Rankings France - GCR 100 12th edition

THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMPETITION POLICY AND REGULATION www.globalcompetitionreview.com GCR100 2012
A GUIDE TO THE WORLD’S LEADING
COMPETITION LAW AND ECONOMICS PRACTICES
12 TH ANNUAL EDITION – REVISED AND UPDATED

INTRODUCTION
WELCOME to the 2012 edition of the GCR
100, our comprehensive, independent
assessment of the world’s top antitrust
and competition practices. As in past
years, the GCR 100 offers extensive qualitative analysis
of antitrust groups in jurisdictions around the world.
Compiled by the staff of Global Competition Review,
the publication profiles more than 400 competition
practices at over 300 law firms from across the globe.
Our sister survey, the Economics 20, offers a picture
of the world’s leading economics consultancies for
competition advice.
This year, we feature firms in 41 jurisdictions –
Massachusetts is our new addition to our listings – in
a bid to provide a truly global analysis. The entries
here are based on the information we gather during
our country surveys. Every month, reporters visit two
jurisdictions where they meet with the country’s leading
competition practitioners, as well as the head of the
local enforcement agency. In 2011, we visited Korea,
Ireland, Germany, Boston, Norway, Finland, Greece,
Chicago, Washington, DC, Spain, the Netherlands,
Chile and the UK. The information gathered during
these visits is coupled with an understanding of different
jurisdictions gathered from more than a decade of
reporting competition news around the world.
Firms are grouped into three categories: elite, highly
recommended and recommended. Within each division,
the firms are listed in alphabetical order. Some firms
appear several times in the GCR 100 – a reflection of
their strong practices in more than one jurisdiction.
We have contacted each of the firms included in
our monthly surveys and asked them to update their
information and provide an overview of their work and
any changes to their competition team. Our data covers
the period 31 July 2010 to 1 August 2011, though we
make every effort to include significant developments
since the end of this period, in the interests of making the
publication as relevant as possible. We do not attempt
to cover every firm with a competition law practice in
the listed jurisdictions. We instead use our research to
provide a picture of the leading practices.
In addition to the country surveys, we use knowledge
garnered through our daily news reporting duties to
inform our analysis. Each day, GCR reporters talk to
lawyers, economists and enforcement officials based
all over the world, which gives us a broad picture of
developments in the competition world as they unfold.
This information is vital to our research for this
publication, as it gives us a clear understanding of which
firms are fastest to react to major changes in a jurisdiction
– and can then pass on that knowledge to their clients.
Knowing which is the best firm in an individual
jurisdiction doesn’t necessarily reflect how it performs
on a global stage. For that, we turn to the Global Elite,
our assessment of the top 20 competition practices in
the world, which includes a detailed profile of each
firm featured. To help us determine the international
superstars of the competition bar, we look at several
factors. The size of a firm’s practice is undeniably
important; though quantity doesn’t always guarantee
quality, large practices are generally well equipped to
handle big cases. And it makes sense to assume that firms
fielding large competition teams can justify them in terms
of the value they add.
We also consider the reputations of individual
lawyers within each practice with the help of our
sister publication, The International Who’s Who of
Competition Lawyers and Economists. The Who’s
Who is the product of exhaustive research conducted
over the year, in which researchers speak to hundreds
of lawyers and clients to canvass their views on the very
best individuals in the field. The number of individuals
from a given firm featured in the Who’s Who tells us a
great deal about that firm’s quality.
Also, we asked all of the firms we surveyed for this
edition to tell us which of their rivals they most respected
– both within their given jurisdictions and globally.
Their answers help to shape our reporting and weigh
considerably in calculating which firms will appear in
the Global Elite.
Finally, we consider the stability of a firm’s antitrust
practice, weighing new hires and promotions over the
last year, as well as looking at who’s leaving the firm.
GCR 100: INTRODUCTION
www.globalcompetitionreview.com 3

GCR 100: INTRODUCTION
GCR 100
Successful firms are able to recruit – and retain – the very
best practitioners. This year, those factors have become
even more important after the venerable antitrust group
at Howrey disbanded last year – flooding the market
with a once-in-a-generation deluge of dozens of talented
and experienced competition lawyers. For this edition
of the GCR 100, we find out where the former Howrey
antitrust partners landed.
