IFLR 1000
The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms

	Allen & Overy Clifford Chance Linklaters
	Baker & McKenzie Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Stibbe
	Eubelius Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Loyens & Loeff NautaDutilh White & Case
	Altius Ashurst DLA Piper Laga Liedekerke Lydian
	CMS DeBacker Simont Braun

The Cleary team in Belgium is compact but highly regarded. The team tends to pick its mandates with care, but the quality of the work is not in doubt.... [more]

The Cleary team in Belgium is compact but highly regarded. The team tends to pick its mandates with care, but the quality of the work is not in doubt. The firm's four main partners are Jan Meyers, Jacques Reding, Laurent Legein and Laurent Ruzette with the latter promoted to his current position in January 2012.

The firm has managed to maintain a good balance between banking and corporate clients advising the likes of BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, Dexia and Telenet.

Deals
One of the firm's largest mandates was the restructuring of Dexia, which saw Laurent Legein and Laurent Luzette acting on various aspects including the structuring of various sovereign guarantees, securing guaranteed financing and the unwinding of existing funding structures. The whole process is said to be valued at €45 billion.

Similar restructuring work was undertaken by Jan Meyers and Deborah Janssens for Telenet who called the firm to advise on the various aspects of its refinancing.

Other borrower side mandates include advising Groupe Louis Delhaize, Nexans and Goodyear on new facilities.

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	Allen & Overy Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Linklaters
	Baker & McKenzie Clifford Chance Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
	Eubelius NautaDutilh Stibbe White & Case
	Altius Ashurst Laga Liedekerke Loyens & Loeff
	Lydian Simont Braun

Cleary has a clear focus on debt work at the current time, though equity mandates are the firm's wider stock in trade. The size of the team keeps the firm focused on a few high profile mandates but examples such as work on Telenet's bond issues and Fortis hybrid securities, highlight the firm's skills.... [more]

Cleary has a clear focus on debt work at the current time, though equity mandates are the firm's wider stock in trade. The size of the team keeps the firm focused on a few high profile mandates but examples such as work on Telenet's bond issues and Fortis hybrid securities, highlight the firm's skills.

Deals
Over the past year Cleary Gottlieb maintained its focus on debt work. The firm assisted Belgian cable television operator Telenet in its refinancing through €1.3 billion in bonds issued by SPVs.

For the same client, Jan Meyers also represented Telenet Group Holding and its subsidiaries in a €400 million bond issued by Telenet Finance IV Luxembourg, a stand-alone SPV. Meanwhile, Laurent Ruzette acted for Bekaert in a dual tranche issuance of €205 million and €195 million in unsecured bonds.

Ruzette's also acted for BNP Paribas on transactions related to the partial unwinding of Fortis Legacy Hybrid Securities, where she advised BNP Paribas and its subsidiary Fortis Bank on the acquisition of hybrid debt/equity securities issued by the latter.

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	Allen & Overy Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Linklaters
	Eubelius Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Stibbe
	Baker & McKenzie Clifford Chance Liedekerke Loyens & Loeff NautaDutilh White & Case
	Altius CMS DeBacker Laga Lydian Simont Braun Willkie Farr & Gallagher
	Ashurst Dechert Van Bael & Bellis

According to peers, Cleary maintains its position this year because of its high profile deals. The firm has a "relatively smaller corporate group, but quite good deals," says a competitor.... [more]

According to peers, Cleary maintains its position this year because of its high profile deals. The firm has a "relatively smaller corporate group, but quite good deals," says a competitor. One such example was the famous Dexia Group sale. Although some peers feel they "see them less", the firm's lawyers are highly recommended in the market: "Laurent Legein and Jan Meyers are very good lawyers," explains one partner.

Deals
The firm was involved in a string of M&A operations with long term client Bekaert, manufacturer of advanced metal transformation and coatings. For example, Laurent Legein advised Bekaert on its joint venture with its Chilean partners where Bekaert became the principal shareholder in a number of companies in Chile, Peru and Canada. In another transaction, Legein led the advice of the sale of Bekart's worldwide industrial coatings business to an affiliate of Element Partners, a US-based equity fund.

In the financial sector, Legein and Laurent Ruzette were involved in Dexia Group's sale of Dexia Bank Belgium to the Belgian State. The transaction was done in an initial cash consideration of €4 billion and a variable price top-up based on the capital gain realised by the state. With the same client, Legein assisted with the €730 million sale of Dexia Banque Internationale à Luxembourg to Precision Capital and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, with the buyers acquiring 90% and 10% of the stake, respectively.

In private equity, Legein represented BC Partners in the sale of its portfolio company Bureau van Dijk Electronic Publishing, a publisher of electronic business information, to Charterhouse Capital Partners, another European private equity house.

At the time of writing in August 2012, Legein was also advising JC Flowers on its €243.6 million acquisition of Fidea, an insurance subsidiary of the KBC Group. JC Flowers, the private equity firm, targets investments in the financial services industry.

