IFLR 1000
The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms

Freshfields keeps its position in the top tier. "An excellent firm, breadth and depth everywhere," says a peer.

The firm has a good group of partners who are well known amongst the leading practitioners, among them John Davies (who became practice group leader in 2010), David Broomhall, Frank Montag, Michael Esser (on the German side), Andreas von Bonin (an expert in state aid) and Laurent Garzaniti (on the Belgian side).

The firm's most prestigious work over the past year saw Esser achieve full immunity for Chiquita in the Commission's cartel investigation into the banana market and successfully guide NEC Corporation through the Commission's new cartel settlement process, culminating in the first ever settlement under new rules in a core cartel case.

In other work, Alan Ryan managed to get Emirates (airline) excluded from the Commission air cargo cartel investigation and assisted Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air on merger control issues.

Broomhall advised Rosneft on its €12 billion alliance with BP and Davies acted for Blue Sky consortium, a group comprising ArcelorMittal, Nyrstar, Solvay, Tessenderlo Chemie and others, on a proposed joint investment with Electrabel. Garzaniti advised for Solvay on its €3.4 billion acquisition of Rhodia.

Overall the team played active roles in cartel cases, merger review processes, state aid cases (for clients including ING and Volvo), behavioural and regulatory cases and public affairs matters.

Freshfields Belgium has a slightly smaller presence in terms of lawyer numbers than its direct competitors, however it punches above its weight thanks to its network, which keeps it in close contact with the London investment banks and top corporate clientele.

"A fine firm to work with, well-known, depends a bit on the people assigned to the transaction," says one client. "They are good for large cross-border deals, with major clients like Solvay and UCB", says a peer, "and when they are involved, the transaction is a major one".

In terms of equity deals, the firm advised UBS and KBC Securities on the €50 million secondary public offering of Ablynx and Geert Verhoeven advised Bank Degroof, ING and KBC as lead arrangers on the €50 million secondary public offering of shares in Aedifica.

The firm also advised Belgacom on a bond buy-back programme and Eurobond issuance within its EMTN programme (the firm has so far advised Belgacom on all its renewals within the programme) and Fluxys on a €100-€300 million bond offering to investors, marking the first such issue for Fluxys for a significant period of time.

Verhoeven also acted for Delhaize, an active client of the firm's that embarks on significant capital markets transactions on an annual basis, as issuer of a private offer of bonds worth €375 million.

With Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's network strength and huge presence in London, the firm, we are reminded by peers, is never one to discount. There is a lingering impression in the market that since the departure of Ivan Peeters to Stibbe the firm has pulled back a bit, however Charles-Antoine Leunen and his team have cultivated a very high level of respect in the market. It is widely considered the strongest of the tier three firms and is poised to move up.

One frequent client of the international firms in Belgium explains the importance of not relying on London: "It is important to have people on the ground in Brussels, the main difference with the London people is that the quality of service is better in that the people are more dedicated and care more about the client; Freshfields have a very good local team."

Another peer comments that the firm is "not that big but gets some very nice transactions, it has a very strong brand name, good reputation with the banks and you really can't ignore them".

Leunen comes in for personal praise: "I have a high belief in him, very high quality, made partner two years ago, young but great," says one peer.

The firm has a strong legacy in project financing and PPPs (public-private partnerships), and it continued to handle top projects throughout 2010, most notably advising CFE on the Eupen Schools project, which aims to provide educational facilities to the German speaking population, and on one of the largest project financings in 2010 advising Sofina as equity investor in €1.2 billion financing for 03b Networks.

Elsewhere, the firm advised on the BAM PPP and has managed to back the preferred bidder on two of the four prison projects being tendered on a PPP basis.

On the banking side, the firm advised BNP Paribas Fortis on a €190 million financing to Metallum, Volvo Cars on €198 million term loan facility by ING and guaranteed by Gigarant, and Fluxys on a €400 million revolving facility from BNP Paribas Fortis and KBC.

Freshfields moves up to tier two this year following positive market sentiment and a strong showing on M&A transactions.

According to one client, the firm is "strong, reliable and efficient - not cheap, but it is value for money as this was a very big transaction, very complex, and they did everything". Another client recommends Geert Verhoeven: "Especially him, he has lots of experience, he is practical, available, and excellent technically."

Through 2010 and 2011, the firm advised Solvay on all of its M&A, which included two large deals: a 50% sale of shareholding in joint-venture Plastic Automotive Inergy to Compagnie Plastic Omnium for €270 million, and its acquisition of the French chemicals group Rhodia for €4.5 billion. The Brussels team led on both deals, which involved a number of the firm's offices.

The firm also acted for its regular client RTL in its unsuccessful attempt to buy the Belgium operations of ProSiebenSat.1 and advised Elia and Australian infrastructure investor IFM Global Infrastructure on the acquisition of 50 Hertz Transmission, subsidiary of Vattenfall, for €810 million.

Further prestigious mandates saw the firm advise UCB on the sale of its manufacturing businesses in Germany and Italy to Aesica, Blue Sky consortium on the formation of a joint-venture with GDF Suez and the Belgian listed gas transportation company Fluxys on the sale of a 38.5% stake to Publigas for €636 million.

Freshfields in Paris is best known for its securitisation work and its strength in this area sees it once again ranked in the top tier. As a result of its strong corporate offering, the equity team is also highly regarded and continues to advise on noteworthy mandates.

One such deal saw the firm's Hong Kong team cooperate with Paris partner David Revcolevschi advising L'Occitane, the French cosmetics group, in relation to its IPO listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The deal was valued at €525 million and is part of a trend which has seen several European luxury good manufacturers looking to Asia to list.

Another highlight saw Revcolevschi advise Goldman Sachs, as underwriter, in relation to Ingenico's €220 million oceanes (convertible) bond issuance.

Another key client is Accor, a French multinational corporation providing hospitality service and last year partner Patrick Bonvarlet led the team representing the French group as the majority shareholder in relation to the contemplated IPO by Groupe Lucien Barri, listed on NYSE Euronext in Paris. The offering was launched in September 2010, though Accor sold its stake in a private M&A transaction later on. "Patrick Bonvarlet is an old partner, who has been around for a long time," says one rival. "He's a good professional, and I think he knows his stuff well."

Share capital increases was another main area which has kept the firm busy throughout 2010. Partner Alan Mason headed the team advising Caisse des dépôts et Consignations, the French financial organisation, in relation to its subscription to the share capital increase with preferential subscription rights of Campagine des Alpes. The deal was worth €100 million.

Debt capital markets transactions have occupied most of the team's work. One of the largest mandates saw partner Fabrice Grillo advise Société Générale, in relation to the incorporation of a new covered bond issuer Société Générale SFH (sociétés de financement de l'habitat – mortgage company), and the establishment of its €25 billion EMTN programme to issue obligations de financement de l'habitat (OFH – mortgage covered bonds). It is a strategic mandate because it will refinance most of the residential mortgage activities of the Société Générale group in France.

