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Key practice areas
Banking
Project finance
Capital markets : Debt
Capital markets : Equity
Capital markets : Structured finance and securitisation
Financial and corporate
Financial services regulatory
Private equity
Restructuring
M&A
Project development
Banking and finance
Firm overview

Clifford Chance is a powerhouse across the financial and corporate sphere with highly rated partners and a deep bench in almost all areas. One of the world’s pre-eminent law firms, the firm has a significant depth and range of resources across five continents. 

Rankings published in 2026
Banking and finance
Tier 1
35 firms ranked
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Tier 1

Clifford Chance
12 practice areas
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Freshfields
13 practice areas
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Hengeler Mueller
12 practice areas
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Latham & Watkins
11 practice areas
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Milbank
11 practice areas
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Tier 2

A&O Shearman
14 practice areas
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Linklaters
13 practice areas
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Tier 3

Ashurst Perkins Coie
9 practice areas
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Gleiss Lutz
13 practice areas
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Noerr
10 practice areas
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White & Case
13 practice areas
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Tier 4

CMS Hasche Sigle
10 practice areas
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Goodwin Procter
4 practice areas
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Kirkland & Ellis
11 practice areas
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Norton Rose Fulbright
7 practice areas
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Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom
13 practice areas
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Willkie Farr & Gallagher
9 practice areas
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Tier 5

Baker McKenzie
10 practice areas
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Bird & Bird
10 practice areas
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Gütt Olk Feldhaus
5 practice areas
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Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek
9 practice areas
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King & Spalding
6 practice areas
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Luther
4 practice areas
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Mayer Brown
10 practice areas
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McDermott Will & Schulte
12 practice areas
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Taylor Wessing
7 practice areas
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Weil Gotshal & Manges
9 practice areas
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Notable

Astera Legal
3 practice areas
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Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
3 practice areas
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LARK
18 practice areas
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LSP | Lindemann Schwennicke & Partner
4 practice areas
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Schalast & Partner (Schalast Law | Tax)
5 practice areas
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Sidley Austin
7 practice areas
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Simmons & Simmons
5 practice areas
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Sullivan & Cromwell
6 practice areas
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Capital markets : Debt
Tier 2
20 firms ranked
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Tier 1

Freshfields
13 practice areas
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Hengeler Mueller
12 practice areas
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Linklaters
13 practice areas
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Tier 2

Clifford Chance
12 practice areas
View full profile
Latham & Watkins
11 practice areas
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White & Case
13 practice areas
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Tier 3

A&O Shearman
14 practice areas
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Gleiss Lutz
13 practice areas
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Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
11 practice areas
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Noerr
10 practice areas
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Sullivan & Cromwell
6 practice areas
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Tier 4

Ashurst Perkins Coie
9 practice areas
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Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek
9 practice areas
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Mayer Brown
10 practice areas
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Norton Rose Fulbright
7 practice areas
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Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom
13 practice areas
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Tier 5

Kirkland & Ellis
11 practice areas
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Milbank
11 practice areas
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Notable

McDermott Will & Schulte
12 practice areas
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Pinsent Masons
5 practice areas
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Capital markets : Equity
Tier 2
25 firms ranked
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Tier 1

Freshfields
13 practice areas
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Hengeler Mueller
12 practice areas
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Linklaters
13 practice areas
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Sullivan & Cromwell
6 practice areas
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Tier 2

Clifford Chance
12 practice areas
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White & Case
13 practice areas
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Tier 3

A&O Shearman
14 practice areas
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Gleiss Lutz
13 practice areas
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Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
11 practice areas
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Latham & Watkins
11 practice areas
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Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom
13 practice areas
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Tier 4

Ashurst Perkins Coie
9 practice areas
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CMS Hasche Sigle
10 practice areas
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Milbank
11 practice areas
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Noerr
10 practice areas
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Tier 5

Norton Rose Fulbright
7 practice areas
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Willkie Farr & Gallagher
9 practice areas
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Notable

Baker McKenzie
10 practice areas
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DLA Piper
5 practice areas
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Glade Michel Wirtz
4 practice areas
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Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek
9 practice areas
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Kirkland & Ellis
11 practice areas
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Paul Hastings
10 practice areas
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Pinsent Masons
5 practice areas
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Taylor Wessing
7 practice areas
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Capital markets : Structured finance and securitisation
Tier 1
14 firms ranked
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Tier 1

