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The comprehensive guide to the world's leading tax firms

Baker & McKenzie's involvement in the Cobelfret case gained a lot of public attention this year and helped the team maintain its high position in the rankings. Widely respected partner Alain Huyghe and his team represented the shipping group before the ... [more]

Baker & McKenzie's involvement in the Cobelfret case gained a lot of public attention this year and helped the team maintain its high position in the rankings. Widely respected partner Alain Huyghe and his team represented the shipping group before the European Court of Justice in a tax litigation involving the incompatibility of the Belgian dividend received deduction rules with EU law. In February the Court found the dividend deduction regime contrary to EU law. This was a landmark case in Belgium, benefiting a lot of Belgian taxpayers. "The Cobelfret case was a big win for them and they deserve kudos for it," said one competitor. The team of 11 lawyers also advised big-name clients such as Hewlett-Packard, Axa and Sun Microsystems over the past 12 months. Partner Philippe Lion and his team advised Deutsche Lufthansa in the €250 million ($359 million) acquisition of a stake in SN Airholding and its subsidiaries, including Brussels Airlines, the main Belgian airline company.

Thirty-five lawyers make up Baker & McKenzie's tax team. The size of the group, its full range of services and its diverse client list distinguishes it from other law firms in Paris. The team offers transactional tax assistance as well as more day-to-day ... [more]

Thirty-five lawyers make up Baker & McKenzie's tax team. The size of the group, its full range of services and its diverse client list distinguishes it from other law firms in Paris. The team offers transactional tax assistance as well as more day-to-day tax advice including transfer pricing, auditing and litigation. It is particularly recommended for its real estate skills, with one peer calling the team "one of the best in Paris". It suffered a setback this year when it lost two partners Sarah Espasa Mattei and Bernard Boutemy, who both joined De Pardieu Brocas Maffei. However, competitors still regard the firm as one of the best in the market. The group has adapted to changes including more work in VAT and customs. Partner Thérèse-Anne Amy, a "big name in customs", joined from Ernst & Young.Peers recommend Thierry Vialaneix for indirect tax. The team advised Qatari Diar, wholly owned by Qatar Investment Authority, the Qatari sovereign wealth fund, on the tax aspects of the acquisition of Cegelec, the electrical engineering group. This matter was particularly technical because of the tax framework in the Middle Eastern countries. Partner Pierre Yves Bourtourault is chairman of the IACF [Institut des Avocats Conseils Fiscaux] which is the largest tax association in France, consisting of 800 tax lawyers. He was elected last year for a three year term. Veronique Millischer is also mentioned for her international tax work.

Baker & McKenzie has hired two economists this year to boost its transfer pricing team. Its strategy in Germany, and worldwide, is to focus on specialised areas. The firm has a team dedicated to indirect taxes and customs. The tax group's six partners ... [more]

Baker & McKenzie has hired two economists this year to boost its transfer pricing team. Its strategy in Germany, and worldwide, is to focus on specialised areas. The firm has a team dedicated to indirect taxes and customs. The tax group's six partners and 16 other professionals work across four offices. Among the deals they worked on this year was advising and representing a multinational group of companies in restructuring their VAT treatment for importation of machinery into Europe, a deal valued at $8 million and the tax, VAT and corporate restructuring of a mobile phone business. Nicole Looks and Christian Brodersen head the department.

Baker & McKenzie provides advice on all aspects of tax including transfer pricing strategies, tax litigation and indirect taxation including VAT. The team is led by respected lawyer Gerardo Boniello. It has advised Pirelli on tax structuring in connection ... [more]

Baker & McKenzie provides advice on all aspects of tax including transfer pricing strategies, tax litigation and indirect taxation including VAT. The team is led by respected lawyer Gerardo Boniello. It has advised Pirelli on tax structuring in connection with the setting up of a joint venture in Russia and Google in tax litigation regarding permanent establishments. Other clients include Tiscali and Zambon.

