World Tax and World Transfer Pricing 2014: Rankings & Editorial

Transcription

1 World Tax and World Transfer Pricing 2014: Rankings & Editorial Released October McDermott Will & Emery LLP. These materials may be considered advertising under the rules regulating the legal profession. McDermott Will & Emery conducts its practice through separate legal entities in each of the countries where it has offices.

2 Table of Contents France... Pages 3-4 Germany... Page 4 Italy... Pages 5-6 UK... Page 6 US: Chicago... Pages 7-8 US: Dallas/Houston... Pages 8 9 US: New York... Pages 9 10 US: San Francisco & Silicon Valley... Page 10 US: Washington D.C.... Pages World Transfer Pricing... Pages About World Tax and World Transfer Pricing World Tax and World Transfer Pricing is produced by the legal publishers and research organization Euromoney Institutional Investor s Legal Media Group. They also publish Benchmark Litigation, Institutional Investor, IFLR and Managing Intellectual Property. World Tax is a comprehensive guide to the world's leading tax firms, lawyers and advisers. International Tax Review researchers and journalists interview corporate tax executives, lawyers and advisers by phone, and face-to-face to compile the tiers of leading firms. The guidebook was published in October To read the full content, go to and Transfer-Pricing-2014.pdf. About the Rankings Euromoney began its research in May 2013 and finished in August Rankings are based on market feedback and interviews with legal professionals and in-house counsel. As with all annual directories of this type, some of the editorial descriptions can be dated by the time of publication. Any questions related to World Tax, World Transfer Pricing or McDermott s rankings, please contact Alexandra Quilici, directories manager, at / aquilici@mwe.com or Rebecca de Silva, directories executive, at / rdesilva@mwe.com 2

3 France: Tax Ranking 2014 Lawyers Mentioned 2013 Ranking 2013 Lawyers Mentioned 2014 Tier 5 of 5 Antoine Vergnat Tier 5 of 5 Antoine Vergnat McDermott, Will & Emery's tax practice is led by Antoine Vergnat. The French practice benefits from international ties with other branches of McDermott, Will & Emery, as well as its stable domestic client base. These ties have proliferated further as the parent firm has expanded into Asia. The benefits of this arrangement are exemplified in a recent deal where McDermott, Will & Emery advised the Intersnack Group, a prominent snack food company, in a potential acquisition of KP Snacks, worth $3.6 billion. This work was secured for the French branch by colleagues in the German practice. Vergnat has led on the majority of McDermott, Will & Emery recent deals, working closely with his associate, an experienced lawyer who joined the firm in The firm is looking to expand in the near future and has a trainee working with it who is soon to become an associate. Vergnat expressed his desire to expand the firm even further, describing his proposed method of doing so as "opportunistic". Should the opportunity to take on a new partner arise then it is likely that McDermott, Will & Emery will seize it. McDermott, Will & Emery's international contacts mean it is well-equipped to deal with insecurity in the French tax environment. The firm has been approached by a number of its clients concerning the potential benefit of leaving the French tax jurisdiction. It advises that in light of the new exit tax McDermott Will & Emery's tax team focuses on cross-border transactional work advising clients on international tax issues, restructurings, M&A and joint ventures. It experienced an upheaval earlier in the year when Herve Bidaud, the former tax leader and a well-known adviser in the market, left. Antoine Vergnat is now head of department and works alongside one fee earner. He advises French and foreign investment funds, corporate groups and entrepreneurs working in the industrial, service and real estate sectors in particular. Highlights for the firm over the past 12 months include advising a French listed oil & gas company on the restructuring of its activities in connection to a spin-off transaction. The team also advised a French-listed investment company on the leveraged acquisition of a majority stake in a leading industrial banking equipment company. The team also advised various private equity firms and management teams on the structuring of management incentive packages. 3

