ADVANT Altana

Founded in 2009, ADVANT Altana is an independent law firm with 24 partners and 85 lawyers, and is one of the leading business law firms in France. It offers top-level expertise on both advisory and litigation matters to its clients.

ADVANT Altana is highly regarded for its:

. Technical and strategic expertise in advice and litigation with deep understanding of clients’ constraints, activities and cultures.

. Global view of markets, institutions and administrations, providing with new perspectives and insights.

. True collaborative approach to working alongside clients and partners, through specialised and transversal teams.

. Particular know-how on complex issues in highly regulated sectors such as health and life sciences, insurance and banking, construction, TMT and renewable energy

. Strong emphasis on adding value to clients’ activities and projects.

ADVANT Altana is an active member of numerous influential legal and industry associations around the world, including the International Bar Association (IBA), International Trademark Association (INTA), the American Bar Association (ABA) and INSOL International. In addition, the firm is a founding member of LCLIA, an international alliance dedicated to the construction sector.

Arbitration & Mediation: 

3 partners, 7 associates 

Drawing on over thirty years of experience, the team has extensive expertise in high-profile, technical administered (ICC, EDF etc.) and ad hoc commercial arbitration as well as related ADR procedures (mediation, DABs) in sectors as varied as infrastructures, pharmaceuticals, real estate, telecommunications, transport, raw materials, gas/petrol and insurance. The team handles arbitration and ADR before all major global bodies.

Business Litigation: 

10 partners, 25 associates 

Advant Altana is a leading player in litigation and dispute resolution, developing successful litigation strategies for a diverse client base including industrial groups (pharmaceutical, biotech, construction, automobile, energy, high-tech, media, etc.) , insurance, financial institutions and service providers. The team’s 10 partners and 25 associates are annually recognised among the best strategists of the Paris bar.

Construction: 

3 partners, 6 associates 

Advant Altana’s preeminent construction practice is highly ranked and recognised for its experience with cross-border transactions. The depth and breadth of the practice reflects the dynamic nature of the its clients, which include leading global construction firms, and their projects. The firm advises and represents clients in France and abroad at every point of a construction operation, offering clients multi-disciplinary mastery of their projects and a single contact for project development, contract administration and dispute resolution, providing advice in urban planning, white-collar crime, environmental law, employment law, competition law and corporate law.

Corporate, Mergers & Acquisitions: 

4 partners, 6 associates 

The team handles complex and innovative domestic and cross-border M&A transactions and delivers strategic, tactical and technical advice to French and international actors of all sizes, listed or private, in their investment, growth and restructuring strategies. With a very international profile (former partners of US firms and associates admitted to the New York Bar), the team is well-known for its ability to handle upper mid-size cross border transactions, both inbound and outbound, in cooperation with foreign independent firms.

Corporate Restructurings: 

4 partners, 6 associates 

Advant Altana’s restructuring team handles all legal matters related to complex or specific restructuring situations, as well as those related to corporate and finance crisis situations. The team is frequently recognised in various fields of restructuring and special situation activities including: distressed M&A, financial restructuring, operational restructuring, litigation related to corporate, financial and commercial crises, and the restructuring of regulated entities, especially in the financial sector. The firm combines expertise in French law with experience in significant cross-border restructuring cases involving private international and local foreign laws.

Employment Law: 

2 partners, 6 associates 

In litigation as well as transactions, the team provides clients — mainly French and foreign corporations and financial institutions — with pragmatic and innovative business-oriented solutions and advice on day-to-day and strategic employment law issues as well as on complex operations. The team is particularly experienced in employment law issues arising from possible reorganizations, and is recognised for its expertise in collective relations.

EU, Distribution & Competition Law: 

2 partners, 3 associates 

Guided by three decades of experience, the resolutely international team advises leading foreign groups and their subsidiaries established in France and Europe across various business sectors (healthcare, automotive, defense, energy, insurance, etc.) regarding the rapidly evolving areas of European Union (EU) law, including a full range of competition and distribution issues. Advant Altana's attorneys handle matters in the following principal categories: EU and French cartel, antitrust, merger control laws and other EU and French competition, liberalization and regulatory issues.