Fifteen people joined the Baker & McKenzie tax team this year taking the total number to 58. The transfer pricing group is a core part of the practice and is commended by peers. There are ten in the transfer pricing team including both lawyers and economists. ... [more]

Fifteen people joined the Baker & McKenzie tax team this year taking the total number to 58. The transfer pricing group is a core part of the practice and is commended by peers. There are ten in the transfer pricing team including both lawyers and economists. The indirect tax team is also sizeable comprising 15 lawyers. Head of the department, Herman Huidink, is mentioned for his international tax expertise. He advised Argenta Spaarbank this year in a $2.5 billion transaction. Other deals the team have worked on include representing Booz Allen Hamilton in the Netherlands in the separation and sale of the US government and global commercial businesses of Booz Allen Hamilton, as well as the sale of a majority stake in the US government consulting business to The Carlyle Group for $2.5 billion.

Luis Briones at Baker & McKenzie is highly recommended. One peer described him as "an authority and very highly regarded". The firm provides a full range of tax services including transfer pricing, litigation and real estate taxation. Their client list ... [more]

Luis Briones at Baker & McKenzie is highly recommended. One peer described him as "an authority and very highly regarded". The firm provides a full range of tax services including transfer pricing, litigation and real estate taxation. Their client list includes large corporations such as Fortis, Sony BMG, Sun Microsystems and Universal Music. The team advised Arcelor Mittal on a common stock and convertible note offering, a transaction valued at $3 billion. They also advised Metrovacesa in the $2.8 billion demerger process between Metrovacesa and Gecina. This was the demerger of the largest European real estate company.

Baker & McKenzie's tax practice is led by sole partner Bo Lindqvist who is supported by three associates. Lindqvist is a former judge and renowned for tax litigation. However he is also involved in corporate tax and M&A. The firm offers a full range ... [more]

Baker & McKenzie's tax practice is led by sole partner Bo Lindqvist who is supported by three associates. Lindqvist is a former judge and renowned for tax litigation. However he is also involved in corporate tax and M&A. The firm offers a full range of tax services although it does not cover transfer pricing. Mika Punkki is the firm's VAT specialist and is regarded as an expert in the field by his peers. The firm is assisting Dahlmer in a VAT dispute. The company wants to consolidate its VAT in Germany. Lindqvist also recently got a company acquitted of tax fraud.

Baker & McKenzie's tax team consists of six partners. The practice is involved in structured deals, advising companies moving their headquarters to Switzerland. Urs Schenker heads the Zurich practice and focuses on corporate tax and Denis Berdoz and ... [more]

Baker & McKenzie's tax team consists of six partners. The practice is involved in structured deals, advising companies moving their headquarters to Switzerland. Urs Schenker heads the Zurich practice and focuses on corporate tax and Denis Berdoz and Hans-Andre Koch are the other notable practitioners. The international practice provides a wide range of services including the establishment of trust companies worldwide, dealing with compliance issues and the development of financial products for private banks and other financial institutions. Thomas O'Donnell has 15 years experience in corporate tax advice. Marnin Michaels is involved with international corporate tax and provided advice on US tax planning to wealth management company Kaiser Ritter Partner.

Strengths of Baker & McKenzie's tax practice in London include transfer pricing and economics, tax and reorganisation, cross-border transactional and M&A work, supply chain and business re-engineering and VAT advice. The practice consists of lawyers, ... [more]

Strengths of Baker & McKenzie's tax practice in London include transfer pricing and economics, tax and reorganisation, cross-border transactional and M&A work, supply chain and business re-engineering and VAT advice. The practice consists of lawyers, accountants, VAT specialists, economists and analysts, and can tap into a global network of more than 600 tax advisers. The group also has won a reputation for its climate change practice, which is headed by James macLachlan, a direct tax practioner, and Mark Delaney, an indirect tax adviser, who has been involved in numerous carbon market transactions. Advocacy is another area that the advisers have done much work in. John Fairley and macLachlan, for example, have advised the 100 Group of finance directors on tax reform issues. Advice on post-acquisition restructuring, IP migration, permanent establishment risk and thin capitalisation are features of the transfer pricing team. Mark Agnew joined the practice this year from PricewaterhouseCoopers as a senior VAT consultant. Two economists left and Stephane Pantelidaki, an assistant director in the transfer pricing practice, joined KPMG as an associate partner.