A more connected Europe

The European Union (EU) is one of the world’s leading economies, with wealth and stability making it an attractive destination for companies and investors. Thanks to the “Brussels Effect”, the bloc has set the pace internationally in legislation and regulation in key areas such as digital, data, and sustainability.

But since the Draghi report, published in September 2024, the region has pivoted to a focus on competitiveness, autonomy, and defense.

Clients need to know what’s unfolding in the EU. Events and decisions there impact business, driving opportunity and risk. Thanks to our established network of EU offices, we already enjoyed a competitive advantage.

Following Brexit, a proliferation of new regulations, and our own merger, A&O Shearman’s EU managing partners recognized an opportunity to drive greater collaboration on the Continent to better serve clients.

While there is an increasing volume of EU regulation, the bloc remains a collection of sovereign jurisdictions with local laws, authorities and courts. We’ve expanded our knowledge function to encompass the inner workings of the European Commission, deepen our understanding of the interplay between regional and national regulations, and lead the conversation on developments in Europe that impact our clients.

The defense template

In February, we hosted our first-ever EU partner meeting, to accelerate collaboration across the region and connect partners to each other—and to the global firm. This included breakout sessions on topics such as defense, providing a platform to enable people with similar interests and expertise to connect.

Magda Nasilowska, a Warsaw-based partner with significant experience in the defense industry, hosted one of the sessions, pointing out that public procurement, joint ventures, and funding were set to drive legal demand.

Governments must make agreements with companies ranging from traditional “prime contractors” such as Rheinmetall to smaller companies specializing in high-tech and cyber, she explained in her presentation. Meanwhile, overseas investors seeking an entry must follow fast-changing rules in areas such as foreign direct investment (FDI), foreign subsidies regulation (FSR), and environmental social governance (ESG).

Convinced by the opportunity, Ellen Croes-van der Heijden, head of business development and marketing for Continental Europe, acted quickly. She and colleagues convened a group of European partners across corporate, M&A, regulation, antitrust, and finance—with representatives from each country.

“We realized that our two legacy firms had already done 25 deals in the sector, meaning we had the expertise,” says Ellen. “We then worked closely with the strategic research group and knowledge lawyers to establish the latest on defense-related regulations, especially around ESG, FDI and FSR. Next, we drew up a list of potential clients and reached out to the relevant colleagues.”

From that work, leads, invitations, and opportunities emerged. Magda was invited to speak on panels at priority client events, and to train one of our key banking clients on sector regulatory changes. Our Amsterdam office hosted an event on the NATO Summit and its implications for the future of European defense, connecting political, military and business leaders. Meanwhile, our Paris office hosted an event supporting World Space Business Week, which gathers global satellite and space professionals. We also launched a defense podcast, with the first episode examining the trends shaping private equity investment.

As a result, clients have reported that the firm was first to advertise a specialty in defense.

Ellen says: “We started with the initiative just before the banks began financing the sector, and largely before pension funds and private capital considered investing. Clients also saw that we were the only law firm talking about it at prominent sector events such as Mission 2044 and the Berlin Global Dialogue.”

This marketing has already led to mandates, including by a leading global professional services company on its acquisition of a unit of an Italian engineering company in the aerospace, defense, and automotive sectors.

“Clients spotted the opportunity, and we were ready,” says Ellen.

Europe's quest for sovereignty and autonomy is driving deals

Defense is part of a broader theme: Europe is seeking greater sovereignty and autonomy in the face of geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China.

In semiconductors and cloud services, for example, local and EU governments are committed to investing more in European supplies. This may prompt companies to scale up with a view to creating European alternatives to large overseas players, and therefore require funding or M&A.

A&O Shearman is raising its profile in the European tech market, by targeting global private capital, banks, and large corporates in particular, says Ellen.

In September, we advised Dutch semiconductor lithography maker ASML on its strategic partnership with Mistral, and its EUR1.3 billion investment in the French AI leader’s Series C funding round. To do this, we drew on expertise from our AI, Renewables, Private Capital, Infrastructure, and Real Estate practices.

