European Union

Cleary Gottlieb’s EU practice group is among the most acclaimed and established practices in Europe, comprising about 130 lawyers based in Brussels, Cologne, Frankfurt, London, Milan, Moscow, Paris and Rome. It includes several former officials from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition, the European Commission’s legal service and the European courts. The group advises on all areas of law, both at the EU level and in individual Member States.

Our award-winning competition/antitrust team handles all aspects of EU competition law, including merger control, commercial agreements, cartel investigations, and State aid. The firm has been involved in some of the most significant merger control cases in history: Exxon/Mobil (for Exxon), the largest oil and gas merger in history; General Electric/Honeywell (for United Technologies Corporation), the largest deal ever blocked by the European Commission; Lagardère/Vivendi Universal Publishing (for Lagardère), one of the largest European publishing deals; Crédit Lyonnais/Crédit Agricole (for Crédit Lyonnais); HypoVereinsbank/Unicredit (for HypoVereinsbank), the largest ever cross-border bank merger in Europe; Mittal/Arcelor (for Mittal), forming the world’s leading steel company; Euronext/NYSE (for Euronext), creating the first transatlantic securities exchange and the world's largest and most liquid securities marketplace and Sony/BMG (for Sony), one of the largest global recorded music transaction. A partner in the firm authored the definitive treatise on this topic, European Merger Control Law: A Guide to the Merger Regulation.

Our litigation practice represents clients before the European Court of First Instance, the European Court of Justice, and national courts on a wide variety of EU and national issues, including appeals of European Commission decisions in the areas of merger control, cartels, abuse and State aid. Several of these cases have resulted in landmark judgments. Cleary Gottlieb’s EU regulatory experts provide advice in all major sectors, including telecommunications, media and advertising, pharmaceuticals/health care, financial services, food and beverages, product standards, energy, information technology, personal data protection and e-commerce, as well as intellectual property and trade law.

Operating as a fully integrated practice group, the lawyers in the firm’s EU practice work closely with their U.S.-based colleagues to provide clients with cutting-edge expertise around the globe. This close cooperation is fostered by a regular exchange of lawyers among our European and U.S. offices.

The EU practice group represents clients in all major sectors, including aerospace, banking, information technology, energy, media and advertising, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, food and beverages, manufacturing and financial services.


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Practice Highlights What Others Say About Our Practice

Greece in Largest Ever Sovereign Debt Restructuring and Largest Ever Bond Exchange

Dexia in €5.5 Billion Recapitalization

BPCE in $10 Billion U.S. Medium-Term Note Program

Cleary Gottlieb Wins First Madoff Case in Italy

OJSC MegaFon in IPO

Precedent Setting Judgment Granting Legal Privilege to In-house Counsel in National Antitrust Proceedings

Central Bank of Russia in $5.2 Billion Secondary Public Offering of Sberbank Shares

ArcelorMittal in $4 Billion Equity and Equity-Linked Securities Offerings

Tomskneft Prevails in France in Challenge of Exequatur of $140 Million Arbitral Award Obtained by Yukos Capital

Rosneft Obtains Favorable Decision in English Court of Appeal

Google in Acquisition of Motorola Mobility

Agilent Technologies in $2.2 Billion Acquisition of Dako

Sony Corporation of America Achieves First Phase Clearance for its Acquisition of EMI Music Publishing

Stanley Black & Decker in $1.2 Billion Offer for Niscayah

Commerzbank in €11 Billion Capital Measures

Lafarge S.A. in Joint Venture with Anglo American PLC

Truvo Group Wins Reorganization Plan Confirmation, Enabling Cross-Border Restructuring of $1.9 Billion of Debt

Competition/Antitrust Law Firm of the Year
Chambers Global (2012, 2013)
Most Innovative U.S. Law Firm in Europe
International Financial Law Review (2011 and 2013)

Law Firm of the Year
Legal Business (2013)

Restructuring Team of the Year
Legal Business (2013)

Standout Firm for Finance, Global Markets Deal of the Year, Europe Debt & Equity-Linked Deal of the Year
(Greece's €206 billion private sector debt restructuring)
Financial Times - U.S. Innovative Lawyers Report (2012), Euromoney (2012), International Financial Law Review (2013) 
Top Two Elite Competition Firm
Global Competition Review (2011-2013)
Italian Competition/EU Law Firm of the Year
TopLegal (2010-2012)

Italian Litigation Law Firm of the Year
Top Legal, 2012
Europe Restructuring Deal of the Year
(Seat Pagine Gialle’s debt restructuring)
International Financial Law Review (2013)
Europe Equity Deal of the Year
(MegaFon’s IPO)
International Financial Law Review (2013)