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	Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Linklaters
	Allen & Overy Arnold & Porter Clifford Chance Hogan Lovells Latham & Watkins Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Slaughter and May Van Bael & Bellis White & Case WilmerHale
	Ashurst Baker & McKenzie Bonelli Erede Pappalardo Bredin Prat Covington & Burling Garrigues Gibson Dunn & Crutcher Gleiss Lutz Hengeler Mueller Herbert Smith Freehills Jones Day O'Melveny & Myers Shearman & Sterling Sidley Austin Uría Menéndez
	Bird & Bird Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira Dentons Eubelius Gide Loyrette Nouel Macfarlanes Mannheimer Swartling Mayer Brown McDermott Will & Emery NautaDutilh Norton Rose SJ Berwin Squire Sanders Stibbe Vinge Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
	De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés Gómez-Acebo & Pombo Hannes Snellman Houthoff Buruma Hunton & Williams Loyens & Loeff Morrison & Foerster Orrick Rambaud Martel Peltonen LMR Simmons & Simmons

In the words of competitors Cleary Gottlieb remains the "gold standard" for Brussels, or reflecting the frustration of competitors, "a sort of monolith sitting in Brussels".With a consistent team led by the reputations of Nicholas Levy, Robbert Snelders and Antoine Winckler, the firm continues to secure some of the biggest roles, in the sectors under most scrutiny.... [more]

In the words of competitors Cleary Gottlieb remains the "gold standard" for Brussels, or reflecting the frustration of competitors, "a sort of monolith sitting in Brussels".

With a consistent team led by the reputations of Nicholas Levy, Robbert Snelders and Antoine Winckler, the firm continues to secure some of the biggest roles, in the sectors under most scrutiny. Of late it has been a pivotal player in the technology/IT sectors, e-book investigations and financial/banking sectors advising on merger control, state aid and Article 101 and 102 cases.

Clients like the firm for a variety of reasons, among them the relationship management "the efficiency in communication. One large US based client for regulatory and investigation advice finds Snelders in particular "very business oriented", adding that "doesn't send memos of 500 pages, he knows exactly what we want and can tell exactly what we need in order to effect".

Also singled out for praise this year were partners Mario Siragusa – "the father of anti-trust in Italy" says one client – and Maurits Dolmans, who was active on prominent mandates in the technology sector.

Deals
Cleary was successful in helping IBM to throw out anti-trust complaints regarding mainframe pricing, emulation and servicing and the European Commission (EC) was convinced to drop the investigations altogether. In the same sector, in mid-2012 the firm was busy advising Hewlett Packard on disputes against Oracle.

On the merger side, cases do not get much bigger than the attempted merger between Euronext NYSE and Deutsche Börse. The firm, led by Nicholas Levy advised Deutsche Börse on all anti-trust matters in the case and although it was abandoned in February 2012 the mandate is undoubtedly one of the biggest for a number of years.

The firm had a list of other top-flight merger control cases on its books. Among them, Francisco Enrique González-Díaz advised Western Digital on its $4.3 billion acquisition of Hitachi's hard drive business Viviti Technologies, cleared in December 2011, and Levy acting for United Technologies Corporation (UTC) on its proposed $16.4 billion acquisition of Goodrich, which was in Phase II proceedings;

Levy and Snelders also acted as counsel to Sony on its acquisition of Ericsson's 50% stake in Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, which was in mid-2012 pending before the EC, and on its $2.2 billion acquisition of EMI, which passed at Phase I.

On the cartel side, the firm was advising Edison on matters relating to an alleged cartel in the hydrogen peroxide market. Mario Siragusa led an Italian team in the matter and represented Edison before the European General Court where it successfully reversed a fine. The firm was also acting on instructions in the e-book investigations.

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	Allen & Overy Gide Loyrette Nouel Linklaters White & Case
	Clifford Chance Latham & Watkins
	Ashurst De Pardieu Brocas Maffei Shearman & Sterling
	Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Herbert Smith Freehills Hogan Lovells Norton Rose Orrick Rambaud Martel
	Baker & McKenzie Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton JeantetAssociés Mayer Brown Simmons & Simmons
	August & Debouzy Ayache Salama & Associés Bredin Prat CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés Dentons Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel Stephenson Harwood Taylor Wessing Watson Farley & Williams Willkie Farr & Gallagher Wragge & Co

Cleary Gottlieb brings in some big-ticket mandates that pitch the firm high up in the market. Valérie Lemaitre is the key partner on financings.... [more]

Cleary Gottlieb brings in some big-ticket mandates that pitch the firm high up in the market. Valérie Lemaitre is the key partner on financings.

Deals
In big ticket mandates, Valérie Lemaitre advised Vivendi on €1.1 billion revolving credit facility arrangement from a syndicate of 16 banks. The facility, secured in January 2012, replaced two credit lines maturing in 2013.

Lemaitre also acted on behalf of Nexans on a €540 million revolving credit facility secured in December 2011 from Banco Santander, Commerzbank, Crédit Agricole, HSBC, SocGen and RBS and advised Barclays Capital, Citigroup Global Markets, Crédit Agricole, HSBC and RBS as lead arrangers and bookrunners on the syndication of and participation in a term and revolving facility to Technip. The facilities totalled €1.1 billion and funded an acquisition by Technip Global Industries and the refinancing of Global Industries’ indebtedness.

