Exclusive European Alliance Advant launched by three law firms

Exclusive European Alliance Advant launched by three law firms

Beiten Burkhardt, Nctm and Altana join forces to form the exclusive European alliance

Three leading European law firms have announced joining forces to launch Advant, an exclusive European alliance, with a pool of 600 professionals and 140 equity partners.

Munich-based Beiten Burkhardt, Nctm in Milan and Paris-based Altana have come under the umbrella of a Swiss Verein.

Under the details announced for the alliance, each of these firms will maintain their independent identities, legal status and brans in their domestic jurisdictions while the Advant brand will become effective when they move beyond their home jurisdictions.

Advant promises to offer seamless service to existing clients in continental Europe and internationally with a specific shared goal of becoming more visible to clients internationally.

The three firms had combined revenue of €216 million in 2020 which puts Advant just outside the top 10 European law firms.

Two partners each from the three firms will constitute the leadership structure of a board of six members. There will be leadership groups for practice areas. The presidency will rotate every two years.

M&A partner Jean-Nicolas Soret and Gilles Gaillard will represent Altana in the leadership board, competition partner Philipp Cotta and corporate/M&A co-head Christian von Wistinghausen will represent Beiten while M&A partners Vittorio Noseda and Paolo Montironi, who is also one of Nctm's founding partners, will join the board on behalf of the Italian firm. Cotta will serve as Advant's managing partner and Montironi as senior partner.

"There is a distinctive opportunity in the legal market for an advisor that combines best-of-breed local expertise and relationships with international reach, but very much focused at a European level. This is the gap that Advant fills, offering clients a new perspective and a distinctive advantage as they seek to enter or expand within Europe," Soret said.

Beiten Burkhardt is the oldest and biggest firm in the alliance. Founded in 1990, Beiten would offer services of 260 lawyers, tax consultants and auditors Nctm, founded in 2000, boasts 250 lawyers, whereas the youngest of the lot Altana, founded in 2009, offers services of 85 of its Paris-based lawyers.

Advant will initially cover 11 locations across Europe – Berlin, Brussels, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, London, Milan, Munich, Moscow, Paris and Rome – while it has international bases in Beijing and Shanghai.