4 imposed by Hollande's government and other similar constraints, that it is not necessarily beneficial for a company to leave. Germany: Tax Tier 4 of 4 Kian Tauser Tier 4 of 4 Dirk Pohl Annette Keller Dirk Pohl McDermott Will & Emery's strength in its core areas of tax expertise, which include M&A, restructurings, reorganisations, structured finance, and tax audit assistance, is seen not only in its practitioners, but in the significant deals it worked on in McDermott represented Berenberg Bank as financial adviser on the stock exchange listing of IVG Immobilien Management REIT-AG, a large German real estate investment trust and a subsidiary of the publicly listed IVG Immobilien. It also advised Orion Engineered Carbons on a number of interlinked international financing and structuring questions, and Volkswagen Bank in connection with the role of car dealer companies. The tax practice got stronger over the past year by adding two new partners. Kian Tauser was brought in from Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Annette Keller was promoted from within the practice, extending its expertise across a range of areas. Together, Tauser and Keller bring the total number of partners up to five, with Dirk Pohl still at the head of the McDermott Will & Emery is an international law firm with a German tax team of 10 professionals in Munich and Düsseldorf, led by Dirk Pohl. The firm works in all tax areas but is particularly strong on dispute resolution and litigation. The firm has been almost ever-present in the Supreme Tax Court this year. Clients have included an engineering company regarding right of choice; a consumer industry multinational in connection with a write-down of book value and downstream merger and also for a pharmaceutical multinational regarding the VAT treatment of test devices. Decisions are still pending in these cases. The firm has been using its US connections to advise a Silicon Valley company on international structuring and has advised a leading outdoors manufacturer on the restructuring of a shareholding. 4

5 practice. Italy: Tax Tier 4 of 5 Carlo Maria Paolella Tier 4 of 5 Carlo Maria Paolella Andrea Tempestini McDermott, Will & Emery in Italy is led by Carlo Maria Paolella. The approach of the firm is to ensure that partners personally spend time advising their clients. The practice recently advised on a complex, 50 million partnership agreement which involved the consideration of a number of different contracts. Aside from this kind of tax planning work, the practice specialises in a number of other areas including tax planning, international and domestic corporate structuring, M&A, rulings and clearances, structured finance, transfer pricing and tax controversy. The practice is a member of the international McDermott, Will & Emery law firm which advises clients in more than 70 countries across six continents. As such, the Italian practice is able to work seamlessly with these other member firms on cross-border deals. Paolella explained that the firm also has an international tax panel; a group of local tax specialists in more than 20 countries who work together on a regular basis and meet semi-annually to discuss cross-border tax issues. McDermott Will & Emery is a well-established practice with strong international capabilities and represents a broad range of commercial, industry and financial enterprises held publically and privately. Rome-based partner Carlo Maria Paolella heads the practice where he focuses on mergers and acquisitions, corporate re-organisations and cross-border transactions. He has also been active this year advising on tax profits of employee incentive plans, debt restructuring and financial products. Other work included advising on cross-border business structures that optimise the net of tax rate-of-return on corporate capital. This required an understanding of double taxation treaties, transfer pricing, thin capitalisation and other anti-avoidance measures. This firm has a strong client base representing more than 82% of the Fortune 100 and 38% of the Forbes 100 largest private companies. The Italian division benefits from a strong international network. Clients hailed the practice as being "very good, precise and timely". Andrea 5

6 Tempestini was singled out by clients as exceptional. He was praised as "always being organised [and] able to lead"; the latter being crucial when several professionals are all working on the same file. UK: Tax Tier 3 of 4 Tom Scott Tier 3 of 4 Tom Scott James Ross James Ross Matthew Herrington McDermott Will & Emery's practice has more of a focus on tax consultancy and planning work that it generates itself, rather than merely as a support to other practice areas in the firm. An excellent example of its work from 2012 was its involvement in insurance company Aon's relocation from the US to the UK. McDermott provided advice and opinions on a range of UK tax issues related to the transaction, as well as US federal income tax consequences of the transaction. The practice has two partners Tom Scott, the head, and James Ross and two associates. Ross has particular experience in advising US groups on the structuring of UK and European inbound investments and providing advice on technical issues in the context of revenue investigations and statutory audits. Senior associate Matthew Herrington joined the firm from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in October 2012; he advises on a wide range of transactions, particularly structured finance, investment funds and McDermott Will & Emery is a relatively small practice, with head of department Tom Scott, who joined in early 2012 after previous incumbent Peter Nias left to retrain as a barrister, alongside partner James Ross at the top. It does however do a lot of varied work, making use of its global reach. Due to this, the firm enters the third tier this year. "James Ross was extremely helpful, knowledgeable and responsive," commented a client about the partner, while other clients are pleased too: "Excellent work very knowledgeable and experienced and well joined up within the firm," said one, and another agreed: "The quality of the work was excellent technically accurate but also practical. I was impressed with the comprehensiveness of the advice." The team advised Barnes Group on the tax facets of its divesting of some European businesses, while another big matter was the relocation of Aon's global headquarters and place of incorporation to the UK. James Ross is 6

