The Legal 500

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

Clifford Chance has one of the market’s leading public law experts in David Préat, a ‘talented and easy to work with’ partner who is also a ‘solution finder’. Assisted by counsel Olivier Bélondrade, he leads a successful public contract practice, handling a large number of key mandates for sponsors. The firm is also a regular advisor to the transport ministry, which it assisted on numerous projects including the eco-tax, the Perpignan-Figueras railway, the A63 and CDG express projects. The practice also represented Natixis and RBC on the contentious aspects of swap transactions concluded with public law entities.

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

In 2010, banking and finance was Clifford Chance Paris’ leading practice in terms of revenue and level of activity. The 24-lawyer team, which shows ‘excellent business acumen’, advised on major securitisation, acquisition and asset finance work, and also assisted the European Commission on its financial plan for Greece. The six-partner team includes Thierry Arachtingi, who stands out for his ‘outstanding negotiation skills’, Jonathan Lewis, Frédérick Lacroix and Daniel Zerbib. The firm advised Bank of Ireland, Lloyds, HSBC and Société Générale on the financing of the acquisition of Spotless by BC Partners.

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

Clifford Chance has leading securitisation and structured finance capabilities in Frédérick Lacroix and Jonathan Lewis. The team recently advising the arrangers on a multi-jurisdictional securitisation for Europcar. On the debt side, Cédric Burford is the practice driver and assisted Société Générale on Cegedim’s first bond issue.

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

Clifford Chance’s practice is led by the ‘excellent litigator’ Jean-Pierre Grandjean, with Thomas Baudesson the other key figure in the team. A ‘competent and reactive’ pool of 18 lawyers represents high-profile clients (EADS, Carrefour, Eurostar, L’Oréal). The firm is involved in major financial and product liability cases.

Within Dispute resolution International arbitration, tier 5

Clifford Chance’s Jean-Pierre Grandjean and counsel Peter Rosher handle ICC arbitration disputes representing prominent corporations (Siemens, Carrefour, EADS); they also act as arbitrators.

Within Dispute resolution Stock market litigation Other recommended firms

Within Dispute resolution White-collar crime Other recommended firms

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

Clifford Chance’s practice is led by the ‘brilliant’ Patrick Hubert, who has ‘good contacts within the administration’. The seven-lawyer team also includes of counsel Michel Petite, counsel Emmanuel Durand and Christian Dargham. The practice handles merger-control work and is involved in several major antitrust cases at national and European levels, representing key client Carrefour in an alleged cartel case in the toy sector. The firm also acted for Shell in the jet-fuel case in La Réunion and for Saint Gobain on challenging the EU Commission’s largest fine ever handed to a cartel.

Within Employment , Clifford Chance is a second tier firm,

Clifford Chance’s practice head François Farmine shows a ‘high level of involvement in defending clients’. The 13-lawyer practice, which also includes counsel Viviane Stulz, delivers ‘outstanding services’ thanks to an ‘excellent understanding of business constraints’. In 2010, the team was called upon to advise on challenging restructuring and contentious matters, notably by Trèves and Visteon.

Within IT, telecoms and the internet, Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Clifford Chance handles IT and data protection work under the management of counsel Victoriano Melero. The four-lawyer team advised Société Générale on various IT projects, including the launch of a worldwide mobile-service payment. It also assisted Eurostar on IT and telecoms agreements with SNCF.

Within Insolvency, Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Clifford Chance counts in its ranks one of France’s leading insolvency specialists in Reinhard Dammann, whose academic knowledge in the field is second to none. He is regularly appointed to advise in the most high-profile cases, representing the insolvency administrator in Thomson’s safeguard proceedings and the creditors’ representative in Coeur Défense.

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

Led by Jean-Frédéric Gaultier, Clifford Chance’s practice deals with transactional matters while also taking on a fair amount of stand-alone work. The five-lawyer team, which also includes of counsel Christian Lachèze, handles trade mark, patent and copyrights matters. The practice assisted Technicolor on the IP aspects regarding the sale of Grass Valley Broadcast.

Within Media and entertainment: Full-service firms Other recommended firms

Within Mergers and acquisitions, tier 4

Allen & Overy LLP’s practice is ‘customer-oriented’ and delivers ‘high standards in terms of response time and accuracy’. The six-partner team is increasingly involved in strategic deals for leading French and international companies. Jean-Patrice Labautière and Frédéric Moreau assisted Honeywell on its takeover of Sperian Protection, while Marcus Billam advised Compagnie La Lucette on its merger with Icade. Nicolas Bichot left the team to create his own practice.

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

Thanks to its strong relationship with 3i, Apax Partners and Carlyle, Clifford Chance has a good private equity practice, the team advising on several key deals in 2010. The firm assisted the Carlyle group on the acquisition of B&B hotels, and 3i on the acquisition of Trescal. Key partners in the practice include Gilles Lebreton, Laurent Schoenstein and Thierry Schoen.

Within Private equity: Fund formation Other recommended firms

Within Project finance and energy: Energy Project finance and energy: Energy

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

Clifford Chance has a leading domestic practice thanks to its team’s ‘high level of technical skills’, led by finance expert Daniel Zerbib and public law specialist David Préat. The duo often advises the Transport Ministry, sponsors and lenders, such as in Eiffage’s bid on the Bretagne-Pays de la Loire (BPL) railway project. The firm also has ‘excellent business acumen’, handling key infrastructure, mining and energy mandates in Europe, Africa and Turkey. Key figures include practice head Anthony Giustini, who is praised for his ‘outstanding negotiation skills’, Nikolaï Eatwell, who impresses by his ‘breadth of knowledge and communication skills’, Nicholas Wong and Mustapha Mourahib. Recent highlights include representing the export credit agencies SACE and Hermes and the lender on a crucial energy project, the Nord Stream offshore gas. Renewables are also a major field of development, the firm assisting the European Investment Bank (EIB) on the financing of the Zelios solar project.

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

Clifford Chance remains ‘highly visible’ in the market, advising on investment, finance, lease and construction transactions. François Bonteil leads the 12-lawyer team, with Aubry d’Argenlieu the other key figure in the practice. It acted for BNP Paribas on the acquisition of property retail assets from Casino, and Commerz Real on its acquisition of Espace Saint-Georges shopping mall in Toulouse. UBS is also a client

Within Tax, Clifford Chance is a third tier firm,

Clifford Chance has a ‘really good quality’ 15-lawyer team led by Eric Davoudet, and including Julien Ruderman, Eric Zeller and Alexandre Lagarrigue – Laurent Vallée joined the Justice Ministry. The team stands out for the variety and innovative range of work it handles, including transactional, property, VAT and employee benefit matters. It assisted Natixis on the creation of France’s first securitisation company under the new securitisation law, and Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC) on the structuring of the Inframed fund.