Gamal Abouali led another team to act for Egyptian owned Weather Investments II on a $600 million facility from Bank of America, Citibank, Credit Suisse International and Goldman Sachs International as lenders and Citibank as security agent.
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	Allen & Overy Clifford Chance Gide Loyrette Nouel Linklaters
	Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Hogan Lovells Latham & Watkins Orrick Rambaud Martel Shearman & Sterling
	CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre Davis Polk & Wardwell De Pardieu Brocas Maffei Debevoise & Plimpton Jones Day Sullivan & Cromwell White & Case Willkie Farr & Gallagher
	Ashurst JeantetAssociés Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom

	Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Linklaters Shearman & Sterling
	Bredin Prat Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Sullivan & Cromwell
	Allen & Overy Clifford Chance Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier Davis Polk & Wardwell Gide Loyrette Nouel Jones Day
	De Pardieu Brocas Maffei Debevoise & Plimpton Latham & Watkins Orrick Rambaud Martel Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Willkie Farr & Gallagher
	CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés Herbert Smith Freehills JeantetAssociés Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker

	Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Gide Loyrette Nouel Linklaters
	Allen & Overy Clifford Chance
	CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre De Pardieu Brocas Maffei Hogan Lovells Mayer Brown Orrick Rambaud Martel
	Jones Day Latham & Watkins Shearman & Sterling White & Case
	Baker & McKenzie Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Debevoise & Plimpton Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Sullivan & Cromwell Willkie Farr & Gallagher

Cleary has a lot of support for its capital markets practice in both equity and debt. "No firm is better than them," says a competitor, "Andy Bernstein and John Brinitzer are terrific lawyers.... [more]

Cleary has a lot of support for its capital markets practice in both equity and debt. "No firm is better than them," says a competitor, "Andy Bernstein and John Brinitzer are terrific lawyers."

The firm's position can only benefit from current circumstances, with clients looking increasingly to the capital markets, the growth in Yankee bond activity and the attractiveness of the US capital markets to European issuers. The firm has a very strong practice in high-yield bonds and Rule 144 SEC registered issuances, which rivals the dominance of the European firms in the EMTN market.

The firm's reputation is largely built on issuer side work.

Deals
One notable transaction on the equity side saw the firm, led by John Brinitzer, advise long standing client ArcelorMittal on a block sale of shares coupled with warrants. The effect of the coupling was that for every three shares purchased three warrants with staggered maturities were also given, in a convertible security like structure.

The firm also worked on a series of large convertible bonds, advising Nexans on a €275 million offering and bond buy back exercise and assisting the underwriters on the offering by Technip for €450 million.

Cleary won its share of liability management mandates, acting for BNP Paribas and its subsidiary Fortis Bank on the redemption and buyback of certain securities, among them €3 billion of convertible and subordinated hybrid equity-linked securities (CASHES). Another saw the firm advise Crédit Agricole on a buyback of subordinated notes worth €2.1 billion.

The team worked on four to five high yield issuances in the first six months of 2012, acting for the underwriters (Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital and RBS) on the high-yield notes offering by Rexel for €400 million in March 2012, having already advised the underwriters on Rexel's €500 million high-yield offering of May 2012 and assisted Faurecia on its debut €350 million issue.

The firm also advised the underwriters on SEC registered issuances totalling €3 billion by Total Capital International and the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB). Elsewhere, the team helped ArcelorMittal on a registered offering worth €3 billion along with a tender offer and Natixis on the establishment of a US MTN programme for €5 billion.

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	Bredin Prat Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier Linklaters
	Clifford Chance Davis Polk & Wardwell Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Gide Loyrette Nouel Sullivan & Cromwell Weil Gotshal & Manges
	Allen & Overy De Pardieu Brocas Maffei Jones Day Latham & Watkins Orrick Rambaud Martel Shearman & Sterling Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom White & Case Willkie Farr & Gallagher
	Ashurst Debevoise & Plimpton Dentons Hogan Lovells JeantetAssociés Mayer Brown Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker
	August & Debouzy Baker & McKenzie Brandford-Griffith & Associés CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés Franklin Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson Gibson Dunn & Crutcher Herbert Smith Freehills Simmons & Simmons Veil Jourde
	Ayache Salama & Associés Cotty Vivant Marchisio & Lauzeral Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel Lefèvre Pelletier & Associés McDermott Will & Emery Norton Rose Olswang Proskauer Rose SJ Berwin Taylor Wessing

	Latham & Watkins Weil Gotshal & Manges Willkie Farr & Gallagher
	Linklaters Mayer Brown SJ Berwin
	Ashurst Bredin Prat Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Clifford Chance
	Allen & Overy Ayache Salama & Associés Dentons Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Frieh Bouhenic Gide Loyrette Nouel Orrick Rambaud Martel Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker White & Case
	CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier De Pardieu Brocas Maffei Hogan Lovells Jones Day
	August & Debouzy Baker & McKenzie Davis Polk & Wardwell De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés Debevoise & Plimpton Franklin Herbert Smith Freehills Olswang Scotto & Associés Shearman & Sterling

Cleary Gottlieb has a broad spread of deals mainly at the high end of the market: large public M&A, private M&A and large cap LBOs (before the market dried up in late 2011). It also appears on mid-cap private equity deals and recently has been active advising Natixis on a series of divestitures in France and across Europe.... [more]

Cleary Gottlieb has a broad spread of deals mainly at the high end of the market: large public M&A, private M&A and large cap LBOs (before the market dried up in late 2011). It also appears on mid-cap private equity deals and recently has been active advising Natixis on a series of divestitures in France and across Europe.