We hope that the GCR 100 serves a dual purpose.
First, to provide food for thought as to what really makes
one antitrust practice better than the next. And second,
to provide a practical resource for in-house counsel
or for law firms looking to refer work or build more
contacts internationally.
For firms featured in the GCR 100, we list the
practice head, the number of specialists (broken down
by partner, counsel/consultants and senior and junior
associates) and the firm’s major clients. In the rare
instances where firms did not take part in the research
we do not include a write-up, but we do mention them
in the accompanying table.
For the Global Elite, we consider additional criteria
including the number of Who’s Who nominees in the
firm, as well as the percentage of the partnership
to feature in the Who’s Who. We list lateral hires,
partner departures and promotions, and we look at the
competition department as a percentage of the firm as a
whole. We distinguish between firms that see competition
as a main source of work, and those for which it is just
one of many departments that feed at the table of larger
corporate practices.

FRANCE
Competition is fierce among the many antitrust practices operating in France.
Firms set themselves apart by being involved in the biggest cases, both in
France and internationally. Litigation matters, both private and government-led,
are the cornerstone of almost all practices
ElitE
The four competition partners at Bredin Prat have
built up sterling reputations. The team is co-led by
antitrust heavyweights Robert Saint-Esteben and
Hugues Calvet. Together with partner Olivier Billard,
they are all nominees to The International Who’s Who
of Competition Lawyers and Economists and are
often cited by rivals as the most respected lawyers in
the market. Partner Marie-Cécile Rameau is similarly
renowned as a high-quality practitioner. They are
supported by five senior associates, five associates and
three trainees.
The firm has participated in some of the best-known
cases of the year, both in France and at the European level.
Calvet and Billard successfully advised ArcelorMittal
in its appeal against the European Commission’s 276
million fine for cartel activity in the pre-stressing steel
sector. The fine was reduced by 84 per cent to 45.7
million. Similarly, Saint-Esteben represented Air Liquide
in the EU General Court’s annulment of a cartel case
brought by DG Comp against Air Liquide over the
actions of its subsidiary.
In France, Bredin Prat is advising French search
engine operator 1PlusV in its prominent complaint
against Google for alleged abuse of dominance in the
online search market. The company has complained
to the European Commission and filed a 295 million
damages claim at Paris’s Commercial Court. Calvet
and Rameau are also representing France Telecom and
Orange Caraïbe for alleged abuse of dominance in
the French Caribbean. The case has taken on greater
significance after the Commercial Court allowed France
Telecom and Orange Caraïbe to use documents from the
Competition Authority’s files in its defence. Consumer
directory PagesJaunes and tyre manufacturer Michelin
are also on Bredin Prat’s books in abuse of dominance
cases.
In other matters, Billard is representing French
incumbent railway company SNCF in a restructuring
state aid case before the European Commission.
Antoine Choffel in Paris and Stéphane Hautbourg
in Brussels head Gide Loyrette Nouel’s competition
practice. The firm says the two teams are “one and
the same” competition practice, although in our table
below we count only the Paris-based partners. Rival
practitioners maintain that Choffel, a Who’s Who Legal
nominee, is among the most respected antitrust lawyers
in the bar. Emmanuel Reille was promoted to partner
earlier this year.
Gide’s competition lawyers say they have worked on
a significant number of behavioural matters this year.
Choffel and Reille are advising Sony in a price-fixing
case in which the Competition Authority used evidence
from telephone conversations recorded without the
companies’ knowledge. France’s Supreme Court ruled
that the evidence was inadmissible under the French Civil
Procedure Code and European Convention on Human
Rights. The firm also continues to represent bank BPCE
in an appeal against a Competition Authority fine for
price fixing on interchange fees. BPCE was also involved
in establishing a set of commitments with the authority
over banking fees, which was published in April.
On the merger side, in the wine and spirit sectors
Gide’s advised both France’s Castel and Japan’s
Suntory in a joint acquisition of holding company
Grands Millésimes de France. It was approved without
conditions by the European Commission in March. The
firm is involved in several more confidential competition
matters.
