Practices in Paris

Private Equity Funds

As part of our full-service fund formation and investment practice, we represent investors, sponsors, and founders of all types of private equity funds, including buyout, venture capital, mezzanine, funds-of funds, real estate opportunity, and restructuring funds. 

• Orrick lawyers represented a U.K. investment fund in venture-leasing investment and warrant issues.
• Orrick lawyers represented an LBO fund in the acquisition of high tech companies.
• Orrick lawyers assisted in the creation of a California investment fund of a French venture capital vehicle and represented a venture capital fund, specializing in investments in start-up high tech and telecommunications companies.

Asset Finance, Lease Finance, and Commercial and Institutional Finance and General Banking

As part of Orrick's broad based Asset Finance, Lease Finance, and Commercial and Institutional Finance and General Banking practice, we assist clients in transactions ranging from traditional credit agreements to complex cross-border lease financings, including secured and unsecured lending, asset-based commercial paper financings, lease finance, aircraft finance, and the restructuring and workout of troubled credits.

• Orrick lawyers played major roles in the sale-leaseback financings of Boeing and Airbus aircraft, as counsel to lenders, lessors and major airlines.
• Orrick lawyers represented the lessee in the French tax lease financing of a bottle manufacturing plant in the South of France.
• Orrick lawyers represented the foreign borrowers on a large syndicated loan facility led by a French bank for the unwinding of a share purchase transaction.

Structured Finance

Orrick's Structured Finance practice represents issuers, arrangers, trustees, and investors in structured finance and capital markets transactions, including privately-placed debt and equity securities under French, English, and U.S. federal or New York state law.  We have extensive experience in tax-efficient cross-border securities, as well as a full range of swaps and derivative instruments, particularly in cross-border structured financings.

• Orrick lawyers played a major role in structuring of EMTN programmes for various French issuers and underwriters.
• Orrick lawyers represented issuers in securitisation of pan-European trade receivables and tax credits.
• Orrick lawyers acted as bank counsel with respect to the securitisation of bills of lading issued by a large French container line company and represented a French operator in the sale, leaseback, and securitisation of railcars.

Shipping Finance

Orrick's unique Shipping Finance practice handles domestic and international ship finance transactions, acting for financial institutions, banks and for ship owners and operators on all aspects of their business, including complex tax lease structures and operational contracts, covering all types of ship lending and leasing, capital raising, sale and purchase agreements, ship registration, shipbuilding contracts, bareboat chartering, management contracts, and environmental law. 

• Orrick lawyers played a major role in advising a French state-owned gas operator in connection with the acquisition and French tax leasing of a liquefied natural gas carrier. 
• Orrick lawyers advised French banks on structuring the French lease financing of oil and product tankers in light of environmental pollution concerns.
• Orrick lawyers acted as counsel to banks in relation to an export credit structure coupled with a French tax lease for an 800-passenger cruise vessel for a U.S.-based operator.

Energy and Project Finance

Orrick's Energy and Project Finance practice in Paris serves the comprehensive legal needs of clients in the energy, communications, and other key infrastructure sectors, across the globe, particularly in Europe, the U.S., and Asia, under English, French, U.S. Japanese, and Italian law.   Lawyers regularly represent corporations as borrowers and multinational banks as agents, lenders, and participants in secured and unsecured credits.  In project finance we represent lenders and equity participants in high-value power generation, telecommunications, hotels and resort facilities, manufacturing equipment, railway equipment, and aircraft equipment transactions. 

• Orrick lawyers have played a major role in acting for the Algerian state oil and gas company and its wholly owned subsidiaries with respect to a joint venture with two Japanese corporations for the construction of a 145,000m3 LNG carrier to be constructed in Japan. This deal marked one of the first major joint venture projects between Japanese and Algerian companies. 
• Orrick lawyers worked on a £80 million project financing of a waste-disposal treatment center in the U.K., as counsel to the borrower. 
• Orrick lawyers have worked on advising a French regional subway operator on a lease in-lease out U.S. financing of railcars.

Global Debt Restructuring and Corporate Rescue

Orrick's Debt Restructuring and Corporate Rescue practice handles all of the complex issues that arise in bankruptcy cases, out-of -court restructurings, and recapitalisations.  Our lawyers represent secured and unsecured creditors, including banks, insurance companies, and other institutional lenders, governmental entities, equipment lessors, vendors and other trade creditors, and indenture trustees; lender syndicates; and formal and ad hoc bondholder committees and unsecured creditor committees, including mutual funds and distressed debt investors that may have controlling interests on bondholder committees.  Orrick is also known for its team of U.S. and international lawyers that represents Asian governments in banking sector reform programmes, as well as Latin American and Asian distressed debt investors in corporate restructurings. 

• Orrick lawyers played major roles in restructuring a joint venture between a Dutch company in receivership in Holland, and our client, a French car manufacturer.
• Orrick lawyers represented minority shareholders of a French bank in bankruptcy.
• Orrick lawyers represented a U.S.-based cruise company in pre-bankruptcy filling restructuring and loan rescheduling in France.

Corporate

Orrick's Corporate practice represents French, European, and North American companies, both public and private, in doing business in France.  Our experience is as diverse as our client base.  We routinely help clients with strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, divestments, restructurings, domestic and international joint ventures, asset and stock acquisitions, and distribution and servicing arrangements.  We also advise clients on general commercial, employment, and tax issues relating to incorporation, advice of jurisdiction, and structuring transactions.

• Orrick lawyers advised a large media, telecommunications, and utility company with respect to the €120 billion sale of 60 companies owning real estate to a French real estate development an management company. 
• Orrick lawyers advised a large French automotive manufacturer in restructuring its joint venture with U.S. and European manufacturers regarding the development, design, and manufacture of light utility vehicle. 
• Orrick lawyers counseled a Norwegian-listed company in connection with the capital contribution of two of its vessels to a French -listed company.

Real Estate

Orrick's real estate practice has significant expertise in virtually every area of real estate law, including the acquisition and disposition of real estate, real estate finance, commercial mortgage-backed securitisations (CMBS), real estate-related distressed debt transactions, REITs, servicing and asset-management activities, leasing activities, and hotel acquisitions and financings.  

• Orrick lawyers represented a major French corporation, as lessee, in the $600 million cross-border construction a U.S. "Pickle" leasehold financing of office towers in France- the first cross-border real estate financing of its kind.
• Orrick lawyers acted as tax and legal counsel for a large French company in the structuring and the implementation of the sale of its interest in 43 hotels to an international consortium in excess of FRF 3 billion.
• Orrick lawyers advised a U.K. corporation in connection with the setting up and implementation of a corporate structure in France and a joint venture with a German bank for the acquisition, construction, and financing of storage and office buildings in France.

Domestic and International Tax

Orrick's Tax practice is involved in traditional corporate transactions, such as mergers and acquisitions; takeover defenses; corporate restructuring transactions, including recapitalisations, multi-tier spin-offs and split-offs, and innovative transactions involving the consolidated return regulations; international corporate acquisitions; corporate and estate planning for closely-held corporations, ranging from midsize companies to the very largest; structured finance and cross-border leasing transactions' ; value-added tax (VAT) and daily corporate tax consulting for the tax departments of publicly held companies. 

• Orrick lawyers worked on transactions in which they have given tax advice on the corporate restructuring of the energy affiliate of a French utilities company.
• Orrick lawyers structured and advised on the tax consequences of French-U.S. and French-U.K. hybrid securities, as counsel to the borrower.
• Orrick lawyers have structured and advised on a QTE transaction as counsel to the French lessee.