Pierre-Yves Chabert is the most ubiquitous and well-established front-runner in M&A at the firm, while Jean-Marie Ambrosi was active in the private equity sector especially for a number of client including Natixis. The firm has a bench of 14 partners who can act on M&A transactions, including Amélie Champsaur, who was elected partner in 2012.

Notably, the firm picked up quite a few large mandates in 2011-12 for financial institutions working to raise solvency margins in light of Basel III requirements.

Deals
Among its notable M&A activity, the firm advised BNP Paribas on the sale of its 28.7% stake in Klépierre to Simon Property Group for €1.5 billion. The move was made by the French bank in order to raise its Tier 1 capital.

A second series of transactions saw the firm advise Groupama, which saw itself being pressured to sure up its solvency margin. Groupama sold its stake in Silic to allow for a combination of Silic and Icade, resulting in a real estate company with assets of over €9 billion. The deal also included a subscription of preference shares in Groupama subsidiary GAN Eurocourtage by Caisse des Dépôts worth €300 million.

On the public side, the firm advised EADS and Airbus on the tender offer for Danish aviation company Satair. Meanwhile on the private side the team was engaged by long term client Lafarge to advise on the establishment of a 50:50 joint-venture with Anglo-American for its UK cement business, having also in December 2011 advised Lafarge on the sale of its Asian Gypsum operations for €429 million.

On the private equity front, Chabert led a team for Bridgepoint and Eurazeo in the acquisition of residential real estate company Foncia from BPCE. The LBO closed in July 2011 and is notable for the size of the target, which has nearly 7,000 employees and an enterprise value of over €1 billion.

In May 2011, Jean-Marie Ambrosi advised BC Partners on the sale of a 28.1% stake in Medica. The shares, listed in the Euronext, were sold in two blocks to Batipart and Covéa Group. Ambrosi also advised Natixis on a string of transactions starting in mid-2011 and winding up in March 2012 with the disposal of interests in a number of pan-European LBO funds. The work concludes a divestment by Natixis of almost all of its French portfolios.

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	Allen & Overy Clifford Chance Linklaters
	Gide Loyrette Nouel White & Case
	De Pardieu Brocas Maffei Herbert Smith Freehills Hogan Lovells Willkie Farr & Gallagher
	Ashurst Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Norton Rose Orrick Rambaud Martel
	Baker & McKenzie Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre JeantetAssociés Shearman & Sterling Simmons & Simmons Watson Farley & Williams
	De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés Dentons Eversheds Fasken Martineau Heenan Blackie Mayer Brown

Cleary Gottlieb’s Paris office is especially strong as a base for financings directed towards the African continent, where in 2011-2012 the firm advised borrowers primarily but also closed deals on behalf of international finance institutions (IFIs).

In the market, the firm has strong reputation for its project advisory and expertise where commentators often recommend Barthélemy Faye.... [more]

Cleary Gottlieb’s Paris office is especially strong as a base for financings directed towards the African continent, where in 2011-2012 the firm advised borrowers primarily but also closed deals on behalf of international finance institutions (IFIs).

In the market, the firm has strong reputation for its project advisory and expertise where commentators often recommend Barthélemy Faye. Jean-Pierre Vignaud comes highly recommended for his public-private partnership (PPP) expertise in Africa.

Deals
In one exemplary deal, Jean-Pierre Vignaud and Barthélemy Faye acted for the Gambia River Basin Organisation on a $1 billion public-private partnership (PPP) project for the construction of a hydro-power plant, involving two damns in Senegal and Guinea. The deal includes working with the appointed financiers of the project.

Faye was also assisting an IFI in relation to the financing for an independent power plant (IPP) in Francophone Africa and representing an international mining company in relation to a project in Central Africa.

In another highlight deal, Faye was advising Dangote Cement in two carrying and cement facilities in the Republic of Congo (DRC) and Gabon totalling $600 million. The deals involve due diligence, drawing up project structures and setting framework agreements for operation and construction of facilities.    

Another deal away from Africa had Gamal Abouali working for the Iraq Oil Ministry in relation to the $17 billion Basrah Gas Company joint venture project. Joint-venture agreements with companies such as Shell and Mitsubishi Corporation were signed in November 2011.
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	De Pardieu Brocas Maffei Gide Loyrette Nouel Santoni & Associés in partnership with Allen & Overy Weil Gotshal & Manges Willkie Farr & Gallagher
	Bremond & Associés Linklaters
	Ashurst Bredin Prat Cabinet Bernarde Lagarde Clifford Chance Orrick Rambaud Martel Poulain & Associés Veil Jourde White & Case
	Dentons Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson JeantetAssociés Shearman & Sterling
	Fidal Jones Day Latham & Watkins Théron & Associés UGGC & Associés
	Allen & Overy Altana August & Debouzy Ayache Salama & Associés Baker & McKenzie Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés Fauvet La Giraudiére & Associés Field Fisher Waterhouse Gibson Dunn & Crutcher Herbert Smith Freehills Hogan Lovells Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel Morgan Lewis & Bockius Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker SEH Legal Taylor Wessing Vatier & Associés

