French corporate and investment bank Calyon is launching its inaugural panel review of external law firms two years after its formation, which came about through Crédit Agricole’s acquisition of Crédit Lyonnais.
The bank is understood to be in the first stages of the review, which follows a growing trend in France for formal legal panels.
Firms likely to be challenging for a place on the panel include French independent Bredin Prat, which snagged the lead corporate role for Crédit Agricole on its takeover of Crédit Lyonnais. Bredin Prat also worked on Crédit Agricole’s IPO in 2001.
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton also has a prior relationship, having led the work for Crédit Lyonnais on the 2003 merger. Latham & Watkins, Linklaters and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe could also be in the running for panel positions following instructions from Calyon since its formation.
Most recently, Linklaters acted for Calyon and other investment banks in the arrangement of a €6bn (£4.06bn) credit facility for Electricité de France (EDF).
Traditionally, French banks and corporates work with an informal list of preferred lawyers, but it is increasingly common for more formal panels to be drawn up.
Other French banks with global legal panels include BNP Paribas and Société Générale, both of which carried out panel reviews in the last two years.
Calyon’s in-house legal team is led by Pierre-Henri Broffard.
The bank did not return calls for comment.