Clifford Chance
12 practice areas
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Hengeler Mueller
12 practice areas
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Linklaters
13 practice areas
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Tier 2

Freshfields
13 practice areas
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Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
11 practice areas
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White & Case
13 practice areas
View full profile

Tier 3

A&O Shearman
14 practice areas
View full profile
Ashurst Perkins Coie
9 practice areas
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Baker McKenzie
10 practice areas
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Dentons
12 practice areas
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Latham & Watkins
11 practice areas
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Notable

Gleiss Lutz
13 practice areas
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Mayer Brown
10 practice areas
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Noerr
10 practice areas
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Financial services regulatory
Tier 2
20 firms ranked
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Tier 1

Freshfields
13 practice areas
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Hengeler Mueller
12 practice areas
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Linklaters
13 practice areas
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Tier 2

Clifford Chance
12 practice areas
View full profile
Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
11 practice areas
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Latham & Watkins
11 practice areas
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White & Case
13 practice areas
View full profile

Tier 3

A&O Shearman
14 practice areas
View full profile
CMS Hasche Sigle
10 practice areas
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Gleiss Lutz
13 practice areas
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LSP | Lindemann Schwennicke & Partner
4 practice areas
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PwC Legal
1 practice area
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Notable

Annerton
1 practice area
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Bird & Bird
10 practice areas
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Gunnercooke
1 practice area
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Jones Day
5 practice areas
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Mayer Brown
10 practice areas
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McDermott Will & Schulte
12 practice areas
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Noerr
10 practice areas
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Schalast & Partner (Schalast Law | Tax)
5 practice areas
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M&A
Tier 2
56 firms ranked
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Tier 1

Freshfields
13 practice areas
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Hengeler Mueller
12 practice areas
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Linklaters
13 practice areas
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Tier 2

Clifford Chance
12 practice areas
View full profile
Gleiss Lutz
13 practice areas
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Latham & Watkins
11 practice areas
View profile
Sullivan & Cromwell
6 practice areas
View profile

Tier 3

A&O Shearman
14 practice areas
View full profile
Kirkland & Ellis
11 practice areas
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Milbank
11 practice areas
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Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom
13 practice areas
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White & Case
13 practice areas
View full profile

Tier 4

Baker McKenzie
10 practice areas
View full profile
CMS Hasche Sigle
10 practice areas
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Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
11 practice areas
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McDermott Will & Schulte
12 practice areas
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Noerr
10 practice areas
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Weil Gotshal & Manges
9 practice areas
View profile

Tier 5

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
10 practice areas
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DLA Piper
5 practice areas
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Dentons
12 practice areas
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Gibson Dunn & Crutcher
5 practice areas
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Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer
3 practice areas
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Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek
9 practice areas
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Jones Day
5 practice areas
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K&L Gates
2 practice areas
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Mayer Brown
10 practice areas
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Morgan Lewis & Bockius
1 practice area
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Morrison & Foerster
2 practice areas
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SZA Schilling Zutt & Anschütz
4 practice areas
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Willkie Farr & Gallagher
9 practice areas
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Tier 6

Ashurst Perkins Coie
9 practice areas
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Berner Fleck Wettich
2 practice areas
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Bird & Bird
10 practice areas
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Eversheds Sutherland
1 practice area
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GLNS
5 practice areas
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Glade Michel Wirtz
4 practice areas
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Gütt Olk Feldhaus
5 practice areas
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Kallan
2 practice areas
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King & Spalding
6 practice areas
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Oppenhoff & Partner
6 practice areas
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Paul Hastings
10 practice areas
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Pinsent Masons
5 practice areas
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Renzenbrink & Partner
2 practice areas
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Schalast & Partner (Schalast Law | Tax)
5 practice areas
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Notable

ADVANT Beiten
1 practice area
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Arqis
3 practice areas
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Dechert
3 practice areas
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Greenberg Traurig
3 practice areas
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LARK
18 practice areas
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Leo Schmidt-Hollburg Witte & Frank
2 practice areas
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Norton Rose Fulbright
7 practice areas
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Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
1 practice area
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POELLATH
4 practice areas
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Taylor Wessing
7 practice areas
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YPOG
3 practice areas
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Private equity
Tier 1
36 firms ranked
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Tier 1