Elsewhere finance partner Dougall Molson advised arranger BNP Paribas in connection with the French industrial company Lafarge's €12 billion EMTN programme together with its annual update. Again Molson was involved as the team acted on a €500 million high-yield bond issue when he teamed up with partner Hervé Touraine to advise issuer Alcatel Lucent, a global telecommunications corporation. With bank liquidity still relatively low, corporates are increasingly looking to the high-yield markets in order to refinance.

In the asset-backed security (ABS) market, Touraine advised JPMorgan and HSBC on the €600 million Franco-German auto lease securitisation for PSA. It is considered as the first public securitisation transaction relating to ABS in France since financial crisis.

Touraine was again involved in another mandate when he teamed up with Molson representing BNP Paribas and HSBC in a restructuring of the $450 million pan-European securitisation programme for the Dow Chemical Company. The programme needs to be off balance sheet under US accounting rules.

Another highlight saw the team lead by partner Fabrice Grillo advising BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole in relation to the merger of the €500 million mobile communications and fixed communications securitisation for the SFR group.

"Freshfields has a very important M&A practice in the French market, and I'm not surprised that they're ranked in tier two," says one rival. The corporate team has strengthened its capacity over the past 12 months, and its tier two status in the market is strong and solid.

One of the biggest deals in the firm last year was to advise Danone on the merger of its fresh dairy products businesses with those of the Russian listed company Unimilk in the Central European Initiative (CEI) zone. Leading the Freshfields team was partner Antoine Vignial, and the deal was closed at €2.3 billion. It is believed that the transaction will enable both parties to form a strategic partnership of their dairy businesses in the region.

Another notable deal saw the Paris corporate head Fabrice Cohen advising WestLB on its disposal of a €118 million Banque d'Orsay to Oddo & Cie. The sale of banks in France is rare and involves regulatory challenges. The transaction also includes a €2.5 billion arbitrage portfolio carve-out prior to the deal closing.

Elsewhere partner Vignial was involved in two other major transactions. One example saw him advise GDF Suez's financial advisor Blackstone in relation to the giant Franco-Belgian utility's takeover bid of British rival International Power. The transaction was valued at €6 billion.

Another highlight saw him act for the French food group Danone on a €470 million sell back of its 18.4% stake in the share capital of Wimm Bill Dann, a Russian juice and dairy company. The transaction followed Danone's strategic plan of merging with Unimilk in a bid to expand its fast-growing Russian dairy market business.

The project finance practice at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer received a big blow last year after a team of lawyers, including 10 associates headed by Amir Jahanguiri and Thierry Laloum, left to join its New York rival Willkie Farr & Gallagher in Paris. Industrial experts estimate the market needs to wait and see how the firm would rebuild its project finance reputation.

"To what extent they will remain active in project finance side has yet to be seen. It's difficult to say which tier they should be placed in, we'll have to see," says one competitor, meanwhile he also points out that the firm is apparently trying to reshape its Paris project finance arm, in particular in the public law field, by hiring a trio of lawyers from Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker led by partner Pascal Cuche.

"Freshfields in the recent years have closed down a number of practice, now they see to rebuild a team on PPP, which is their recruitment strategy, well we will have to see," says another competitor. "I think they will remain in the first three tiers, either two or three."

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer was involved in the restructuring of Thomson/ Technicolor when a Paris team advising the bank steering committee and senior creditors on the group's restructuring process. It is believed to be the first restructuring in continental Europe in which credit default swaps have played a major role.

Another highlight saw partner Alan Mason advised Descamps and its parent company Vincenzo Zucchi in the reorganisation proceedings of Descamps. The proceedings consisted of setting up of a continuation plan of Descamps through a change of control while several competitors of Descamps had made alternative plans de cession (sale plan offers) before the court.

Partner Jean-Luc Michaud was also called in when the firm advised a stakeholder in relation to the restructuring of Heart of la Défense. It is thought to be the first major CMBS in France which has been restructured using sauvegarde.

Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer's ranking is undisputed by commentators who consider the firm's equity capital markets practice as among the best in the country. The nature and significance of the firm's recent mandates fully support the market's thinking. Practice head Christoph Gleske is seen as the leading figure by competitors: "He's younger but he is very well accepted by the market," says a banking lawyer, adding: "He's a good guy. He's experienced and sharp."

Gleske and Andreas König spearheaded a team advising Credit Suisse, Citibank, Goldman Sachs and UBS as underwriters of Commerzbank's €626 million capital increase. The deal represented the first stage of the bank's overall €11 billion increase which was announced in April 2011 to improve the bank's capital ratio under Basel III regulations.

The firm's deal-flow increased through 2011 with the team closing three substantial deals in April. Porsche's €5 billion capital increase was the most sizable of those transactions, in which Stephan Waldhausen worked in conjunction with the Vienna office to advise the shareholders at the debt-laden car manufacturer.

In 2010 the firm won mandates from issuers on two IPOs. König represented Norma Group and its majority shareholder 3i on its €386 million IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, with Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs as joint global coordinators and book runners. The firm also advised property management company GSW Immobilien and its majority shareholders Cerberus Whitehall on its €468 million IPO, which closed in April 2011, the largest IPO of 2011 at time of writing.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's debt market practice was mandated on some challenging transactions and the firm is well respected by peers: "Freshfields is very strong, [particularly] in the area of regulatory capital. When we speak insurance hybrid capital or when we talk about bank hybrid capital, in that area they are very strong."

In June 2010, Christoph Gleske advised Citigroup and RBS as joint global coordinators of Continental's bond, the country's first secured high-yield bond for €750 million. In late 2010 he then acted for Continental on two further bonds of this kind valued at €1 billion and €1.25 billion. The first deal was awarded Debt and Equity-linked Deal of the Year at the IFLR European Awards 2011.

Freshfields expanded its high-yield offering with the appointment in London of securities partners Gil Strauss and Simone Bono, in August 2010 and March 2011 from Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett to work in the conjunction with the firm's German practice.

Another complex transaction saw Gleske lead a team advising a consortium consisting of Credit Suisse, Citi, Goldman Sachs and UBS on the structuring and implementation of Commerzbank's €626 million capital increase via a hybrid-for-equity exchange in January 2011, intended to raise the bank's core Tier 1 capital and included purchasing hybrid instruments from the bank.

The firm was also involved in the first Solvency II-compliant subordinated bond by a German insurer in which Gleske and Munich-based Wessel Heukamp advised Commerzbank and Goldman Sachs on the issue of €1 billion subordinated fixed to floating rate bonds by insurer Munich Re.

Freshfields is promoted to the second tier on the back of numerous recommendations from the market and for winning complicated mandates. "Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is involved in complex structured finance transactions," observes a competitor.

One key deal saw Andreas Bartsch and Bernhard Kaiser advising the German Financial Markets Stabilisation Fund (SoFFin) and the Financial Markets Stabilisation Agency on the transfer of loans and securities of €173 billion from Hypo Real Estate Group (HRE) to FMS Wertmanagement, the Abwicklungsanstalt (bad bank) of HRE. In addition, derivatives were used to hedge the transferred assets against interest rate risks. It was the biggest ever asset transfer in Germany, involving more than 12,500 products across 70 jurisdictions.

