ELLINT’s members are again ranked as leading Employment & Labor Law Firms & Lawyers by the Legal 500 EMEA guide for 2019. In their words:
Belgium
Sotra’s ‘professional’ team is ranked in Band 3 in Belgium and attracts praise for its ‘excellent knowledge of social law’, and has been kept busy with large-scale restructurings, employee transfers, collective bargaining agreements, and compliance matters. Advisory and contentious work is also featured in the group’s workload. Practice head and managing partner Olivier Rijckaert is ‘very well informed’; he is representing two prominent Walloon cities, Namur and Liège, in litigation concerning social security contributions. Other key names include the ‘proactive’ counsel Marian Dewaersegger and Noël Lambert.
France
‘Responsive’ employment law boutique MGG Legal is ranked in Band 3 in France and ‘provides practical solutions’. The ten-lawyer team is ‘a safe pair of hands’ and frequently acts for leading French and international companies on collective employment law matters including mass redundancies, restructuring, workforce transfers and site closure projects. The practice also represented Mariage Frères in sensitive Sunday work litigation and assisted a client with the implementation of a global reward scheme. Other clients include UPS, Finastra, Corning and Thermo Fisher Scientific. Founding partner Marijke Granier-Guillemarre and Loïc Héron are ‘business-minded, very experienced and client friendly’.
Denmark
Mette Klingsten of Mette Klingsten Law Firm is ranked as a leading individual practitioner in Denmark.
Germany
Employment-focused law firm Altenburg Fachanwälte für Arbeitsrecht specialises in transactional employment law work but has also been increasingly active in company pension and compliance matters. The firm is ranked in Band 5 in Germany and advises Foodora on social security issues including disputes, while, in equally significant work, the practice advised a technology company on restructuring-related matters, and assisted ROB Cemtrex Automotive with the negotiation of a reconciliation of interest agreement and social plans, while also representing the client in court proceedings over mass dismissals. Stephan Altenburg is a key figure in the practice, which increased its bench strength by adding Manteo Heikki Eisenlohr and Nicolas Roggel from K&L Gates LLP in early 2018.
Italy
At Lexellent, ranked in Band 3 in Italy, Giulietta Bergamaschi, who was recently promoted to managing partner, advised Vivisol on the review of employment agreements with doctors and nurses, and assisted a food industry company with a business reorganisation.
Spain
Abdón Pedrajas is ranked in Band 2 in Spain for employment law. It is a boutique employment firm with a particular focus on complex restructuring, discrimination disputes and redundancy litigation. The practice is known for its ‘technical expertise and customer service’. The team is led by managing partner Antonio Pedrajas. Sonia Cortés, who specialises in complex collective restructurings, is another name to note, as is highly regarded Ivan López García de la Riva. In a recent highlight, it assisted Bankinter with all employment matters related to its takeover of Barclays Portugal, which included over 100 individual and collective court cases. Among the firm’s other key clients are the Royal Bank of Scotland, Mercedes-Benz and Gas Natural.
