World Tax - Home
The comprehensive guide to the world's leading tax firms

The tax team at Clifford Chance is recognised by most of its peers for the strength of its real estate practice. The group also specialises in employee incentive schemes, fund structuring and intragroup reorganisations. The team of four is led by Thierry ... [more]

The tax team at Clifford Chance is recognised by most of its peers for the strength of its real estate practice. The group also specialises in employee incentive schemes, fund structuring and intragroup reorganisations. The team of four is led by Thierry Blockerye who is singled out by his competitors for his real estate and corporate tax work.

The group has been focused on real estate transactions this year. Blockerye and Alexandre Ooms represented Hesse Newman on their acquisition of a building from Cofinimmo. The advisers managed to reduce the transfer tax paid by 6% by convincing the tax authorities that the property acquired included both a leasehold and freehold structure.

The group also represented Allianz Belgium on their €70 million acquisition of shares in the public company South City Office Broodthaers, owner of the South City Office Broodthaers Building in Brussels. Other work this year includes structuring a fund for E-Capital so that it could benefit from the participation exemption ruling on dividends.

Clients that Clifford Chance have worked for this year include also AG Real Estate, Banque Degroof and Nexity.

Clifford Chance is praised by its competitors for the strength of its transactional work. The group is also particularly strong in the fields of real estate and fund structuring. The tax practice comprises four partners and 13 other fee earners and is ... [more]

Clifford Chance is praised by its competitors for the strength of its transactional work. The group is also particularly strong in the fields of real estate and fund structuring. The tax practice comprises four partners and 13 other fee earners and is led by Eric Davoudet who is well known for his cross-border structuring work. Partner Eric Zeller is also mentioned in the market for his capital markets work.

The group has been involved in some of the most well-publicised projects in France this year. Zeller and Aurélia de Viry, of counsel, advised Eurostar last year on the implementation of a new corporate structure, which resulted in SNCF, SNCB and LCR becoming shareholders and contributing their Eurostar-related assets. Partner Alexandre Lagarrigue has also been advising Clayton Dubilier & Rice, Axa Private Equity and Caisse des dépôts et du placement du Québec on the €2.1 billion leveraged buy-out of the SPIE Group.

The real estate team has also been busy this year. Davoudet and associate Jitka Susankova advised Norges Bank Investment Management on their €1.4 billion joint venture with AXA Real Estate Investment Managers. This is also the first time the Norwegian sovereign fund has entered the Paris market. And partner Julien Ruderman advised CDC on the structuring of a new infrastructure fund project.

Other clients they have represented this year include Carrefour, Riverstone, Apollo, the Carlyle Group, Standard Life and LaSalle Investment Management.

Clifford Chance is viewed by the market as being among the best tax law firms in Germany. The practice is large for a law firm comprising more than 30 fee earners spread across three offices with most of them based in Frankfurt. Stefan Menner is mentioned ... [more]

Clifford Chance is viewed by the market as being among the best tax law firms in Germany. The practice is large for a law firm comprising more than 30 fee earners spread across three offices with most of them based in Frankfurt. Stefan Menner is mentioned by his peers as an expert in indirect tax; Marc Scheunemann is singled out for his corporate tax work.

There is a good balance to the firm, often providing support work to the firm's other departments but also working on many of its own projects. This year Uwe Schimmelschmidt advised a real estate investment group with investments in more than 10 jurisdictions on the acquisition of a company with substantial real estate in a major European country.

Other work this year includes advising a major fund with over $20 billion in assets worldwide on the acquisition of a large amount of commercial property in Germany. The practice is also engaged in policy work and regularly contributes to different consultations and initiatives. During the year the group published its opinion on the German federal government's proposed tax on nuclear fuel elements and the question of compatibility with EU law.

Clifford Chance's tax practice is based in their Milan office and is led by Carlo Galli, who is mentioned by his peers as a leading figure in capital markets and financial products.The practice provides a broad range of tax services including M&A, banking ... [more]

Clifford Chance's tax practice is based in their Milan office and is led by Carlo Galli, who is mentioned by his peers as a leading figure in capital markets and financial products.

The practice provides a broad range of tax services including M&A, banking and finance, structured finance, capital markets, real estate and compliance. This year Galli advised Ambac Assurance UK, guarantor of the asset-backed securities previously issued by Imser Securitisation 2 Srl, on the tax structure related to the conversion of Imser 60 (controlled by Beni Stabili SpA and holding about 40% of the real estate assets of the Beni Stabili group) to a non-listed real estate investment company in the context of Beni Stabili's own conversion to a listed real estate investment company.

