Clifford Chance > Luxembourg, Luxembourg > Firm Profile

Clifford Chance Offices

Clifford Chance
10 BOULEVARD G.D. CHARLOTTE, BP
1011 LUXEMBOURG
Luxembourg
Visit website 352 48 50 50 1

Clifford Chance > The Legal 500 Rankings

Luxembourg > Banking, finance and capital markets Tier 1

Co-headed by Steve Jacoby and Marc Mehlen, Clifford Chance‘s five-partner team provides ‘excellent legal skills‘ to banks and funds across the panoply of transactional and regulatory work, including in the context of new money/refinancings and financial services M&A. It is also at the vanguard of developments within the burgeoning fintech arena, an area where Jacoby has particular expertise, including on blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. Mehlen’s principal area of focus remains within the debt capital markets space, where he advises underwriters and issuers on regulatory and transactional matters associated with debt products, in particular. Martin Wurth has a focus on fund financing work for lenders and funds, while recently promoted partner Stefanie Ferring provides ‘responsive and client-oriented’ advice, particularly in the context of restructuring/insolvency matters.

Practice head(s):

Steve Jacoby; Marc Mehlen

Other key lawyers:

Christian Kremer; Martin Wurth; Stefanie Ferring; Udo Prinz; Audrey Mucciante; Saskia Myners

Testimonials

‘Excellent legal skills, good knowledge of our institution and of the Luxembourg market.’

‘Stefanie Ferring: excellent lawyer, responsive and client oriented.’

Key clients

Allegro

Midas International and l’Etoile Gestion

Codere S.A.

Partners Group

UniCredit Bank AG

Morgan Stanley

Banco Santander S.A. and Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank

European Investment Bank

European Investment Fund

ING Bank N.V.

Wells Fargo

Patrizia

Amundi Real Estate

HQLAx

A consortium of banks consisting of Santander Bank Polska and ING Bank Śląski

Tristan Capital Partners

Work highlights

  • Advised Allegro, Poland’s leading commerce platform and most recognised e-commerce brand, on its $11.2bn IPO (Warsaw Stock Exchange’s largest IPO to date).
  • Advised the lenders and lead arrangers respectively on two major financings raised by Cromwell European REIT (CEREIT), a diversified Pan-European Real Estate Investment Trust listed on the main board of the Singapore Exchange Limited.
  • Advised the lenders to a consortium led by EIG in relation to Saudi Aramco’s sale of a 49% equity stake in a newly-formed Saudi Aramco subsidiary, Aramco Oil Pipelines Company.

Luxembourg > Commercial, corporate and M&A Tier 1

Combining in-depth knowledge of Luxembourg law and also able to leverage the firm’s international network, Clifford Chance‘s two-partner team is well-positioned to advise on big-ticket cross-border M&A involving a Luxembourg investment vehicle, particularly on behalf of the firm’s strong institutional roster of private equity sponsors. The team has also been at the forefront of emerging technology, including fintech matters, and combines intimate subject matter knowledge of the evolving technology, regulatory expertise, as well as knowledge of venture capital-related funding. Christian Kremer and Katia Gauzès co-head the team and regularly take the lead on big-ticket sponsor-led and corporate-based M&A, as well as having strong capabilities on IPO structuring.

Practice head(s):

Christian Kremer; Katia Gauzès

 

Other key lawyers:

Sasche Nolte; Judit Stern; Dunja Pralong-Damjanovic; Lauren Harris Frédérique Davister; Melissa Kdyem; Louis Mamère

Key clients

Allegro

AlterDomus

HQLAx

Partners Group

Cellnex Telecom

China Three Gorges

Infracapital and AMP

Verlinvest

Permira

ORPEA

Synlab

Tristan Capital Partner

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice

Stirling Square Capital Partners

Midas International Asset Management

HomeToGo GmbH

Blockchain Luxembourg S.A.

