McDermott Will & Schulte, a global law firm

India has become a global hub for transactional activity and innovation, making it a vital business center for stakeholders around the world. To help you navigate the India market landscape to achieve your business goals, we draw on our long history of delivering strategic solutions to Indian companies and high-net-worth individuals, along with international companies, private equity firms and financial institutions doing business in India.

Our highly skilled, cross-practice team combines global experience and knowledge of Indian markets to provide you with relevant insights that propel your success.

As a global law firm with deep local connections and experience, we are well positioned to serve as international counsel on your most complex cross-border transactions, investments, and compliance and disputes matters involving India. Our team’s broad understanding and knowledge, with particular insights in the areas of healthcare and pharmaceuticals, energy and natural resources, automotive and logistics, infrastructure, technology and data, and financial services, gives you a strategic edge as you make assessments and plan next steps. You also benefit from our decades-long history of acting on significant matters, helping clients mitigate risk and navigate the complex regulatory environment for projects in India. We regularly work with companies to review local partners, conduct thorough commercial due diligence and evaluate market conditions, all while engaging effectively and sensitively with local cultural and business norms.

As an international law firm, we do not practice Indian law, but we partner with and rely on longstanding relationships with trusted, market-leading law firms in India to deliver the best local legal advice for your needs.

Commercial contracts & Outsourcing

As one of the recognized leading destinations for outsourcing transactions across a wide range of sectors, India is essential to your company’s success.

To help you accomplish your objectives, our global team delivers effective, full-service solutions to your most complex technology, IT and business process outsourcing transactions. We are adept at handling transactions involving technology development, hardware and software implementations, licensing, cloud computing and software as a service (SaaS) arrangements, technology maintenance and services, technology development/customization, wireless infrastructure, strategic alliances, e-commerce, strategic sourcing, and data security and privacy.

Data privacy & cybersecurity

In an increasingly virtual world, protecting your company’s data and your customers’ privacy is more vital and complex than ever. Our top-ranked team is equipped to help you navigate the myriad—and constantly evolving—statutory, regulatory and enforcement regimes that govern the collection, use and disclosure of data in India and Asia, the United States and across Europe.

Our lawyers provide sophisticated privacy advice to domestic and multinational companies and vendors on a wide spectrum of data protection matters, including global privacy policies, data transfer mechanisms, Privacy Shield assessments, notifications to in-country data protection authorities, compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), reviews of new data laws and other compliance steps.

Dispute resolution

We recognize that dispute resolution requires strategies not only for winning at trial, but for reducing risk and managing uncertainty along the way. To that end, we make it a priority to explain the strategies available to you, outline the potential costs of pursing those strategies and clarify the key distinctions between short-term victory and long-term success.

Our team includes well-known trial lawyers and litigators with skill and familiarity in handling the issues you face, such as international arbitration, consumer class actions, international trade disputes and product liability claims. With clients and experience in most industries, we have earned a particularly strong reputation for helping major multinational clients win big-ticket cases. We can also draw on our extensive experience in white-collar and regulatory matters to help you defend and navigate complex cross-border disputes that involve both commercial and regulatory threats.

To protect your interests, our lawyers resolve international commercial disputes under all major international arbitration institutions and rules.

Employment

Our global team provides creative, tailored solutions to tackle any employment challenge, partnering with you to identify and address the potential legal implications of workplace issues, provide cutting-edge counsel in the context of transactions and defend you in litigation. We advise on the full range of day-to-day employment issues, including employment contracts, termination packages and procedures, business reorganizations, international secondment arrangements, redundancy programs, workforce disputes, disciplinary and grievance procedures, discrimination and harassment issues, protection of trade secrets, and the enforcement of non-competes and other restrictive covenants.

We also provide pragmatic industrial relations advice, whether in relation to trade unions, employee works councils, or other representative and regulatory bodies.

Energy & infrastructure

To help you manage legal, reputational and political risks and seize opportunities in a constantly changing industry, our team tracks trends and provides forward-thinking counsel for India and other markets.

We align our seasoned lawyers’ skills with your needs, drawing on experience representing a broad range of clients in complex inbound and outbound India transactions that span power, renewables, oil and gas, LNG, metals, mining and commodities, and social and economic infrastructure across the value chain. We have been involved in many of the largest and most significant transactions in the industry. Our integrated multidisciplinary approach to every aspect of a deal, including project development and financing, M&A and joint ventures, commodities and trading, regulatory, environmental, real estate and tax, allows us to work efficiently and effectively on your behalf to exceed expectations.

Finance

Whether you are an individual or a business leader operating or intending to operate in India, our finance team is equipped to provide you with tailored, practical counsel. We have experience advising banks, financial institutions, venture capitalists, private equity funds and their portfolio companies, hedge funds, corporate borrowers and issuers, multinational corporations, industrial groups and other sophisticated capital providers. We also regularly act for corporate trustees, facility agents, security agents and custodians in relation to complex structured finance and banking transactions.

Banking & real estate finance

Having advised on some of the largest syndicated loan transactions in India, our team is well prepared to counsel you on external commercial borrowing transactions from the bank or borrower side. We also work on a variety of financings, including secured and unsecured lending, leveraged buyouts, domestic and cross-border syndicated senior, second lien and mezzanine lending, distressed debt trading, trade finance, structured export-credit financing and acquisition financing.

Our real estate team can provide you with comprehensive service on real estate acquisition, operation, leasing, financing and development. The team covers the full range of real estate mandates, from the structuring of large, complex acquisitions to development and ultimate disposition. Our lawyers advise a diverse group of clients, including developers, lenders, operators and private owners, and we frequently represent landlords and tenants in all aspects of office, commercial and retail industrial leasing transactions.

Structured finance

Through our extensive work with a range of financial institutions and corporations, we have developed a deep understanding of the finance industry and skills we deploy to help fuel your success. We advise on capital markets transactions, including complex structure finance solutions, medium term note issues, fixed rate note issues, high yield issues, equity offerings, debentures, foreign currency convertible bonds, external commercial borrowings and global depository receipts. In addition, we have a wealth of experience in advising on restructurings, workouts and bond defaults. We are one of the leading teams for sustainable finance targeting environmental and social interventions.

Health & life sciences

As you pursue innovative partnerships and transactions in a rapidly evolving health and life sciences industry, you can turn to our top-ranked health and life sciences lawyers for strategic legal, business and regulatory advice.

Our clients include leading hospitals and health systems; medical and provider groups; health private equity funds and their management companies; insurers; health technology companies; medical device, pharmaceutical and medical supply manufacturers and distributors; and life sciences companies at every stage of development. We are trusted, knowledgeable and innovative advisors committed to engaging with all types of healthcare organizations.

Intellectual property

When it comes to your business, your intellectual property should help drive growth. These days, however, a return on your IP investment is hardly guaranteed. Product lifecycles are short, competition is fierce, and reputations can be won or lost at the push of a social media button. An increasingly complex web of international laws and regulations, judicial decisions and new legislation also pose a constant challenge.

Whether you’re building the next iconic brand, protecting game-changing new technology or creating new revenue streams from your established IP assets, our team can help you achieve your business goals at every stage of the IP lifecycle—in India and around the world . Beyond our legal skill, our business-first perspective uniquely equips us to support all aspects of your company’s growth. From global trademark registration to enforcement and everything in between, including global portfolio management, licensing of brand assets, due diligence in transactions and litigation, we are deeply invested in your success.

Private client

We partner with you, as either a closely held business owner or a high-net-worth individual, to deliver creative, customized solutions that meet your most sensitive and pressing needs. Our first priority is to earn your trust, providing nuanced, multidimensional advice that will guide you through critical decisions in achieving your personal, business, tax, civic, and charitable goals.

We serve Indian and international business owners, executives, families, family offices, fiduciaries, private trust companies, public charities, private charities, closely held businesses, private equity fund partners, investment managers, and publicly traded family-controlled companies. On behalf of our clients’ diverse
interests, we marshal and deploy the full resources of our global firm to develop and implement effective financial, business and legal strategies.

Private equity

For your global investment needs as a private equity firm, we are at your side through the complete lifecycle of an investment, from initial acquisition to eventual sale. We counsel sponsors and management teams on all aspects of private equity transactional activity, from buyouts that create new platforms to recapitalizations, investments for growth, non-control and minority positions and distressed acquisitions.

