MCC: Joe, thank you for arranging to have your partners available to discuss the services they can provide to in-house counsel in Europe. In the U.S., Andersen Tax provides tax consultation, tax advisory and valuation services. What is different in Europe?
Toce: In Europe it is very common for firms to provide legal as well as tax services. As Andersen Global expanded into Europe, many of the firms that wished to join us offered both. In the U.S. we will definitely not expand into legal services, but in Europe we can provide a variety of legal services not only to in-house counsel but also to U.S. law firms that do not have a presence in a particular country.
MCC: So Andersen Global’s model will be attractive to a company that does not have the scale to support in-house counsel in a particular country?
Toce: Correct. That is one of our main focuses. The large global law firms can easily handle cross-border mergers and acquisitions, securities transactions, capital markets support, litigation and other matters. Our focus is on day-to-day legal matters so as to allow our clients to be in compliance without having to establish large internal legal departments in each country.
MCC: In what countries does Andersen Global have legal practices? Can you describe the services provided?
Toce: Andersen Global currently has member firms practicing law in Germany, France, Italy and Poland. I will have partners from each country describe their offerings. First will be Alessio Rossi and Peter Klein representing our German partners. Their firm is Alegis and has offices in Dusseldorf, Luxembourg and Merzig.
Alessio Rossi: In Germany some companies ask us to act as in-house counsel for day-to-day legal matters. Others ask us to support in-house counsel or external counsel on larger projects. For example, we might be asked to help with due diligence processes, post-merger integration, contract management or general compliance issues. Our tax lawyers can assist with converting local GAAP to U.S. GAAP or prepare tax reporting packages for U.S. companies.
Peter Klein: In Germany we also provide assistance with labor and immigration matters, entity management, commercial contracts and most of the legal work that confronts in-house counsel. We can be very cost effective for a company that does not have the scale to establish its own internal department.
Toce: Next is France, represented by David de Pariente of our member firm STCPARTNERS. Headquartered in Paris with a satellite office in Geneva, Switzerland, there are about 60 attorneys working on legal and tax matters, with approximately the same allocation of professionals in each skill.
David de Pariente: In Paris the Andersen Global member firm is STCPARTNERS. We are a French tax and business law firm focusing on corporate services for successful families, individuals and the private equity industry. Our firm is structured around five main practices: Family Business, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate Tax, Arbitration & Litigation and Employment. Similar to our German partners, we can assist in-house counsel or a law firm on most French legal or tax matters.
We have a particular niche in the private equity community and are able to offer flexible, adaptable and innovative solutions to those firms, either with respect to their structure or with respect to M&A work on their portfolio companies. Our partners combine legal and tax experience with strong financial backgrounds and industry knowledge. Our firm daily represents the interests of entrepreneurs, founders, managers, shareholders and other private investors and supports them in the structuring and implementation of strategic initiatives, whether transactional, organizational or property related. Private equity transactions are becoming increasingly complex with many related issues that require a broad perspective.
STCPARTNERS offers to its clients comprehensive, tailored and innovative services underpinned by long-lasting and close business relationships and nurtured by the direct and personal commitment of its partners.
Toce: Next is Poland, represented by Lukasz Lubaszka of member firm Sendero Taxperience. In Poland we have 31 professionals broken out between 15 legal professionals and 16 corporate/private client tax professionals. There are offices in Warsaw and Wroclaw.
Lukasz Lubaszka: I am a partner of the legal practice of Sendero Taxperience, a member firm of Andersen Global in Poland. All of our partners have more than 15 years of experience in advising clients and all of them originate from either Arthur Andersen or Ernst & Young. We define our mission as being our clients’ guides. We focus on giving them the comfort that their legal matters are handled by experts who are able to provide them best-in-class quality.
Our legal services are mainly addressed to large- and medium-sized multinational companies that have operations in Poland or are considering forming subsidiaries in our country. On a daily basis we work closely with the local CFOs and in-house lawyers. We are focused on supporting our clients in a wide range of legal matters that are crucial for day-to-day operations. Much of our experience is in four important advisory areas: contracts, corporate matters, labor law and litigation. These are our core service lines. We also support our clients in business restructuring and M&A transactions, starting up businesses (e.g., subsidiaries of foreign multinational companies) and optimizing the use of different tax and financial incentives offered by Polish authorities. Similar to our other European partners, services to in-house counsel are a primary focus. Given our geographic location in Europe, we can also help find suitable counsel in much of Eastern Europe.
Toce: Last but not least by any means are Marco Giorgi and Francesco Inturri of Noda Studio. Noda Studio has offices in Milan, Venice, Rome, Lugano and Brescia. The legal practice is centered in Rome and Milan.
Marco Giorgi and Francesco Inturri: We, together with Andrea Ferrandi, are the main partners of the legal practice of Noda Studio, an Italian member firm of Andersen Global. We have always believed that a “one-stop firm” is the best solution for clients in terms of both quality and cost. We strongly believe that information and knowledge sharing is the only way to ensure clients receive comprehensive assistance from the smallest issues to the biggest transactions.
Our legal practice is composed of two main areas: litigation and disputes on the one hand and corporate consulting services on the other hand. With respect to our litigation practice, we assist and represent our clients in court proceedings in all ordinary and special Italian jurisdictions, most notably in civil, commercial, and labor law disputes. With respect to the corporate practice, we assist and advise clients on the following matters: general corporate practice and M&A, commercial contracts, and intellectual property rights. For companies with operations in Italy or for those who have operations throughout Europe we can provide integrated legal services with our member firms in France, Germany and Poland. We can also assist in identifying counsel in other countries.
Toce: This summarizes our current capabilities in Europe, but stay tuned as we continue to build out our international presence. We are constantly approached by other international firms who are interested in joining Andersen Global. We are able to be selective in the firms that we invite to join us and have been very impressed with the talent, drive and focus on providing outstanding client service that all of our international member firms have exhibited. Each and every member firm that has joined Andersen Global is committed to providing best-in-class, seamless service to our clients. Importantly, we can also offer one point of contact to access our services and thus create efficiencies for our clients. All of our member firms share in our core values, including “clients first,” stewardship and transparency. As we move forward, we expect to add member firms that are equally committed to these core values in London, Spain, Austria, India and South and Central America. Our growth is thoughtful and deliberate, but we are excited about our expanding capabilities to better serve our clients.
Contacts for Andersen Global:
Joseph P. Toce, Jr.: [email protected]
Alessio Rossi: [email protected]
Peter Klein: [email protected]
David de Pariente: [email protected]
Lukasz Lubaszka: [email protected]
Marco Giorgi: [email protected]
Francesco Inturri: [email protected]
Published January 25, 2015.