KKR

Patrizia

HG

Work highlights

  • Advised Allegro, Poland’s number one commerce platform and most recognised e-commerce brand, on its $11.2bn IPO, Warsaw Stock Exchange’s largest IPO to date.
  • Advised AlterDomus, a global provider of fund administration, debt capital markets and corporate services backed by the Permira funds, on a series of strategic acquisitions which were executed at the end of 2020.
  • Advised Partners Group, one of the world’s pre-eminent private markets investment managers, on the acquisition of a majority stake in Rovensa, a leading provider of speciality crop nutrition, protection and biocontrol products, from Bridgepoint.

Luxembourg > Dispute resolution Tier 1

While it is smaller than many of the other top-ranked firms, Clifford Chance‘s litigation offering is ‘well supervised’ by Albert Moro, and his hands-on involvement in the highest-profile cases it handles ensures that it has a strong and loyal following from corporates, funds and banks when they require litigation advice. Moro is praised for his ‘knowledge of the law and outstanding capacity to think outside the box’, and while he is best-known for corporate litigation, his vast market experience ensures that there is ‘no specific litigation issue he would not have encountered in the past and disposed of’.

Practice head(s):

Albert Moro

Other key lawyers:

Sébastien Schmitz; Ada Schmitt; Alma Custovic

Testimonials

‘The team is well-organised and supervised by the partner in charge.’

‘Albert Moro in a rather unique way combines strategic thinking and analytical skills covering, due to his vast experience, all relevant areas of law. There is no specific litigation issue he would not have encountered in the past and disposed of.’

‘The main strength of Clifford Chance in Luxembourg is Albert Moro. His understanding of modern company needs, as well as his knowledge of the law and capacity to think outside the box is outstanding.’

Luxembourg > Investment funds Tier 1

Praised for its ability to ‘get things done and to provide excellent guidance to clients in a fast-changing regulatory environment’, Clifford Chance‘s four-partner team has a strong pedigree advising on the formation, marketing, management and ongoing operation of alternative investment funds. The ‘outstanding‘ Paul Van Den Abeele‘s deep knowledge of the alternative asset space (including across private equity, credit, infrastructure and real estate) extends not only to GP mandates but also to institutional investors on the buy-side, as well as in the context of fund financing. As well as being adept at advising on private equity and real estate fund structuring, Emmanuel-Frédéric Henrion also advises clients on alternative UCITS funds structuring, and has a niche focus in relation to pan-European pension funds. Kristof Meynaerts is also recommended in the context of establishing regulated or unregulated structures relating to private equity, real estate and debt funds.

Practice head(s):

Emmanuel-Frédéric Henrion; Paul Van Den Abeele; Kristof Meynaerts; Maren Stadler-Tjan

Other key lawyers:

Oliver Zwick; Christian Lennig; Bart Denys ; Matthias Kerbusch

Testimonials

‘It is a great team with a good culture and client focus. They get things done and guide clients very well in a fast-changing regulatory environment.’

‘The responsive Paul Van Den Abeele is outstanding and provides high-quality advice.’

Key clients

AEW

Avega Capital Management S.A.

Capital Dynamics

CBRE

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners(CIP)

Credit Suisse

Davy Group

Dii Deutsche Invest Immobilien

Eastspring Investments

Eurazeo

Grossfeld

MARK

Peakside Capital

Schroders

TVM Capital Life Science

UBS ETF

Work highlights

  • Advised Credit Suisse and Energy Infrastructure Partners AG in relation to (i) the sale of the Credit Suisse majority stake in Credit Suisse Energy Infrastructure Partners AG, (ii) the restructuring of the EIP Lux fund platform (comprising one Lux regulated fund and five Lux unregulated parallel funds), (iii) the set-up of an investment structure and closing of subscriptions by new investors.
  • Advised Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners on the establishment of Luxembourg parallel and feeder fund, negotiating side letters and fund terms with investors.
  • Advised MARK, a €7bn real estate investment manager focused on opportunities presented by urbanisation and technological changes, on the set-up of several alternative investment funds within the Crossbay structure.