Clifford Chance
12 practice areas
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Freshfields
13 practice areas
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Hengeler Mueller
12 practice areas
View profile
Kirkland & Ellis
11 practice areas
View profile
Latham & Watkins
11 practice areas
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Milbank
11 practice areas
View profile

Tier 2

Gleiss Lutz
13 practice areas
View profile
Linklaters
13 practice areas
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POELLATH
4 practice areas
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Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom
13 practice areas
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Weil Gotshal & Manges
9 practice areas
View profile

Tier 3

A&O Shearman
14 practice areas
View full profile
CMS Hasche Sigle
10 practice areas
View profile
Gibson Dunn & Crutcher
5 practice areas
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Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
11 practice areas
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White & Case
13 practice areas
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Willkie Farr & Gallagher
9 practice areas
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Tier 4

Ashurst Perkins Coie
9 practice areas
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Goodwin Procter
4 practice areas
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Gütt Olk Feldhaus
5 practice areas
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LUPP + PARTNER
1 practice area
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McDermott Will & Schulte
12 practice areas
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Noerr
10 practice areas
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Paul Hastings
10 practice areas
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Renzenbrink & Partner
2 practice areas
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Sidley Austin
7 practice areas
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YPOG
3 practice areas
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Notable

Astera Legal
3 practice areas
View profile
Bird & Bird
10 practice areas
View profile
DLA Piper
5 practice areas
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EY Law
4 practice areas
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GLNS
5 practice areas
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Greenberg Traurig
3 practice areas
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Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer
3 practice areas
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King & Spalding
6 practice areas
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Mayer Brown
10 practice areas
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Project development
Tier 1
13 firms ranked
View full list

Tier 1

Clifford Chance
12 practice areas
View full profile
Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
11 practice areas
View profile
White & Case
13 practice areas
View full profile

Tier 2

CMS Hasche Sigle
10 practice areas
View profile
Freshfields
13 practice areas
View profile
Norton Rose Fulbright
7 practice areas
View profile

Tier 3

A&O Shearman
14 practice areas
View full profile
Bird & Bird
10 practice areas
View profile
DLA Piper
5 practice areas
View profile
Dentons
12 practice areas
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Gleiss Lutz
13 practice areas
View profile
Hengeler Mueller
12 practice areas
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Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek
9 practice areas
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Project finance
Tier 1
11 firms ranked
View full list

Tier 1

Clifford Chance
12 practice areas
View full profile
White & Case
13 practice areas
View full profile

Tier 2

Freshfields
13 practice areas
View profile
Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
11 practice areas
View profile
Norton Rose Fulbright
7 practice areas
View profile

Tier 3

A&O Shearman
14 practice areas
View full profile
CMS Hasche Sigle
10 practice areas
View profile
Gleiss Lutz
13 practice areas
View profile
Linklaters
13 practice areas
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Watson Farley & Williams
5 practice areas
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Notable

Bird & Bird
10 practice areas
View profile
Restructuring
Tier 2
26 firms ranked
View full list

Tier 1

Freshfields
13 practice areas
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Kirkland & Ellis
11 practice areas
View profile

Tier 2

A&O Shearman
14 practice areas
View full profile
Clifford Chance
12 practice areas
View full profile
Dentons
12 practice areas
View profile
Gleiss Lutz
13 practice areas
View profile
Hengeler Mueller
12 practice areas
View profile
Linklaters
13 practice areas
View profile

Tier 3

CMS Hasche Sigle
10 practice areas
View profile
Görg
6 practice areas
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Hogan Lovells Cadwalader
11 practice areas
View profile
Latham & Watkins
11 practice areas
View profile
Milbank
11 practice areas
View profile
Noerr
10 practice areas
View profile
White & Case
13 practice areas
View full profile
Willkie Farr & Gallagher
9 practice areas
View profile

Tier 4

Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek
9 practice areas
View profile
McDermott Will & Schulte
12 practice areas
View profile
Sidley Austin
7 practice areas
View profile
Weil Gotshal & Manges
9 practice areas
View profile
Wellensiek
3 practice areas
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Notable