7 cross-border structures. continuing to advise RealNetworks on the restructuring of its games business in line with an overall corporate reorganisation. US: Chicago: Tax Tier 1 of 4 Lowell Yoder Tier 1 of 4 Lowell Yoder Jane May Jane May Roger Jones Cym Lowell Andrew Roberson Mark Martin Tim Shuman John Woodruff Barry Quirke Roger Jones Robert Clary Andrew Roberson With more than 100 tax attorneys, including 21 partners and four associates, McDermott Will & Emery's Chicago tax practice is one of the largest in the city. The Chicago practice provides international tax planning for US and foreign multinational companies. The practice also advises clients on M&A and post-acquisition integration, and on transfer pricing. The tax practice is led by Lowell Yoder, who is also head of the US and international tax practice group; and Jane May, who is also head of the firm's national state and local tax practice group. New hires include highly regarded litigators Roger Jones and Andrew Roberson, who joined the firm in July 2012 from Latham & Watkins. McDermott Will & Emery has a large tax practice group in Chicago, employing nearly 40 attorneys. It focuses on the tax aspects of large M&A deals, corporate restructurings and high-profile advisory work and is led by Lowell Yoder, head of US and international tax, and Jane Wells May, head of state and local tax. Clients include manufacturing, pharmaceutical and auto companies. The firm is well respected by peers. "It is a very fine Chicago practice," said one competitor. And Yoder is also highly regarded by the market for his cross-border structuring skills. "Lowell Yoder is an expert in international tax. He is a very, very talented lawyer," one competitor said. McDermott substantially strengthened its transfer pricing practice in June 2012 with the addition of highly respected international tax 7

8 The Chicago office of McDermott Will & Emery has participated in several highly significant deals in the past year. Tim Shuman, Barry Quirke and Robert Clary advised The McGraw-Hill Companies on the optimal structure for the global separation of its education business before its sale to investment funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management. They also advised the company, renamed McGraw-Hill Financial, with pre-sale restructuring. The $2.5 billion deal was announced in November lawyers Cym Lowell and Mark Martin as part of a seven-member team from Gardere Wynne Sewell in Texas. Martin, who will serve as head of the transfer pricing team, will be based in McDermott's Houston office along with partner John Woodruff and an associate. Lowell and three professional advisers managing director Hiroaki Furuya, economist Tracy Gomes, and financial analyst Haiyan Zhang will practise out of a satellite office in Dallas. While the team will be based in Texas it will serve McDermott's clients across the US. McDermott's Chicago team advised mining and construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar on the tax aspects of its $8.8 billion acquisition of Bucyrus International. The firm is also lead outside counsel for the manufacturer in audits before the IRS. The team also advised Fortune Brands on the the tax-free spin-off of its home and security business into a separate, publicly-traded company. The practice is often called in by companies to advise on complex tax matters that are part of internal and external restructurings, even if the firm is not acting as corporate counsel in the transaction. In July 2012, the firm added two new partners to its tax controversy group. Roger Jones and Andrew Roberson both joined from Latham & Watkins. US: Dallas/Houston: Tax (NEW) Tier 2 of 5 Cym Lowell Mark Horowitz John Woodruff Mark Martin