We use our extensive international footprint to advise on deals in established business centers and emerging markets across the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, including India. Our full-service teams include market-leading lawyers in the areas of leveraged finance, high-yield bonds, tax and employment, among other practice areas. We have deep cross-sector experience, with particular strength in energy, consumer goods, technology, industrials, life sciences and healthcare.

Tax

To ensure that our tax planning advice aligns with your commercial goals and enhances your return on investment, we work closely with you to understand your priorities and deliver innovative advice quickly and effectively. Partnering with our full-service global team, including a network of trusted advisors in locations where we do not have a local office, equips you to handle strategic international tax planning, covering all direct and indirect taxes. Our lawyers have extensive experience handling sophisticated international and domestic transactions, and we provide India-focused tax advice in relation to offerings of technology, digital goods and services in India; sporting and entertainment events; and, restructurings of Indian companies.

With a global footprint, an established on-the-ground presence in Israel and strong relationships with local law firms, our team is well-positioned to represent Israeli companies of all sizes, along with investors looking to acquire or invest in Israeli companies. For years, we have ranked number one in volume of capital markets transactions in Israel, and you can rely on our experience and respected reputation for both inbound and outbound work in capital markets and securities, as well as M&A. We also collaborate with top-ranked colleagues across practices and offices worldwide—including our world-class healthcare practice, as the only law firm to be ranked #1 in healthcare by all the leading industry rankings—to handle any of your most pressing legal needs.

When you hire us, you gain access to a full-service global network of skilled lawyers spanning corporate and M&A, tax, healthcare and life sciences, private equity, litigation, employment and beyond. Many of our lawyers are native Hebrew speakers, and because we do not practice Israeli law, we have developed trusted, longstanding partnerships with local law firms. Our ability to navigate the local language and culture, along with Delaware law and complex securities laws both internationally and in the United States, gives you an edge in securing financing, completing transactions in and outside of Israel, establishing your company’s presence overseas and achieving your other business objectives.

We take a sophisticated and efficient approach to transactions and other matters across a variety of industries, drawing on our long history of counseling Israeli public companies and investment banks in IPOs, follow-on public offering transactions and other corporate and commercial matters. We also help foreign investors, family offices and private equity funds identify and capitalize on opportunities in the region. Above all, we are responsive, attentive and committed to providing outstanding client service.

Latin America is a region rich in complexity: Each country is distinguished by its own mix of industries, political and legal systems, natural resources, and economic and social forces. Drawing on our experience in every country in the region, we can help you identify and address rapidly changing legal and market developments, take swift, comprehensive action to protect your investments and optimize your long-term market position.

Members of our Latin America Practice bring decades of experience counseling multinational corporations, private equity funds, financial service firms and high-net-worth individuals. With your most important domestic and cross-border business and investment objectives in mind, we keep a close eye on legal, regulatory and business developments across the hemisphere, including those resulting from the recent global economic downturn. Our ongoing analysis of situations on the ground provide you with critical insights and creative solutions for navigating tax regimes, trade policies, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement, privacy and data security concerns, private equity and venture capital opportunities, employment issues and more.

We tap diverse perspectives across our practices and offices to bring you a multinational perspective on each opportunity and challenge, ensuring that no nuances get lost in translation. Our team is fluent in the region’s languages, laws, politics and customs, ―and includes numerous native Spanish and Portuguese speakers. One of the co-leads of our Latin America Practice is admitted to practice in Mexico, and several of our partners are certified translators in both Spanish and Portuguese. With a significant portion of our team based in Miami, our group is located across the United States and in Europe, including in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Paris and Washington, DC.

From real estate to manufacturing, technology to retail, and aviation to gaming, we are highly attuned to industry-specific concerns―with the ability to handle all aspects of inbound and outbound investments. Because of the varied experience of our group, we’re able to provide broad-ranging guidance, including with respect to international corporate tax planning, cross-border transactions and related regulatory hurdles, international estate planning, foreign trust administration, corporate governance, bankruptcies and restructurings, debt and equity financings, securities regulation, labor and employment issues, business immigration issues and pre-immigration planning for individuals, data privacy concerns, and dispute resolution.

Members of our Latin America practice have been ranked in many of the top global legal and industry guides, including Latin Lawyer, Latinvex, Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA, Chambers High Net Worth, The Legal 500 and Daily Business Review, among other publications.

Au cours des dix dernières années, le continent a connu une croissance sans précédent, Selon le classement mondial de la Banque Mondiale, six des dix économies à la croissance la plus rapide se trouvent en Afrique. Pour autant, chaque pays africain allie des forces géopolitiques, ressources et systèmes culturels, économiques et juridiques propres dressant un portrait singulier. Les entreprises et investisseurs souhaitant s’y implanter et développer, voire s’étendre au-delà de leurs frontières, doivent bénéficier des conseils juridiques de professionnels disposant d’une vision suffisamment large, d’une expertise pointue et d’une expérience transnationale. McDermott Will & Schulte dans ses bureaux, notamment à Londres, Paris et aux Etats-Unis, dispose d’une équipe intégrée qui répond à cette demande et qui a une couverture géographique comprenant le continent dans sa globalité.

L’expérience sectorielle de McDermott s’étend aux principaux domaines de l’activité économique comprenant les infrastructures internationales, les ressources naturelles, les énergies renouvelables, le gaz et le pétrole, l’eau et énergie, les mines, le transport, les télécommunications/TIC, l’agro-industrie, les banques ainsi que le financement de projets accompagnant ces activités. Nous intervenons tant en droit civil qu’en common law.

La grande diversité de notre expérience nous permet de proposer à nos clients des conseils dans le domaine du droit privé aussi bien que du droit public, notamment en raison de l’assistance apportée à divers Etats dans des projets de réformes sectorielles réalisés dans le cadre de financements consentis par les institutions internationales.

L’expérience et le savoir-faire de notre bureau parisien repose sur une pratique historique du continent ayant plus de quarante ans d’existence qui a eu l’occasion d’assister les Etats dans la définition de leur cadre juridique et de jouer un rôle dans le développement de secteurs tels que les hydrocarbures, l’énergie, les mines les télécoms, et les entreprises publiques. La promulgation des premières lois de privatisations (Togo, Sénégal), la réforme des entreprises publiques et l’ouverture de leur capital (RDC, Togo), la détention par une société étrangère de la majorité du capital d’une société minière (Mali) et l’élaboration des premières conventions minières types et de la transformation des concessions d’électricité (Guinée et Niger), la mise en place du premier réseau cellulaire « Telecel » en Afrique (RDC) et la modification des législations pour ouvrir le monopole du fixe au cellulaire et pour l’introduction des « TICs » (RDC, Tchad, Madagascar), sont des exemples de l’implication de nos avocats dans la construction du cadre juridique de divers pays d’Afrique.

Plus particulièrement notre expertise comprend :

Projets Energie, Resources Naturelles

Nos avocats sont intervenus dans la négociation de contrats de partage de production, de contrats d’association et autres contrats pétroliers et gaziers entre plus d’une quinzaine d’Etats africains et les « majors » indépendants , ont assisté plusieurs Etats pour la révision de leurs codes pétrolier, pour la mise en place du joint-venture entre la Sonatrach et Sonelgas, pour l’approvisionnement d’électricité vers l’Europe, la fourniture de conseils à un membre du consortium Medgaz pour la construction du gazoduc entre l’Algérie et l’Espagne, l’assistance pour la restructuration de l’industrie pétrolière en aval de la République du Congo et pour la construction de la ligne continue à haute transmission de 1800 kms « Inga Shaba ». Notre équipe conseille les promoteurs privés dans le développement, la construction et le financement de centrales électriques dans toute l’Afrique. Nos avocats interviennent de façon régulière dans le cadre de projets liés aux énergies renouvelables, tels que les projets solaires, ce dans de nombreux pays d’Afrique (Burkina Faso, Mali, Angola, etc.).