France Telecom, Pernod Ricard, Amazon and SNCF
are among Gide’s regular clients.
Founded 21 years ago by brothers Louis and Joseph
Vogel, competition boutique Vogel & Vogel has the
largest practice in Paris, comprising 35 antitrust
specialists.
The group is made up of eight specialist counsel and
25 associates. The brothers remain the only partners at
the firm, with Joseph Vogel nominated to Who’s Who
Legal.
GCR 100: FRANCE
www.globalcompetitionreview.com 77

The firm advised Primagaz in Competition
Authority proceedings over alleged cartel activity and
collective abuse of dominance. The matter was closed
after the authority found key elements of a leniency
application were forgeries, and that there was no proof
of infringement.
Telecoms work has been plentiful. The firm
represented Bouygues Telecom in a successful appeal
at the Court of Cassation against claims of price
discrimination from France Telecom and Orange. The
firm also acted for Bouygues in an abuse of dominance
claim against France Telecom and Orange related to
markets in the French Caribbean.
On the mergers side, Vogel & Vogel handled banking
group BFCM’s takeover of Est Républican, one of
France’s largest regional press groups; it was cleared
with conditions. The firm is proud of its reputation in
the media sector. Meanwhile, Vogel & Vogel also acted
for Beaumanoir Group in its acquisition of clothing
company La City Group, which was cleared in March.
HigHly RECommENdEd
Restructuring at Clifford Chance’s Paris practice has
ensured the firm remains a strong and active competition
team in France. Practice leader Patrick Hubert was joined
in September by renowned London partner and global
competition head Oliver Bretz. Both are Who’s Who
Legal nominees along with of counsel Michel Petite.
The team is experienced. Hubert was formerly
rapporteur general of France’s Competition Authority
and Petite was director general of the European
Commission’s legal service. Katrin Schallenberg, who
was promoted to counsel this year, previously worked at
the UK’s Office of Fair Trading. Two more counsel and
seven associates complete the practice.
Clifford Chance is advising Oracle on interim
proceedings regarding an abuse of dominance complaint
from rival HP, and is acting for the Dutch National Bank
in support of ING against a DG Comp decision relating
to state aid granted by the Netherlands to ING.
On the transactional side, Clifford Chance represents
the French Professional Football League regarding the
tender process for the audio visual rights of the French
“Ligue 1” football division. It is also acting for Caisse
des Dépôts et Consignations and CNP in the acquisition
of a minority shareholding in GRT Gaz. Bretz has also
brought several continuing UK matters which are now
under the purview of the Paris office.
Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier’s competition practice is
going from strength to strength under the leadership of
Didier Théophile and Igor Simic, both Who’s Who Legal
entrants. Third partner Henri Savoie joined the practice
earlier this year.
While the firm is acknowledged historically for
its exceptional merger work, Darrois Villey has been
particularly active on the behavioural front this year.
Having advised long-standing client Banques Populaires
in its merger with Caisses d’Epargne, the firm continues
to advise the merged bank BPCE in the Competition
Authority investigation of interchange fees. Darrois
Villey also successfully defended La Poste before the Paris
Court of Appeals in a 500 million lawsuit regarding
alleged abuse of dominance.
The practice is also acting for French energy
management specialist Schneider in a 100 million
antitrust damages claim brought by railway incumbent
SNCF before the French Administrative Court, and
advising French publisher Gallimard over a European
Commission investigation of e-books, but the commission
ended its probe of Gallimard in December.
Merger work also continues apace at Darrois Villey,
and the firm is advising logistics company Geodis, a
subsidiary of SNCF, in its proposed takeover of rival
Tatex, which the authority has taken to Phase II.
Who’s Who Legal nominee Jérôme Philippe leads the
Paris competition practice at Freshfields Bruckhaus
Deringer. He is supported by partner Maria Trabucchi,
who returned to the firm in 2009 with a team from
Weil Gotshal & Manges, having begun her career at
Freshfields. Two counsel and eight associates make up
the modest but well-regarded team.
Multi-jurisdictional merger filings have been
something of a speciality at Freshfields this year. The
firm recently advised Converteam on its US$3.2 billion
sale to General Electric, which required filings in six
jurisdictions, including the European Commission. It
also represented luxury brand LVMH in its 4.3 billion
acquisition of Bulgari, which entailed several worldwide
filings, and EADS and Astrium’s joint acquisition of
Vizada, another global merger.