On another notable deal the firm advised GMAC Bank on the securitisation of auto loan receivables, valued at approximately €450 million in November 2010. This was the first transaction of its kind since the implementation of the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD II), which stipulates a 5% retention and increased reporting requirements.

The firm is also working on the restructuring and workout for more than 20 transactions, which comprise the whole range of asset backed securities such as CDOs, RMBS, CMBS, CRE, CLOs for a client who must remain confidential.

Market perception of Freshfields' banking practice is mixed, with some commentators arguing that it has "fallen back". "I don't really see a strategy to invest, to expand their finance activities," says one peer. "Yorck Jetter [head of banking] went to Munich, he still has a presence on the market but with a giant like Freshfields you would expect them to make much more of their corporate wallet."

Despite the consensus that the practice is smaller than its direct rivals, there is no denying the firm's quality: "I think Freshfields is probably the only firm in tier one who is not dominating the market by size but I still think they have an excellent banking team." Jetter is continually singled out by peers as "one of the best lawyers in the country".

In one highlight Jetter advised American cable operator Liberty Global Europe on financing for its acquisition of Kabel Baden-Württemberg (KWB) from private equity investor EQT, which relied on high-yield bonds in place of bridge financing to raise €2.25 billion. Jetter has also been busy advising Hochtief on the financial ramifications of its takeover by Spanish construction group ACS, handling matters such as syndicated cash and bonding facilities, loans and global surety programmes.

Frankfurt-based Frank Laudenklos advised Commerzbank on the restructuring of an existing €650 million syndicated credit facility and loan and on a new €300 million syndicated loan for Schmolz & Bickenbach and acted for the fund management unit of JPMorgan and an affiliate of the Singapore government's real estate arm, on the financing of their acquisition of the 42-storey OpernTurm office tower (Opera Tower) in Frankfurt from UBS and Tishman Speyer.

In regulatory work, Gunnar Schuster was engaged by the German Financial Markets Stabilisation Fund (SoFFin) to advise on the transfer of loans and securities of €173 billion from Hypo Real Estate Group to FMS Wertmanagement.

"For the German market, you will have trouble to find a law firm that is this helpful and as international," says one client of Freshfields. "I have worked with US and English firms but Freshfields has very strong German roots and these partners are the quality we expect."

Another client working with Andreas Fabritius says: "Excellent lawyer, experienced, very high expertise in German take-over law; and, very helpful in considering what the legal pitfalls could be and in what our task would be."

"In terms of volume, in terms of quantity and quality of the deals, they probably have the biggest share in the German market," says one competitor.

The largest secondary [private equity M&A] on the market in 2011 saw Michael Haidinger lead a team to advise Liberty Global, the international cable company, on its €3.16 billion acquisition of Kabel Baden-Württemberg, Germany's third largest cable operator. The German operator was purchased from private equity firm EQT in March 2011

The firm also represented Hochtieff on the nine month takeover saga with ACS which started in September 2010. Ludwig Leyendecker advised Hochtieff on ACS's €4.1 billion hostile bid, which culminated in a capital increase subscribed to by Qatar Investment Holding, allowing the Qataris to purchase a 9.1% stake and raising the price of the takeover. ACS eventually gained control in June by gradually building up its share ratio.

Barbara Keil led a team advising Evonik Industries on the sale of a 51% stake in Evonik Steag for €3.1 billion to a consortium of seven municipal utility companies, while Henning Oesterhaus acted for Deutsche Bahn as the national rail network sold its subsidiary Arriva to a consortium led by Ferrovie dello Stato in partnership with Cube Infrastructure for €340 million.

"I think Freshfields are undeniably strong," says a competitor. The firm, alongside Clifford Chance, is viewed as the clear leaders in the private equity field when it comes to large transactions.

Most of the firm's recent notable work has been on the side of the bidders. Nils Koffka advised Berggruen Holdings Group on the acquisition of Karstadt Warenhaus, the insolvent German department store chain. The deal, which was complicated by the outstanding lease agreements that Karstadt still held with real estate agents, closed in September 2010.

Another deal on the side of the buyer saw Markus Paul counselling private equity house Bridgepoint on the acquisition of CABB, a global provider of speciality chemicals, from Axa Private Equity.

Arend von Riegen acted for One Equity Partners (OEP) on its voluntary public takeover offer for the TecDAX-listed Smartrac (ST). ST, a Dutch company, is listed in Germany which meant matters relating to the takeover offer process were subject to German law but matters relating to company law were subject to Dutch law.

Competitors observe that the firm has been busy in the last 12 months: "We've seen Freshfields a lot," explains a partner. "We are pitching at the moment for a project and they are on the other side. They have one partner who we know is concentrating on the project finance side," continues the partner referring to practice head Daniel Reichert-Facilides. There is a growing sentiment in the market that the firm is gaining on the only firm ranked above it and that it is only time that will keep them in separate tiers.

PPP (public-private partnership) deals are scarce in Germany but the firm was active for a consortium of bidders led by Hochtief PPP Solutions and Hermann Kirchner Projektgesellschaft, a subsidiary of Strabag, on the extension, operation and €299 million financing of a portion of A8 II motorway in Bavaria recently. The European Investment Bank (EIB) provided a loan of up to €149 million loan and a €59.6 million LGTT guarantee.

The firm was employed in Belgium on its other PPP highlight. Partner Christian Bunsen advising PPP Schulen Eupen, a joint venture of CFE Belgium and SKE Facility Management on the DBFM contract and financing arrangements for a €146 million invest school project in Eupen. The 27 year project will be financed by Fortis Bank, KBC Bank, ING Belgium and Dexia Bank Belgium.

Financing transactions in the energy sector was another important area for the firm and it advised long standing client HSH Nordbank on the two project financings for photovoltaic power plants in Spain, a €31.8 million 6.34 MW plant in Villamartin and a €12.5 million 2MW plant in Mónovar. The deals reached financial close in August and December 2010, respectively. Currently the firm is advising the bank on the financing of a portfolio consisting of a 9.9MW solar park in Zamora and a 4MW solar park in the province of Salamanca, Spain.

Additional energy related work saw the firm advise Q-Cells International on the sale of the 42 MW photovoltaic power park Finsterwalde 1 in Brandenburg to LHI Leasing. Reichert closed the €130 million deal in January 2011.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's restructuring practice is seen as a leader in its field and its ranking is uncontested: "I have no doubt about Freshfields they were most active last year," observes one competitor.

Market recommended practice head, Lars Westphal, was active for the mezzanine and the cross-over lenders to the PrimaCom Group, a large German cable network operator. He advised on the financial restructuring and acquisition of the PrimaCom Group out of insolvency through an indirect debt for equity swap.

