International & Cross-Border Transactions | Global

A&O Shearman offers a full-service platform in Paris, well known for its strong international and cross-border capabilities across a wide-range of practice areas and sectors. The Paris office serves as a key hub for the firm's wider network, which has a strong appeal for national and international clients in equal measure and provides close links to experts across Europe, America, Asia and Africa. The Paris office is well known for handling cross-border issues involving multiple other countries, including emerging markets, and is recognised by clients for offering seamless coordination across jurisdictions. On 1st May 2024, Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling merged to form A&O Shearman.

The law firm's thriving hub in Paris fulfils an important role in the firm's wider international strength. It is an important location for the firm's African expertise and it is particularly well equipped to lead pan-European cross-border matters, as well as in a global context. A broad range of clients refer to the firm's international capabilities in Paris and value both the team's role as French counsel on inbound work and its strength in managing outbound mandates.

The Paris team frequently acts as lead adviser on multi-jurisdictional deals and it has an impressive track record of serving clients on French law aspects of inbound deals. The law firm's integrated network is one of its key strengths, and with offices in Europe, the Middle East, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Africa, it has a distinguished global footprint. The firm also serves clients' cross-border demands in jurisdictions outside the scope of its office network through its 'Stronger Together' association of local firms.

Linklaters' team in Paris has a strong focus on international work across a broad scope of transactional and contentious areas. Combining a strong hub of resources in France with an extensive network abroad, the firm's global reach is a key attraction, as is the close integration between its offices in Paris and London. The team is also recognised for its ability to coordinate complex mandates across multiple jurisdictions from France, with cross-border issues involving other parts of Western Europe and Africa being the major element.

White & Case has developed an outstanding full-service offering in its Paris office, which has significant appeal for international and cross-border work and impressive strength and breadth of global reach. The team is praised for having precise local-market knowledge with outstanding capabilities in leading legal matters overseas. Its ability to mobilise strong local correspondents in remote emerging economies is often noted, with construction arbitration and project finance work involving Africa a particular strength.

Recognised as a prestigious independent law firm in France, Darrois excels in cross-border transactional and contentious matters. It has maintained a reputable status in the market for high-end work and has developed strong relationships with international and multinational clients. Darrois serves clients in cross-border matters through collaborative relationships with leading firms in other jurisdictions around the world, including top independent firms in New York and London. Its ability to act both independently and cooperatively with other firms, in either lead or co-counsel roles, makes Darrois a popular choice for handing cross-border mandates, particularly for large corporations that are headquartered in France.

Gide's geographic presence spans Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the USA, including offices with local law capabilities as well as French law offices that maintain close relationships with partner firms across regions. The Paris team frequently collaborates with its own offices and with local independent firms when coordinating cross-border work and has established a particularly strong rapport with leading firms elsewhere in Western Europe. The law firm demonstrates excellent abilities acting as lead counsel on outbound work and as French counsel on inbound matters.

Weil Gotshal holds an established position in the French market as a superb option for handling international matters, with a particular focus on acting for multinational private equity funds on cross-border restructuring and M&A transactions. Its clients also include large international corporations, and the team in Paris frequently guides them on complex cross-border transactions covering several jurisdictions.

Demonstrating a strong transactional capability, the Paris team's caseload is dominated by international deals and it advises a mixture of international clients with business interests in France and domestic companies wishing to expand operations overseas. The law firm has developed a strong name within communications and IT, and clients in those industries are well served by its international experience of the sector. The law firm also provides comprehensive advice on cross-border tax issues and is ideally positioned to provide a global service on mid-market transactions.

The Paris practice contributes to the overall global strength of the firm, both acting as French counsel on inbound matters and capable of leading cross-border deals into other jurisdictions, regularly utilising the breadth of Hogan Lovells' overseas offices in its network. The law firm's international network covers the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, making it a popular choice for international and French multinational clients that require a well-equipped and versatile team in Paris.