New Technologies & Data Protection: 

3 partners, 8 associates 

As experienced technicians with a deep understanding of the complexities of IT-related disputes, Advant Altana's new technologies and data protection team advises its French and international clients in all aspects related to their information systems and their security, as well as their IT and Internet activities, corporate social networks and the management and protection of personal data. The firm also provides innovative services in cyber-security strategies and their associated disputes.

Insurance: 

4 partners, 7 associates 

Advant Altana’s insurance practice is recognised for its dedicated expertise in insurance and reinsurance, in both litigation and non-litigation matters (EU/antitrust, regulatory, corporate). Clients include insurers (joint-stock companies, mutuals and provident institutions), reinsurance, intermediaries and any businesses dealing with insurance issues. As part of a modern and reactive team, each member has a clear focus on achieving objectives through flexible methods and team synergies.

Intellectual Property: 

3 partners, 8 associates 

Advant Altana’s highly regarded team advises its French and foreign clients in all aspects of the protection, valuation and security of their intangible assets. The wide breadth of the team’s activity allows for interventions in multi-disciplinary sectors in issues surrounding employee-inventors, copyrights, digital and neighboring rights and employee creators (particularly in the technology and audiovisual sectors) and the implementation of innovative services. More than half of the team’s clientele is international, including leading American web-based service providers and entertainment conglomerates, international pharmaceutical companies, leading US and Asia-based tech companies, automotive and consumer product manufacturers and insurers

Pharma/Life Sciences: 

3 partners, 10 associates

Advant Altana’s multi-disciplinary team includes several practice areas, allowing it to assist a large number of companies and international groups in the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device sectors. Leading players and pioneers in pharmaceuticals, biotech, chemistry or connected health entrust Altana with the most sensitive transactions and disputes. The team is particularly recognized in product liability, trademark and patent litigation, M&A and strategic operations.

Public Economic Law: 

3 partners, 3 associates 

The team has outstanding skill in public procurement, routinely handling disputes related to either the award or the performance of public contracts, primarily in the construction and industrial sectors. The team also assists operators on urban planning aspects of their projects and related litigation.

Real Estate: 

1 partners, 5 associates 

Advant Altana’s team is highly experienced in :

• Negotiation and drafting of leases, in particular off-plan lease (shops, offices, shopping malls, establishments which can receive the public (ERP), logistical units, classified Installation for the Protection of Environment (ICPE), housing, hotels, etc.), the leasing or lease renewal;
• Audit of leases and technical documents (co-ownership regulation, internal regulation, the administrative and technical requirement (CPTA), Asbestos Technical Report (DTA));
• Representation and assistance for lease circle: work distribution, indexation, rent review, lease renewal, sublease, eviction, etc.;
• Representation and assistance for judicial expertise and claims’ management;
• Assistance for the restitution of rented premises : works, keys’ return and deposit;
• Legal advice and drafting of assignment of lease (assignment of tenancy rights with or without business);
• Litigation for the (i) fixation of rent in renewed lease or (ii) eviction or (iii) expulsion indemnities.

Tax Law: 

1 partner, 1 associate 

The team is highly experienced in :

• providing general tax consulting services for both French and overseas clients
• advising large overseas entities on all aspects of their operations including acquisitions, disposals, domestic and international reorganisations
• advising on optimising group structures in numerous industries (healthcare, pharmaceuticals, distribution and the service industry)
• managing tax audit and tax litigation before the French Tax Courts
• assisting with tax and custom duties cases before the French Tax Courts
• providing assistance to French tax consolidated companies
• advising in relation to internal restructures
• advising on tax implications in cross-border merger operations
• advising on the management of tax and transfer pricing audits
• advising companies on the management of intercompany transactions and on transfer pricing documentation requirements
• advising companies on VAT planning and compliance
• advising both French and foreign companies on employee incentives, including long term incentive plans

White-collar Crime: 

1 partner, 5 associates 

The team is highly regarded for expertise in complex white-collar crime proceedings and for thorough representation and accompaniment of major French and international clients at every stage, from prevention to court representation. The team represents and advises clients in all areas of criminal business law, particularly in the financial, industrial and new technologies sectors. The lawyers have recognised expertise in crisis management, compliance, anti-corruption measures and cyber and economic strategy.