German high street retailer Kardstadt's insolvency was one of the biggest in German history until private investor Nicolas Berggruen, with the advice of Westphal, acquired the group from its administrator. The deal was complicated by outstanding lease agreements the company held and required €975 million of financing before it was finalised in September 2010.

A deal involving another struggling German retailer saw the firm advising the senior steering committee on the restructuring of nearly €800 million of Carl Zeiss Vision's corporate finance debt. The restructuring reduced the aggregate amount of the senior and second lien debt by two thirds.

Westphal also acted in conjunction with the firm's structured finance and securitisation team advising the German Financial Markets Stabilisation Fund (SoFFin) and the Financial Markets Stabilisation Agency on the transfer of loans and securities of €173 billion from Hypo Real Estate Group (HRE) to FMS Wertmanagement, the Abwicklungsanstalt (bad bank) of HRE. The deal involved the transfer of derivatives, which will hedge the transferred assets against interest rate risks, and in total it included more than 12,500 products in 70 jurisdictions and was the most substantial asset transfer in German economic history.

Freshfields has been downgraded this year due to feedback pointing out that the firm "doesn't do anything in equity or debt" and "Freshfields is not really a huge player". Though some peers say the strength of the firm is based on its securitisation practice, this market is not what it was.

The firm was involved in a number of securitisation restructuring mandates when partner Corrado Angelelli led the team advising BNP Paribas as arranger on the restructuring of a securitisation transaction carried out by Grecale ABS and UGF Banca, aimed at obtaining a second rating by Standard & Poor's.

Angelelli was called in on another similar mandate when he advised UBS on the restructuring of a securitisation transaction carried out by Grecale ABS and UGF Banca, again aimed at obtaining a second rating by Standard & Poor's.

At end of 2010, Emiliano Conio led the team assisting UniCredit in relation to the refinancing of two credit facilities, one granted to Sinergia Holding Partecipazioni, and the other to Immobiliare Costruzioni.

Another highlight saw Conio involved again advising TotalERG on a short term revolving facility. The group was created through a joint venture signed between Total and ERG.

Corrado Angelelli, the banking head also led the team advising MPS Capital Services Banca per le Imprese (MPS CS) as lender on a mortgage loan financing granted to Irus II Vicolungo.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised Merck, a global pharmaceutical and chemical company, on the Italian aspects of the disposal of Théramex to Teva Group last year with the mandate worth €265 million.

Lead partner Nicola Asti then advised Gefco on the 70% share capital acquisition of Gruppo Mercurio from Venice, a private equity arm of Palladio Finanziaria Group and the RP3 Fund.

In restructuring, Corrado Angelelli from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised on a number of restructuring transactions. He led the team acted for Deutsche Bank as lender and facility agent in connection with the Italian security package in the context of the restructuring of Carl Zeiss Vision's corporate finance debt worth €800 million.

Another occasion saw Angelelli involved advising Lucchini as borrower in the context of the restructuring of approximately €750 million debt of the group for general corporate purposes.

When comes to the insolvency cases, UniCredit and Banca di Roma called in the firm on the appeal proceedings brought by UniCredit against a judgement issued by the Court of Rome that has partially granted the claim brought by the insolvency commissioners of Cirio Group in order to obtain compensation damages for €500 million.

The Dutch office of Freshfields is most often seen as "up and coming". It had a very strong year acting for financial institutions, especially on securitisations and derivatives transactions, and is currently involved in potential IPOs. Thijs Flokstra, Robert ten Have, Robert Norbrius and up-and-coming London trained senior associate Mandeep Lotay (for securitisations and derivatives) lead the firm.

According to one client the firm was "very good in different capacities; Lotay especially has [...] a great combination of UK knowledge and legal approach: the local expertise plus the thoroughness of a UK firm". Clients argue that in international transactions international firms have the edge on "investor procedure and investor disclosure". Another says "they were extremely professional, they know the documentation and are very quick at reacting but also [have] ideas on the way things can go commercially".

In equity, Ten Have advised on one pulled IPO, acting for Nord Gold (part of Severstal) on its announced listing in London, and represented RBS as global coordinator in a $100 million rights issue by Dockwise. On the debt side, Wouter Jongen worked with the London office to advise ABN AMRO on a $25 billion MTN programme directed at the 144A market in the US, while Annemarie den Tex worked with the Madrid office to help Gas Natural SDG establish a €10 billion EMTN programme.

The firm's outright strength is in the securitisation and derivatives market, where it handled about 16 Dutch RMBS transactions in 2010. Among them, Flokstra and Lotay acted for Rabobank and others as arrangers on ABN AMRO's €500 million RMBS under its Dolphin Master programme. For Deutsche Bank London (often with other global finance houses), the firm advised on the launch of a €695 million RMBS by Achmea and a €2.9 billion RMBS (HERMES XV) by SNS Bank.

According to the market Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is slightly less prominent in banking than in other areas. The team in Amsterdam is a compact outfit but it has the advantage of a strong corporate wing with big clients and a huge presence in London, where many large banking deals emanate.

Thijs Flokstra, who spends much of his time on equity capital markets work, leads the generalised finance department. According to one peer Flokstra is "responsive and clever; we do recommend his name". One competitor says the firm has "a fairly small team which acts mainly on the corporate side," a comment that has some truth in it although the firm does also advise some key banking clients including ING Bank and Rabobank. Another client says the firm is "very efficient and good timing wise" and "exactly the same approach as in London".

Arguably one of the firm's key banking deals saw Flokstra advise Boskalis on the refinancing of a bridge loan which was replaced by a US private placement programme, having earlier in the year advised in financing for Boskalis' acquisition of Smit International.

Flokstra also advised Novagraaf Group on adjustments to an €85 million financing as part a group restructuring and was engaged by ING Bank and Rabobank on the PIK acquisition finance facility for an affiliate of Gilde Buy-Out Partners on the public bid for shares in Gamma Holding. Flexing its cross-border muscles, the firm worked with the London office to advise the mezzanine and junior mezzanine lenders on the restructuring of Almatis.

All commentators agree that Freshfields had a brilliant year. "They did pretty well," says a peer, "there are some very good individuals there... I find it very hard to define their practice, but last year was exceptional leading on deals especially [Jan Willem] van der Staay".

The big ticket mandates the firm received are numerous, helping it come top in Benelux in Mergermarket and Thomson Reuters calculations for value. Key Dutch deals included advising Prysmian on its acquisition of Draka Holding for €1.3 billion, completed start-to-finish in three months, a bidding process which saw competitive rival offers by players including Chinese company Xin Mao.

The firm, led by Prysmian advisor Jan Willem van der Staay, also advised EQT Infrastructure on the acquisition of Koole Tank Storage & Transport.

Winning mandates off Dutch corporates, Dirk-Jan Smit advised ABN AMRO on the merger of the state acquired part of ABN AMRO with Fortis Bank Nederland and Royal Boskalis Westminster on its acquisition of Smit Internationale.