Cleary Gottlieb’s broad disciplined team has been involved in some high level cases, not least the restructuring and dismantling of the Dexia Group and Dexia Bank. Amélie Champsaur, who focuses on distressed M&A, was elected a partner in January 2012, while Pierre-Yves Chabert featured highly on cases.... [more]

Cleary Gottlieb’s broad disciplined team has been involved in some high level cases, not least the restructuring and dismantling of the Dexia Group and Dexia Bank. Amélie Champsaur, who focuses on distressed M&A, was elected a partner in January 2012, while Pierre-Yves Chabert featured highly on cases.

Deals
The firm has been very busy in the financial sector, for instance its role advising Dexia on restructuring, distressed M&A, litigation and insolvency.

The Paris team, with Amélie Champsaur, Marie-Laurence Tibi and Pierre Yves-Chabert, was actively involved advising Dexia in its restructuring and dismantling, including the €4 billion sale of Dexia Bank Belgium to the Belgian State, the proposed sale of Dexia Bank BIL, RBC Dexia and Dexia Asset Management.

Chabert also assisted Lafarge in the sale of its Asian, European and South American Gypsum operations in late 2011 for a value totalling €1 billion. 
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	Allen & Overy Clifford Chance Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Hengeler Mueller Linklaters
	Latham & Watkins Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy White & Case
	Ashurst Shearman & Sterling
	Baker & McKenzie Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Gleiss Lutz Hogan Lovells Norton Rose Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom
	Berger Steck & Kollegen Dentons Heymann & Partner Kirkland & Ellis Mayer Brown Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker Weil Gotshal & Manges

	Hengeler Mueller Linklaters
	Clifford Chance Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
	Allen & Overy Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Gleiss Lutz Hogan Lovells Shearman & Sterling White & Case
	Latham & Watkins Mayer Brown
	Berger Steck & Kollegen Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Sullivan & Cromwell

	Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Hengeler Mueller Sullivan & Cromwell
	Allen & Overy Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Linklaters
	Clifford Chance Shearman & Sterling White & Case
	Gleiss Lutz Hogan Lovells Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom
	Baker & McKenzie Latham & Watkins
	Dentons Mayer Brown

Cleary is the strongest of the tier two firms, according to clients and peers, and on the brink of joining the top tier. "They are a great team; very hard working.... [more]

Cleary is the strongest of the tier two firms, according to clients and peers, and on the brink of joining the top tier. "They are a great team; very hard working. Very good if you have difficult due diligence cases – they really drill down until you're satisfied. They have very strong standards of integrity and they try to do things by the rule book," notes one peer while adding the caveat that: "If you have them on the other side they tend to be a bit aggressive, which is sometimes fine and sometimes unnecessary."

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	Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Hengeler Mueller
	Clifford Chance Gleiss Lutz Linklaters
	Allen & Overy Baker & McKenzie Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Hogan Lovells Latham & Watkins Shearman & Sterling Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Sullivan & Cromwell White & Case
	Ashurst CMS Hasche Sigle Kirkland & Ellis Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy Noerr Weil Gotshal & Manges
	Berger Steck & Kollegen Dentons Heymann & Partner Luther Mayer Brown McDermott Will & Emery Oppenhoff & Partner P+P Pöllath + Partners Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker RAUE SZA Schilling Zutt & Anschütz

Cleary's M&A practice is focussed on the quality as opposed to the volume of deals, say rivals. "They don't have many transactions but what they have is good – they always come back with a significant transaction," remarks one M&A practice head.... [more]

Cleary's M&A practice is focussed on the quality as opposed to the volume of deals, say rivals. "They don't have many transactions but what they have is good – they always come back with a significant transaction," remarks one M&A practice head. While the firm is involved in several high end deals, it also secured roles on a number of midcap deals.

Deals
The firm has been involved in two headline transactions in the last 12 months. On the buy side, Klaus Riehmer and Oliver Schröder headed a team representing Helaba, Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen, on the acquisition of West LB's core business. Currently, one of the largest transactions in the banking sector, it includes the acquisition of assets and liabilities with a balance-sheet value of €40 billion.

On the sell side, Schröder worked with the firm's Milan office acting for Eni in the sale of its stake in the TENP gas pipeline and the Transitgas pipeline to Fluxys G in September 2011 for €791 million and €60 million respectively.

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	Chiomenti Clifford Chance Legance Linklaters
	Allen & Overy Bonelli Erede Pappalardo Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
	Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli & Partners Latham & Watkins
	Ashurst Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton DLA Piper Giliberti Pappalettera Triscornia e Associati NCTM
	Grimaldi Macchi di Cellere Gangemi Pavia e Ansaldo Pedersoli e Associati Riolo Calderaro Crisostomo Simmons & Simmons Ughi e Nunziante
	Baker & McKenzie Carnelutti Delfino e Associati – Willkie Farr & Gallagher Hogan Lovells Tonucci & Partners White & Case
	Gallavotti Honorati de Marco & Partners Lombardi Molinari e Associati Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker Studio Legale Sutti

US firm Cleary has three partners and 10 lawyers who handle banking work in Italy across offices in Rome and Milan. Major clients of the practice include RBS and Fiat.... [more]

US firm Cleary has three partners and 10 lawyers who handle banking work in Italy across offices in Rome and Milan. Major clients of the practice include RBS and Fiat.