L’expérience de McDermott dans l’industrie minière et des métaux s’étend à l’exploration et l’exploitation minière, le traitement et la conversion des minerais, ainsi qu’à la réalisation des produits finis. Notre équipe a conseillé diverses entreprises du secteur en matière de fusions et acquisitions, dans la création de partenariats et de coentreprises d’exploration, l’interprétation des codes et des règlements miniers, l’obtention de permis d’exploitation minière, la négociation de conventions minières, de conventions d’établissement ainsi que des régimes préférentiels et de stabilisation, le financement et les arrangements contractuels nécessaires à l’exploration et à la production. A titre d’illustrations, nos avocats ont élaboré et négocié des conventions minières pour le compte d’investisseurs dans plus d’une douzaine de pays et dans le cadre de projets phares tels que Mifergui Nimba, Simandou (Guinée), Dikulushi, Tenke Fungurume, Kilo Moto (RDC), Syama (Mali); ils ont élaboré le Code Minier du Burundi et ont participé au processus de privatisation de la mine aurifère de Kalana (Mali). Nos avocats sont intervenus dans la renégociation de l’ensemble de conventions de bauxite (Guinée), l’examen et la réalisation d’un diagnostic des conventions minières existantes et l’établissement d’un rapport en vue de leur renégociation pour le compte du Ministère des Mines du Togo.

Projets Telecoms

Dès 1986, l’année du lancement de Telecel en RDC, nous avons joué un grand rôle dans le développement des Télécoms en Afrique. Notre activité a consisté, en partie, à conseiller les Etats pour la mise en harmonie de leur législation afin de permettre l’attribution de fréquences hertziennes, et à préparer le lancements d’appels à la concurrence pour l’attribution des licences. Nous avons conseillé les opérateurs privés pour l’obtention de licences cellulaires dans plus de 16 pays africains. Dans le cadre de projets financés par les institutions internationales, nous avons réalisé la scission des Postes et Télécoms du Tchad, conseillé le Ministère des PTT pour la révision de la loi Télécoms, procédé avec l’opérateur national OMERT à la modification de la loi et du cadre réglementaire malgache en vue d’assurer l’accès aux TIC. Nous avons été les conseils pour la privatisation de l’Onatel (Burkina Faso) Gabon Télécoms, Sotelma (Mali) et Benin Télécoms. Nous avons assisté les opérateurs privés pour la mise en opération et l’extension de leurs réseaux et l’obtention de financements pour leurs infrastructures. Nous avons conseillé l’Etat pour l’attribution de la troisième licence GSM en Algérie, Guinée et Togo.

Transport

Notre expérience couvre de nombreux secteurs, tels que l’aviation et le transport ferroviaire. Notre équipe conseille sur l’octroi de droits de trafic aérien, de licences d’exploitation, d’accords bilatéraux et régionaux. Nous conseillons les transporteurs privés en lien avec leurs opérations de fret, les affrètements et les négociations avec les autorités étatiques. Nous avons également conseillé des compagnies aériennes nationales, notamment en RDC et au Nigéria, sur leurs opérations quotidiennes ainsi que sur leurs investissements à long terme. Nous avons conseillé le gouvernement de la RDC dans la mise en place d’une structure de privatisation pour la gestion de la compagnie aérienne nationale et la participation à des projets de développement, la gestion de la compagnie aérienne nationale et la participation aux négociations avec la FAA, et dans l’établissement et la mise en œuvre des règlements de sécurité applicables aux aéroports civils nationaux et au trafic aérien national. En RDC et au Sénégal, nous avons conseillé les gouvernements dans la négociation d’accords de gestion des aéroports. Récemment, dans le cadre du Programme Multi-Modal de la Banque Mondiale, nous avons conseillé le Ministère des Transports de RDC et la SNCC pour l’élaboration du plan de gestion de la SNCC et l’achat de 20 locomotives.

Banque et Financement

Pour la mise en exploitation de projets miniers et pétroliers, nous avons conseillé les groupes bancaires internationaux pour la négociation des prêts bancaires, la prise de sûretés et d’hypothèques, ainsi que les institutions financières internationales telles que la SFI, l’OPIC (DFC) et l’AFD dans l’octroi de garanties. Nous sommes également intervenus dans le cadre de financements structurés, dont un contrat complexe d’approvisionnement en produits pétroliers en Côte d’Ivoire et la mise en place des sûretés y afférentes. Nous avons été les conseils d’Ecobank lors de sa création et pour l’établissement de ses documents constitutifs conformes aux règlements de la CEDEAO.

Fusions et Acquisitions

Outre les conseils régulièrement donnés aux opérateurs privés dans le cadre de l’application des Actes Uniformes Ohada en matière du droit commercial et de sociétés, nous sommes intervenus dans des opérations de premier plan telles que la privatisation d’Air Gabon, l’appui au Ministère des Finances pour la première privatisation de banque en Algérie (Crédit Populaire). Nous avons représenté l’Etat algérien dans le cadre de la privatisation de la gestion des Hôtels El Aurassi et El djazair. Nous avons conseillé le pétrolier Chevron dans son opération de désinvestissement de ses réseaux de distribution dans neuf pays africains. Nous avons conseillé Sider, groupe sidérurgique national de l’Algérie pour la cession de ses actifs à Mittal. Nous intervenons de façon continue dans de multiples opérations de fusions et acquisitions en Afrique ainsi que dans le traitement des aspects africains d’opérations d’envergure internationales, telles que par exemple l’acquisition de l’activité cacao réalisée par Olam auprès d’Archer Daniels Midland.

Reglement de differends et arbitrage

En matière d’arbitrage, nos avocats interviennent régulièrement dans le cadre de nombreux différends et s’appuient sur une expérience établie qui remonte aux premiers différends réglés suivant le règlement CIRDI, certains faisant jurisprudence aujourd’hui. Notre équipe intervient tant pour des clients privés que pour des gouvernements dans le cadre d'arbitrages internationaux ad hoc. Son expérience s'étend à tous les types de litiges liés au commerce international, en particulier les marchés publics, les contrats, l'énergie et les ressources naturelles. McDermott dispose d’une pratique d’arbitrage intégrée entre ses différents bureaux qui est animée par ses spécialistes basés à Londres. Dans le cadre d’un projet coordonné par la Banque Africaine de Développement, nous avons récemment établi le règlement d’arbitrage et assisté à la création de la Chambre d’Arbitrage du Gabon.

Concurrence et Reglementaire

McDermott est en mesure d’assister efficacement les investisseurs dans le cadre de la réalisation d’analyses et du dépôt de notifications liées à des opérations de concentrations auprès des autorités de concurrence compétentes. Nous assistons à ce titre régulièrement nos clients tant auprès des autorités supranationales, telles que COMESA, UEMOA ou CEMAC, que des autorités nationales. Nos avocats conseillent également de nombreux clients en droit des pratiques anticoncurrentielles, le cas échéant jusqu’au contentieux, et sont en mesure de réaliser des audits de conformité ou des formations. L’expérience établie de nos avocats leur permet de conseiller efficacement leurs clients et d’intégrer les règles de concurrence dans leur stratégie de développement sur le continent.

McDermot conseille également ses clients dans toutes les autres problématiques réglementaires susceptibles de s’appliquer à leurs activités, telles que les règles anticorruption, bancaires et de change ou les réglementations sectorielles.

Droit Commercial

McDermott intervient dans la rédaction et la négociation de tous types de contrats commerciaux nécessaires à la réalisation d’activités sur le continent, qu’il s’agisse notamment de contrats de fabrication, de distribution, de représentation, de mandat, de sous-traitance. Nos avocats assistent de nombreux opérateurs économiques dans la compréhension des législations locales encadrant ou contraignant de tels accords et les aident à définir la stratégie la plus appropriée à la mise en œuvre efficace de leurs activités.

Enterprises and investors with interests anywhere in Europe must comply with two levels of legal and regulatory challenges: those of the Member States in which they have operations and customers, and those of the European Union.

Operating at the heart of the EU, our Brussels team supports our global client base and provides sophisticated counsel in all aspects of competition and international trade law, including the following areas transaction counsel, merger control notification, state aid, public procurement, cartel investigations, technology licensing, pricing and distribution arrangements, EU and Member State litigation, arbitration and mediation, risk arbitrage, sector inquiries and agency complaints.

We are multi-legal, multinational and multilingual: we work closely with lawyers throughout the firm, including practitioners in our strong Milan and Paris offices; our lawyers are of many different nationalities and speak—literally—the languages of our clients; and we are admitted to practice across Europe and the United States. As specific examples of our broad reach, we have dealt with merger control clearances in more than 30 jurisdictions around the world, and anti-dumping cases in more than 20 countries outside of Europe. This international perspective enables us to balance different viewpoints, identify the most effective approach to each matter, and foster a broad network of key legal, regulatory and industry contacts around the world.