Luxembourg > Private equity Tier 1

Clifford Chance provides a ‘very strong and integrated service’ to an impressive range of sponsors across all aspects of the private equity value chain. Christian Kremer and Katia Gauzès  are the key contacts on the transactional side and regularly team up with lawyers from across the firm’s huge international network to provide crucial local law advice pursuant to major downstream investments/divestments across a range of sectors.

Practice head(s):

Christian Kremer and Katia Gauzès (corporate); Paul Van Den Abeele; Emmanuel-Frédéric Henrion; Kristof Meynaerts; and Maren Stadler-Tjan (investment funds)

Other key lawyers:

Sasche Nolte; Judith Stern; Dunja Pralong-Damjanovic; Oliver Zwick; Christian Lennig; Bart Denys; Matthias Kerbusch; Saskia Myners

Testimonials

‘The team provides a very strong and integrated service.’

Key clients

AlterDomus

Partners Group

Permira

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice

Hg

KKR

Infracapital

Cellnex Telecom

Capital Dynamics

TVM Capital Life Science

Stirling Square Capital Partners

Work highlights

  • Advised Partners Group on the acquisition of a significant equity stake in Telepass S.p.A, a leading electronic toll collection services provider in Europe.    
  • Advised Clayton, Dubilier & Rice on its $4bn public to private bid for UDG Healthcare Plc.
  • Advised Partners Group on the acquisition of a majority stake in Rovensa.

Luxembourg > Tax Tier 1

Acting in a standalone capacity, and also deriving a huge amount of work by dint of the firm's impressive and eclectic roster of institutional clients, Clifford Chance regularly advises corporates, financial services entities, private equity firms and high-net-worth individuals on tax structuring. Much of the work has a cross-border complexion and the team, which is headed by Geoffrey Scardoni, is well-placed to advise on such matters as a result of the coordinated approach its can provide alongside practitioners from across the international network of offices, and its knowledge of how local systems interact with each other when structuring cross-border transactions.  

Practice head(s):

Geoffrey Scardoni

Other key lawyers:

Maxime Budzin; Josselin Badoc; Kim Ngo

Key clients

Banco Nacional de Panamá

Partners Group

AEW

Primonial Real Estate Investment Management

Tikehau Investment Management

Signature Capital

Rothschild & Co Group

Pictet Alternative Advisors

Luxembourg VAT authorities

Eurazeo

Groupe LFPI – La Financière patrimoniale d’investissement

Allianz Real Estate

Patrizia

Luxembourg > Employment Tier 2

‘Able to find the right balance between technical knowledge and commercial application’, Clifford Chance excels in providing strategic and holistic advice to international banks and asset managers across myriad employment issues, including advice on remuneration policies and corporate governance, related to their operations in Luxembourg. Team head Albert Moro has ‘deep and broad experience and knowledge about all employment-related issues’, from both an individual and collective law perspective. He also regularly provides labour law input pursuant to transactional work handled by the firm.

Practice head(s):

Albert Moro

Other key lawyers:

Isabelle Comhaire; Ida Schmitt

Testimonials

‘The team is really accessible and has a deep knowledge of the issues we discuss.’

‘The team was able to find the right balance between technical knowledge and commercial application.’

‘The very pragmatic Albert Moro has deep and broad experience and knowledge about all employment-related issues.’

‘Albert Moro is very reliable, available and his advice is still accurate and delivered in time.’

Luxembourg > Insurance Tier 2

Led by corporate partner Christian Kremer,  Clifford Chance‘s multi-disciplinary insurance group leverages strong relationships with the domestic regulatory body and those throughout Europe to good effect, particularly in relation to M&A in the sector, reorganisations and on the establishment of Luxembourg subsidiaries.

