With more than 150 lawyers and consultants in our Western and Southern Europe group, our International practice has extensive experience in the Western and Southern European regions, which include the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Channel Islands (Alderney, Guernsey, Jersey) Germany, Gibraltar, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
In addition to English, a number of our lawyers, consultants and staff interested in these countries speak Dutch/Flemish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. Firmwide our lawyers, consultants and staff speak more than 40 languages.
Overview
McGuireWoods offers full-service legal and consulting services to our international, regional and local clients doing business in Western and Southern Europe. We bring resources to clients wherever they do business, drawing upon our US offices, as well as upon our major offices in London and Brussels, and from the European office of McGuireWoods Consulting, our full-service public affairs subsidiary, in Bucharest, Romania.
Companies doing business in Western and Southern Europe require more than excellent legal skills. Independent legal advisors must also bring a detailed and comprehensive understanding of unique civil code and common law legal systems, abstruse EU Directives, arcane precedents, technical language nuance, and cultural sensitivities.
Our European lawyers understand the intricacies of the Eurozone and the EU enlargement nations, many having brought to McGuireWoods prior in-house experience at multinationals, growth companies and other law firms during their periods of regional expansion. When clients entrust their European business to McGuireWoods, we marshal our lawyers and consultants, long-held local counsel relationships, our affiliated firm KGA in Paris, and our global lawyer networks LNI and Lex Mundi.
Industries —We form multidisciplinary, cross-border teams whose experience spans industries, including among them the extractive and energy sectors; consumer products, durable goods and high-tech manufacturing; the life sciences; technology, media and telecommunications (TMT); entertainment, and hospitality. We advise on supply chain and outsourcing commitments, including leading procurement advisory for several national governments and municipalities. We offer similar depth of experience in handling matters related to infrastructure and transportation; freight and logistics operations; and franchise, online and retail operations.
Corporate Transactions — McGuireWoods has represented parties in the acquisition or sale of public and private businesses in every Western and Southern European nation, particularly including large-scale operations in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. Our teams also advise on private equity, venture capital and fund formation and operation, and handle cross-border debt and equity capital market IPOs (e.g., on the Official List of the London Stock Exchange or AIM), as well as corporate tax advice.
Dispute Resolution - McGuireWoods lawyers also advise on multinational litigation, international arbitration and dispute resolution. Our dispute resolution practitioners are experienced in managing litigation in multiple jurisdictions. We regularly advise clients, including African governments on global fraud and corruption issues, including the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and UK Bribery Act 2010 (UKBA), UN, EU and US economic and trade sanction penalties. Firm partner, Vivian Robinson QC, based in London, previously served as first general counsel at the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) where he spearheaded development of the SFO’s enforcement policy under the UKBA and acted as primary liaison to the public and business communities.
Financial Services — Working for banks, brokers, agents, underwriters and reinsurers, our teams have worked on all aspects of cross-border financings ranging from smaller bilateral deals to multibillion dollar syndicated loans, securities and bond issuances for leading global brands. The firm’s practice has managed US$150 billion in commitments over the last decade and, as a result, we maintain close connections with many European satellites of US financial institution clients.
Private Client — McGuireWoods’ lawyers and consultants have established a long-held reputation for personal service to high-net worth clientele for whom we provide regular advice on private matters, taxation, estate, business and charitable concerns.
Additional Work – Our experience in Europe also includes a full range of advice on labor and employment and advising on real estate transactions.
Recognition — The firm’s London and Brussels offices and lawyers have received broad professional recognition, including recommendations in PLC, Which Lawyer?, The European Legal 500 and Who’s Who Legal. Our Brussels office was awarded “2010 Best U.S. Law Firm” in the Belgian Legal Awards.
Networks — Our lawyers are active in a number of key industry, legal and professional associations relevant for Western and Southern Europe, including the American Chamber of Commerce in Belgium; the Belgian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (BVA); the British Chamber of Commerce in Belgium; the European Association for Banking and Financial Law; the European Competition Lawyers Forum; the Institut des Juristes d’Entreprise/Instituut veer Bedrijfsjiristen (Belgium); the London Court of International Arbitration; the Law Society Competition Section (UK); British American Business; the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA); the German British Chamber of Commerce; the Loan Market Association; the Netherlands British Chamber of Commerce; and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain.