’, while Victoriano Melero is also recommended. Marc d’Haultfoeuille left the team to join DLA Piper. The firm regularly advises the Fédération Française de Football, and assisted the French Football League on the sale of its media rights.

Within Mergers and acquisitions, Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s team is a ‘sure bet’, made up of eight partners, including Marcus Billam and Thierry Schoen, an ‘excellent lawyer with a highly qualified back office’. Laurent Schoesntein is also recommended as a ‘young and brilliant lawyer’, who was promoted to partner in 2008.The team regularly advises large corporate clients including Vivendi, Carrefour and EDF. The Paris team recently assisted SFR on its public offer for remaining shares in NeufCegetel and the acquisition of Louis Dreyfus’ stake in NeufCegetel; and L’Oréal on the acquisition of Yves Saint Laurent Beauté from French luxury group PPR.

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

Clifford Chance’s team, which primarily engages in mid-cap transactions, includes Gilles Lebreton who represents investment funds including Apax, Carlyle, and infrastructure fund Macquarie. The team assisted Colony on the sale of Buffalo Grill to Abenex Capital; Colony Capital as part of a consortium on the acquisition of But from Kesa Electricals; and Apax Partners on its investment in Altran.

Within Project finance and energy Energy

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

Clifford Chance is a recognised leader on the French PPP market, and has excellent finance capabilities with Nikolaï Eatwell and Daniel Zerbib who is ‘highly efficient’, combined with David Préat’s great public law abilities. The group delivers ‘impressive, quality work’ and is recommended for its ‘ability to deal with complex transactions in an efficient and pragmatic manner’. The team works alongside sponsors, public entities and lenders, including advising TAV on the concession and financing of the Monastir and Enfidha airports in Tunisia, Dubai Port World on the Dakar port concession in Senegal. The team assisted Eiffage on its bid for the high-speed rail concession project between Tours and Bordeaux, and also has a busy practice in the energy sector and was involved in a number of power and mine projects in Africa and Russia.

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

Clifford Chance’s full-service practice has expertise in M&A, capital markets, sale and lease back and financing transactions. The team includes recognised expert François Bonteil and Aubry d’Argenlieu, who was promoted to partner in 2008. The team recently assisted a joint venture made up of CDC and Eurosic in the acquisition of the Terranova building from Generali; Macif on the sale of shopping centre Grand Littoral in Marseille to Corio; and Société Générale on the financing of the acquisition by a US real estate fund of the 61 Monceau building.

Within Tax, Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s team is led by four partners including the ‘excellent’ Eric Davoudet, and Alexandre Lagarrigue, who has ‘good knowledge of fund structuring’. In 2008, the firm notably recruited Laurent Vallée, a former judge at the Conseil d’Etat, who joined as of counsel. The practice covers corporate transactional work, real estate investment fund structuring, and tax planning. The team recently assisted Rexel and Hagemeyer on the disposal of part of Hagemeyer’s business to Sonepar, and Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations and Eurosic on the acquisition of the Terra Nova office building from Generali.