DLA Piper LLP

Global Co-Chairs: Andrew Darwin and Frank W. Ryan

Joint Co-Chief Executive Officers: Simon Levine and Frank W. Ryan

Number of partners: 1,500

Number of lawyers: 5,000

Languages: The firm speaks over 60 languages

Firm Overview:

Tenacious and driven, DLA Piper people translate legal complexities into commercial clarity: providing the right minds at the right time to help clients to navigate both risk and opportunity. Our lawyers deliverer pragmatic actionable solutions to your pressing business challenges, in every part of the globe, so you can understand, decide, and act.

Our people are as adept at spotting opportunities as they are in protecting you against risk. Our culture encourages fresh thinking, to anticipate what's next, supported by continuous investments in legal and business technology.

The result is joined-up legal counsel and informed commercial advice across multiple geographies and all sectors: creative solutions that draw on an international platform with the power to scale up and down, flexing to meet any client aspirations. We measure success one relationship at a time, serving you locally and in any location: we bring the world closer for our clients.

Main Areas of Practice:

Corporate:

Our lawyers support leading enterprises, from emerging growth companies to multinationals. We also act for venture capitalists, private equity firms, investment managers and financial institutions. From M&A, joint ventures and public equity to corporate governance, reorganizations and debt offerings, we help you manage your transactions toward a successful outcome..

Employment:

New technologies and working practices, disjointed regulatory requirements, and economic and geopolitical uncertainties are challenging every industry. We help you anticipate employment challenges and stay compliant. And we act for you in disputes and strategic projects when your reputation may be on the line.

Intellectual Property & Technology:

This award-winning practice is made up of dedicated intellectual property, information law, technology and sourcing, commercial, telecoms, media, and sports lawyers, and offers a unique, global, full-service capability. The practice provides both contentious and commercial advice to leading technology, communications, media and financial services organisations, as well as government departments and national regulatory authorities.

Finance & Projects:

The finance and projects group includes dedicated teams that advise on asset-based lending, asset finance, debt capital markets and securitisation, leveraged finance, project finance, real-estate finance, and trade and commodity finance. Lawyers in this practice also advise on loan workouts and refinancings. Across Europe, this team has sector experience in a number of areas, including energy, education, health, transport, and civil and social infrastructure.

Litigation & Regulatory:

DLA Piper has built one of the largest dedicated regulatory groups of any global law firm, and it includes former members of industry and regulatory bodies. The group provides a complete service regarding regulatory risk, practice guidance, lobbying, corporate defence, crisis management and compliance programmes. The firm’s dispute resolution lawyers are skilled in litigation, arbitration and ADR and will advise from the outset the most appropriate method of resolving a dispute. They aim to solve complex business disputes as swiftly and effectively as possible, providing solutions that correspond to the business needs of their clients.

Real Estate:

DLA Piper has approximately 300 real estate lawyers across Europe. By using standardised global infrastructure in each of its offices and, crucially, by having strong internal working relationships, the firm offers a seamless and efficient service that few competitors can match. The geographic footprint of the real estate team gives the firm extensive experience of portfolio management for single asset, multi-asset and crossborder transactions in established and emerging markets.

Restructuring:

DLA Piper’s global restructuring group has dedicated restructuring lawyers across Europe. The teams work seamlessly to deliver innovative commercial restructuring solutions on a national and international basis. The firm’s unrivalled breadth of restructuring experience provides its diverse client base with extensive knowledge of local markets and the associated challenges they may face.

Tax:

The firm provides advice on local and national tax, and a commercially integrated approach to crossborder structures and tax efficiency. It offers the full range of tax services that address the challenges of international commerce and business operations, including arranging operations to reduce effective global tax rates, transfer pricing, tax disputes and post-acquisition integration.