Ashurst Perkins Coie
9 practice areas
View profile
Glade Michel Wirtz
4 practice areas
View profile
Mayer Brown
10 practice areas
View profile
Schultze & Braun
3 practice areas
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Taylor Wessing
7 practice areas
View profile
Linked Reviews
Financial and corporate

Magic Circle firmClifford Chanceis among the largest law firms in the world, with global operations in 23 countries. The firm’s presence in Germany can be traced back to the end of the 19thcentury. It has offices in Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Munich. The firm has a formidable practice across all sectors. Its standout capital markets practice includes joint US-German qualified George Hacket and Axel Wittmann. In a recent highlight the team advised Industrie De Nora on the IPO of thyssenkrupp nucera. The corporate team includes rated practitioners such as Jörg Rhiel, Christoph Holstein, Thomas Krecek and Christian Vogel. The team advised Harbour Energy on its acquisition of assets from Wintershall Dea and Asterion Industrial Partners on the acquisition of STEAG.

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Deal Highlights
67 results67 results
Deal Name Deal Date Firm Name Jurisdiction Deal Type Lawyer Names Client Names Client Role
DekaBank - Bond Issue
2021-07-01
Clifford Chance
Germany
Bond issue
DekaBank, DZ Bank, Erste Group Bank AG
Underwriter
EEW Energy from Waste GmbH - Bond Issue
2021-06-01
Clifford Chance
Germany
Bond issue
EEW Energy from Waste GmbH
Issuer
3i Infrastructure plc - M&A
2021-04-01
Clifford Chance
Germany
M&A
Alexander Shemyakin, Alicia Busch, Andreas Ruthemeyer, Anna Chiettini, Anne Britta Haas, Anne Filzmoser, Arne Gayk, Christof Hafner, Claudia Milbradt, David Pasewaldt, David Rahmel, Dimitri Slobodenjuk, Felix Feldmann, Frederik Muehl, Gerd Hegele, Iliana Diedrich, Ines Keitel, Katrin Wick, Marc Besen, Marcus Drescher, Mario Maier, Markus Stephanblome, Mathias Elspass, Michael Bates, Michael Kummel, Natalie Hemberger, Nicolas Hohn-Hein, Reinhard Scheer-Hennings, Steffen Amelung, Susanne Werry, Timo Heppner, Yan Ma
3i Infrastructure plc
Buyer
Dedalus Italia SpA - M&A
2021-05-27
Clifford Chance
Germany
M&A
Marc Besen, Ulrich Pfeffer
Dedalus Italia SpA
Buyer
ID Verde SAS - M&A
2021-04-01
Clifford Chance
Germany
M&A
Christopher Fischer, Cord von Mandelsloh, Fabian Bohm, Friedrich von Bulow, Gerd Hegele, Ines Keitel, Ines Marin, Isabel Freudenberg, Olaf Mertgen, Stefan Bruder
ID Verde SAS
Buyer
Software AG - M&A
2021-12-13
Clifford Chance
Germany
M&A
Software AG
Seller
HomeToGo GmbH - M&A
2021-07-14
Clifford Chance
Germany
M&A
HomeToGo GmbH
Seller
Volkswagen AG - M&A
2021-03-26
Clifford Chance
Germany
M&A
Agnieszka Janicka, Aldara Sola, Alex Cook, Anna Chiettini, Anne Britta Haas, Claudia Milbradt, Dominik Engl, Glen Ma, Jakub Vesely, Jorg Rhiel, Krzysztof Hajdamowicz, Michal Jasek, Nadine Fell, Nicolas Hohn-Hein, Nikoletta Koziol, Thomas Reischauer
Volkswagen AG
Seller
Triton Investment Management Ltd. - M&A
2021-02-18
Clifford Chance
Germany
M&A
Anne Filzmoser, Anselm Raddatz, Claudia Milbradt, Cord von Mandelsloh, Daniel Gutmann, David Pasewaldt, Echo Yang, Felix Muhlhauser, Frederik Muhl, Glen Ma, Ines Keitel, Judith Dany, Katrin Wick, Kevin Lehpamer, Liza Laube, Marc Besen, Marie-Christine Schulte, Mario Maier, Michael Kummel, Nicolas Hohn-Hein, Rachel Park, Susanne Werry, Thomas Voland
Triton Investment Management Ltd.
Buyer
Trinseo SA - M&A
2021-05-21
Clifford Chance
Germany
M&A