Deals
In 2011 Fiat was among the firm's more active clients mandating Pietro Fioruzzi on three transactions. One deal saw him act as local counsel when the car manufacturer when negotiating a €500 million facility for its Serbian subsidiary Fiat Automobili Srbija Doo with the EIB.

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	Bonelli Erede Pappalardo Chiomenti Clifford Chance Linklaters
	Allen & Overy Latham & Watkins
	Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton d'Urso Gatti e Bianchi Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli & Partners Grimaldi Labruna Mazziotti Segni Legance Riolo Calderaro Crisostomo Shearman & Sterling
	Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Macchi di Cellere Gangemi Norton Rose Pedersoli e Associati Simmons & Simmons Studio Legale Beltramo
	Ashurst Giliberti Pappalettera Triscornia e Associati Grande Stevens NCTM Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe White & Case
	Hogan Lovells Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker Tonucci & Partners

In Italy Cleary is known for its strength in equity capital markets work particularly IPOs, but with the dearth in this type peers say the firm has been less present than usual. While the firm's recent portfolio of capital markets work lacks equity transactions, it is still well regarded in this area and has retained its headcount.... [more]

In Italy Cleary is known for its strength in equity capital markets work particularly IPOs, but with the dearth in this type peers say the firm has been less present than usual. While the firm's recent portfolio of capital markets work lacks equity transactions, it is still well regarded in this area and has retained its headcount. While the firm has had a quiet 12 months it secured some notable debt work for Fiat in the first half of 2011.

Deals
The firm advised Fiat on a trio of transactions in 2011. Most recently, it acted as council to the car manufacturer's finance department on its dual tranche €1.5 billion notes offering under Fiat's €15 billion Reg S/Rule144A global medium term note programme in July 2011.

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	Bonelli Erede Pappalardo Chiomenti Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli & Partners
	Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
	Clifford Chance d'Urso Gatti e Bianchi Giliberti Pappalettera Triscornia e Associati Labruna Mazziotti Segni Legance NCTM Pedersoli e Associati
	Delfino e Associati – Willkie Farr & Gallagher Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Grande Stevens Grimaldi Latham & Watkins Linklaters Lombardi Molinari e Associati Pavia e Ansaldo Simmons & Simmons
	Allen & Overy Ashurst Carnelutti De Berti Jacchia DLA Piper Hogan Lovells Montanari Brescia Miccoli e Associati Pirola Pennuto Zei & Associati Ughi e Nunziante
	Macchi di Cellere Gangemi Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker Tonucci & Partners
	McDermott Will & Emery Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe Studio Legale Sutti White & Case

Clearly's Italian arm is focused on corporate work and to an extent this tactic has paid off for its M&A practice. "In terms of quality of the work they are very good, but they are not the same level as the other firms in tier two in terms of size and diversified practices," says one peer.... [more]

Clearly's Italian arm is focused on corporate work and to an extent this tactic has paid off for its M&A practice. "In terms of quality of the work they are very good, but they are not the same level as the other firms in tier two in terms of size and diversified practices," says one peer. Essentially what lawyers see is keeping the firm from joining the upper echelon is that it doesn't have a "distinct separation in terms of people and practices".

Deals
The firm has been involved in several large transactions in the energy sector. Most recently, practice head Roberto Casati and Roberto Bonsignore represented A2A in the €700 million sale of its co-controlling stake in Edison to EDF and in the €800 million acquisition of a controlling stake in Edipower from Edison and Alpiq. Additionally, a cross border deal saw Bonsignore work with the firm's German practice to act for ENI in the sale of its stakes in both German and Austrian gas pipelines to Italian state backed company Cassa Depositi e Prestiti.

On the private equity side, the firm acted as counsel to funds Investindustrial and Alpha in the €600 million sale of Cima Claddings' subsidiary Permasteelisa to JS Group. A further matter saw it represent Bavaria, a portfolio company of Oaktree and Anchorage, in the acquisition of Cantiere del Pardo, the manufacturer of Grand Soleil and Dufour yachts, which was sold as part of the business's restructuring.

