“Magic Circle” firm Clifford Chance is among the largest law firms in the world, with global operations in 23 countries. The firm’s presence in Germany can be traced back to the end of the 19th century. It currently has office locations in Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Munich. 

Focusses / specialisms 

The firm has a formidable offering across every facet of financial and corporate work. 

In banking, its offering is broad and includes most types of loan work. The firm boasts market-leading capabilities in the area of direct lending, where the practice advises both borrowers and lenders, and acts as one of the firm’s hubs for international bank lending and acquisition finance work. 

In the capital markets space, the firm’s expertise is among the market’s best. The firm is also highly active in conventional debt work, as well as equity capital markets, where it is regularly seen on large cross-border transactions. 

The firm’s financial services regulatory practice is part of its global financial markets group. It has a full-service offering that covers the entire life cycle of market participants from licence application to resolution, and provides a comprehensive regulatory support to a wide variety of clients on a broad array of issues. The practice is recognised for its derivatives-related work, where it focuses more on advising on applicable regulatory requirements than on documentation. 

In M&A, the firm advises some of the top German, European and global clients, including leading corporations, financial investors and banks. The M&A team has strong expertise in several sectors of the German economy such as health, energy, technology and fintech. 

The firm is among the top private equity law firms in Germany in both large-cap and mid-cap work. It maintains relationships and advises top private equity houses in Germany and around the world on an ongoing basis. 

As a core element of the firm’s advisory services, the restructuring team is closely aligned with other local and international teams, which enables it to provide timely and precise advice on cases. 

Key clients 

The firms’ key clients list features a number of well recognised names such as Permira, EQT, KKR, Nordic Capital, 3i, Cinven, CABB, RWE, Pfizer, Volkswagen, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, EnBW, Empira, JP Morgan, Siemens, KfW and Daimler. 

Client feedback: 32nd edition (2022/2023) 

M&A 

“Great turnaround times. They understand our business and adapt their advice for our risk appetite and goals.”