Amrei Fuder, Anne Filzmoser, Claudia Milbradt, Dimitri Slobodenjuk, Dominik Engl, Jorg Rhiel, Krzysztof Hajdamowicz, Lara Stelmach, Markus Bohn, Michael Kummel, Moritz Petersen, Nicolas Hohn-Hein, Stefan Simon
Trinseo SA
Seller
BorgWarner Inc. - M&A
2021-02-15
Clifford Chance
Germany
M&A
BorgWarner Inc.
Buyer
Leonardo SpA - M&A
2021-04-24
Clifford Chance
Germany
M&A
Leonardo SpA
Buyer
ZF Finance GmbH - Bond Issue
2021-10-01
Clifford Chance
Germany
Bond issue
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Bank of China, JP Morgan Chase, Mizuho Bank
Underwriter
ZF Finance GmbH - Bond Issue
2021-11-01
Clifford Chance
Germany
Bond issue
Banco Santander, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Helaba, ING Bank, JP Morgan Chase, Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg - LBBW, Mitsubishi Corp, Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, UniCredit
Underwriter
German Lion RMBS - Bond Issue
2021-11-01
Clifford Chance
Germany
Bond issue
German Lion RMBS
Issuer
LEG Immobilien AG - Bond Issue
2021-11-01
Clifford Chance
Germany
Bond issue
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Société Générale, UniCredit
Underwriter
LEG Immobilien AG - Bond Issue
2021-10-01
Clifford Chance
Germany
Bond issue
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Société Générale, UniCredit
Underwriter
Telefonica SA - M&A
2022-05-09
Clifford Chance
Germany
M&A
Belen Irissarry, Christopher Fischer, Claudia Milbradt, Cord von Mandelsloh, Dimitri Slobodenjuk, Jana Landsittel, Julius Schradin, Marc Besen, Miguel Odriozola, Nicolas Hohn-Hein, Olaf Mertgen, Ribana Piontek, Simon Schmid, Stefan Bruder, Stefan Simon
Telefonica SA
Buyer
Redevco BV - M&A
2022-05-03
Clifford Chance
Germany
M&A
Alexander Shemyakin, Alexandra Uhl, Carina Soesanto, Christian Eli, Dominik Engl, Gregor Evenkamp, Ines Keitel, Jordy de Meij, Jorg Rhiel, Leonie Gebauer, Magda Pawela-Hausler, Margret Bootz-Hagen, Mario Opitz, Mark Aschenbrenner, Natalie Hemberger, Nicole Engesser Means, Robert Schmidt, Sebastian Rakob, Tatjana Bougargour, Thomas Reischauer
Redevco BV
Buyer
Deutsche KNM GmbH - M&A
2022-05-30
Clifford Chance
Germany
M&A
Bettina Steinhauer, Christian Cranmore, Cord von Mandelsloh, Dimitri Slobodenjuk, Dominik Engl, Jorg Rhiel, Julius Schradin, Maria-Franziska Rontsch
Deutsche KNM GmbH
Seller
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Corporate partner Aline Cardin and counsel Alexander Tollast discuss winning the instruction, road-testing the EU Pilot Regime and turning a first-of-its-kind transaction into know-how
Gibson Dunn has hired a seven-lawyer investment funds team from Clifford Chance in Paris, led by partner Xavier Comaills, as the firm continues its European expansion
Clifford Chance, Bowmans and Udo Udoma & Belo Osagie were among the top winning firms at the awards dinner held in Cape Town on March 17  
M&A
Corporate M&A and PE lawyer Alexandra Wilde has been appointed as managing partner to ‘lead the next phase of growth across the US region’
New hires were made across the PE, M&A, real estate, antitrust, finance and capital markets practices in the UK and the US
M&A
New hires were made across the corporate, PE, regulatory and finance practices in Abu Dhabi, Brussels, Sydney, Rome, London and the Cayman Islands
Lawyers at Clifford Chance and Skadden examine how the regulation has driven legal demand at their firms and transformed advisory strategies
A revamped rulebook has given a boost to London IPO activity that looks set to continue in the fourth quarter and into 2026, lawyers tell IFLR
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