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	Bonelli Erede Pappalardo Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli & Partners
	Ashurst Chiomenti Clifford Chance Legance Norton Rose
	Allen & Overy DLA Piper Grimaldi Linklaters Lombardi Molinari e Associati Macchi di Cellere Gangemi NCTM
	Baker & McKenzie Carnelutti Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Giliberti Pappalettera Triscornia e Associati Lexjus Sinacta Macchi di Cellere Gangemi Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker Pedersoli e Associati Simmons & Simmons Studio Legale Sutti Ughi e Nunziante
	Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe Tonucci & Partners

	Bonelli Erede Pappalardo
	Chiomenti Clifford Chance Linklaters Lombardi Molinari e Associati
	Allen & Overy Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Gianni Origoni Grippo Cappelli & Partners Latham & Watkins Legance NCTM Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker Pedersoli e Associati Simmons & Simmons
	Carnelutti Giliberti Pappalettera Triscornia e Associati Gramellini Leonelli Perugini Macchi di Cellere Gangemi Pirola Pennuto Zei & Associati Riolo Calderaro Crisostomo Tonucci & Partners Ughi e Nunziante
	Baker & McKenzie CMS Adonnino Ascoli & Cavasola Scamoni De Berti Jacchia DLA Piper Studio Legale Sutti
	Ashurst Hogan Lovells Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe Pavia e Ansaldo White & Case

Cleary's Italian debt restructuring practice comprises 17 lawyers including four partners. Some of its major recent clients include The Hellenic Republic, Ferretti Holding, RBS, Oaktree and Anchorage.... [more]

Cleary's Italian debt restructuring practice comprises 17 lawyers including four partners. Some of its major recent clients include The Hellenic Republic, Ferretti Holding, RBS, Oaktree and Anchorage.

Deals
The firm has been advising the Greek government since its July 2011 bailout. The Rome and Milan offices are working with the firm's other branches across the globe to represent its client on a bond exchange and debt buyback, which forms a key part of the country's €130 billion bailout.

Domestically, two of the firm's recent major cases include Roberto Bonsignore and Pietro Fioruzzi advice to the senior bondholders on the restructuring of Seat Pagine Gialle and Roberto Casati and Bonsignore's role as counsel to the equity investors in negotiations relating to the restructuring of Ferretti.

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	Clifford Chance Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Linklaters Slaughter and May
	Allen & Overy Herbert Smith Freehills
	Ashurst Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom White & Case
	Baker & McKenzie CMS Cameron McKenna Dentons Hogan Lovells Latham & Watkins Macfarlanes Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy Shearman & Sterling Travers Smith
	Burges Salmon Field Fisher Waterhouse Mayer Brown Morrison & Foerster

	Clifford Chance Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Kirkland & Ellis Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
	Ashurst Latham & Watkins Linklaters Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Weil Gotshal & Manges
	Allen & Overy Baker & McKenzie Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Macfarlanes Ropes & Gray Shearman & Sterling Travers Smith White & Case
	Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson Greenberg Traurig Maher

	Allen & Overy Clifford Chance Linklaters
	Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer White & Case
	Herbert Smith Freehills Shearman & Sterling Sidley Austin Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Slaughter and May
	Ashurst Baker & McKenzie Bingham McCutchen Cravath Swaine & Moore Davis Polk & Wardwell Latham & Watkins Morrison & Foerster Norton Rose Simmons & Simmons
	Debevoise & Plimpton Field Fisher Waterhouse Greenberg Traurig Maher Kaye Scholer Kirkland & Ellis Mayer Brown Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Sullivan & Cromwell Weil Gotshal & Manges

The Cleary team in London may not be the largest but the firm has a habit of appearing on some of the market's largest and most bespoke transactions. Neither the firm or its competitors would claim that it has the scope of the magic circle firms in London, but its talented team of individuals including David Gottlieb, Sebastian Sperber and Raj Panasar are some of the most highly regarded practitioners in the City.... [more]

The Cleary team in London may not be the largest but the firm has a habit of appearing on some of the market's largest and most bespoke transactions. Neither the firm or its competitors would claim that it has the scope of the magic circle firms in London, but its talented team of individuals including David Gottlieb, Sebastian Sperber and Raj Panasar are some of the most highly regarded practitioners in the City.

Alongside its obvious strength in US linked work like Rule 144A/Reg S issues, the team can also point to an extremely strong Russian practice.

Deals
Highlighting the strength of its Russian practice, in April 2012 David Gottlieb advised the Russian Federation on three separate bond offerings with a total value of $7 billion. All three were issued under Rule 144A/Reg S and were admitted for trading on the LSE.

Elsewhere Raj Panasar acted for the joint bookrunners Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Standard Chartered and UBS on the $600 million Reg S offering of 2% exchangeable bonds by the San Miguel Corporation.

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	Clifford Chance Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Linklaters
	Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Slaughter and May
	Allen & Overy Ashurst Herbert Smith Freehills
	Latham & Watkins Shearman & Sterling Sullivan & Cromwell White & Case
	Baker & McKenzie Davis Polk & Wardwell Hogan Lovells Macfarlanes Norton Rose Simmons & Simmons Travers Smith Weil Gotshal & Manges
	Cravath Swaine & Moore Debevoise & Plimpton Greenberg Traurig Maher Kaye Scholer Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison

Cleary's London partners tend to work in both the equity and debt fields and are accomplished in both. The firm's team overall is compact but a good choice for US or Russian linked work due to its strength in both its home base and in Moscow.... [more]

Cleary's London partners tend to work in both the equity and debt fields and are accomplished in both. The firm's team overall is compact but a good choice for US or Russian linked work due to its strength in both its home base and in Moscow.

Deals
In recent years the firm has reinforced its strength in advising on Russian listings to the LSE with examples including Raj Panasar's work for the Etalon Group on its $575 million IPO and David Gottlieb's work for the underwriters on the IPO of Ros Agro.

