An excellent choice for sponsors, lenders and public entities for major public law matters and projects, Watson Farley & Williams LLP is a key market player in public business law, with strong capabilities in public contracts, regulatory, state aid, foreign investor regimes, and dispute resolution. The group is especially well-versed in regulated industries such as infrastructure, energy, waste, defence, transport and telecoms. The team includes practice head Laurent Battoue, a public law and regulatory specialist who focuses on the energy and infrastructure sectors, economic public law expert Arnaud Troizier, and Lucien Rapp who advises on regulatory, public law and competition.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Accolades
Client satisfaction: Sector knowledge
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘Availability and targeted efficiency’
- ‘Laurent Battou - availability, responsiveness and proactive approach’
- ‘The team has excellent integration for handling cross-functional issues, rapid execution, and a comprehensive understanding of the business challenges facing their clients. The team also benefits from a significant track record in the energy sector.’
- ‘The lawyers go beyond legal expertise and act as strategic business partners thanks to their unique sector knowledge. The strength of the lawyers is their sector knowledge combined with their strong technical expertise.'
- ‘A highly reputable team in the renewable energy sector. Excellent availability and unwavering support for the client's interests. Consistently high-quality service.’
- ‘Laurent Battoue is a leading figure in the field, and his opinion carries weight with many stakeholders.'
Key clients
- Amarenco
- Elyse Energy
- Qair
- Société Générale
- Valorem
- Amarenco
- Elyse Energy
- Qair
- Société Générale
- Valorem
Work highlights
Advising a syndicate of French and international banks led by Société Générale on the arrangement of a c. €190m financing as part of the takeover of the Paris-Beauvais airport concession by Bellova, a company owned by a consortium of sponsors comprising Egis, Serena Industrial Partners, Bouygues Construction, Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur and TIIC.
Advising Qair on the project aspects and financing of the construction of Hyd’Occ, a green 50 MW hydrogen production plant in Port-la Nouvelle, located in French Occitanie region.
Advising Elyse Energy, a French industrial SME pioneer in the production of sustainable fuels and low-carbon raw materials, on the due diligence and project aspects of a €120m fundraising granted to them by Hy24, PGGM, Bpifrance and Mirova.
Practice head
Laurent Battoue
Other key lawyers
Arnaud Troizier; Lucien Rapp