The Legal 500

Within Aviation, Allen & Overy LLP is a first tier firm,

Allen & Overy LLP covers all aviation-related work, with the accent on financing, regulatory and transactional matters; the team is praised for ‘business sense, accuracy, and fast response times’. Werner Esykens acts for the liquidators of SAirGroup and SAirLines in appeal proceedings worth €3.5bn, regarding the 2001 bankruptcy of Belgium’s flag carrier. Clients include Aerocentury and Jet4You.

Within Banking, finance and capital markets, Allen & Overy LLP is a first tier firm,

Allen & Overy LLP’s Peter Bienenstock is ‘a perfect lawyer and a very experienced negotiator’; he heads the team, pending a transfer to head up the firm’s Moscow office in May 2011. Sylvia Kierszenbaum’s ‘solution-oriented mind’ and Filip Tanghe’s ‘strong technical skills’ also receive recognition. The team is ‘excellent at syndicated credit agreements’, as well as project finance and regulatory work; where its approach is ‘very committed’ with a ‘hands-on attitude.’ Bank lending mandates for BNP Paribas Fortis, ING, Rabobank, and RBS, ranging from €300m to €1bn demonstrate the team’s breadth, while acting for UBS and JPMorgan on a €1.6bn debt buyback, the first launched by a credit institution in Belgium, justifies the team’s reputation as ‘one of the best for debt capital market activities’.

Within Competition, Allen & Overy LLP is a second tier firm,

There is strong support for Allen & Overy LLP’s senior statesman, Michael Reynolds who ‘is a master of how the game is played’; his ‘relationships and insights into the Commission are deep and very helpful’. Dirk Arts is ‘one of the best EU competition lawyers, very easy to cooperate with’. The team is ‘very fast and available, offering complete and precise knowledge’. It advised Novartis on the antitrust aspects of its $40bn acquisition of a majority stake in Alcon, and obtained full immunity from fines for Chemtura, in relation to the heat stabilisers cartel. Other behavioural mandates saw court work for Kone in the elevators case, and negotiations for IMI in the copper tubes case, reducing the fine significantly. Belgian competition work included representing six clients in detailed domestic investigations; and extensive state aid advice was given to various banks.

Within Corporate and M&A , Allen & Overy LLP is a first tier firm,

The overall level of legal services at Allen & Overy LLP is ‘excellent, thanks to Pierre-Olivier Mahieu’, who offers ‘availability and openness, the ability to propose business-oriented solutions and to negotiate efficiently’. The five-partner team also has proven experience in managing partner Dirk Meeus. The team saw state aid enforced disposals for KBC in the €1.35bn transfer of a private banking arm to the Hinduja Group. It advised on complex restructurings involving Deceuninck and Aviapartner. The sale of KPN’s €65m B2B network to Mobistar illustrates the team’s continuing attraction to non-financial sector clients. Pascal Weerts moved in-house, being replaced by new partner Hans Kets. Wouter Van De Voorde is ‘a good dealmaker, thanks to his business sense and ability to make the complicated, understandable’.

Within Dispute resolution, Allen & Overy LLP is a first tier firm,

Allen & Overy LLP’s team is praised for ‘very good industry knowledge’ over a range of industry sectors; clients range from Citibank to Diageo, Hewlett-Packard to DAF Trucks, in Joost Everaert’s case alone. All the partners have occupied significant leadership positions in, and outside, the firm, including Werner Eyskens. Clients say such standing gives them added confidence, further underpinned by the team’s appearances in precedential cases, such as the first civil case on alleged misselling of products following the financial crisis. This, and class action suits, dominated 2010’s book of business. Koen Van den Broeck is recommended.

Within EU regulatory: Chemicals (REACH), Allen & Overy LLP is a first tier firm,

Allen & Overy LLP’s lead REACH contact is Gauthier van Thuyne; clients say the ‘service is of high quality’, and praise the team’s compliance advice as being ‘of great help’. Clients include Dela, Recitel and Honeywell.

Within EU regulatory: Energy, Allen & Overy LLP is a first tier firm,

Allen & Overy LLP’s energy practice is both antitrust influenced and project-based. Clients include Centrica, for whom the team acted on the competition law clearance and disposal of SPE to EDF, and C-Power, the first consortium allowed to construct an offshore wind farm in Belgian territorial waters.

Within EU regulatory: Financial services, Allen & Overy LLP is a first tier firm,

Allen & Overy LLP’s team delivers ‘critical knowledge and advice’ and advised various payment service providers on the Belgian implementation of the payment services directive.

Within EU regulatory: Information technology, Allen & Overy LLP is a first tier firm,

Allen & Overy LLP is praised for ‘outstanding in-depth know-how on outsourcing, ICT procurement, and master services agreements’. Filip Van Elsen advised Novartis on a global “cloud computing” outsourcing transaction with Microsoft, the first cloud computing outsourcing ever.

Within EU regulatory: Privacy and data protection , Allen & Overy LLP is a first tier firm,

Allen & Overy LLP’s clients benefit from advice on compliance with the growing body of EU privacy protection laws. Associate Tom De Cordier ‘is very good on privacy and data protection issues’, and the team gives ‘very practical advice and is very responsive’. It also acts for Skype and Randstad.