Behaviourally, the firm advised Laboratoires Pierre
Fabre in a landmark case at the European Court of Justice
on the legality of refusing to allow internet sales of its
products. The ECJ judged the action to be a restriction of
competition in a preliminary ruling in October.
Freshfields says that antitrust and merger litigation
continue to be high priorities for the Paris team, with
three cases before the ECJ and several before the French
courts. The firm says it is has particular expertise in
leniency applications, and has filed around one-third of
all applications to the French competition authorities.
Behavioural work has been the order of the day at
Linklaters. Led by practice head and Who’s Who Legal
nominee Olivier d’Ormesson, the firm has handled
numerous cartel investigations and subsequent litigations
in recent times.
Linklaters is representing Société Générale in the
recently launched European Commission investigation
of the alleged euro-yen exchange rate cartel, and Sanofi-
Aventis in follow-on investigations to the pharmaceutical
sector inquiry and subsequently opened proceedings in
France and Europe. The list goes on, as the firm is acting
for Legris Industries and its subsidiary Comap before
GCR 100: FRANCE
GCR 100
www.globalcompetitionreview.com 79

GCR 100: FRANCE
GCR 100
the European Court of Justice in an appeal against fines
issued in the copper fittings cartel probe. Linklaters
is also representing Air France in the air cargo cartel
proceedings, and has several private litigation matters
before the French courts.
Despite this, the merger work has also flowed
steadily. Linklaters advised on GDF Suez’s acquisition
of Ne Varietur, which controls two of France’s largest
heating networks; the deal was cleared in February. It
is also advising GDF Suez in its proposed merger with
International Power, which would create the world’s
largest utility.
D’Ormesson is supported by two other partners,
Who’s Who Legal entrant Anne Wachsmann and
Pierre Zelenko, two counsel and 13 associates.
White & Case is headed by Jean-Paul Tran Thiet with
the support of Jean-Patrice de La Laurencie – both
nominees to the Who’s Who Legal. De La Laurencie
is now of counsel, and remains vice president of the
French association of antitrust specialists. Charles-
Henri Calla was appointed counsel last year. Counsel
Juliette Goyer and seven associates make up the rest
of the team.
The firm is representing L’Oréal before the Paris
Court of Appeals over a landmark decision by the
Supreme Court related to the perfume and cosmetics
markets. Tran Thiet is also representing Mondial
Relay over a complaint regarding an anti-competitive
agreement with La Poste, in which a request for interim
measures against Mondial Relay was dismissed. At the
European level, White & Case is acting for Nexans in
DG Comp’s power cables cartel probe.
Most notably, the firm advised Terminal Porte
Océane in its challenge before the Paris Court of
Appeal of an authority decision to impose sanctions on
four port operators for coordinating to share dockside
stations. In a landmark ruling last January, the court
judged that no antitrust violation had occurred
because the parties’ actions were unilateral. De La
Laurencie says it is the first case of its kind in France
encompassing a joint venture agreement with a parent
company.
White & Case is also advising on the Tereos/
Groupe Quartier Français deal in the sugar cane
sector, which the authority considered may have led
to a monopoly in Réunion. It was approved in June.
Among the many other cases currently under way,
the firm is also advising several telecoms clients and
two global pharmaceutical companies over antitrust
and regulatory matters.
RECommENdEd
All three partners at Allen & Overy are nominated to
Who’s Who Legal, giving an indication of the firm’s
strength in France. Michel Struys relocated to Paris
from the firm’s London and Brussels offices, joining
Florence Ninane and practice head Olivier Fréget. Fleur
Herrenschmidt is counsel, and the team is completed by
one senior associate and six associates.
The firm says it has particular expertise in
antitrust litigation, which is demonstrated by the firm’s
behavioural-heavy workload this year. The team is
advising Expedia before the Court of Cassation and
the European Court of Justice over a joint venture with
railway company SNCF, and is acting for Janssen-Cilag
before the French Competition Authority regarding
alleged predatory pricing. Allen & Overy is also advising
BNP Paribas and Société Générale in DG Comp’s
investigation of the credit default swap sector.
