The Legal 500 > Europe, Middle East & Africa > France > Capital markets: debt capital markets

‘Clifford Chance Paris’ capital markets team can intervene on issues of English law, as well as French law. The team is perfectly bilingual, all partners and associates speak in French and English, including the English law side.’

‘Good communication between the lead attorney and his/her teams. A worldwide outlook and knowledge of the different specialities.’

‘Excellent reactivity and quality of legal advice.’

‘Clifford Chance, and specifically its CM team, has very deep experience in capital markets, which fully benefits its clients.’

‘A good understanding of the in-house practice within companies, which is often deficient in other firms.’

‘A talent for making legal terms accessible to people who are not familiar with legal subjects. Very high competence in the domain of intervention.’

‘We value its competence, client service, availability of partners and legal analysis followed by practical resolution of problems — particularly Cédric Burford and Alexander Tollast.’

‘Cédric Burford had great availability, as do members of his team.’

‘This team knows the ins and outs of the market, the history and reasoning behind every regulation and the exact range of what is negotiable and what is not.’

‘Gide has a multi-disciplinary team comprised of a large number of lawyers with a varied background, who have acquired a strong experience in the financial markets. This gives the firm an undeniable advantage in terms of the ability to respond to a large number of cases at the same time and of quality in the service provided.’

‘It delivers cutting-edge advice quickly and at reasonable prices. It’s one of the very few teams having such extensive working knowledge of the market.’

‘The Gide team we work with has always been very reactive in its responses and actions. Lawyers have very strong expertise and experience in the areas we are interested in. They provide very good advice on the various alternatives that we submit to them.’

‘Gide’s capital markets team has recognised expertise and is regularly mandated as an advisor on securities issuance programmes of large corporate debt.’

‘The firm delivers high-value legal advice and has the ability to anticipate clients’ needs and demands.’

‘Hubert Merveilleux du Vignaux has excellent knowledge of the law and the market, with a commercial approach.’

‘Hubert Merveilleux du Vignaux is a recognised expert on the financial markets and is consulted by the regulatory authorities during all revisions related to financial products.’

‘Merveilleux du Vignauxis stands out among his peers as one of the very few partners who will systematically pick up the phone and answer any questions in a crystal clear manner.’

‘Merveilleux du Vignaux is a key player in the French bond market, with an easy manner and international outlook.’

‘Laurent Vincent is an excellent expert in his area: he is very efficient, always respects the deadlines, and always remains very calm and professional.’

‘Laurent Vincent is very dedicated and efficient, with a strong business-orientation to allow the success of the deal.’

‘Laurent Vincent was able to find, within the framework of an atypical deal, practical solutions.’

‘Laurent Vincent has very good technical knowledge of debt capital markets; this area is more a technical than a contractual subject, therefore it is compulsory to be supported by someone with very good technical skills and a good knowledge of market practice.’

‘The W & C team we work with sets itself apart through its large number of partners and associates (compared to other Parisian firms), its diversified practice, and its network of offices and partners abroad.’

‘They are a strongly dedicated, hard-working, results-driven group of individuals that has, in my personal experience, the ability to effectively combine client attention with the right dose of positive and constructive debate.’

‘Appreciate their ability to express and defend my opinions as their client, minimising entropy in negotiation, and maintaining focus on the ultimate goal of closing the deal. At all levels of seniority, I perceived professionalism and responsibility with a strong empathetic component. ’

‘Great team spirit: impression of good collaboration/relationship with each other, forming one team. All members of the team have strong knowledge in capital markets, thus are able to provide relevant advice in a limited timeline.’

‘High-quality service. Good technical skills (French law and US law). A dedicated team, nice to work with and client-oriented.’

‘The capital market team of Cenzi Gargaro delivers our documentation requests, and more sensitive cases, promptly and smoothly. They are reliable and nice to work with.’

‘As a client, I felt White & Case was effectively able to advise at any time of the day with drive and commitment to the responsibilities involved as well as a clear understanding of my position and my needs. Colin Chang and Robert Becker, respectively partner and associate, clearly stood out in this.’

‘Max Turner (a US-qualified partner) is an excellent expert, always available, provides very good advice and client-oriented.’

‘Grégoire Karila is a very dynamic partner. He has a diversified range of expertise in the capital markets (debt, derivatives, regulatory), is available and provides well-thought-out advice.’

‘Grégoire Karila is very available and willing to help his clients; he is knowledgeable and solution-oriented.’

‘We work principally with Grégoire Karila and associate Petya Georgieva, together they form an efficient team. They have good expertise, are respectful, understand exactly the needs of their client and have the ability to adapt efficiently to specific situations.’

‘A cohesive team, very professional, with strong skills in bonds and great reactivity.’

‘The group demonstrates a very high degree of service (the team is always available) and is led by a partner recognised in the market as one of the financial market law specialists of the Paris marketplace.’

‘We use CMS for its reasonable cost and human approach.’

‘Marc-Etienne Sébire and associate Rosetta Ferrère demonstrate great availability, a remarkable sense of service, sharp skills in their field, a great mastery in the explanation of the financial markets and, more particularly, the bond market to their clients — and in particular to first-time issuers.’

‘I cannot think of a better lawyer than Thomas Margenet-Baudry to advise a French issuer on a high-yield bond. He combines very strong legal expertise, real business sense and serious hard work.’

‘Thomas is incredibly smart and goes the extra mile, beyond his core area of expertise, to find innovative solutions to complex issues. It is an absolute pleasure to work with Thomas: he is extremely nice, he has great listening skills, and he is very hands-on but with a clear sense of what is important.’

‘The department has a problem-solving approach and good availability of senior members of the team.’