Europe

Paul Hastings “outshines many other firms on practicality, technical creativity and honesty” and “is praised for its ‘intense work ethic.’” The firm “provides excellent service and advice.”

The European markets present a complex array of challenges for both domestic and international companies doing business in the region. Our lawyers have the deep local knowledge and decades of experience required to help clients navigate these uncertain times and act on the opportunities to be found in times of market change.

An Experienced Team of Lawyers Located across Europe

Our European practice has grown steadily and strategically along with our clients and the markets we serve. With approximately 150 legal professionals in Europe and offices in Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Milan, and Paris, we provide strong local capabilities supported by global resources and reach.

Our lawyers have forged long-term relationships with leading corporations, financial institutions, and funds operating in Europe and internationally. We provide full-service legal support and strategic business advice on best-in-class domestic and cross-border transactions, and have led some of the region's most complex and high-profile matters. We also regularly defend our clients’ interests in litigation and other dispute resolution matters, as well as advising them on a variety of employment law and EU regulatory issues.

Wide-Ranging Growth Markets Experience

We have a dedicated Growth Markets practice, with in-depth local corporate and finance expertise working with clients in emerging economies across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEEMEA), Latin America, and Asia. Our London office serves as the focal point for our CEEMEA coverage and our lawyers’ experience across a wide range of industries includes some of the most complex and “first-ever” transactions.

Turkey is a key jurisdiction for this practice. Whether our client is a Turkish company looking for a partner in its global strategy or an international client looking for a gateway to Turkey, with the Turkey Desk in our Frankfurt office we have the international expertise, cultural background, and Turkish language capabilities to ensure that our clients receive the highest quality legal services. We have helped our international clients to pioneer strong new business ventures in Turkey, not only with first-class services, but also in partnership with their in-house counsel team and executives in assessing market opportunities, managing risk, and ensuring best business practices.

A Tradition of Innovation in Europe

Some of our groundbreaking matters and “firsts” in Europe include advising on:

• European CMBS issuances and restructurings totaling more than €22 billion in 2011, including the first and second “true” CMBS deals in the market since the downturn
• Complex, cross-border M&A transactions, including the largest deal in Italy
• Innovative strategies for game-changing spin-offs in Germany and other countries
• EU and worldwide merger control procedures for acquisitions of up to €1.75 billion
• Complex risk management strategies involving anti-bribery, antitrust, fraud, and employment considerations
• The second largest internal investigation by a European Foreign Issuer on the NYSE
• Highly publicized litigation, including one of the largest adverse risk policies ever issued in the UK
• The first major proxy fight in Italy
• Bank regulatory advice involving firsthand interaction with regulatory authorities around the world
• Intricate Sharia law financings
• Several of the largest principal finance deals and non-performing loan portfolios in the European market
• Major restructurings in Europe with an aggregate value in excess of €20 billion in 2011 alone
• More than 20 LBOs in Paris in 2011
• Sales and acquisitions of numerous landmark buildings throughout Europe

Acclaim for our Europe Practice

Our leadership in Europe has been acknowledged by the market and our peers:

• Paul Hastings was honored for the Structured Finance and Securitisation Deal of the Year in the IFLR European Awards 2012, for our work advising Deutsche Bank on the first CMBS to be placed into the market in Europe since 2007.
• Paul Hastings was ranked among the most innovative firms in Europe in the Financial Times US Innovative Lawyers Report 2011.
• Our London real estate team was recognized for the Europe Deal of the Year in the PERE Awards 2012, for our work on the £480 million acquisition of Chiswick Park.
• The Milan office was awarded the Premio Internazionale Le Fonti for Real Estate Firm of the Year 2011. We were recognized for client service excellence and our work on some of the largest and most prominent real estate M&A transactions in the Italian market.
• Our Paris private equity team was named Law Firm of the Year for LBOs Mid Cap at the Decideurs Strategie Finance Droit Awards 2011.
• Paul Hastings has been named the Global Management Labour and Employment Law Firm of the Year by The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers every year since 2006.

Lawyers in our Europe practice are qualified to advise on matters involving UK, French, German, Italian, U.S., and EU law and regulation. The members of our team have decades of experience working in Europe. We speak the languages, understand unique local business needs, and draw upon the full resources of our firm to help our clients succeed.