Practice head(s):

Christian Kremer

 

Other key lawyers:

Albert Moro; Udo Prinz; Ada Schmitt

Key clients

Swiss Re

AIG

Allianz

Axa

Premia

Work highlights

  • Providing insurance and corporate advice to Swiss Re on the reinsurance agreement and legal advice on the collateral arrangements as part of the entry into a longevity risk reinsurance transaction of Dutch insurer NN Group with Swiss Re.
  • Advised a major foreign insurance company and its subsidiaries in relation to their acquisition by way of takeover offer on the target insurance group parent company of an indirect control stake in a Luxembourg insurance undertaking.
  • Advised a major insurance and reinsurance group with Luxembourg licensed (re-)insurance undertaking presence in relation to the internal multistep reorganisation of their business divisions.

Luxembourg > Real estate and construction Tier 2

Combining core local real estate expertise with international best practice as well as the ability to draw upon the expertise in personnel from the broader finance, corporate, tax and funds teams, Clifford Chance is well placed to advise stakeholders across a range of transactional real estate mandates. This is particularly apparent in the team's ability to advise developers throughout the life cycle of a deal, including acquisition, development, leasing of properties and the ultimate sale. Albert Moro heads up the team that also features counsel Sébastien Schmitz, whose versatile workload in the space includes advice to end-users and developers on office and commercial lease contracts.

Practice head(s):

Albert Moro

 

Other key lawyers:

Sébastien Schmitz; Alma Custovic

Testimonials

‘Clifford Chance Luxembourg is in our opinion the top firm for real estate matters, as they have a specific real estate department.’

Key clients

Grossfield PAP SICAV RAIF

ICN Development

Work highlights

  • Advised the developer (a joint venture between a renowned Belgian real estate developer and a real estate Luxembourg group) in relation to “Le Bijou” (a 6,000 sq metre office building) and successfully leasing all the offices, and then on the ultimate sale to Swiss Life AM France.
  • Advised Belgian real estate developer, ICN Development, on the redevelopment of the historical Factory 1, having previously acquired it from Villeroy&Boch.
  • Advised a joint venture between a renowned Belgian real estate developer and a renowned real estate Luxembourg group, which is the main real estate developer of the new area in Luxembourg City under development known as “Ban de Gasperich” or “Cloche d’Or”, a new district designed with an ideal mix of head offices of major international groups, shops, housing and the future largest park in Luxembourg.

Luxembourg > IP and IT Tier 3

Overseen by ‘very reliable and responsive‘ litigator Albert Moro and led on a day-to-day basis by senior associate Charles-Henri Laevens, Clifford Chance is particularly focused on assisting clients in data protection compliance-related matters, as well as in the context of any breaches. Much of this work is on behalf of financial services clients, with asset managers a particularly fertile source of work. Counsel Isabelle Comhaire is also recommended.

Practice head(s):

Albert Moro

 

Other key lawyers:

Charles-Henri Laevens; Isabelle Comhaire

Testimonials

 ‘The very reliable Albert Moro is responsive and his advice is very accurate.’

Key clients

The LHoFT Foundation

Allegro

Work highlights

  • Advised Allegro, Poland’s number one commerce platform and most recognised e-commerce brand, on its $11.2bn IPO on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
  • Continuing to regularly advise investment funds and private equity global firms with their data protection compliance.

Clifford Chance > Firm Profile

The firm: Clifford Chance is one of the world’s pre-eminent law firms, with significant depth and range of resources across five continents. As a single, fully integrated, global partnership, it prides itself on its approachable, collegial and team-based way of working. The firm always strives to exceed the expectations of its clients, which include corporates from all the commercial and industrial sectors, governments, regulators, trade bodies and not-for-profit organisations. It provides them with the highest quality advice and legal insight, which combines the firm’s global standards with in-depth local expertise.

Types of work undertaken
Capital markets: the capital markets practice concentrates on securities transactions and other products sold into the capital markets. The practice is founded on a full-service US and UK securities law capability, complemented by local securities law expertise in each of the key financial centres. It provides practical, integrated legal advice covering the full spectrum of global capital raising activities including public and private domestic and international offerings of traditional debt and equity securities as well as convertible and other derivative and structured securities.