Our Brussels team and individual lawyers are recognized consistently by publications such as Legal 500 EMEA 2015 for providing high-quality counsel on EU regulatory and trade matters. Chambers Europe 2015 praises our “strong reputation for multi-jurisdictional competition work” and our “close links with colleagues across Europe and in the USA.” The publication further recognizes our “long-standing experience” in anti-dumping cases and EU trade defense law, as well as our “additional strength” in EU export sanctions and WTO disputes.

For any company operating on a global scale, working in China is a must. As China continues to evolve as a major player on the world stage in nearly every area of economic, political and cultural life, the country’s business and regulatory climate continues to shift. To maximize opportunities while ensuring compliance with complex regulatory requirements, companies must utilize legal counsel skilled at advising on matters critical to business success. We can help.

La France joue un rôle clé au niveau international, tant sur le plan économique que culturel et politique. Elle offre de nombreuses opportunités pour les entreprises nationales et étrangères qui souhaitent se développer, innover et réaliser leurs projets. Que vous cherchiez à renforcer votre position en France ou ailleurs dans le monde, McDermott Will & Schulte vous accompagne.

Nous sommes conscients des nombreux défis auxquels vous êtes confrontés chaque jour. C’est pourquoi nous avons constitué des équipes d’avocats spécialisés, en mesure de vous apporter des conseils entièrement adaptés à vos objectifs. Notre bureau de Paris, composé d’environ 110 avocats habitués à travailler dans plusieurs langues, vous propose des conseils transversaux dans tous les domaines clés du droit, et notamment en droit des sociétés, fusions-acquisitions, droit européen de la concurrence, droit social et droit du travail, financement, contentieux et règlement des litiges, capital-investissement, droit public, droit fiscal, droit des données personnelles et propriété intellectuelle. Nous comptons parmi nos clients des acteurs majeurs de leurs domaines ainsi que des investisseurs, des entreprises et des institutions issus du monde entier qui cherchent à entrer sur le marché français.

En 2021, le bureau parisien de McDermott Will & Schulte fête l’anniversaire de sa création. McDermott Will & Schulte a ouvert ses portes à Paris en mai 2011.

En 10 ans, il a pris ses marques sur le marché français des cabinets d’avocats d’affaires de façon assez spectaculaire et en est devenu un acteur incontournable.

Quel que soit votre secteur d’activité, nous nous appuyons sur une vaste connaissance sectorielle pour vous apporter les conseils juridiques nécessaires à votre réussite. Nos avocats disposent en particulier d’une expérience reconnue dans des domaines tels que les sciences de la vie, la construction et l’ingénierie, la distribution, l’énergie, les hydrocarbures, les télécommunications et les transports. Nous accompagnons les entreprises étrangères, privées ou publiques, qui souhaitent investir en France et les conseillons sur la législation et la réglementation applicables. Nos équipes font de la réussite économique de nos clients leur priorité. Pour cela, nous nous appuyons sur une compréhension fine des pratiques commerciales transnationales, tant lors de la négociation que lors du déroulement des opérations de nos clients.

Chaque année, des revues professionnelles et des guides de classement respectés soulignent l’excellence de nos avocats et leur capacité d’innovation. Global Competition Review a fait figurer à de nombreuses reprises notre équipe Antitrust & Competition dans les vingt premiers cabinets de sa liste GCR 100 Global Elite. Chambers Global, Chambers Europe, The Legal 500 EMEA, Décideurs Stratégie Finance Droit, Décideurs Juridiques, Option Droit & Affaires, Magazine des Affaires et l’IFLR1000 Financial and Corporate Guide nous comptent tous régulièrement dans leurs classements des meilleurs cabinets sur les marchés français et mondial.

NOS ÉQUIPES

AFRIQUE / ÉNERGIE

Une connaissance approfondie de la région et du secteur concernés est essentielle à la réussite d’un projet ou d’une opération stratégique en Afrique. Forte d’une expertise de plus de 30 ans, notre équipe s’est imposée comme l’une des meilleures de son domaine. Elle aide les entreprises à mener à bien leurs projets les plus importants sur le continent. Nous disposons d'une vaste expérience dans les domaines de l’énergie, de l’exploitation minière, du changement climatique, des télécommunications et des transports. Nous traitons régulièrement de questions liées aux fusions-acquisitions, aux privatisations, aux restructurations sectorielles, au financement de projets et au financement structuré, aux travaux publics et aux infrastructures. Notre équipe vous accompagne pour vous fournir des conseils et des services juridiques pratiques et de qualité à chaque étape de votre projet d’investissement.

DROIT BANCAIRE ET FINANCEMENT

Le choix des sources de financement est le fondement de la stratégie des entreprises. Notre département de droit bancaire et financement propose ses services pour un large éventail d’opérations de financement, allant du financement d’acquisitions et des crédits de fonds de roulement à l’émission de titres de participation et de créance, dont les émissions d’obligations convertibles et euro-obligations, Euro Commercial Papers (ECP) et les obligations à moyen terme. Nous conseillons également nos clients en matière de refinancement ou de restructuration de dette et de rééchelonnement des obligations en défaut de paiement. Nos avocats interviennent de manière décisive dans la négociation, la documentation et la clôture d’émissions d’obligations liées à des crédits, des opérations sur papier commercial adossé à des actifs, les opérations sur fonds négociés en bourse et d’opérations liées à des dérivés de crédit ou encore à divers instruments de titrisation.

CONTENTIEUX ET ARBITRAGE / RÈGLEMENT DES LITIGES

Notre équipe en contentieux représente les entreprises françaises et étrangères dans leurs litiges commerciaux devant les juridictions françaises. Afin de répondre au mieux aux besoins des entreprises publiques comme privées dans tous types d’affaires, en matière civile, pénale et administrative, le département travaille en étroite collaboration avec nos avocats spécialisés dans les domaines du droit de la concurrence, des sociétés, du travail, de la propriété intellectuelle ou encore de la fiscalité. Nous apportons également des conseils en matière de commerce international et bénéficions d’une solide expérience relative à l’exécution des jugements et sentences étrangères en France.

CONCURRENCE EUROPÉENNE

Notre bureau de Paris joue un rôle essentiel dans la pratique internationale du réseau de McDermott en droit de la concurrence, incontournable de son domaine. Nos avocats travaillent en collaboration avec leurs collègues aux États-Unis et en Europe pour conseiller leurs clients sur chacune des problématiques qu’ils peuvent rencontrer en matière de concurrence.

En plus de notre parfaite maîtrise des cadres réglementaires européens et nationaux, nous avons développé une excellente connaissance des secteurs dans lesquels nos clients opèrent. Cette expertise nous permet de proposer des conseils entièrement adaptés aux besoins de nos clients sur des sujets complexes en droit européen et national de la concurrence et de défendre avec succès leurs intérêts devant la Commission européenne et les autres instances européennes ou nationales.

PROTECTION DES DONNÉES ET CYBERSÉCURITÉ

Les avocats de notre équipe « Protection des données personnelles et cybersécurité conseillent ses clients sur les cadres législatifs et réglementaires applicables aux traitements de données personnelles aussi bien aux États-Unis, en Europe et même dans d’autres régions.

Nos équipes ont une grande expérience en matière de conseil sur l'ensemble des lois relatives à la protection des données personnelles, ainsi que sur les normes et les problèmes du secteur. Nos avocats conseillent régulièrement les clients sur des questions d'utilisation des données, de transfert de données et de respect de la vie privée au niveau national et international. Nous réalisons des analyses d'impact relatives à la protection des données (AIPD), des évaluations approfondies des risques de sécurité, souvent dans le cadre de fusions / acquisitions et d'autres transactions nationales et transfrontalières.

En cas de violation de données, faille de sécurité ou utilisation abusive des données, nous apportons une réponse rapide et efficace aux incidents de cybersécurité et représentons nos clients dans le cadre de litiges et d'enquêtes gouvernementales. Nous comptons parmi nos avocats des spécialistes ayant une grande expérience de la protection des données de santé et des litiges connexes.