Shawn der Kinderen led a team to act on a succession of deals for Sara Lee, and has so far closed six of them: the sale of Sara Lee's body care business to Unilever for €1.3 billion; air care business to P&G for €320 million; its stake in Godrej Sara Lee joint-venture to Godrej Consumer Products for €185 million; its insecticides business to SC Johnson for €153 million; the sale of White King and Janola Cleaning brands to Symex for €38 million; and finally the sale of its shoe care business to SC Johnson for €245 million.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has a strong heritage in project finance and continues to advising some key clients in the field, namely Vopak. The now retired Jeroen Thijssen did much to forge the firm's reputation but there is a feeling in the market that the team has not replaced him and is running on past reputation.

Nevertheless, Thjissen continues to act as a consultant to the firm and partner Thijs Flokstra impresses clients in all walk of financing. "Very professionally handled," says one client, "what they did they did very well and they had the right people for support, with Flokstra overseeing. It was striking because the other side was all the time having to check with their superiors and created much delay, but Freshfields was very efficient". Another client adds that: "it is a small team but quick and efficient".

The firm is also rated for technical legal expertise on project finance by a client who also compliments it for its attitude: "what I like is that the people are not so aggressive, they do the work well and after that they are not demanding".

The firm also continues to win mandates on very substantial project financing transactions. One recent example in January 2011 saw Flokstra and Wouter Jongen advise Vopak on project financing for the construction of a gas terminal in Eemshaven, Groningen. In another notable deal, Flokstra advised Grondbezit AVI Moerdijk on the restructuring of a joint-venture operating four production lines of a waste incinerator and project financing from Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has been developing its restructuring capacity. The firm does not have a big dedicated restructuring department, although it has a separate R&I group, but counsel Michael Broeders is fully focussed on restructuring and has been getting good recognition in the market. "He is good, smart, knows his stuff... the firm is now positioned to play a role," says a peer.

The group is led overall by partner Thijs Flokstra.

Broeders has been advising note holders in relation to the bankruptcy of DSB Bank and acted for the mezzanine and junior mezzanine lenders on the restructuring of Almatis. He also advised Goldman Sachs and Cyrte on debt buy back transactions relating to the acquisition of Endemol and JP Morgan in the restructuring of the Danube Group.

As you would expect from a firm with Freshfields' M&A and corporate heritage, equity work is the firm's main focus in the capital markets space. "Freshfields has very very good and top professionals in equity capital markets, they've been involved in the most important transactions in Spain and especially in the very very complex transactions related to equity," comments one peer, while another one agrees: "Freshfields, Garrigues and Linklaters are probably our most common counter parties [during equity transactions]".

In addition, the City law firm's international network has no doubt added to its solid equity capability, as one peer says: "Thinking about both firms [Uría Menéndez and Freshfields] at the very similar level, Freshfields has the capacity to draw from their international network when doing cross-border transactions."

Leading the equity capital markets team is partner Armando Albarrán who was kept busy on a number of substantial mandates last year. One example saw him act for Qatar Holdings on a €2 billion subscription of a capital increase in Iberdrola, a private electric utility group, as well as Qatar's strategic alliance with the group.

Another highlight saw partners David Franco and Albarrán act for Metrovacesa on a €1.95 million capital increase through cash contributions and debt capitalisation required as part of the company's debt restructuring process.

Albarrán was again involved when he advised Gas Natural SDG on the implementation of its 2011 shareholder remuneration programme through a scrip dividend.

Peers also recognise the strength of the firm's equity offering. "This is a group of lawyers that we've been working with for many years in different transactions," says one. "They're experienced and have track-records in the capital markets. They've the abilities to deal with complex, challenging and very dynamic transactions and these colleagues are capable of doing that." Rivals also commend lawyer Fernando Bautista's quality: "I know Bautista, he's very good at equity," says one.

Since October 2010, the debt capital markets team has advised key clients CajAstur, Gas Natural Capital Markets and Gas Natural alike. One example saw Franco lead the team advising Gas Natural on its merger with Unión Fenosa and Unión Fenosa Generación in the process of obtaining bondholders' consent under Unión Fenosa's €2 billion EMTN programme, and various counterparties on the English law aspects of the financing agreements.

Another notable mandate saw Franco again involved when he acted for CajAstur on the fourth and fifth issuance of state-guaranteed bonds worth €650 million and €850 million respectively.

"Certainly David Franco from Freshfields is possibly one of the quickest and intelligent lawyers that you might come across, also he's very careful on every detail when he does transactions drafting the legal standpoint," says one peer, "He's very patient when he treats the other side; he treats clients very smoothly; he's a very very accomplished lawyer really. I think everybody in the market will talk about David. He's a great guy."

February 2011 saw Ana López lead the team advising Gas Natural Capital Markets on the issue of new notes with an aggregate principal amount of €600 million under its €10 billion EMTN programme guaranteed by Gas Natural. The new notes are listed on the LSE.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has been downgraded to tier three this year because a number of peers suggest that due to the crisis, "the firm's deals have not been around in the market, it's more silent". One rival says that when comparing Freshfields to Garrigues and Cuatrecasas, "It's really like comparing apples and pears here". Though one also commented that the team has been active in refinancing.

One of the largest mandates closed in February 2011 saw partner David Franco advise Total on the sale of its 48.8% €3.7 billion stake in the Spanish oil company Cepsa to the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund.

Another notable mandate saw partner Armando Albarrána advise Qatar Holding on the acquisition of a 6.16% €2.1 billion stake in the Spanish listed energy and utilities companies Iberdrola.

In January 2011 the firm also closed a deal for China Unicom in relation to its mutual investment with Telefónica. The agreement, advised by the firm's Spanish and Hong Kong teams, will see it increase its 1.37% stake in Telefónica and Telefónica increase its interest in China Unicom to around 9.7%.

Freshfields is similar to other city law firms in that it puts more focus on out-of-court restructuring work and this strength is reflected in the firm's tier one position. "Normally the firm is doing out-of-court proceedings," says one peer.

The firm has been involved in a number of key restructuring mandates and one example saw Rafael Murillo advising Metrovacesa in an on-going debt restructuring mandate worth €6 billion. Elsewhere Murillo was again involved in advising Reyal Urbis, one of the biggest Spanish real-estate developers, on a debt restructuring in excess of €5.2 billion.

Another leading figure at the firm is partner Vicente Sierra who got his hands on two key deals last year. One saw him act for the Amadeus IT group in relation to Viajes Marsans' insolvency proceedings. The other saw him represent a couple of German financial institutions, protecting their interest in the context of the SOS Cuétara crisis, which involved insolvency proceedings, civil and other criminal actions.

Freshfields' broad and deep coverage in the equity capital markets space ensures that it remains one of the pre-eminent operators in the City.

Drawing upon its broad corporate base the firm maintains a steady stream of issuer side work and can point to an impressive body of IPO mandates in the last year.

The team is spearheaded by the co-heads of the international capital markets group Stephen Revell and Sarah Murphy.

There was no shortage of positive client feedback for the team, with Simon Whitey drawing particular praise for his calm demeanour: "Exceptional, I really trust his judgement, he's very commercial and calm under pressure," says one, "he remains calm and he's got a lot of experience. That's where I feel really confident, I have worked with other people who weren't as up to date."

David Cotton also came in for praise for his judgement: "Freshfields has a great blend of technical excellence, commercial judgement and client service in its field. David understands the entire legislative process."

Energy and natural resources have kept the market's head above water this year and unsurprisingly Freshfields had work in this sphere within its portfolio. One such deal saw a team led by Julian Makin and Stephen Hughes act for the Vallar SPAC (Special Purchase Acquisition Company) on the placing of 202 million shares on the Official List of the Financial Services Authority and its listing on the LSE. Vallar was set up to acquire and bring together two of Indonesia's largest coal companies: Bumi Resources and Berau Cola Energy.

This deal followed the firm's successful work last year for Essar Energy when the team brought together a group of companies spun out of an Indian group to form a PLC. This had involved additional corporate restructuring and the drafting of inter-company arrangements and relationship agreements.

Beyond energy the firm also found themselves working on two major deals in the sports sector. In one the firm advised online betting operator the Betfair Group on its admission to the LSE with a market capitalisation of £1.4 billion. The deal was complicated by the nature of online betting regulation and the issues that may arise if the company becomes the subject of betting regulatory probes.

In a similar field, Mark Austin and Ben Spiers acted for the Perform Group, who market sports content, on its premium listing on the LSE, as with Betfair the team had to be mindful of online gaming issues.

The team's wide experience in transactions is an obvious positive for clients, but many also stressed how this attribute helped the firm keep fees competitive: "Freshfields are quite good at keeping costs down compared to similar firms because they are more used to handling those types of deals," says one client while another admits that though not cheap the fees were "justified, they do understand the pressure that we're under and have a long term view".

Outside the IPO space the team was also kept busy with various cashbox and book building mandates. Highlights included work on real estate investor Shaftesbury's £100 million cashbox transaction with the firm acting for Execution Noble and JPMorgan Securities as joint bookrunners. Stephen Revell led the Freshfields team on the deal which followed the firm's advice to Shaftesbury on its 2009 rights issue.

A final highlight saw a substantial team including Murphy, Jennifer Bethlehem, Don Guiney and Simon Revell act for Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Stifel Nicolaus on gold producer Centamin Egypt's $140 million accelerated bookbuilt cash placing.

The firm's hands on approach is also greatly appreciated: "The partner relationship is very important," says one client, "it's important to know they are not just figures in the background and that they like to get their fingers dirty, this is why we like Freshfields."

There is a sense in the market that Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's capital markets practice is, as you'd expect from a corporate powerhouse, tilted more towards the equity sphere. "Freshfields are immensely strong on the equity side and that's clearly a huge strength and they are still reasonably strong on securitisation, but if you take that out and look at the debt side it's not so clear," says one partner.

There was less doubt in regard to the firm's overall ability in this area, but rather that it is not a clear area of focus. "I don't think Freshfields is a debt capital markets firm, they have made a push here but I don't see them as a firm with a dedicated practice like Clifford Chance or Allen Overy," explains another peer.

However, it seems that the firm is moving to address this perception. A clear statement was made in January 2011 with the hires of Peter Allen and Duncan Kellaway from fellow magic circle firms Linklaters and Clifford Chance respectively. The new partners have been brought in to establish stronger relationships with underwriters and Freshfields will be hoping this can lead to a more balanced practice. "They have taken on a couple of partners," notes one partner, "they're probably going to concentrate on the CEE (Central & Eastern Europe) but they are popping up more often."

Clients have already taken note of the hires: "By recruiting Peter Allen and Duncan Kellaway, Freshfields shows its intention to grow within the banks and issuers, it is an exciting development in the London markets, it will increase competition which we welcome," says one client, who adds however: "We would like to see the expertise of the partners developed in their junior associates."

Allen came in for personal praise: "Very knowledgeable in the business area, where there was a knowledge gap he came up with solutions. A wealth of experience behind them, deal was very well executed," says one.

One of the firm's largest deals last year, led by Don Guiney, saw the team act for the issuer ABN AMRO on a $2 billion debt issuance as part of its wider $25 billion MTN programme. This first issuance from the programme marked the Dutch banks reentry into the US market.

Drawing on its current strengths does give the firm a good platform in equity-linked transactions and last year a number of convertible bond issuances backed this reputation. On one, a team led by Andreas Konig and co-capital markets head Sarah Murphy advised Citi Global Markets and Merrill Lynch International as joint bookrunners on German tourism operator TUI's €338 million convertible bond offering. In a similar deal JPMorgan Securities and Merrill Lynch also called in the firm when they acted as joint bookrunners and underwriters on a €200 million convertible by the Talvivaara Mining Company. Mark Trapnell and David Cotton led this last deal and both partners were again involved, this time on the issuer side, advising Essar Energy on its $550 convertible in January 2011.

With interest being shown in terms of hybrid issuance recently, Freshfields acted for Scottish and Southern Energy in September 2010 on its issue of £750 million and £500 million hybrid capital securities, the first of its type by a UK listed company.

The strength of the firm's corporate relationships was again highlighted last year with advice on two notable retail bonds. In the first the team advised the John Lewis Partnership on the issuance of a partnership bond to holders of the company's Partnership and Account holders cards and to members of the partnership itself. The team also acted for Tesco Personal Finance on the issue of bonds under its Euro note programme in January 2011. Mark Trapnell led both deals.

Like its magic circle peers, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has been making a concerted attempt to increase its high-yield capacity this year. In September 2010 Gil Strauss joined the firm as a partner from Simpson Thacher and a few months later in March 2011 Simone Bono followed suit, moving across from Simpson's New York office. "Freshfields is building it up there [in high-yield]," says one peer. "Gil Strauss has the possibility to build it up there." Because of the recent nature of the hires though, the market is still waiting to see what the true impact will be. "Gil came from Simpson, he's a good guy and a good lawyer, I'm not sure how clients are reacting with him, he is very commercial," says one rival.

Clients pointed in particular to Strauss' ability to adapt to a changing market, as one explains: "There's so many cycles in this area, he has the ability to do this. Very knowledgeable of the business area he knows who to go to for disclosures and business matters." Another adds: "We have a great relationship, that is why we feel valued as client. The link with Freshfields is based on the relationship I have with Strauss."

Because of its German strength, the team is also well set to benefit from the recent rise in German law governed high-yield transactions. "Freshfields, they get some work out of Germany, but they don't have the 15 year veteran, but I would rank them head and shoulders above the others." This was demonstrated when the team acted for Continental on the issuance of 8.5% senior secured notes due in 2015 by Conti-Gummi Finance under the new German bond market. This was followed by further issuances amounting to €2.25 billion listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange.

One deal highlight which involved Strauss saw the team acting for Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and the KKR Group as the underwriters on a high-yield offering by the Kion Group, consisting of and issue of €325 million in senior secured fixed rate notes and €175 million in floating rate notes.

Head of the debt capital markets group, Sarah Murphy was also kept busy on high-yield mandates last year, acting for the issuer in all cases. In one example she led a team acting for BAA (SH), the holding company of the owner of Heathrow and Stansted airports, on its £325 million issue of 7.125% notes for the refinancing of existing debt facilities.

Murphy also acted for Ukrainian agro-industrial company MHP on a $250 million exchange offer for its existing high-yield bonds and a new $330 million issuance.

There are mixed opinions about Freshfield's strategy in the structured finance and securitisation market. "They have always had a few practitioners in these areas but it's never been a main focus for them," says one peer.

In the capital markets space, equity remains the king at the firm and in recent years the firm's straight debt and high-yield practices have also risen to prominence. However progress has also been made in the structured area and under the guidance of lead partner Simeon Rudin the firm continues to move forward. "I think Freshfields have done very well in taking advantage of the restructuring cycle. They are involved on stuff which historically they would never have been involved on," says another peer.

One example of this increasing status is the firm's role advising HSBC Rail on its bank and bond restructuring and refinancing of its UK rail business in advance of the sale to a consortium of infrastructure funds including 3i Infrastructure, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and Star Capital Partners.

Clients suggested that where the firm's steals a slight march on the firms above it is its dedication to providing commercial advice above all else. One client of Rudin says: "They are driven by the commercial nature of deal, assisting and forging new grounds," another adds: "Excellent. Used to complicated financing and managing the process. Commercial backed up with a very thorough analysis." Finally another says: "They have an ability to suggest alternative ways of achieving a commercial outcome."

A major securitisation deal saw Ian Falconer acting for Citi, Barclays, JPMorgan, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank on a €450 million syndicated trade receivables securitisation by oil company LyondellBasell.

Partner Chris Barratt also had a busy year acting on various deals in the resurgent RMBS area, advising Northern Rock on a £2 billion securitisation.

"Freshfields is a terrific corporate law firm but they seem to blow hot and cold on finance, they keep suggesting that they're focusing on it and then drifting off, but they deserve to be there." This view from one partner is indicative of that held in the market in general. There is no doubt that in terms of its company and sponsor side practices the firm, as a result of its corporate client base, is one of the market leaders. However on the lender side peers suggest that the firm's commitment to building a tier one practice seems to come and go.

This was in part demonstrated in November 2010 when partner Chris Howard left the firm to return to Linklaters where he had previously been an associate. The team also lost Presley Warner in February 2011 who left for Sullivan & Cromwell. These were the latest in a series of individual moves over the last few years which, though limited in the damage done to the practice as a whole, hint at perceived frustrations among some finance partners.

However despite these reservations, the team has still worked on some significant bank side mandates including advice to BNP Paribas as coordinator and Bank of America as agent on the €2 billion refinancing of the Electricity Supply Board's existing facilities. In a similar deal, a team led by Alex Mitchell and Ken Baird acted for RBS in the high profile debt refinancing of Liverpool FC and holding company Kop Football as part of the sale of the club by Tom Hicks and George Gillett to New England Sports Ventures.

Clients view the firm's corporate strength as a clear advantage, as one client of Sean Pierce says: "There are lots of lawyers who are clever, but they are very smart, they understand the commercial points. Part of the reason we like working with Freshfields, dealing with the finance side they have very very very good M&A."

Another client who worked with both Pierce and David Winfield valued the team ethic the firm promoted: "They really understand what it is that we do, if you get stuff drifting they galvanise and get their first rate team onto it. In negotiations we can subtly switch from good cop to bad cop. I can just look across at either of them with half a raised eyebrow and they'll know where I'm coming from."

Restructuring and refinancing work was a dominant theme for the practice last year and Mitchell and Baird were again involved alongside the firm's Spanish office acting for ING, Babson, ECM and Harbourmaster as the senior lender steering committee on the restructuring of the Panrico group. Practice head David Trott also advised the crossover creditors on the restructuring of German cable operator Primacom. The deal also saw the creditors taking control of the group.

With the return of the private equity market the team also took full advantage of its corporate links advising on a number of notable acquisition finance deals. Again working alongside the Spanish team, Sean Pierce advised CVC Capital partners and Spanish firm ACS on the €1.5 billion acquisition financing for 25% of transport company Abertis.

In August 2010 Neil Falconer also advised the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group on the $300 million acquisition finance facility and an additional $500 million in working capital as part of the firm's takeover of Volvo from Ford.

Led by the twin leading lights of Michael Raffan, who advises on non-contentious and corporate matters and David Scott, who leads the dispute resolution practice, Freshfields is arguably the most rounded practice in the market able to channel equal resources into both straight regulatory advice and any matters which take on a contentious angle.

The team received a further boost in January 2011 when Guy Morton returned to the cut and thrust of everyday practice following his stint as senior partner.

"One of the reasons we use them that much is that they do provide a good level of service, they are very appreciative, they provide advice in a very easily digestible way, they make it straightforward to follow," says one client of Michael Raffan, who also points to a unique factor: "They are very aware of things, one thing which may distinguish them in the market is that to a degree Freshfields are the market leaders in terms of how many prime brokerage companies they support and they have set up a regular forum on the subject so they are helping the industry collectively."

The misuse of payment protection insurance (PPI) has been a subject of much press coverage in the UK in 2011 and the firm found itself in the midst of the debate when Orton also acted alongside David Scott advising members of the British Bankers' Association (BBA) on a judicial review application against the FSA and the Financial Ombudsman (FSO). The main crux of the application questioned the legality of the approach taken by the FSA and FSO in seeking compensation for customers of PPI schemes. Specifically it questioned how far the FSA could go in seeking 'fair and reasonable' jurisdiction on such cases. This was one of the rare occasions when the FSA had been challenged by a judicial review of this size and is borne out of the body's more aggressive approach to regulation following the financial crash.

In another case, Andrew Hart worked alongside corporate partner Mark Kalderon acting for Deutsche Bank in its defence against a recent FSA enforcement action against subsidiary DB Mortgage. The matter was settled in February 2011.

The firm also receives praise from clients in regard to its resources: "One of the most impressive things about them as a department is that they have the strength and depth to throw resources to meet our needs in a short period of time," says one client. "We are working on a large multi-jurisdiction transaction, they were concise, precise, commercial in their view, showed real understanding of our business and knew how to present to our people."

Another client with broad experience of different practices points out the firm's specific strength: "Freshfields I would view them as best placed to advise on regulatory permissions, Mifid (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive) and so forth, they have a more European driven view. They are good at stuff that is very technical and European, its not day to day stuff."

On the non-contentious side, practice head Raffan acted alongside Simon Orton for Goldman Sachs on proceedings related to the Abacus CDO project. The team acted for the bank on the FSA's enquiries into system and control failures related to an SEC internal investigation report. This led to the bank being fined £17.5 million.

The firm also drew on its corporate strength acting on the regulatory aspects of Credit Suisse's acquisition of ABN Amro's Prime Fund Solutions funds business. The transfer required advice relating not only to the regulation surrounding the funds and the considerations of various regulatory bodies in that light, but also the nature of client relationships and connected services agreements.