9 McDermott Will & Emery's Houston tax practice advises US and non-us multinationals on corporate tax, international tax and transfer pricing. The practice also has a full-service tax controversy team, led by Cym Lowell and Mark Horowitz, which focuses on designing and defending the allocation of income and expense in cross-border transactions. John Woodruff advises clients on international tax matters and tax issues related to cross-border M&A and restructurings. Mark Martin is head of the firm's transfer pricing practice. -- US: New York: Tax Tier 4 of 5 Thomas Giegerich Tier 4 of 5 Thomas Giegerich John Lutz Peter Faber Arthur Rosen Arthur Rosen Peter Faber McDermott Will & Emery's New York tax practice provides corporations, financial institutions and other large organisations with advice on complex and innovative tax structures, including M&A transactions, joint ventures financings and licensing arrangements. The practice also represents clients in tax disputes at the federal, state and local levels. Most clients are non- US multinationals, including subsidiaries of foreign companies operating in McDermott Will & Emery's New York office is a full-service tax practice, comprising eight partners and seven fee earners. It advises large companies and financial institutions requiring tax structuring advice, whether in relation to M&A, financing, joint ventures or restructuring. While the tax team works closely with its corporate lawyers on transactions, clients seek out McDermott specifically for tax advice and representation. 9

10 the US, involved in cross-border structuring related to the expansion of their businesses. The New York practice is led by Thomas Giegerich, an experienced corporate tax planning and transactional tax adviser. John Lutz focuses on securitisations, bond and securities issuances and derivatives. Arthur Rosen and Peter Faber are state and local tax experts. In the past year, the New York practice, led by Thomas Giegerich, advised a trustee on a $24 billion split-off transaction involving international agricultural company Cargill and Mosaic, a leading provider of crop nutrients and feed ingredients. McDermott advised the trustee on the tax aspects of the distribution of Cargill's 64% ownership stake in Mosaic to certain Cargill shareholders and debt holders and on related contractual matters. The firm's clients include American Airlines, AT&T, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, IBM, NBC Universal, Pfizer and other major corporations. Rivals recognise Peter Faber and Arthur Rosen for their skill in indirect tax. US: San Francisco and Silicon Valley: Tax Tier 2 of 4 Frederick Chilton Tier 2 of 4 Frederick Chilton Frederick Chilton is head of tax and transfer pricing at McDermott Will & Emery's Silicon Valley practice. Tax controversy accounts for about half the business of the tax practice, while international tax issues, mostly related to income earned by foreign subsidiaries of US companies, make up the other half. "The practice attracts the highest-caliber people and treats all their clients with supreme respect," said a client. "I never have to worry about timeliness or exceeding budgets because they're very generous with their time. Chilton is unparalleled and unsurpassed in being able to negotiate with the IRS." McDermott Will & Emery's Silicon Valley practice, led by Frederick Chilton, offers clients range and depth in corporate tax planning, state and local tax, tax controversy and litigation. A large percentage of the practice's clients are from the technology sector in northern California. This year, the firm has also increased its number of clients based outside Silicon Valley. In the federal tax area, the firm has been involved in a variety of outbound and inbound transactions. Because of the Silicon Valley group's focus on the technology sector, the firm has extensive experience in intellectual property-related tax issues, such as the formation of intangible holding companies. Rod Donnelly joined Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in October 10

