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The Netherlands Recommended firms Tier 1 Allen & Overy Clifford Chance De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek Tier 2 Linklaters NautaDutilh Stibbe Tier 3 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Lovells Loyens & Loeff The Dutch equity capital markets are bustling. Companies are rushing to list on the Dutch Stock Exchange both from within the Netherlands and from overseas. The country's liberal tax regime is encouraging investors to buy companies elsewhere in Europe and in America and to float them on Euronext Amsterdam. And initial public offerings (IPOs) are an increasingly attractive exit strategy for private-equity houses.

Luxembourg Recommended firms Tier 1 Allen & Overy Luxembourg Arendt & Medernach Elvinger Hoss & Prussen Linklaters Tier 2 Bonn Schmitt Steichen Kremer Associés & Clifford Chance NautaDutilh Luxembourg has been buzzing with activity following a surge of takeover activity. Private-equity firms in particular have used the jurisdiction to structure buyouts due to Luxembourg's friendly regulatory framework.

Denmark Recommended firms Tier 1 Gorrissen Federspiel Kierkegaard Kromann Reumert Tier 2 Bech-Bruun Plesner Svane Grønborg Tier 3 Accura Jonas Bruun Tier 4 DLA Nordic Lett Rønne & Lundgren Denmark's banking and finance market remains healthy, with significant activity reported in asset finance, equity capital markets and acquisition finance – particularly in the biotech sector.

A wide range of local firms have benefited from the equity boom. But only one foreign firm - Linklaters

"We haven't seen so many offerings at any time in the past 20 years, perhaps even ever." So says one local partner about the state of Portugal's equity capital markets. And to keep the equity lawyers especially busy, many of them have been called in to advise on the share acquisition aspects of the country's recent surge in M&A. In particular, the takeover offer launched by Sonaecom for Portugal Telecom Multimedia seems to have required the services of almost every equity partner in Lisbon.

The long-anticipated merger of law firms Nishimura & Partners and Asahi Koma Law Offices has finally materialized, with the newly formed firm, Nishimura & Asahi, standing proudly at 325 lawyers. What this means for the Japanese market has caused much speculation among lawyers, since growing convergence within the capital markets demands not only capacity, but sophistication and experience.

Italy Recommended firms Tier 1 Bonelli Erede Pappalardo Chiomenti Clifford Chance Tier 2 Allen & Overy Gianni Origoni Grippo & Partners Tier 3 Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton d'Urso Munari Gatti Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Labruna Mazziotti Segni Latham & Watkins NCTM Shearman & Sterling Simmons & Simmons Debt is back in Italy and making its presence felt. Companies that have traditionally looked to banks for revolving lines of credit are now choosing to issue large medium-term notes instead. The quest for easy capital to leverage acquisitions is driving debt capital markets as the M&A boom rolls on.

It is no secret that Germany's equity capital market scene has boomed along with the rest of western Europe. There has been an unprecedented number of initial public offerings (IPOs) and the tempo doesn't look like slowing just yet. This has been noted by the American firms, who have been intent on establishing themselves on the scene.

Ireland Recommended firms Tier 1 A&L Goodbody Arthur Cox Matheson Ormsby Prentice McCann FitzGerald Tier 2 Dillon Eustace LK Shields Mason Hayes + Curran William Fry It was a year of looking outwards for the Irish capital markets. International transactions were on the rise, with Irish special-purpose vehicles (SPVs) involved in a wide range of cross-border deals. The domestic market was dominated by securitizations and covered bond transactions, which are growing in stature in Ireland but not quite as popular as international collateralized debt obligations (CDOs).

Finland Recommended firms Tier 1 Hannes Snellman Roschier White & Case Tier 2 Castrén & Snellman Waselius & Wist Tier 3 Borenius & Kemppinen Fennica Merilampi Marttila Laitasalo Tier 4 Dittmar & Indrenius Krogerus Attorneys LMR Finland's capital markets are still quiet as they continue to face overwhelming competition from other capital raising sectors. There have been no listings on the Helsinki Stock Exchange (Hex) in 2007 as bank loans are still relatively cheap and trade sales are seen by private-equity houses as a less onerous and time-consuming way of exiting than an initial public offering (IPO).