The firm has also been working hard this year to boost its US practice with an eye on the increasing cooperation between the likes of the FSA and the SEC. In this light the firm brought three new partners into its US team in the forms of Marshall Fishman, Walters Stuart and Tim Coleman.

Freshfields' stock in trade is corporate, the firm lives and breathes M&A and after another strong year it remains at the top of the UK market.

The corporate group is led by Mark Rawlinson who has gained press attention recently following his involvement in an attempted takeover of Manchester United.

The group's numbers were freshened up last year with the promotion of three senior associates – Tim Wimot, Mark Austin and Oliver Lazenby – to partner.

"Excellent technically, impressed with all different areas, strong industry knowledge, calm, they think things through during pressurised times. When moral was low they kept going," says one client.

Last year two Canada linked deals highlighted the firm's continuing strength. In the first, in what proved to the largest take private deal of 2010, a team led by David Higgins and Simon Weller advised the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Onex on their acquisition of UK engineering firm Tomkins for £3 billion, with the deal financed through a high-yield bond issuance.

Staying in Canada, a team including Philip Richards; Andrew Hutchings, Simon Priddis; Jonathan Cooklin; James Smethurst and Sarah Murphy acted for the London Stock Exchange Group in its, ultimately unsuccessful, merger with TMX, the owner of the Toronto Stock Exchange. The deal would have been implemented through a Canadian plan of arrangement which would have seen the London entity acting as the holding company and also incorporating a separate Canadian company to act as the bid vehicle for the deal. The deal ultimately fell though after TMX felt it was unlikely to receive shareholder approval.

Another significant merger saw the firm act for PartyGaming on its £1.1 billion proposed merger with bwin Interactive Entertainment, which would create the largest listed online gaming entity in the world. The deal would be undertaken through a reverse takeover which would see PartyGaming need to re-list its shares on the LSE.

The firm's strong corporate client base has also been maintained by the work they put into relationships. "Since the transaction there has been a concerted effort from them to keep a line in our organisation, to find areas they can help us with in coming years," says one client. "You want a partner you can pick up the phone to, someone you trust will respond, We feel valued, they have been keen to try to help, spotting issues they can help us with which makes our job easier and reflects well on them."

Another high-profile transaction saw the team act for the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group on its $1.8 billion takeover of Volvo. Chris Brown, Edward Braham and Neil Radford acted on the acquisition from Ford which was the largest automotive acquisition by a private Chinese company to date.

A final highlight saw Will Lawes, Stephen Revell and Ben Spiers act for Cayman registered entity the Gartmore Group on its £392 million takeover by the Henderson Group by way of scheme of arrangement. As a Cayman entity, Gartmore was not bound by the City Code on takeovers and mergers, however the shareholders sought synchronicity with the code throughout the transaction.

Complimenting its market leading M&A practice Freshfields has in recent years broken Clifford Chance's dominance of the European private equity scene and is now seen as a contemporary. This fully rounded corporate offering therefore retains its tier one position on the transactional side this year.

In terms of deals, Chris Bown and Piers Prichard Jones acted alongside colleagues from the firm's Paris and Amsterdam offices acting for CVC Capital Partners on the £1 billion acquisition by a group of funds it advises of the vending machine company Autobar Group from a group of funds advised by Charterhouse Capital Partners.

Another significant mandate saw Farah Ispahani advise HSBC Rail UK on its restructuring and subsequent £2.1 billion sale to a consortium made up of 3i Infrastructure, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and Star Capital Partners.

Freshfields pulled off quite a coup in May 2010 with the hire of Alan-Rae Smith from Allen & Overy. He joins a team already well stocked with talent in the forms of department head Alex Carver and fellow partner Nicholas Bliss.

Both Carver and Bliss had another good year in the field working on projects with a wide geographical scope. Carver acted for the joint venture Northern Capital Gateway as the preferred bidder on the Pulkovo PPP (public-private partnership) airport reconstruction project in St Petersburg. Alongside securing the €1.1 billion in debt financing for the project the firm also advised on the 30 year concession itself from the City of St Petersburg. On the other side of the divide Craver also acted on the bank side when he advised the European Investment Bank on the financing provided to six offshore transmission owners around the UK.

Bliss meanwhile was kept busy by the UK Department of Transport advising on the PPP and PFI (private finance initiative) elements of the procurement of rolling stock for London's Thameslink rail project, consisting of between 900 and 1,200 vehicles. Bliss also advised the lead arrangers including HSBC Bank Bermuda, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Natixis and UniCredit on the financing for the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital in Bermuda. The deal is notable for being the first PPP project on the Caribbean island.

Freshfields is often accused of being not fully committed to its finance practice. At a firm with such a strong corporate heritage this is perhaps not surprising but the practice has in recent years made steps to enhance its bank side offering. On the restructuring side a good balance has been achieved, however this been slightly curtailed by the departure of Chris Howard who returned to his previous firm Linklaters in January 2011.

However in general peers still see the team as a top tier practice. "Freshfields have a very good team, a good practice," says one peer and another agrees: "Freshfields have made great strides in recent times."

Clients were keen to point out the negotiating skills of Richard Tett: "Very strong. He knows his stuff. Very helpful finding solutions, very good at negotiating, understanding the position around the table, the economic and legal aspect," says one. "The people rather than firm are key. Richard is exceptionally good, the main reason we continue to go back to them."

In line with the recent trend of using English schemes of arrangement in other European jurisdictions, a team led by Tett and Neil Golding acted for La Seda de Barcelona in August 2010. The deal was the first time such a structure had been used in Spain and could be used as an example for future deals in the region involving English law governed debt.

The firm's growing prominence in Spain is throwing up a decent number of mandates as the country continues to deal with issues as part of the wider European debt crisis. Another example saw Tett again involved advising Metrovasca on its English-law scheme of arrangement.

Staying in Iberia and shifting to bank side mandates, the team also advised the senior lenders including ING, Babson, ECM and Harbourmaster on the restructuring of the Panrico group. The deal saw the lenders take control of the baked goods company through a debt for equity swap. Department head Ken Baird led the team alongside Alex Mitchell and Madrid based Ana Lopez.

One client who worked with the Madrid and London teams says: "Madrid, the quality of team was good, they did a good job on assignments." The client, who also worked with Adam Gallagher continues: "First class, number of restructuring deals, he leaves no stone unturned, good on potential restructuring and the ramifications, a very experienced lawyer. They are the best of the magic circle."

Like many of its top tier rivals, the firm also took a role on the Cattles Group restructuring advising the company itself on the £2.3 billion deal. The deal saw the equity taken private under a scheme of arrangement, a pensions restructuring and a new mechanism for the much debated payment protection insurance (PPI).

Finally the firm continues to act for the administrators of Icelandic bank Landsbanki Islands Heritable Bank on the effects of transfer orders made by HM Treasury, which transferred the bank's retail deposit book to ING and the the residential mortgage loan book to Oakwood Capital.