The advantage of links to the firm's US centre is noted as an added value for transatlantic work; however, the firm's Paris team is also recognised for regularly taking on the role of lead counsel in international transactions and driving deals involving multiple jurisdictions. The firm's broad global presence reaches across Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region, while strong links between the Paris office and Jones Day's teams elsewhere in Europe and the Middle East are cited as an important attraction for clients.

Willkie Farr's Paris office is particularly renowned as a key hub in the law firm's wider global transactions practice and holds significant appeal for clients in need of support on cross-border issues in private equity buyouts, corporate restructuring and M&A. The team has a strong track record of assisting both French multinational and international companies on outbound and inbound mandates and is best known for its popularity with private equity funds and asset managers in mid-to-large cap private equity transactions. While close cooperation with the firm's impressive US base holds significant appeal for transatlantic work, the Paris team also regularly operates in a coordinating role in conjunction with the firm's other European offices and receives praise for its well-established position in the French market.

CMS Paris is a well-respected practice which offers clients a solid range of transactional capabilities, characterised by a strong focus on capital markets work and top-ranked tax law expertise. The law firm's international appeal centres on strong domestic foundations in France coupled with a credible pan-European platform, providing clients with a valued network of offices, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe. The French office also houses a significant proportion of the firm's Africa experts, who regularly work on cross-border issues involving North Africa.

The law firm has a leading life sciences industry group within its Paris office which frequently handles cross-border M&A and IP issues for pharmaceutical and chemical companies. Its capacity to provide high-quality advice on fund formation and taxation issues considering both US and European laws is also cited as a key advantage the firm is able to offer to its private equity clients. While the typical channel for the firm's cross-border work is matters involving France and the USA, the firm's strategically located offices across Europe, Asia and the Middle East also provide significant global reach.

Transactions, including M&A and various forms of financing matters, are often led and coordinated from the Paris office, sometimes involving a large number of jurisdictions. Dentons as a whole has a vast global coverage, and its comprehensive international network is a significant attraction to French, European and international clients. The law firm particularly stands out to clients investing in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, due to its well-established network in the region.

DLA Piper's Paris office offers a respectable full-service offering which has great appeal for cross-border transactional and contentious matters. The team offers its varied client base a gateway to its vast network of locations worldwide, with multiple offices situated across Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Africa. It has vast experience acting in lead and co-counsel roles for a range of clients, including well-known French and global companies.

Mayer Brown has a strong focus on serving the financial sector globally, and its Paris office demonstrates strong international capabilities within that core area of expertise. The Paris team's particular aptitude in tax and good reputation in banking, M&A and private equity deals mean that cross-border transactions are a key area for the Paris office. The firm is known for leading high-stake outbound deals from Paris as well as acting as co-counsel on inbound work. The practice typically advises major international financial institutions and large French companies with overseas business, and they also benefit from the law firm's international network in important financial centres worldwide.

The Paris office has cultivated a strong reputation for orchestrating cross-border work and providing French law support in global mandates across litigation, M&A, structured finance, and energy and infrastructure projects. It acts for an impressive array of French and global corporations and financial institutions. The law firm is particularly recognised for its respected practice in Africa, supporting clients in projects across various African jurisdictions through coordination with its own international offices and a solid network of local law firms.

Paul Hastings' Paris practice is an integral part of the law firm's overall global strength and has developed an impressive hub in France principally dedicated towards international work for banks, private equity funds and asset managers with a base in France. The team is capable of handling a mix of inbound and outbound mandates, and clients recognise that this is a key attraction of the firm, by maintaining an ability to combine international experience with a well-embedded local reputation.

Sullivan & Cromwell's Paris offering forms a core part of the law firm's international network and European strength. Operating in close collaboration with colleagues overseas, the French team is particularly well equipped to advise on sophisticated cross-border M&A deals, ECM transactions and international tax matters. French companies with interests outside of France, as well as overseas clients with operations in the jurisdiction, will benefit from the firm's highly-rated transactional capabilities.