Led by François Brunet in Paris and Antoine Winckler
in Brussels, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton’s practice
covers the full spectrum of competition work, including
mergers, litigation, abuse of dominance and state aid.
Seven associates work full-time on competition matters
in Paris.
The firm is acting for cosmetic company Estée Lauder
in its successful appeal against a Competition Authority
fine for cartel activity in the perfume and cosmetics
sectors. The authority has appealed against the ruling
at the French Supreme Court. Winckler is representing
long-standing client Google in several French private
enforcement cases, including the largest-ever claim filed
against them in Europe by 1PlusV. He is also acting for
Hachette in the European e-books market probe.
Merger work is plentiful. Cleary Gottlieb is
representing Airbus and parent EADS in its offer to
purchase Satair’s shares, and is advising Total in the sale
of its resins businesses to chemical company Arkema,
among several others.
Philippe Guibert and Laure Givry are co-heads of De
Pardieu Brocas Maffei’s competition practice, which was
established by Guibert in 2004. They say the firm has
taken on an increasing number of merger control cases
over the past year.
De Pardieu is advising Agrial in its tie-up with Elle
& Vire, a merger in the milk sector that was approved
with remedies. The firm also acted in the oil deal between
Chevron and Rubis, and is representing paper company
Arjowiggins in its merger with Munskjo, which has been
notified to the European Commission.
The firm is acting for Société Générale in an
antitrust case brought by the competition authority
over credit card interchange fees. It has also advised
solar power company Solaire Direct on an abuse of
dominance complaint lodged against energy group
EDF, in which Guibert obtained interim measures from
the authority. Many other cases before the authority
remain confidential, but span the sugar, copper tube
manufacturing, pharmaceutical and cereal sectors. Both
Guibert and Givry are Who’s Who Legal nominees.
They are supported by five associates, one of whom was
recruited in June.
80 gLobaL Competition review

GCR 100: FRANCE
GCR 100
Firm
Elite
bredin prat
gide Loyrette
nouel
vogel & vogel
willkie Farr &
gallagher
Highly Recommended
Head of
competition
robert Saintesteben,
Hugues
Calvet
Size Clients
4p, 5sa,
5a, 3t
antoine Choffel 5p, 23a
Joseph vogel,
Louis vogel
Jacques-philippe
gunter
Clifford Chance patrick Hubert
Darrois villey
maillot brochier
Freshfields
bruckhaus
Deringer
Linklaters
white & Case
Didier théophile,
igor Simic
2p, 8c,
25a
3p, 10a n/a
2p, 1oc,
3c, 7a
3p, 8a, 2t
Jérôme philippe 2p, 2c, 8a
olivier
d’ormesson
Jean-paul tran
thiet, Jeanpatrice
de La
Laurencie
3p, 1oc,
1c, 13a
1p, 2c, 7a
Who’s Who Legal nominee Frédéric Fuchs set up his
firm Fuchs Cohana Reboul & Associés in 2005, after
gaining experience at prominent competition law firms.
He worked for Linklaters and then Freshfields, before
moving to Weil Gotshal & Manges when it launched its
Paris competition practice. He is joined in the partnership
by Sébastien Dominguez.
