SLIDE 3 THERE’S NO DOUBT THAT THE LEGAL WORLD IS STILL DOMINATED BY ANGLO-SAXON FIRMS. BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT ANGLO-SAXON LAWYERS ARE RUNNING THE LEGAL WORLD – AT LEAST IN EUROPE.
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reached a level where we can rely on internal growth,” Amory says. “We have an increasing number of young people who are making their way through the ranks. And the firm continues to expand – most recently in Milan and, next, in Rome. “Jones Day is not a recent entrant into Europe like some other American firms,” Amory says. “I like a firm where I can contribute to the expansion, but which has a sufficiently strong base that I don’t have to start from zero.”
Liberalisation
Starting from zero is what Amory had to do at the European Commission when he was in charge of apply- ing competition rules to the computer and telecommuni- cations sectors.“It was an exciting time,”he says.“In 1990, key directives were being adopted that really set the groundwork for the liberalisation of the telecoms indus-
- try. We opened up the market to competition.”
For the first time, governments moved away from monopolies and authorised second operators to enter the
- market. “There was great expectation that mobile tele-
phones would become a huge business,” he says. “And look at them today: everyone has one. Look at the turnover – it’s absolutely huge!” Does he have any criticisms of the Commission from his perspective now, in private practice? “Over the last few years, the EC has changed its mind in the middle of vari-
- us cases,” he says, “which creates a lot of uncertainty.”
One such case involves mobile ‘roaming charges’. Amory’s client, GSM Association, which consists of more than 500 mobile telecoms operators in 170 countries, notified the Commission of its standard roaming agree- ment and inter-operator tariffs in 1996, and again in
- 1998. The EC issued a so-called ‘comfort letter’ in April
2000, stating that after careful analysis, it approved of the industry’s proposals. However, last month, in an about- face, it announced that it was launching an investigation into alleged anti-competitive behaviour in the mobile industry. What was behind the change? “Sometimes there are political considerations,” Amory admits. “There’s also a lack of continuity: people at the Commission used to work in one sector and stay in that sector. Now, they move around, and somebody who starts a case may not finish it two years later.” All in all, however, his experience at the Commission was positive. “I’m a big believer in Europe,” he says. “I think the EC is very much in line with the global econo- my and, specifically, with what the Americans are doing. In competition matters, for instance, there’s very close cooperation.” He cites the attempted merger between MCI, WorldCom, and Sprint last year – which he, acting for BT and AT&T, helped to block. “The merger was blocked by both US and European authorities for the same reason: these three companies would have been unassailable by anybody else – and everybody would have been depen- dent on them for exchanging internet messages. “It’s fun to block things,” Amory says of the MCI case. “Every time I’ve had such a big project I’ve thought, god, it can’t get any bigger than this. And then, another case has come along that was even more challenging. My prac- tice has always exceeded my expectations.” Other cases that he counts among his most significant are the first global alliance between MCI and BT in 1993 – when he was still at Dechert – and their later merger in
- 1998. He also mentions his successful opposition of the
merger between Sweden’s Telia and Norway’s Telenor, on behalf of Tele Denmark, before the EU in 1999. A major deal of the moment – currently in the process
- f closing – is the acquisition of GE Americom, the
American satellite company, for Amory’s client, Société Européene des Satellites (SES). “As a European,” Amory says,“it’s nice to help a small European company based in Luxembourg to obtain a business in the US that will make it the largest satellite operator in the world. Because gen- erally, it’s the Americans who buy out things.”
More sophisticated
Why did Amory originally choose telecoms law? “There was no doubt it was going to be a very rich area from the competition law point of view,” he says.“There were state monopolies and a huge demand for more and better ser-
- vices. Inevitably, there were going to be issues of liberali-
sation and abuse of dominant position. Companies had to learn to cooperate, which, in turn, also led to joint ven- tures and mergers and acquisitions.” Naturally, the sector has evolved considerably over the last decade or so.“When I started practising,”Amory says, “there were very few people in the area. Now, it’s become more sophisticated. The more lawyers and business peo- ple there are, the more imaginative you have to become. “A couple of years ago,” he continues, “it was all about BELGIUM
Leading firms
1 Jones Day, Reavis & Pogue, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, Weil, Gotshal & Manges 2 Allen & Overy, Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton Coudert Brothers – Coppens van Ommeslaghe & Faurès Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Olswang 3 Baker & McKenzie, White & Case, Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering 4 Bird & Bird, De Bandt, van Hecke, Lagae & Loesch, Liedekerke Wolters Waelbroeck Kirkpatrick & Cerfontaine, Stibbe
Firms are listed alphabetically in each band.
BRUSSELS OFFICE established 1989 Partners: 5 Other lawyers: 13 Key practice areas: Banking/finance ■ Commercial ■ Corporate transactions ■ Dispute resolution ■ European Union ■ Labour and employment ■ New technologies ■ Securities ■ Tax FRANKFURT OFFICE established 1991 Partners: 11 Other lawyers: 39 Key practice areas: Banking/finance ■ Commercial/restructuring ■ Corporate transactions ■ Competition and trade ■ Labour ■ Dispute resolution ■ New technologies ■ Real estate ■ Securities/capital markets ■ Tax LONDON OFFICE established 1986 Partners: 10 Other lawyers: 38 Key practice areas: Banking/finance ■ Commercial/restructuring ■ Competition and trade ■ Corporate transactions ■ Environmental ■ Labour ■ Dispute resolution ■ New technologies ■ Real estate ■ Securities ■ Tax
JONES DAY IN EUROPE
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