PROPRIÉTÉ INTELLECTUELLE

La propriété intellectuelle représente souvent le bien le plus précieux d’une entreprise. Nous avons ainsi formé une équipe dédiée à sa protection. Nos avocats proposent leurs services à des entreprises françaises et étrangères dans des domaines aussi divers que la chimie, l’énergie, la mode, l’agroalimentaire, les médias, la parfumerie, la pharmacie et la technologie, pour toutes les questions liées à la propriété intellectuelle.

Nous apportons à nos clients des conseils spécialisés pour la protection, l’exploitation et la défense de leurs droits de propriété intellectuelle, en ce qui concerne notamment les marques, les brevets, le savoir-faire, les droits d’auteur, les dessins et les modèles. Nous représentons aussi nos clients devant les juridictions.

Nous avons de plus développé une expérience significative en matière de concurrence déloyale et de parasitisme, et intervenons sur des questions de publicité trompeuse, de publicité comparative et de droit à l'image. Nous accompagnons aussi régulièrement nos clients dans le cadre de procédures de médiation devant le Centre de médiation et d’arbitrage de Paris (CMAP).

DROIT SOCIAL ET DU TRAVAIL

Dans le cadre de leurs opérations commerciales nationales et transnationales, les employeurs sont confrontés à des difficultés juridiques et réglementaires incontournables, liées tant à l’attraction qu’au recrutement et à la rétention des talents. Nos avocats à Paris offrent ainsi des services d’audit et de conseil en matière de contrats de travail et de rupture conventionnelle, de plan de restructuration, de réduction d’effectifs, ou encore de politiques internes et de bonnes pratiques liées à l’emploi. Nos clients nous confient également la défense de leurs intérêts devant les tribunaux compétents, notamment pour des litiges en matière de licenciement, de discrimination, de harcèlement, de violation des clauses du contrat de travail, de négociations syndicales, de grèves et d’autres conflits.

SCIENCES DE LA VIE

Intervenant aussi bien pour des grands groupes de l’industrie pharmaceutique et des biotechnologies que pour des start-ups de pointe, notre équipe spécialisée en sciences de la vie est l’une des plus reconnues de son secteur secteur. Elle propose une offre de services juridiques complète et innovante pour nos clients des secteurs pharmaceutiques, de la santé et des dispositifs médicaux. Nous travaillons en partenariat avec des entreprises françaises, européennes et américaines dans le cadre de leurs projets d’acquisition ou de cession comme pour la mise en œuvre de projets d’externalisation, d’accords de coopération et de licence et pour le développement de produits. Nous traitons de toutes les questions réglementaires de nos clients et, plus généralement, de toutes leurs problématiques en droit des sociétés et droit commercial.

FUSIONS ET ACQUISITIONS

Une stratégie de fusion et d’acquisition dynamique et efficace est essentielle pour assurer sa compétitivité sur le marché mondial. Nos avocats, en collaboration avec nos collègues aux États-Unis et en Europe, ont négocié et mené à bien un grand nombre d’opérations nationales et transfrontalières, pour le compte d’entreprises issues du monde entier. Notre équipe propose une offre intégrale de services en matière de fusions et acquisitions, y compris pour des opérations complexes impliquant des actifs en difficulté et pour celles qui nécessitent une connaissance approfondie de la restructuration des entreprises et du droit de la faillite. Nous représentons ainsi des clients dans de multiples secteurs, notamment dans l’énergie, le tourisme ou encore les télécommunications.

CAPITAL-INVESTISSEMENT

Les sociétés de capital-investissement font aujourd’hui face à la fois à de fortes pressions et à des opportunités nombreuses, dans un environnement particulièrement concurrentiel.
Nous conseillons des fonds de capital-investissement de diverses catégories, avec une expertise spécifique pour les fonds actifs sur le marché intermédiaire. Notre savoir-faire commercial, apprécié de nos clients, nous permet de les accompagner à chaque étape de leurs opérations d’investissement, comme conseiller de confiance. Nous intervenons ainsi pour diriger l’acquisition initiale, puis pour les activités commerciales courantes de la société en portefeuille et la planification des acquisitions futures et des cessions potentielles. Nous travaillons en étroite collaboration avec les avocats des autres spécialités de McDermott pour traiter des questions opérationnelles et stratégiques, assurer la conformité avec les réglementations françaises, européennes et internationales et répondre à toutes les questions commerciales et financières stratégiques qui peuvent surgir. Nous conseillons nos clients sur tous les aspects des opérations de capital-investissement, notamment les rachats d’entreprises avec création de nouvelles plateformes, les recapitalisations, les investissements de croissance, les participations minoritaires et sans prise de contrôle, les acquisitions d’entreprises en difficulté, les stratégies de sortie du capital et les introductions en bourse.

DROIT PUBLIC

Notre équipe conseille à la fois des entités privées et des organismes publics, y compris des collectivités locales et des entreprises à capitaux publics, sur tous les aspects du droit public – notamment administratifs et réglementaires–, du droit de la concurrence et du droit constitutionnel. Nous nous appuyons sur une vaste expérience et une excellente connaissance des enjeux et des difficultés auxquels font face les entreprises dans les secteurs régulés, tels que les télécommunications, l’aérospatiale, l’énergie, le pétrole et le gaz, pour apporter à nos clients des solutions adaptées. Nous intervenons aussi en matière pré-contentieuse et contentieuse. Nous représentons fréquemment nos clients :

• devant les juridictions administratives et commerciales
• devant les autorités européennes et françaises de la concurrence et les autres autorités de régulation
• dans leurs relations avec le gouvernement français

Notre équipe est aussi particulièrement reconnue pour la négociation et l’exécution de contrats publics, ainsi qu’en matière de gestion du domaine public et en droit de la fonction publique.

Restructuration

Notre équipe assiste aussi bien des clients qui font l’objet de restructurations ou de procédures collectives que des clients souhaitant acquérir des entreprises en difficulté. Nous apportons nos conseils pour tous les aspects des restructurations financières et industrielles et accompagnons les débiteurs, les acquéreurs, les créanciers et les actionnaires en France et à l’étranger.

Nous aidons les entreprises en difficulté pour l’évaluation de la situation et l’identification des contre-mesures appropriées, qu’il s’agisse de procédures préventives, telles que le mandat ad hoc ou la conciliation, ou de procédures collectives de sauvegarde, de redressement et de liquidation judiciaire. Nos avocats interviennent tout au long de la procédure, comme intermédiaires de leurs clients auprès des autorités judiciaires et de contrôle, et apportent un soutien constant à ceux-ci, du début des opérations de restructuration jusqu’à la négociation avec les principaux créanciers et l’intervention des investisseurs ou des repreneurs. Nous contribuons aussi à la rédaction des accords de conciliation, des plans de sauvegarde et des plans de continuation.

Nous conseillons régulièrement des fonds de capital-investissement et des entreprises industrielles dans le cadre de la reprise d'entreprises en difficulté. La diversité des compétences de nos avocats nous permet d'intervenir pour la rédaction de documents financiers et de contrats d’actes ainsi que dans tous les contentieux connexes aux procédures collectives.

DROIT FISCAL

Un contexte de concurrence fiscale accrue, l’ambiguïté des différents systèmes législatifs et des modèles économiques en constante évolution ont rendu indispensable l’élaboration de stratégies fiscales solides. Au-delà des exigences techniques, notre équipe développe pour chacun de ses clients une compréhension précise des mécanismes de fonctionnement et des dynamiques spécifiques de leurs secteurs d’activités. Nous conseillons des entreprises françaises et internationales, des sociétés de capital-investissement, des gestionnaires d’actifs, des entrepreneurs, des banques d’investissement et des fonds souverains sur tous les sujets de fiscalité française et internationale, y compris les problématiques liées aux restructurations d’entreprises, aux fusions et acquisitions et à la création de joint-ventures. Notre département assiste régulièrement les entreprises multinationales pour l’organisation et le fonctionnement de leurs services fiscaux, l’identification des risques fiscaux potentiels et le développement de stratégies efficaces pour réduire l’impact des taux d’imposition. Nos avocats maîtrisent aussi bien le droit fiscal français et international que les problématiques comptables et financières.

As one of the powerhouse countries in the European Union, Germany continues to solidify its position as a global economic leader. As part of the firm’s robust international practice, the lawyers in our Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich offices likewise provide top-quality, industry-leading legal counsel to privately held and publicly traded German clients doing business in Germany, as well as to non-German and German clients with operations and investments worldwide.