Kremer Associés & Clifford Chance's tax practice is led by sole partner François-Xavier Dujardin and comprises a team of seven. Christophe Clément, of counsel, is praised by his competitors for his private equity and international structuring work.Clément ... [more]

Kremer Associés & Clifford Chance's tax practice is led by sole partner François-Xavier Dujardin and comprises a team of seven. Christophe Clément, of counsel, is praised by his competitors for his private equity and international structuring work.

Clément advised AZ Electronic Materials Group on their IPO on the London Stock Exchange. The offering raised around $400m and is expected to be one of the largest equity capital markets transactions of 2011.

The group has also been active this year on private equity work. Clément advised Ares Management on the structuring of a Luxembourg platform investing in European private debt assets on behalf of an external investor and entering into an asset management agreement with Ares Management Limited. Dujardin and senior associate Vincent Marquis also advised Resource Partners, a Polish private equity firm, on their investments in three Polish companies.

Other clients they have worked for this year include Citigroup, Altarea Cogedim, GDF Suez, Chequers Capital and Crédit Agricole.

The partner in charge of Clifford Chance's tax practice is Ate van Ijlzinga Veenstra. Michiel Sunderman is described as an up-and-coming guy. The group is divided into three main sub-areas: funds, finance tax and corporate tax. The practice's reputation ... [more]

The partner in charge of Clifford Chance's tax practice is Ate van Ijlzinga Veenstra. Michiel Sunderman is described as an up-and-coming guy. The group is divided into three main sub-areas: funds, finance tax and corporate tax. The practice's reputation for finance-related work is second to none.

Out of the three areas fund-related work is still the strongest area. This year the team advised on the launching of the Waterland fund, which raised more than €1.1 billion. Corporate tax work has begun to pick up over the last nine months. The group recently advised Maxeda, the Dutch retail group, on a major disposal.

The group also advised on the joint venture between Royal DSM N.V., the global life sciences and materials sciences company headquartered in the Netherlands, in relation to the formation of a 50/50 global joint venture with Sinochem Group for its business group DSM Anti-Infectives. Other clients they have worked for this year include PGGM and Hertz.

The Spanish tax practice of Clifford Chance handles a range of tax issues. Most of the department's work is associated with its real estate, corporate and banking departments' activity. Rivals note the quality of the firm's work in capital markets and ... [more]

The Spanish tax practice of Clifford Chance handles a range of tax issues. Most of the department's work is associated with its real estate, corporate and banking departments' activity. Rivals note the quality of the firm's work in capital markets and financial products and identify Jose Ignacio Jiménez-Blanco as highly competent in that area. Jiménez-Blanco also specialises in international tax, an area where the firm's ability is bolstered by the strength of its global network. The tax department is comprised of one other partner and three other fee earners.

The tax team at Clifford Chance was involved in one of the largest M&A deals in 2010 when they advised both International Power and GDF Suez on their merger in a transaction worth £18 billion ($30 billion). David Harkness, the firm's global head of tax, ... [more]

The tax team at Clifford Chance was involved in one of the largest M&A deals in 2010 when they advised both International Power and GDF Suez on their merger in a transaction worth £18 billion ($30 billion). David Harkness, the firm's global head of tax, and partner Nick Mace led the team responsible for implementing a tax efficient structure for pre-completion internal reorganisation, inter-group financing and a cash-box structure used to fund a special dividend to International Power shareholders.

Mace also coordinated a transatlantic team acting for the syndication of underwriters in the largest ever IPO in the UK by commodities company Glencore. Their work for Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse in the matter marked the first ever simultaneous listing on the London Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The multi-jurisdictional aspects in not only the IPO but also of the underwriters' businesses required detailed management of cross-border tax issues. Clifford Chance is well placed to deal with such issues, having US tax experts in its London office in a department with 12 partners and more than 30 other fee earners. With a tax consultant now in Beijing, the firm has consolidated its ability to advise on international tax issues, especially with regard to inbound and outbound Asian investments. Michael Brosnahan is highly respected by competitors for his structuring work, which is said to be creative and innovative. This was important in his work for Macquarie Infrastructure Group last year on the tax implications of the group's demerger and internationalisation of their management. The group was split into two separate listed entities with Macquarie retaining direct control of one of the companies, requiring careful use of structures to limit tax charges.