Orrick
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The firm: Founded in San Francisco 150 years ago, Orrick is a leading global law firm with a particular focus on serving companies in the technology, energy, infrastructure and financial sectors. The firm is recognised worldwide for delivering the highest quality, commercially oriented legal advice.
France – Our Paris team, known as Orrick Rambaud Martel, is one of the premier international law practices in France. Our team is called on by the largest French and international financial institutions, infrastructure funds, CAC 40 companies, high-growth startups and international companies. Clients turn to our team on the deals, projects and disputes that are shaping the French economy.
Our leadership in the French market dates back a decade, when we combined with Rambaud Martel, one of Paris’s pre-eminent corporate law firms.
Corporate and tech: We have played a role in many of the most innovative French corporate transactions of recent years. We advised Alstom’s board on the $13.5bn sale of the company’s power generation business to General Electric, one of the most complex and closely watched M&A transactions in France, which was named European M&A “deal of the year” by IFLR. The Peugeot family turned to our Corporate team for a $3.4bn (€3bn) capital raise that involved a joint venture with China’s Dongfeng Motor Group. And L’Oréal sought our advice on its $6.8bn (€6bn) stock buyback.
We’re also the leading firm in France’s tech market, advising on venture financings and some of the most noteworthy strategic combinations. The French digital marketing software company Neolane called on us for its $600m sale to Adobe. We advised the restaurant booking platform La Fourchette on its acquisition by US-based service TripAdvisor. And when aerospace, defense and security multinational Thales acquired Bay Area data protection solutions provider Vormetric, it turned to us.
Energy and infrastructure: Our Paris team is recognized for pioneering work in the energy and infrastructure sector. Recent examples include an innovative sea urbanization project that will increase the size of Monaco, the first bond-financed public-private partnership in France for the Cité de la Musique, and the first project finance transaction in France under the new Juncker Plan for the ports of Calais and Boulogne-sur-Mer. We’ve also advised on many French renewable energy projects, including the financing and acquisition of wind farms and solar power facilities.
Africa: Our Africa practice is based in Paris and London. The team advises governments, corporations, private equity funds, major development banks and other lenders on project financings and M&A and private equity transactions. We play an active role in some of the most significant and innovative projects underway on the continent. We represented the Golar Group’s affiliates in a floating liquefaction project in Cameroon – the first in Africa and one of the first in the world. In addition, we play a role in virtually every major mining project underway in Africa. We are also helping our clients develop Africa’s telecoms infrastructure, tech and fintech markets. Where necessary, we act for our clients in dispute resolution, and we have prevailed in some of the largest international arbitration matters in the market.
Finance: Our finance teams act for the leading French and international banks, alternative credit providers, private equity funds, and other corporate borrowers.
Our structured finance and securitization partners have advised on many groundbreaking transactions in France and Europe, including in the area of covered bonds, corporate structured bonds, and the establishment of dedicated origination and refinancing platforms. We also participate in drafting securitization and structured finance legislation and regulations in France. A member of our team is a founder and General Secretary of the Paris Structured Finance Institute (IFSP).
In addition, our Paris lawyers have advised companies on some of the most significant recent restructurings. We advised EuroDisney’s board on a €1bn restructuring. Club Med turned to us for guidance on a $1.1bn take-private transaction. And we guided leading wine and spirits company Belvédère Group in negotiating a comprehensive restructuring. We also advised Davidson Kempner on the restructuring of the bank debt of aviation industry leader Latécoère.
Dispute resolution and employment: We regularly appear before France’s highest courts and before arbitral tribunals, such as the International Chamber of Commerce, the Swiss Chambers of Commerce and the London Court of International Arbitration. In what The American Lawyer called a “mega win,” our Paris team recently secured a €440m judgment for the French government entity Consortium de Réalisation in a highly publicized case known as “L’Affaire Tapie.” We also act for the Republic of Guinea in investor disputes, including a $5bn ICSID arbitration brought by the mining giant BSGR – one of the largest pending arbitrations in the world.
Our employment team is especially known for representing international companies in French employment matters, including employee representation, collective bargaining, collective redundancies, and mergers and acquisitions. We have a strong record in collective litigation.
Our office and our community: Located in the heart of the city on Avenue Pierre 1er de Serbie, our Paris office occupies a building that previously served as the headquarters of the French Employers’ Federation (MEDEF). Through our long-standing partnership with the European American Chamber of Commerce, we regularly host conversations with leaders of Europe’s civic, cultural and business institutions.
Our Paris lawyers provide pro bono counsel to individuals and nonprofit organizations such as the World Wildlife Federation, RARE, Planet Action, and the Institute for Brain and Spinal Cord Disorders, a research center that one of our lawyers has helped lead since its inception. As part of our Orrick Cares initiative, our Paris team runs together in races that benefit causes such as Action Against Hunger, the Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre and breast cancer research.