Elsewhere Sebastian Sperber acted on the postponed IPO of materials technology company Luxfer Holdings

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	Latham & Watkins
	Cahill Gordon & Reindel Cravath Swaine & Moore Shearman & Sterling Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
	Allen & Overy Clifford Chance Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Kirkland & Ellis Linklaters Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy Ropes & Gray White & Case
	Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Davis Polk & Wardwell Sidley Austin Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Sullivan & Cromwell Weil Gotshal & Manges

Pierre-Marie Boury is Cleary's most active partner in high-yield. The department generally plays a supporting role to the wider finance and debt departments.... [more]

Pierre-Marie Boury is Cleary's most active partner in high-yield. The department generally plays a supporting role to the wider finance and debt departments.

Deals
Pierre-Marie Boury was the most active partner last year with work including acting for Faurecia on a €350 million offering of high-yield notes. The same partner also worked alongside David Billington on both a $405 million offering by Consolidate Minerals and as counsel to the underwriters including Citigroup and Goldman Sachs on an offering by Tinkoff Credit Systems.

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	Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Linklaters Slaughter and May
	Allen & Overy Clifford Chance Herbert Smith Freehills Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Sullivan & Cromwell
	Ashurst Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Macfarlanes Shearman & Sterling Weil Gotshal & Manges
	Hogan Lovells Latham & Watkins Mayer Brown Norton Rose Simmons & Simmons Travers Smith White & Case
	Baker & McKenzie CMS Cameron McKenna DLA Piper Greenberg Traurig Maher Jones Day Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison Sidley Austin
	Baker Botts Berwin Leighton Paisner Bingham McCutchen Burges Salmon Cravath Swaine & Moore Debevoise & Plimpton Field Fisher Waterhouse Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson McDermott Will & Emery Morrison & Foerster Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker Watson Farley & Williams

Cleary's London team, though not the broadest, has great strength in key areas. Russia and Central Asia have always been a key focus but the team is also picking up mandates in Turkey.... [more]

Cleary's London team, though not the broadest, has great strength in key areas. Russia and Central Asia have always been a key focus but the team is also picking up mandates in Turkey.

Deals
One highlight saw Michael McDonald assisted biotechnology company Amgen on an agreement with Mustafa Nevzat Pharmaceutical to acquire 95.6% of Turkish company MN for $700 million. Staying on the buy side, McDonald also assisted Stanley Black & Decker on a $1.2 billion offer to acquire all the shares in the Niscayah Group.

Elsewhere Simon Jay acted for Sony on its acquisition of a 50% stake in Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications for €1.05 billion, while Sam Bagot assisted Kazakhtelecom on the sale of its interest in Kcell to the TeliaSonera group for $1.52 billion.

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	Clifford Chance Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
	Kirkland & Ellis Linklaters Weil Gotshal & Manges
	Ashurst Dickson Minto Hogan Lovells Macfarlanes Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Travers Smith
	Allen & Overy Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Latham & Watkins Ropes & Gray Slaughter and May
	CMS Cameron McKenna Debevoise & Plimpton DLA Piper Herbert Smith Freehills Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy SJ Berwin Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Taylor Wessing White & Case
	Burges Salmon Kaye Scholer Mayer Brown

Cleary's practice is built around its links to a few key clients like TPG. The firm's key partner in this area work across both the M&A and private equity fields and are led by Simon Jay.... [more]

Cleary's practice is built around its links to a few key clients like TPG. The firm's key partner in this area work across both the M&A and private equity fields and are led by Simon Jay.

Deals
Turkey is a source of great interest for many firms and last year Simon Jay and Sam Bagot acted for TPG on the £1.3 billion sale of its shareholding in Mey Icki Sanayi ve Ticaret to Diageo. Jay also led as Hellman & Friedman as the sellers in a £335.3 million bid for the Gartmore Group by the Henderson Group.

Elsewhere Tihir Sarkar advised Renaissance Partners in regard to the acquisition of land interest outside the port city of Takoradi in Ghana

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	Allen & Overy Clifford Chance Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Linklaters
	Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Herbert Smith Freehills Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Slaughter and May Weil Gotshal & Manges White & Case
	Ashurst Baker & McKenzie Dentons Hogan Lovells Macfarlanes Norton Rose Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker Simmons & Simmons Travers Smith

Andrew Shutter and David Billington are the key figures in Cleary's restructuring team with the latter promoted to the partnership in January 2012. The firm is involved in a number of substantial mandates globally and on the debt side none more so than advising the Greek Govenrment on its debt restructuring consisting of a bond exchange and debt buyback.... [more]

Andrew Shutter and David Billington are the key figures in Cleary's restructuring team with the latter promoted to the partnership in January 2012.

The firm is involved in a number of substantial mandates globally and on the debt side none more so than advising the Greek Govenrment on its debt restructuring consisting of a bond exchange and debt buyback. Andrew Shutter led the London team on the deal, which drew in Cleary lawyers from around Europe.

Elsewhere it was Billington taking the lead acting for Truvo, the European business directory on its restructuring via way of US Chapter 11. The team started out advising the management team but eventually took on the main €1.5 billion mandate.

The firm is also still advising Nortel Networks on its Chapter 11 proceedings.

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