DLA Piper LLP - Who's Who Legal 70

What is the Who's Who Legal 70?

DLA Piper LLP in Who's Who Legal

	Real Estate
	24

	Insolvency & Restructuring
	3

	Project Finance
	1

	Private funds
	1

	Corporate Tax
	2

	Environment
	5

	Oil & Gas
	2

	Corporate Governance
	1

	Trademarks
	3

	Internet & e-Commerce
	9

	Construction
	2

	Commercial Litigation
	4

	Internet & e-Commerce
	9

	Shipping & Maritime
	4

	Patents
	1

	Insurance & Reinsurance
	6

	Mergers & Acquisitions
	1

	Franchise
	14

	Product Liability Defence
	3

	Business Crime Defence
	6

	Public Procurement
	2

	Capital Markets
	2

	Life Sciences
	4

	Regulatory Communications
	1

	Arbitration
	2

	Aviation
	3

In May 2011, DLA Piper will become fully integrated with DLA Phillips Fox in Australia, adding to the firm’s already considerable international profile. We recognise DLA as our firm of the year in the real estate and franchise chapters, which feature an impressive 26 and 16 of the firm’s lawyers, respectively.

Thirteen offices throughout the US, Europe, Asia, the CIS and the Middle East contribute to DLA’s “world beating” performance in the real estate chapter. Washington, DC’s Jay Epstein leads the US real estate team and co-chairs the global real estate practice. Epstein is lauded by peers for his “excellent” leasing and corporate relocations work and counts Verizon and the US Bureau of National Affairs among his recent clients. Frederick Klein is also recognised in the US capital, while New York head of real estate Martin Polevoy and Elliot Surkin and John Rattigan in Boston add to the firm’s East Coast presence. The Chicago office is DLA’s largest and fields seven practitioners in this section, including land use, development and government relations practice head Theodore Novak whose zoning work is described as “outstanding” by sources. Single inclusions for Dallas and San Francisco, as well as a four-strong contingent from Los Angeles further demonstrate DLA’s US dominance in this area. “Leading light” Olaf Schmidt heads the Europe, Middle East and Africa real estate team out of the Milan office, where Davide Apollo is also listed. François de Montpellier is lauded in Brussels and Central and Eastern Europe real estate group leader Oskar Winkler ranks highly in Vienna, where he also heads the Austria real estate team. The Moscow, St Petersburg, Dubai and Hong Kong offices are also represented.

For the sixth consecutive year Philip Zeidman emerges as the world’s leading franchise lawyer, according to our research. One of three lawyers listed from DLA’s Washington office, where he acts is a senior partner, Zeidman is hailed as a “force of nature” by sources who admire his “groundbreaking” work for public and private clients in international and domestic franchising, distribution and licensing matters. Again the Chicago office makes the largest contribution to the firm’s overall total in this section, fielding seven lawyers including franchise and distribution practice group head Dennis Wieczorek. The Reston and San Francisco offices also place individuals in the upper ranks of our US research, while Richard Wageman in Beijing and Mabel Lui in Hong Kong are “among the best” in Asia.

Internet and e-commerce law is another of DLA’s strong suits and 11 of its lawyers feature from as many offices in this section. One of three US-based lawyers listed, Mark Radcliffe is based in the firm’s “well reputed” Silicon Valley office where he specialises in providing strategic IP, software licensing and corporate partnering advice to clients such as Sun Microsystems and Sony. Paris-based Stéphane Lemarchand is also noted for his IP work, particularly in copyright matters, including strategic projects and disputes. A further five offices across Europe are represented, which, along with listings from Dubai and Hong Kong, speak to DLA’s international scope. The firm’s IP team is also lauded in the patent and trademark sections, with the “superb” trademark, copyright and media practice group head Ann Ford earning a prominent listing in the latter chapter.

DLA’s diverse disputes practice is applauded in the arbitration and litigation sections, as well as the business crime defence chapter, which features six inclusions from the firm. One of three “top individuals” in London, Jonathan Pickworth heads the EMEA corporate crime and investigations team as well as the UK litigation and regulatory group, and specialises in corruption, fraud and company compliance work. The Frankfurt and Amsterdam bases are also mentioned, along with Washington, DC, where Earl Silbert is considered a “major name”.

DLA lawyers rank highly in 16 other chapters, with the insurance and environmental practices making notable contributions to the firm’s impressive overall total.