Clients value our approach to developing long-term relationships providing pragmatic counsel to solve legal issues and address business needs. These close relationships provide us with a deep understanding of our clients’ businesses and their specific economic and legal requirements, resulting in our ability to address local legal needs. At the same time, we also work closely with lawyers in our European locations for pan-European needs, along with our US and Asian offices for cross-border needs. Together, our familiarity with diverse cultures and in-depth knowledge of jurisdiction-specific legal systems enables us to provide the highest-quality legal counsel to domestic and international companies, investors, financial institutions and high-net-worth individuals.

We regularly advise clients on the full spectrum of corporate and commercial matters, including cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, establishment of subsidiaries (and related personnel and visa matters), cross-border financings and securities issues. We also have substantial experience in the areas of antitrust and competition, capital markets, corporate law, health services and life sciences, intellectual property, labor and employment, private equity and venture capital, restructuring and insolvency, real estate, taxation, and telecommunications, media and information technology.

Our Germany-based practice teams and individual lawyers have been recognized year after year for the quality, consistency and creativity of our legal counsel by respected industry publications and ratings agencies, including Chambers Global, Chambers Europe, JUVE Handbook, The Legal 500 EMEA and Euromoney Legal Group.

Capital markets

Our German capital markets practice has extensive experience representing issuers, underwriters and other related parties on all types of equity issues, in cross-border matters and within the German market. We advise clients on transaction structuring, initial public offerings, private placements, registered underwritten offerings, high-yield debt, and more creative hybrid instruments involving multiple issuers, unique regulatory issues and evolving disclosure requirements. In conjunction with the Firm’s experienced securities lawyers, we provide guidance on compliance, corporate governance and responsibility, and related issues arising out of mergers, acquisitions, tender and exchange offers, and private investments.

Health & life sciences

Our health care lawyers provide comprehensive advice in the health services, medical devices and pharmaceutical sectors. We advise on corporate, regulatory and competition law, and have managed numerous investment projects in the outpatient and inpatient health care sectors. Our lawyers have handled the founding and approval of the first German medical health care center in the legal form of a GmbH (LLC under German law) and the emergence of the largest European clinical lab established as a joint venture between a medical school and the largest public hospital carrier. We represent companies and investors with respect to participation and approval procedures, product liability, statutory health insurance law, public procurement industry codes of conduct, data protection, intellectual property, and promotions and advertising. We draft and negotiate company and shareholding agreements, ensure compliance with tax laws and other requirements, and represent the interests of bidders in contract award procedures (i.e., public tenders) of public payers.

International arbitration

Our international arbitration team represents German and non-German clients in domestic arbitrations and in mediation, arbitration and negotiated settlements worldwide. We are particularly skilled at forging creative and efficient solutions to all types of transnational commercial disputes, and have extensive experience under the rules of all of the major international arbitration institutions. We regularly assist clients in drafting practical, enforceable arbitration clauses in contracts, prosecute and defend against litigation in relation to international arbitration, and represent States and private entities in proceedings under bilateral investment treaties, multilateral investment treaties and free trade agreements. Chambers Global and The Legal 500 EMEA have ranked our international arbitration practice and individual lawyers as top practitioners in this area.

Litigation & dispute resolution

The firm counsels and represents clients in out-of-court settlements, before the courts, and in mediation and arbitration proceedings. We cover a broad range of civil law sectors, with a focus on real estate, investment, joint ventures and other cooperation agreements, mergers and acquisitions (including disputes involving corporate law and transactions, rescission from company purchases and warranties), product liability and distribution. Our lawyers often are brought in to handle complex case facts or legal questions, many of which are international in scope or involve issues, operations and investments in several jurisdictions. Our primary goal is to identify and implement commercially useful solutions that allow our clients to refocus on achieving their business goals.

Mergers & acquisitions

Our lawyers have extensive experience consulting on complex national and international transactions ranging from public takeovers of listed companies to mergers and acquisitions from private sources, and joint ventures. We advise clients in all stages of such transactions, from the determination of appropriate legal and tax structures to the negotiation and preparation of contracts and the conduct of due diligence. To serve clients most effectively, we create effective, transaction-specific teams, working closely with Firm colleagues with deep experience in tax, antitrust, capital markets and labor law. We have advised companies in many sectors, including plant engineering, automotive, chemical and pharmaceutical, health care, steel, logistics, energy, e-commerce, tourism, retail, information technology, publication, media and telecommunication.

Private equity

We advise leading private equity and venture capital firms, entrepreneurs and emerging young entrepreneurs in management buyouts (MBOs) and leveraged buyouts (LBOs), venture capital investments, mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, refinancings, recapitalizations and restructurings. Private equity investments do not occur in a vacuum, and we regularly advise clients on management participation programs, disclosure obligations in security and stock exchange laws, fund set-up, early and late-stage investments, and intellectual property and licensing. We provide counsel in all phases of a transaction, from corporate law and tax law structuring, design of acquisition financing and due diligence, to drafting and negotiating contracts, transaction implementation and post-implementation transitions.

Real estate

Our real estate law team provides advice on the full spectrum of real estate transactions (including asset and share deals), joint ventures, financings, project development, leasing and inventory management in all of the top markets in Germany, including Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich. In addition to our German clients, we have counseled real estate companies (including owner-operated companies), institutional investors, private equity funds, asset managers, insurers, pension funds, real estate consulting companies, family offices and financial institutions from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Austria, and other countries. Regularly named as a top practice in JUVE Handbook, The Legal 500 Deutschland and Chambers Europe, our lawyers are also praised for our “legal and commercial know-how” and our “quick, clear and practically oriented legal advice.”

Restructuring & insolvency

We advise businesses extensively on all areas of law related to restructuring, reorganization, refinancing and insolvency, including matters with an international or cross-border component. We also help shareholders, creditors and business partners of companies in crisis secure, pursue and enforce their interests. We have in-depth experience representing investors in the acquisition of companies before or out of insolvency, and assisting insolvency administrators in the handling of their fiduciary duties, particularly with respect to M&A processes and insolvency plan procedures and in disputed enforcements of claims in Germany and internationally. We have advised clients in numerous industries, including the automotive, energy, health care, retail, sports, telecommunications, transport and logistics sectors.

Tax

As international leaders in tax law, our tax advisors work across disciplines to provide legal tax advice independent of auditing services, which is mandatory not only in the United States (Sarbanes-Oxley Act), but also for listed companies in Germany (Accounting Control Act – Bilanzrechtskontrollgesetz) and other European countries. Through our network of tax lawyers across offices, we work closely with top tax advisors in other countries to provide “best in field” tax and transactional services in major business and financial markets worldwide. Our tax lawyers are also highly regarded in court representation and regularly enforce our clients’ interests and rights vis-à-vis tax authorities and tax courts, the Federal Finance Court and the European Court of Justice.

Telecommunication, media & technology

We provide comprehensive legal counsel to companies and financial institutions with interests in a broad range of TMT-related sectors, including mobile and fixed-line telephony and internet services, cable and satellite TV, entertainment, film production and financing, software, hardware, outsourcing and telematics. Our lawyers have extensive experience in copyright, patent, data protection, telecommunications, broadcasting, antitrust and competition law, as well as general commercial law. We advise on mergers, acquisitions and other major transactions, negotiate and draft licensing, end-user and e-commerce agreements, consult on IT and BPO outsourcing projects, and provide guidance on regulatory compliance and government lobbying. When disputes arise, we offer full-spectrum litigation and alternative dispute resolution advice on all regulatory and strategic questions relating to this constantly evolving market.

For Italian-based companies and multinational corporations active in the local market, the firm provides effective, coordinated legal counsel on cross-border and domestic transactions and on a broad range of legal issues, including EU competition and government regulatory compliance, energy, tax, insurance, health, private equity and capital markets, banking and finance, intellectual property, real estate, restructuring and employment law, as well as litigation, arbitration, and alternative dispute resolution.

Our clients include public and privately owned companies in many industries and of all sizes and geographic reach, from small and family-owned businesses to medium-sized companies and large multinational corporations. We emphasize the delivery of sophisticated, practical advice that combines high levels of legal knowledge with effective engagement management and seamless teamwork. We avoid a one-size-fits-all approach, preferring to focus our resources and attention on those areas where we believe we can serve clients best and add value to a transaction.