Within Environment, Allen & Overy LLP is a first tier firm,

Allen & Overy LLP’s recent instructions include dealing with contaminated soil management, as well as remaining busy on climate change and green energy issues. The ‘business focused, knowledgeable and very responsive’ Gauthier van Thuyne is recommended for ‘real strength in this area’. The practice acts for Eurofer (on waste and climate change queries), Temco (on groundwater issues), Exide (a recycling company) and SPE.

Within Fraud and white-collar crime, Allen & Overy LLP is a first tier firm,

Joost Everaert’s team at Allen & Overy LLP assists a blue-chip clientele facing criminal proceedings. Everaert advised Citibank, the defendant in a criminal trial, concerning the ultimately worthless sales of structured notes, issued by Lehman Brothers to 4,000 retail customers, originally worth €132m, illustrating the high-profile context of his criminal work, and ability in demanding and extensive proceedings over a six month trial.

Within Information technology, Allen & Overy LLP is a first tier firm,

Allen & Overy LLP’s Filip Van Elsen and Geert Glas have a strong reputation in outsourcing, where the team ‘performs outstandingly, having in-depth know-how in this area’. The team handled multi-jurisdictional outsourcing transactions for Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis and UCB, and renegotiated current outsourcing agreements for Marsh and Pfizer. Cloud computing work for Novartis also shows an eye for future trends becoming current instructions.

Within Intellectual property, Allen & Overy LLP is a first tier firm,

‘No time is wasted’ by Allen & Overy LLP’s duo of Geert Glas (‘very solid advice’) and Filip Van Elsen( ‘makes things happen’), who deliver ‘practical advice on legal ramifications’ of IP litigation. Clients praise them as being ‘solid, organised and efficient’. Highlights included anti-counterfeiting work for Giorgio Armani, trade mark defence for Bacardi, and high-value patent litigation for Hansen Transmissions, plus precedent-setting ECJ work on biotechnology for Cargill. The practice works in sectors such as life sciences (clients include Pfizer, and Novartis), consumer (Bacardi and Diageo), media (Mobistar) and hi-tech (Intel and Research in Motion). Thierry van Innis left to join Field Fisher Waterhouse.

Within Labour and employment, Allen & Overy LLP is a second tier firm,

Allen & Overy LLP’s team delivers ‘professional and responsive advice’; chiefly due to ‘good analytical skills, and being very cooperative’; the team’s ability to co-ordinate employment law issues is ‘on an international scale due to an extended network’. Work in 2010 included restructuring for KPN, including associated redundancies, and outsourcing work for Accenture, KBC and Pfizer. It also acted for Bank of America and the Centre for Equal Opportunities in unfair dismissal and discrimination cases. The team’s strength in employee benefits, for clients including Huntsman, RBS and SPE, was consistently praised for its ‘broad experience’. Team leader Pieter De Koster is recommended, and Christian Bayart ‘has great academic and practical knowledge about labour law’.

Within Media and entertainment, Allen & Overy LLP is a first tier firm,

Clients hail Allen & Overy LLP’s market-leading practice, and in particular, Filip Van Elsen and Geert Glas, saying it ‘did an excellent job, with timely and accurate results’. The departure of Thierry van Innis to Field Fisher Waterhouse was supplemented with Peter Van Dyck’s promotion into the senior associate ranks. Notable transactional work included advising De Vijver on a joint venture with Sanoma, resulting in a 25% participation in De Vijver’s subsidiary Woestijnvis (a television and film production company), and De Vijver taking a 49% stake in a weekly magazine.

Within Real estate, Allen & Overy LLP is a first tier firm,

Allen & Overy LLP was involved in one of the more complex retail transactions of 2010 for Foruminvest on the €230m disposal of a stake in an SPV that owns a shopping centre in Kortrijk, to Union Investment. Clients single out Daniel Gillet’s leadership which garners plaudits for ‘excellent ad-hoc knowledge, going beyond a purely legal opinion, which is creative and to the point’. The team also acted for Bank of Scotland (on real estate debt restructuring), EIOV (a real estate investor), insurer Ethias and developer Extensa. Senior associate Amand-Benoit D’Hondt and counsel Stéphanie Houx are also recommended.

Within Shipping and transport, Allen & Overy LLP is a first tier firm,

Allen & Overy LLP’s two lead transport partners are Filip Tanghe and Werner Eyskens. Project finance for port ventures is one practice specialty, with refinancing a factor in 2009, as well as work for land reclamation experts Dredging International. The team’s wider transport infrastructure practice should not be ignored either; highlights included carriage of goods claim for precious metals for a major London-based investment bank. PPP work also features strongly.

Within Tax, Allen & Overy LLP is a second tier firm,

Allen & Overy LLP’s Patrick Smet and his ‘very professional team’ assist a blue-chip client base, where a previous focus on M&A and finance-related tax matters has abated in favour of tax litigation work. With a successful test case relating to a challenge by the Belgian tax authorities on the parent/subsidiary directive, and Supreme Court litigation on VAT and nuclear power taxes, work is of a high standard. Clients include Foruminvest, SPE and UCB.