Corporate: the corporate practice handles some of the world’s largest and most complex M&A transactions. It combines global transaction capability with a full service of English, US and civil law expertise in the key financial centres across Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific. In addition to mainstream M&A, the firm also encompasses leading specialist practices in: commercial contracts, competition and antitrust, communications, energy, healthcare, financial institutions, funds, investment banking, insurance, media and technology, and private equity.

Finance: Clifford Chance’s finance practice is the leading international finance practice of any law firm. The practice provides highly commercial and practical advice across the full spectrum of financial products including syndicated lending and leveraged and acquisition finance, asset finance, derivative products, project finance, financial regulatory, insolvency, restructuring and structured finance.

Litigation, dispute resolution and risk management: the firm has experience in virtually all segments of the business and financial markets across multiple jurisdictions. The lawyers work with clients to resolve disputes efficiently and effectively – whether through arbitration, litigation or other techniques.

Real estate: Clifford Chance’s leading real estate practice offers UK, European, Asian and US real estate capability. The practice advises the real estate industry’s leading players on the entire property ‘life-cycle’ from the initial acquisition, development, leasing, joint venturing and financing through to the final exit, as well as tax structuring, PFI/PPP, corporate outsourcing, planning, environment and litigation.

Tax, pensions, employment and incentives: Clifford Chance has one of the world’s largest international tax groups within a single law firm. The firm is uniquely placed to provide leading edge advice to clients, and the practice is structured on an integrated global basis. Local tax groups within the practice work closely with areas such as securitisation, securities, M&A, corporate restructuring, private equity, real estate and funds.

The pan-European VAT group advises on all areas of VAT and has particular strength advising on novel and complex issues in the structured finance, financial services, corporate finance and real estate sectors.

The team of experienced employment, employee benefits, ERISA, immigration and pensions specialists work with clients from a wide range of sectors to address local and cross-border issues.

International offices:Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Bangkok, Barcelona, Beijing, Brussels, Bucharest, Casablanca, Dubai, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Jakarta*, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Munich, New York, Paris, Perth, Prague, Rome, São Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Warsaw, Washington, D.C., Riyadh**

*Linda Widyati & Partners in association with Clifford Chance

**Clifford Chance has a co-operation agreement with Abuhimed Alsheikh Alhagbani Law Firm in Riyadh

Lawyer Profiles

PhotoNamePositionProfile
Steve Jacoby photo Steve JacobySteve Jacoby co-heads the Luxembourg Banking, Finance and Capital Markets practice and…View Profile

Staff Figures

Number of partners : 550
Number of other fee-earners : 3,300

Advice From Women Lawyers


Advice To My Younger Self: Reflections of Successful Women Lawyers

Women lawyers open up about their careers and defining choices

Advice To My Younger Self: Reflections of Successful Women Lawyers is published by The Legal 500‘s GC Magazine in collaboration with Clifford Chance. Now in its second release, the book is a practical resource for anyone interested in charting a successful career path at a law firm or by moving in-house. It features interviews with 20 women partners, alumnae and in-house counsel, with additional contributions from members of Clifford Chance’s senior management and US-based recruiting team. Visit our website to learn more about practical tips for building your career.

http://www.legal500.com/clifford-chance/advice-to-my-younger-self

RISING LAWYERS open up about their priorities and strategies for success

Their Voices: Insights from Today’s Rising Lawyers by The Legal 500‘s GC Magazine in collaboration with Clifford Chance. Geared primarily for students and junior lawyers, the book is a practical resource for those considering law school or just beginning a legal career. Twenty junior lawyers offer diverse perspectives on what inspires them about the law, and the strategies that are helping them stay in touch with their priorities and define the future of their careers. Their Voices also provides insights for senior lawyers as they mentor the next generation of leaders.

http://www.legal500.com/clifford-chance/their-voices



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