Our practice is local, regional and international. We help Italian clients expand their operations and investments outside national borders and work with international companies seeking to enter the Italian market. Our lawyers are highly experienced professionals capable of delivering legal services in English, German, French and Italian to better serve clients worldwide. No matter the size or scope of the engagement, we emphasize the development of longstanding client relationships that enable us to provide client-centered guidance well into the future.

Our practices and individual lawyers have been recognized by Chambers Europe, The Legal 500 EMEA and other respected industry publications and ratings agencies for the quality, consistency and creativity of our legal counsel.

EU competition

Our offices in Italy are integral to the firm’s industry-leading, global Antitrust & Competition practice. Our lawyers work with colleagues across all of our US and European offices to represent clients before Italian, EC, and other national regulatory authorities on the full range of competition issues.

We have significant experience assisting with the management of distribution networks, cartels, abuse of dominance, state aid and issues related to regulated markets, antitrust audits and risk assessments of potential antitrust liabilities within judicial and alternative dispute resolution proceedings. We also assist clients on consumer protection, unfair competition, and misleading advertising, including any potential criminal aspects.

Insurance

Our lawyers advise Italian and foreign clients in all areas of Italian and European insurance and reinsurance regulation. We work closely with clients and regulators to establish insurance companies as well as subsidiaries and branches of EU and non-EU insurance and reinsurance undertakings, handle authorization procedures, and advise on day-to-day compliance and extraordinary transactions. We also counsel insurance clients on domestic and cross-border mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures, private equity investments, restructurings, transfers of businesses, portfolios and run-offs, claim handling, creation of distribution channels and other arrangements, and litigation and arbitration.

Litigation & dispute resolution

Our lawyers have extensive experience representing clients in domestic and international litigation and arbitration, and regularly assist with enforcing foreign judgments and awards in Italy. When appropriate, we work closely with the firm’s well-established International Dispute Avoidance and Resolution Group to help clients understand and take full advantage of alternative dispute resolution methodologies, from negotiated settlements to mediation and arbitration. Our litigators regularly represent multinational corporations in Italian courts with regard to business disputes in Italy, including various kinds of contractual disputes involving employment litigation. Our diverse range of capabilities enables us to provide our clients with advice tailored to their specific needs.

Tax

As part of our internationally recognized tax team, our Italy-based tax advisors provide professional advice in all areas of taxation for major companies doing business in Italy and for Italian enterprises doing business internationally. Named 2014 “Law Firm of the Year for Transfer Pricing” by Legalcommunity.it, we deliver industry-focused solutions to large corporations in the food and beverage, consumer products, fashion and apparel, automotive, life sciences and medical devices, private equity, banking and financial services sectors. We counsel clients on tax planning and strategies, corporate income tax and indirect taxes, tax aspects of mergers and acquisitions, tax audits and investigations, and tax controversies, including settlement procedures and representation before tax courts.

Mergers & acquisitions

Our Milan-based corporate transactional lawyers, in conjunction with lawyers from the firm’s offices throughout the United States and Europe, have successfully negotiated and closed numerous domestic and cross-border deals in Italy on behalf of businesses worldwide. Our corporate lawyers provide industry-focused advice on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), including friendly and hostile public tender offers, negotiated share and asset acquisitions, joint ventures and spin-offs. We counsel clients at all phases of a transaction, including coordinating auction sale procedures, negotiating and drafting letters of intent and final agreements, and providing closing and post-closing assistance. We have extensive experience structuring intra-group relationships, corporate governance systems, and compliance and control schemes.

Trade and investment relationships between Japan and the United States, Europe and the rest of the world are deep and longstanding. The strength and duration of these relationships should not, however, obscure the speed with which economic, regulatory and technological development can transform the business landscape. Businesses and investors require legal counsel that understands the history and traditions of Japanese commerce and has the geographic coverage, resources and flexibility to help clients adapt to a changing environment.

For half a century, the firm has represented Japanese companies doing business across the globe. A number of our lawyers in the United States and Europe have worked, studied and trained extensively in Japan, including working as in-house counsel at major technology companies. Others have held senior positions in government regulatory agencies such as the US Patent and Trademark Office, where they have been responsible for intellectual property issues related to technologies developed in and distributed from Japan.

Members of our Japan practice are capable of creating documents in Japanese, English or the local language where the investment or initiative is taking place. Our lawyers from all of the firm’s practice areas advise large multinational corporations, mid-sized businesses, start-up companies and entrepreneurs in a broad range of industries. To help clients avoid risks and take advantage of opportunities related to international investments, we regularly create and sponsor international events in Japan that review the latest developments in Japanese law.

Antitrust & competition

Our Antitrust & Competition team provide the a full range of business counsel to our Japanese clients, including transactional representation, defense of government investigations and litigation, and antitrust training. We provide effective, coordinated counsel on antitrust and competition laws worldwide. Regulators around the world are increasing their scrutiny of business transactions, relationships and practices that affect their local markets. Our Antitrust & Competition group is recognized as one of the world’s leading antitrust/competition practices by Chambers USA, U.S. News–Best Lawyers and Global Competition Review. A significant number of our lawyers served previously as former federal prosecutors and regulatory officials with primary responsibility for antitrust matters.

Government regulatory

Regulators around the world are increasing their scrutiny of business transactions, relationships and practices that affect their local markets. Our Antitrust & Competition group is recognized as one of the world’s leading antitrust/competition practices by Chambers USA, U.S. News–Best Lawyers and Global Competition Review. A significant number of our lawyers served previously as former federal prosecutors and regulatory officials with primary responsibility for antitrust matters. We provide a full range of antitrust counsel, including transactional representation, defense of government investigations and litigation, and antitrust training.

Intellectual property

Our Japan team includes lawyers with extensive experience in patent, design and trademark prosecution in the US Patent and Trademark Office, the European Patent Office and the China Patent and Trademark Office, as well as in providing intellectual property counseling, licensing and litigation. We regularly represent large multinational corporations, mid-sized businesses, start-up companies and entrepreneurs in a broad range of industries such as electronics, computers, software, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, medical devices, mechanical devices, biotechnology, energy and finance.

Litigation & dispute resolution

We represent Japanese clients in civil and criminal litigation before US federal and state courts, agencies such as the International Trade Commission (ITC), and the patent courts of the United States, Germany, France and other jurisdictions. We understand that a trial often represents the end point of a dispute, and regularly work with clients to achieve their goals through alternative dispute resolution methods, including arbitration, mediation and negotiated settlements. When the best course of action is to mount an aggressive defense of our clients’ interests in court, we draw on our lawyers’ extensive courtroom experience and the full resources of the firm’s e-discovery and other trial-support services.

Mergers & acquisitions

Our corporate transactional lawyers in the United States and Europe have successfully negotiated and closed numerous deals on behalf of Japanese businesses worldwide. Ranked nationally for M&A, health and life sciences by Chambers USA and The Legal 500, we counsel clients whose product ranges are as broad as their operations, business interests and affiliations. We represent start-ups, large multinationals, and venture capital, private equity and large public investor funds with equal skill and dedication.

Privacy & cybersecurity

Our premier Global Privacy & Cybersecurity team leads our Japanese clients through complex—and often unanticipated—regulatory, compliance and transactional challenges. Combining deep experience operating within regulated environments with a practical business-focused approach to navigating the rapidly evolving data privacy environment, we help develop creative solutions to regulatory obstacles and leverage their valuable data assets to drive change and innovation. Our team regularly advises our clients on compliance with international privacy and data protection regimes, including Japanese data protection laws, the EU GDPR, South Korean data protection laws and China’s cybersecurity law.

Tax

Our tax group is recognized as one of the largest and leading practices in the legal profession. Skilled at advising clients on their international tax needs, we often represent Japanese companies on tax-free and taxable acquisitions of other businesses, joint ventures with unrelated businesses and foreign affiliates, spin-offs, and restructuring existing operations to eliminate tax inefficiencies. We also provide tax counsel on day-to-day operations such as in-licensing and out-licensing of intangibles, product sales and other transactions with foreign affiliates, repatriation of earnings from foreign affiliates, and employee compensation and benefits. Our tax litigators represent life sciences companies in controversies at the administrative level and in the courts.