11 2011. US: Washington D.C.: Tax Tier 1 of 4 (UP) Blake Rubin Tier 2 of 4 Stephen Wells Steve Wells Jean Pawlow Caroline Ngo Timothy Shuman With approximately 250 lawyers, McDermott Will & Emery's Washington DC tax practice is one of the largest in both the city and the nation. Blake Rubin, an M&A specialist, leads a full-service practice with 26 partners, three counsels and six associates who are experts in virtually every area of corporate and international tax. Its focus is significant and complex transactions, including M&A, spin-offs, partnerships and joint ventures for large US and foreign multinationals. In September 2012, Steve Wells, Caroline Ngo and Timothy Shuman advised Tyco International on its spinoff into three independent publicly traded companies and on the subsequent $10 billion merger of Tyco Flow Control and Pentair. McDermott also advised McGraw Hill on the spin-off and restructuring of its education business, and is advising Johnson & Johnson on its acquisition of Synthes, a $21.3 billion deal that ranks as Johnson & Johnson's largest acquisition in its 125-year history. It also advises on international tax planning, and is responsible for much of the firm's controversy work. McDermott Will & Emery's Washington DC tax practice, led by Stephen Wells, advise major Fortune companies, financial institutions and other large organisations requiring complex and innovative tax structuring. Client work focuses on the tax aspects of large M&A deals, corporate restructurings and high-profile advisory work. Around 50% of the practice is transactional and the other half is advisory. McDermott's DC team is the principal outside tax counsel to Tribune, representing the multimedia company on the formation of a partnership joint venture with Scripps Networks Interactive to own The Food Network and The Cooking Channel. The partnership has assets of more than $5 billion and is the world's largest producer and distributor of television programming related to food and cooking. Other work for Tribune during the past year included advice on various IRS audit matters and tax planning in connection with the company's emergence from bankruptcy. McDermott's national tax controversy practice is also based in Washington DC. Led by Jean Pawlow, the 40-member practice represents the world's largest 11

12 corporations on US and international tax issues. There has been a significant increase in the number of cases being heard in the Tax Court over the past year and the firm has achieved a number of victories for taxpayers. The practice is also assisting clients in complying with the IRS's new guidelines regarding uncertain tax positions, which has led to a large amount of confusion and uncertainty among corporate taxpayers. WORLD TRANSFER PRICING (NOTE: International Tax Review launched a new directory this year, World Transfer Pricing. World Transfer Pricing covers the same countries as World Tax. It allows taxpayers to see what firms are offering which transfer pricing services. and will give smaller boutique transfer pricing firms the visibility they deserve, often ahead of larger firms, if their transfer pricing services are exemplary in a particular jurisdiction) Italy: Transfer Pricing Tier 3 of 3 Carlo Maria Paolella McDermott, Will & Emery has extensive experience in the drafting of cost sharing agreements, commissionaire agreements and IP licensing agreements with the view to supporting transfer pricing strategies. The firm assists clients with transfer pricing projects aimed at reviewing intercompany prices and at seeking ruling/apa clearance. It also regularly assists on transfer pricing controversies, at all stages from tax audit to litigation, which includes domestic remedies (including settlements) and international remedies (competent authority procedures). Carlo Maria -- 12

13 Paolella, head partner of the practice, said the firm prides itself on its boutique approach to transfer pricing advice. This approach means that, unlike other firms, the partners will personally spend time advising their clients. UK: Transfer Pricing Tier 3 of 3 Mark Martin Cym Lowell Tom Scott Internationally, McDermott Will & Emery has always given transfer pricing work a priority that is rare within a law firm s tax practice. They have expertise spanning economics, negotiations with tax authorities, advisory and structuring work, and litigation. While the London office has not always been at the forefront of this work, it expanded its transfer pricing operations significantly over the course of the last year. -- This was concomitant to developments in the firm s Houston office, which recruited a team of lawyers and economists led by Mark Martin and Cym Lowell with wide-ranging transfer pricing expertise. Back in London, Will & Emery s practice is led by Tom Scott, and it works closely with the office in Houston. This relationship is reflected in the amount of US oriented work that the London team has undertaken, over the past year. They advised a US-based information services provider in connection with an HMRC 13

14 transfer pricing enquiry, negotiating two APAs in the process. They also advised an MNE on crossborder transfer pricing issues in the US and Europe relating to a potential restructuring of the group s business model. US: Transfer Pricing Tier 2 of 2 Mark Martin Cym Lowell Mark Horowitz John Woodruff Mark Martin leads McDermott Will & Emery s interdisciplinary team of lawyers, economists and accountants who lend considerable expertise in support of international transfer pricing projects. The practice is heavily controversy-oriented, with Martin and partners, Cym Lowell and Mark Horowitz, leading a seven-member, full-service controversy team focused on transfer pricing. It is negotiating competent authority cases with the tax authorities of the UK, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands. It also does a brisk business in APAs, which include both bilateral and multilateral. A fourth partner, John Woodruff, advises on transfer pricing strategy