Although a young, small practice, Fuchs Cohana
has plenty of work on its books. It is advising
arcelormittal, eDF, mars, michelin, SnCF, Hermès, philips, France
telecom, orange, La banque postale, LvmH, the French State,
veolia eau, Danone, tDF, aéroports de paris, Cemex, eurazeo
bpCe, Sony, Crédit agricole, Yoplait, L’oréal, SnCF, Dyson, pernod
ricard, amazon
bouygues group, eaDS, elior, eurosport, FnaC, Ford France,
general motors, LvmH, mattel, mercedes-benz, miele, nissan,
playmobil, pomona, primagaz, renault, rte, Seb, Shiseido,
SnCm, tF1, Deutsche telekom group, veolia, volkswagen group,
Yamaha
axa, Shell, barclays, Fédération Française de Football, Hearst
Corporation, Dutch national bank, Saint-gobain, SFr, randstad,
Carrefour
amazon, bouygues, bpCe, Française des Jeux, Free, Lagardère,
La poste, nrJ, Sumitomo metal industries, tF1, Unibail rodamco,
vente-privée.com
astrium, brenntag, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations,
Cargill, Carlson wagonlit travel; Colgate-palmolive; Compass;
Converteam; Danone; eaDS; gDF Suez; general mills; groupe
Soufflet; Laboratoires boiron; Laboratoires pierre Fabre; LvmH;
mars; rtL group; Sony pictures entertainment; total; visa europe
3 Suisses international, adecco, air France/KLm, alcatel, bnp
paribas, bp, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignation (CDC), Faurecia,
gDF Suez, grand vision, intermarché, Kronenbourg, Legris,
Lyonnaise des eaux, microsoft, pSa peugeot Citroën, Sanofiaventis,
Société générale, Suez environnement, tarkett, tereos,
total
alstom, apeC, auchan, bC partners, bnp paribas, Carlyle,
Crédit Coopératif, erDF, Hertz, iK investment partners, L’oréal,
mattel, mondial relay, nestlé, nexans, novartis/Sandoz, pfizer,
office national des Forêts, port de Calais, rentokil, SteFtFe,
tDF, tereos, UFFi ream, Unibail-rodamco, Union des aéroports
Français, Yves rocher
Key: p = partner, c = counsel, co = consultant, sa = senior associate, sad = senior adviser a = associate,
e = economist
pharmaceutical company Teva in an abuse of
dominance complaint against Sanofi-Aventis, and
television company Itas Tim in another dominance
case regarding rival TdF. On the other side of the
table, Fuchs Cohana is defending promotional voucher
company Sogec in a private damages claim for alleged
anti-competitive practices.
Merger work is also steady, with the firm advising
aerospace component manufacturer Lisl Aerospace over
82 gLobaL Competition review

its purchase of rival Creuzet-Indréaro. It is also acting
for SCC France, an IT device distributor, in its merger
with LNA. Fuchs says the firm is also handling several
distribution matters.
Herbert Smith’s competition practice lost former co-head
Jacques Buhart to rival McDermott Will & Emery in
May. Who’s Who Legal nominee Sergio Sorinas, who
joined the firm from Cleary Gottlieb three years ago, is
now the sole partner at the practice. He is supported by
three associates, who contribute to an efficient and busy
practice.
The firm has been representing Arkema before the EU
General Court in appeals against European Commission
fines, and has secured penalty reductions of more than
100 million. Sorinas is also advising Lagardère in
an abuse of dominance complaint against rival Canal
Plus, and continues to act for HSBC in the Competition
Authority’s credit card interchange fee probe.
On the transactional side, Herbert Smith acted for
Chevron in the sale of its petrol assets in the French
Caribbean to Rubis Group, which was cleared with
remedies in July. The firm also secured unconditional
approval from the European Commission regarding a
joint venture between JC Decaux and Aéroports de Paris.
Pierre de Montalembert leads the competition team
at Hogan Lovells, and is joined in the partnership by
Who’s Who Legal entrant Michel Debroux. The pair
is supported by one counsel, one senior associate, an
associate and a trainee.
In December 2009, Debroux obtained a landmark
state aid ruling by the EU General Court, annulling
the European Commission’s decision forcing energy
company EDF to reimburse over 1.2 billion to the
state. The decision is the highest ever state aid annulment
ruling to date at EU level. A hearing before the grand
Chamber of the Court was held in Luxembourg in July.
The team continues to represent fuel company Esso
in cartel proceedings before the Paris Court of Appeals
over alleged anti-competitive practices regarding the
sale of jet fuel. De Montalembert also advised banking
group Cartes Bancaires in reaching a settlement with the
Competition Authority over the reduction of interbank
fees on card payments.
The firm is active on the merger side too, with
Debroux advising private equity group Apax Partners
France over the sale of satellite-base communications
company Vizada to EADS for 960 million.
Jones Day’s competition group received a boost when
practice co-head Eric Barbier de La Serre joined from
Latham & Watkins in October. He shares the leadership
with Who’s Who Legal nominee Eric Morgan de Rivery,
and the team is completed by three associates.
The team scored a prominent victory for chemical
company Elf Aquitaine when in September the European
Court of Justice annulled cartel fines issued to the
company by DG Comp over the actions of its subsidiary,
Arkema, in an alleged chemical cartel.
On the merger front, Jones Day advised energy
company Eni in its 38.7 million acquisition of a stake
in Altergaz. The firm says it regularly appears in cases
before DG Comp and the European courts, as well as
before the French courts and Competition Authority.
After losing Eric Barbier de La Serre to Jones Day, Latham
& Watkins’s Paris antitrust team has two partners. Alain
Georges is now counsel, while Frédéric Pradelles and
Hugues Vallette Viallard share the partnership. All are
fully dedicated to competition matters, with Viallard
splitting his time between the Paris and Brussels offices,
and they are supported by four associates.
The firm has worked on many multi-jurisdictional
merger filings in recent months. The team advised AXA
PE and Permira in their joint acquisition of Opodo from
Amadeus, which created one of Europe’s largest online
travel agencies. Latham & Watkins also represented
LBO France on its purchase of Karavel, and a secondphase
merger between press company Presstalis and
several wholesalers in the press distribution sector.
Behavioural work is also steady, with Latham &
Watkins advising Groupement des Cartes Bancaires in
the interchange fee investigation before the French and
European competition authorities. The firm is also acting
for Edenred in an abuse of dominance probe in the gift
card market, and is defending Presstalis before Belgium’s
Competition Authority over abuse of dominance in the
distribution of French press in Belgium.
McDermott Will & Emery entered the French
competition market this year, launching its new Paris
office in May with the hiring of Who’s Who Legal
nominee Jacques Buhart from Herbert Smith. Buhart
brought two associates with him, and the practice is
looking to grow in stature and numbers.
Buhart says the team works very closely with the
Brussels competition practice, and is working primarily
on merger filings and behavioural cases. It advised
M-Real Zanders in a Phase II merger clearance from
DG Comp for the sale of assets Arjo Wiggins, subject to
the divestment of M-Real’s carbonless paper business.
The firm also represented Atos Origin in its acquisition
of Banksys Belgium and its subsidiary.
On the investigations front, McDermott is advising
M-Real in a commission investigation of alleged
cooperation in the paper industry. The firm is also acting
for a company in a European transport cartel probe, and
a German company that was raided by French and EU
authorities. McDermott also carries out compliance and
distribution work for several international companies.
Known for her expertise in the pharmaceutical, luxury
goods, media, financial and food industries, Mélanie
Thill-Tayara is head of competition at Norton Rose
in Paris, joining from Salans in October 2009. The
GCR 100: FRANCE
GCR 100
www.globalcompetitionreview.com 83

GCR 100: FRANCE
GCR 100
Firm
Recommended
Head of
competition
allen & overy olivier Fréget
Cleary gottlieb
Steen &
Hamilton
De pardieu
brocas maffei
Fuchs Cohana
reboul &
associés
François brunet,
antoine winckler
philippe guibert,
Laure givry
Size Clients
3p, 1c, 1sa,
6a
2p, 7a
2p, 5a
Frédéric Fuchs 2p, 1c, 1a
Herbert Smith Sergio Sorinas 1p, 3a
Hogan Lovells
Jeantet
associés
Jones Day
Latham &
watkins
mcDermott will
& emery
norton rose
viguié Schmidt
peltier Juvigny
pierre de
montalembert
Loraine
Donnedieu de
vabres-tranié
eric barbier de
La Serre, eric
morgan de rivery
Frédéric pradelles,
Hugues vallette
viallard
2p, 1c, 1sa,
1a, 1t
4p, 6a, 1t n/a
2p, 3a
2p, 1c, 4a
Jacques buhart 1p, 2a
mélanie thilltayara
olivier de Juvigny,
iñaki Saintesteben
1p, 1oc, 5a
SFr, bayer, glaxoSmithKline, vicat, expedia, procter & gamble,
Direct energie, Canal+, novartis, Clearnet, bnp paribas, esso
arcelormittal, bnp paribas, Danone, eCr, Dupont, eaDS, elis,
euronext, Faurecia, générale de Santé, goodyear, google,