As a global law firm with offices across three continents, including a dedicated location in Singapore, we are well equipped to provide you with cutting-edge solutions for multinational legal issues. We draw on decades of experience working closely with high-profile Korean companies, along with strong partnerships with top local law firms and professional services firms, to serve your needs in the region. And we have a nuanced understanding of business and cultural practices that will help you achieve success in working with Korean and international companies.

Members of our Korea practice are also well versed in the legal and business practices and traditions that prevail in New York, London, Paris and other commercial centers around the world. Drawing on our global training, experience and background, our professionals span the divide that too often separates Korean and non-Korean companies, and better smooth the path of complex transactions.

We provide counsel on a broad range of legal issues, including antitrust and competition, corporate transactions such as mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property prosecution and litigation, commercial litigation and arbitration, international trade, white-collar criminal defense, and compliance with the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other relevant regulations. We advise businesses in numerous industries and have developed significant experience representing clients in the energy and life sciences sectors, in particular.

As a nexus of international trade and finance, London is a focal point for businesses launching strategic initiatives and investments around the world. Parties to international commercial and financial transactions often choose English law and jurisdiction to govern deals and disputes.

From our office in the heart of the City, we offer broad-based legal services tailored to London’s role as an international centre. We are unique among US law firms in London, as virtually all of our lawyers are UK-qualified. Many of our clients’ businesses and interests are global in scope, and they rely on our ability to handle English law matters in Africa, Asia and other international markets. We also work seamlessly with the firm’s European offices on pan-European matters.

We know that in today’s global market, you need innovative and actionable solutions to give you an edge. Our lawyers draw on deep experience to advise public and privately owned companies, financial institutions, trading houses, funds, and high-net-worth individuals and family offices on the full spectrum of law, including:

• Banking & Finance
• Corporate/M&A
• Dispute Resolution (Litigation and Arbitration)
• Energy
• Healthcare & Life sciences
• Labour & Employment
• Private Client & Wealth Management
• Private Equity
• Tax & Transfer Pricing

We are consistently recognised for our high-quality counsel and dedication to our clients. Legal directories and trade publications such as Chambers UK, The Legal 500 UK, IFLR1000 and Citywealth praise us for providing “responsive and pragmatic advice” and “solutions that work for business,” combined with a “sensitivity to cost issues.”

Corporate / mergers & acquisitions

A defined, dynamic M&A strategy is critical to stay competitive in the global marketplace. You need trusted counsel who know your business needs and your market realities. Our seasoned M&A lawyers represent a wide range of public and privately held businesses, from large multinational companies to venture-backed start-ups, as well as private equity funds, family offices and financial institutions. We conduct buy-side and sell-side due diligence and manage complex transactions with multijurisdictional components, all while drawing on our extensive knowledge of specific industry sectors and markets, as well as the commercial contexts in which our clients operate. We advise clients on public company takeovers, domestic and cross-border private company and assets transactions, regulatory analysis and execution, and competitive auction processes.

Dispute resolution

Our dispute resolution lawyers are always ready to roll up their sleeves and deliver the sound, practical legal strategies necessary for success in commercial and financial disputes and international arbitration across all sectors and geographies. Wherever you conduct business, we’ll be there to help. As trusted advisers to leading financial institutions, corporations, contractors, investors and family offices, we have deep knowledge of our clients’ industries, including finance, energy, insurance, commodities, shipping, construction and IT. We deliver commercially viable solutions to resolve contentious situations effectively and timely in jurisdictions around the world, including Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Our team is adept at handling cases both in court and through alternative resolution proceedings such as arbitration. Our wealth of experience encompasses a range of circumstances from insolvency, liquidation, contractual disputes and claims, to fraud, joint ventures and art theft.

Energy

Businesses across the energy sector rely on us for our ability to address the unique legal issues associated with operating in this highly specialised market. As part of a global team, we represent commodity traders, investment banks, hedge funds, energy companies and government agencies. We have extensive experience in upstream advice for oil and gas majors and independents, and advice in energy commodities trading, including structured deals involving power, gas, emissions, coal, metals, LNG and biomass, and all other commodities and downstream projects. Our experienced energy project lawyers advise on all aspects of financing, developing, off-taking and contracting for energy and infrastructure projects, while our corporate energy and trading lawyers represent clients in mergers, acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures and corporate restructurings. We have a long track-record advising clients in infrastructure projects such as new-build energy capacity, transmission lines and terminals, including all aspects of project documentation and financing, with a particular emphasis on conventional power and renewables.

Health & life sciences

Today’s global healthcare marketplace is marked by unprecedented transformation and opportunity. Our market-leading team partners with stakeholders at the forefront of health innovation to foster the unique partnerships and ventures that are transforming healthcare today. We offer comprehensive service across a broad spectrum of business challenges, including corporate and commercial advice, M&A, private equity, finance, restructuring, employment law and tax. We serve as counsel to hospitals, nursing homes, health technology companies and agencies, as well as tech companies and other businesses looking to invest in health interests. We also counsel public healthcare institutions on procurement, regulatory and contractual matters. Our multidisciplinary offering encompasses digital health, healthcare litigation, life sciences, insurance, regulatory diligence and healthcare real estate.

Labour, employment & benefits

In today’s fast-paced marketplace, employers face challenges on every front. Our UK employment team partners with employers across a broad range of industries to identify the potential legal implications of workplace issues develop comprehensive programmes that will limit legal exposure, and provide effective representation in litigation. We offer practical advice at every step in the employment process, from recruiting and hiring through retention and training, to termination and retirement. Our lawyers have in-depth experience managing employers’ most sensitive and confidential employee relations issues, including guidance throughout disciplinary, grievance and sickness absence processes. The team is equally adept at handling employment and benefits issues that arise in the context of complex corporate transactions and business reorganisations, and European data privacy matters.

Private equity

Private equity firms face tremendous pressure to deploy capital, all in the current market of hypercompetition. Our lawyers are committed to helping sponsors and their portfolio companies tackle all types of private equity transactions, including buyouts, buy-ins and add-ons, restructurings, refinancings and exits. We work seamlessly with our European competition, regulatory, international dispute avoidance and resolution, intellectual property, media and technology, tax and employment practices to advise clients on how to maximise after-tax investment returns at all stages of fund formation, buyouts, and early- and late-stage investments.

Tax & transfer pricing

Taxpayers worldwide are facing increasing scrutiny of longstanding tax structures. Our highly ranked tax practice provides cutting-edge advice in all areas of taxation for major companies doing business in Europe and around the world. Combining our London lawyers’ talent and innovation with close working relationships with revenue authorities in Europe, the United States and throughout the world, we offer strategic European and international tax planning services, covering all direct and indirect taxes, and deliver innovative advice quickly and effectively. Major multinational enterprises rely on us to handle transfer pricing planning, advance pricing agreement (APA) and controversy matters, including controversy cases that other professional advisors have not been able to resolve. We routinely handle some of the largest transfer pricing cases around the world.

Business is local and global at once. No multinational entity is too large to be affected by state laws and municipal ordinances. Likewise, no individual, high-net-worth family or closely held company—no matter how focused its financial and business interests—is immune from international competition and geopolitical events.

With hundreds of lawyers located in business and financial centers across the United States, we provide clients with legal advisors who are as familiar with local and national laws and regulations as they are with domestic and global economic conditions and market forces. Our US lawyers are a core component of our integrated, international law firm and have recognized strength in tax, private equity, mergers and acquisitions, health care, high-stakes litigation, antitrust, intellectual property, international trade, labor and employment, wealth management, and many other key areas of transactional and regulatory law.

We provide industry-focused counsel to multinational companies, rising entrepreneurial firms, investors and capital providers, as well as many of the world’s wealthiest families and individuals. We emphasize and foster long-term relationships with business leaders and have developed an extensive network of professional colleagues and experienced outside advisors from many sectors. Taken together, these strengths help us deliver stellar legal and business results for our clients, time and time again.

Our US-based practice teams and individual lawyers have been recognized for the quality, consistency and creativity of our legal counsel by respected industry publications and ratings agencies such as Acritas, The American College of Tax Counsel, Benchmark Litigation, The Best Lawyers in America, BTI Consulting Group, Chambers Global, Chambers USA, Global Arbitration Review, Global Competition Review, IFLR1000 Financial and Corporate Guide, International Tax Review, The Legal 500, The National Law Journal and many more.