Europe Debt & Equity-Linked Deal of the Year
(Credit Suisse’s contingent convertibles offering)
International Financial Law Review (2012)
Behavioral Competition Matter of the Year – Europe
(Defense of IBM in abuse of dominance case)
Global Competition Review (2012)
European Legal Team of the Year
Legal Week’s British Legal Awards (2009, 2010, 2012)

#1 Global Equity & Equity-Related Managers’ Counsel
Thomson Reuters, 2012 Rankings (Value)
#2 Global Straight Debt
Thomson Reuters, 2012 Rankings (Deal count)
#3 Global Bond Issuers’ Counsel
Bloomberg, 2012 Rankings (Deal count)
Europe M&A Transaction of the Year
(Merck & Co./sanofi-aventis joint venture)
Global Competition Review (2011)
Best Legal Advisor in Central & Eastern Europe
Global Finance (2011)
Antitrust Law Firm of the Year
TopLegal Awards (2010)
Corporate Law Firm of the Year
Belgian Legal Awards (2010)
European Loan of the Year
(ArcelorMittal’s $6 billion forward starts)
International Financing Review (2010)
European M&A Deal of the Year
(PartnerRe’s acquisition of Paris Re)
International Financial Law Review (2010)
EMEA Equity Issue of the Year
(HeidelbergCement’s €4.4 billion offering)
International Financing Review (2010)
EMEA Structured Equity Issue of the Year
(ArcelorMittal’s €1.25 billion convertible offering)
International Financing Review (2010)  
“This top firm is uniquely placed to provide expert advice on competition and antitrust law on both sides of the Atlantic. Alongside unmatched Washington, DC and Brussels teams, it fields highly rated practices in Germany, Italy and France, and an increasing profile in London. ‘They have incredible bench strength and work incredibly well as a team.’ ‘A fantastic firm on a global scale.’ ‘They are the best of all the players I use globally.’”

“One of the best competition practices in Brussels, this firm also has top teams in Germany, Italy and France…. ‘What strikes me most is the quality of the firm throughout, whether it’s France, Belgium or Germany. It’s polished without being arrogant, unlike other firms which are often the other way around.’”
Chambers Global (2013)
“Universally regarded as one of the best competition teams in [Belgium], this firm has a role in almost all the top cases at EU level. Complex multinational mergers continue to be a particular strength of the group …

‘The team combines state-of-the-art expertise with a client-oriented service.’ ‘The best firm I've ever seen in talent development and leadership – incredible strength globally and the lawyers work incredibly well as a team.’”
Chambers Europe (2013)
“Cleary Gottlieb remains one of the most sought-after firms for competition law advice. ... ‘Our go-to firm for competition matters in Europe.’ ‘Phenomenal for antitrust work.’”
Chambers Global (2012)
“[T]he ‘cutting-edge’ team is ‘very high quality across the board,’ with ‘very quick response times, detailed knowledge of procedure, legislation and individuals, and appropriate and well-thought-through advice.’”
The Legal 500 UK (2012)
“With 70 antitrust specialists in the Brussels office alone, and highly experienced teams in Italy, Germany and France, it is capable of handling a heavy workload of multi-jurisdictional merger control, antitrust and state aid instructions.”
Chambers Europe (2012)
“[Cleary Gottlieb] has market-leading presences in strategic European locations – the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Russia – and employs teams of versatile lawyers who offer strong expertise in multiple practice areas. ‘A top-notch capital markets firm.’ … ‘They value their clients, big or small. … Consistently high quality – their HR is fantastic at hiring only the best people. They have a culture of people who work hard and are very smart.’”
Chambers Global (2011)
“Peers and clients agree that this firm remains a leader in competition and European law across the region. ... ‘The quality of the work and the responsiveness are outstanding.’ ... ‘The network of offices in key countries, combined with the varied expertise of the Brussels office, makes this firm ideal for any transaction in Europe involving multiple jurisdictions.’”
Chambers Europe (2011)
“Cleary features in Europe’s major financial centers as a first-rate offering on the equity side. The French team’s derivatives expertise is as warmly received as its equity work and the group is a favorite for transatlantic clients. The German group’s efforts earn similar ratings and it has lately demonstrated its expertise in renewable energy matters, as well as handling mainstream deals. … ‘They have some very talented people; they use their network in a very intelligent way and can find innovative solutions.’”
Chambers Global (2010)
“It is widely accepted that Cleary Gottlieb is ‘the only U.S.-headquartered law firm able to cut it with the magic circle for capital markets work across Europe.’ Indeed, the sheer quality of the lawyers is nothing short of legendary, with one source remarking: ‘They are all outstanding, and excellence is their global language.’”
Chambers Global (2009)