France Recommended firms Tier 1 Bredin Prat Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier Linklaters Tier 2 Gide Loyrette Nouel Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Sullivan & Cromwell Tier 3 Ashurst Clifford Chance Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Orrick Rambaud Martel Shearman & Sterling Weil Gotshal & Manges Willkie Farr & Gallagher In recent years France has seen a steep rise in private equity. Hedge funds also now wield much more influence and funds are often demanding changes in the way companies are run. This phenomenon has been labelled as shareholder activism, and the expectations of these investors, which are often rooted in short-term gains, can be very different to those of classical public shareholders. And they frequently get their own way – the possession of large equity blocks, and the ability to band together, allows these funds to push through even the most drastic of changes.
January 01 2008