Hachette, Heineken, JCDecaux, Kme, Lafarge, Lagardère,
manpower, merck, otis, rexel, Saint Louis Sucre, texas pacific
group, United technologies Corporation, valeo, vallourec, veolia
axereal, bristol-myers Squibb, Solaire Direct, mitsubishi, Scor,
total, Société générale, C Fonb, Yves rocher, babyliss, petit
bateau, Deutsche bahn, arjowiggins, agrial
teva, eaDS, Syndicat national de l’edition, Krys group,
Champagne nicolas, Feuillate, itas tim, Sogec
arkema, Lagardère, Chevron, JCDecaux, eaDS, eni, Dong
energy, relay France, robert bosch, Cooper-Standard
automotive, Somfy
apax, ap møller maersk, aéroports de paris, bnp paribas, Colt
telecommunications, Crédit agricole, eDF, eneL France SaS,
exxonmobil, esso SaF, grt gaz, HSbC France, Hutchinson,
michelin, nintendo France, pari mutuel Urbain, Sequana, Société
générale, texas instruments France, vizada
bureau veritas, elf aquitaine/total, eni, iFpen, JCb, Sanofi,
SmCa, veolia environnement
aXa/permira, presstalis, Soprocom, matéris, iCg, Lbo France,
go voyages, gCb
m-real, m-real Zanders, vandermoortele, Canon, atos origin,
Chevron, Keolis, nokia, Fast retailing, barilla, ajinomoto,
Sumitomo Chemical, JSr, Konami, tata France, warner bros
Cephalon, Comité Colbert, medtronic, Les messageries
Lyonnaises de presse, nestlé, roche, Sanofi-aventis, Scheringplough
2p, 5a, 1pl Flammarion, renault trucks, bnp paribas, Casino
Key: p = partner, c = counsel, co = consultant, sa = senior associate, sad = senior adviser a = associate, e =
economist
84 gLobaL Competition review

group has grown over the past year, and Thill-Tayara is
supported by one of counsel and five associates.
Following a complaint from generic drug
manufacturer Arrow, Thill-Tayara assisted
pharmaceutical company Schering-Plough during
a dawn raid, and then in proceedings before the
Competition Authority and latterly the appeals court.
She is also advising pharmaceutical company Sanofi-
Aventis in several litigation cases, including a dispute
against biotech start-up Sepal Pharma, and represented
luxury goods company Chanel during DG Comp’s
review of the rules on vertical restraints.
In the press distribution field, the practice has
acted for Les Messageries Lyonnaises de Presse in its
challenge to rival Presstalis’s acquisition of Soprocom.
Viguié Schmidt Peltier Juvigny was created in May
2009 through the merger of Vivien & Juvigny with
boutique Viguié Schmidt. The firm’s ascension in the
antitrust arena since then has been impressive, and
practice co-heads Olivier de Juvigny and Iñaki Saint-
Esteben are both Who’s Who Legal entrants.
De Juvigny says the practice has “gone from
strength to strength”, and the work it is carrying out
supports this assessment. Viguié Schmidt advised BNP
Paribas in the Competition Authority’s investigation
of banking fees, which was closed in April with
commitments rather than fines. The firm is also
representing supermarket Casino, together with Gide
Loyrette, over abuse of dominance allegations brought
by the Mayor of Paris.
De Juvigny adds that the group is becoming more
active in European antitrust matters. Viguié Schmidt
represented publisher Flammarion in a European
Commission investigation of the e-books market.
Flammarion was recently dropped from DG Comp’s
probe. The firm is also acting for Renault Trucks in the
commission’s investigation of the truck sector, in which
it carried out dawn raids in January.
Several other firms have a presence on the French
competition scene, each with an impressive portfolio of
clients and most supporting a larger corporate group.
These include Bird & Bird, which hired former Howrey
head of antitrust in Paris Claude Lazarus as counsel.
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, Shearman & Sterling,
Mayer Brown and Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker
are also active in France.
The names Sylvain Justier and Vincent Jaunet,
co-founders of new boutique Magenta, which specialises
in competition, distribution and regulatory law, are also
expected to become more widely recognised in the future.
GCR 100: FRANCE
GCR 100
www.globalcompetitionreview.com 85