This and other transactions reflect Europe’s desire for homegrown growth.

“The same month as the ASML deal, SAP, a large German tech company, announced a EUR20bn investment over ten years to expand its European sovereign cloud offering,” says Ellen. There is recognition that Europe can be too dependent on suppliers in other parts of the world. For a law firm like ours with such a strong European network, this presents a huge opportunity.”

In a year when M&A markets have been uncertain, our European teams hae executed EUR110bn worth of deals. 

Ranked second in value by Bloomberg's latest deal table, we advised on the highest valued deals in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the UK. 

Notable highlights in 2025 include:

The EU policy taskforce: Navigating a maze of complex regulation

Set up in June 2025, A&O Shearman’s EU Policy Taskforce aims to track the agenda of the European Commission, listen to what’s being said in the EU institutions’ corridors and at events in Brussels, and feed that intelligence into practice groups, knowledge teams, and business development.

This enables fee earners and business development to identify trends quickly and early, in a way that is relevant to investors, investment banks, private equity clients, and specific sectors. It also encourages collaboration among the firm’s EU and national teams and informs clients of the interplay between European legislation and individual jurisdictions.

“Europe is trying to balance three imperatives that can be both complementary and contradictory: competitiveness, security, and sustainability—which includes the green transition and the digital transition,” says Stéphanie Dalleur, head of knowledge for Continental Europe (CE). 

As head of the European knowledge team, Stéphanie coordinates the EU Policy Taskforce, local and CE knowledge lawyers; covers policy and monitors European legislation; and focuses on internal and external visibility of Europe as a region. Prior to this role, she was a fee earner for ten years, before leading the knowledge function in Belgium and then becoming M&A knowledge counsel.

The taskforce has launched the EU Pulse newsletter, a practice group-agnostic product which informs the firm about the major files driving EU regulatory efforts, and the dynamics shaping inter-institutional negotiations. It also publishes a series of client bulletins, covering priority sectors such as tech, sustainability, and defense. Other initiatives include scouting for networking opportunities for European associates, and strengthening relationships with key stakeholders in Brussels.

“The reason we’ve set up the taskforce is because the policy environment is increasingly driving regulatory efforts,” says Stéphanie. “To help clients be compliant and strategic, we need to provide them with anticipatory knowledge, using both a regional and local lens. They’re very sophisticated, and have strong legal teams. We can help them digest this maze of complex regulation and proactively embrace European legislation.”

"Anything, anywhere"

Ignacio Ruiz-Cámara, a Madrid-based partner and co-EU coordinator, points out there are few other global firms able to collaborate so effectively among European offices and with other regions.

London remains “an important and natural hub”, he says, especially for banks and private equity, adding: “We also see a great opportunity in our unique European platform to support global clients in their most challenging and innovative transactions in Europe, and EU-based corporates and financial institutions in their deals around the globe.

“Our depth, quality, and number of geographies is unusual, meaning we can advise clients on deals involving multiple European jurisdictions and other regions such as the U.S.” Transatlantic opportunities have also required, and led to, a greater level of European collaboration.

“Global companies increasingly see the EU as a single, strategically important market and organize themselves on that basis,” says Ignacio. “So we are encouraging partners to think beyond their own sectors, practices and jurisdictions when working with clients—who would be interested, who can help? These connections may not immediately pay dividends, but will do so in future.”

This global perspective is informed by an early career move of his own, from a Spanish national firm to A&O Shearman.

“I saw that the world was becoming progressively more global, and that sophistication came from importing successful transaction types from one jurisdiction to another. If you have deep client relationships, you can be at the front of the queue when interesting opportunities arise. Our ethos across Europe has become ‘anything, anywhere’.”

A good example of a complex deal that was both national and crossed jurisdictions involved two Spanish banks and a UK bank. In the context of a takeover by BBVA, in a very delicate moment, Banco Sabadell sold TSB, a UK subsidiary, to Santander. Advising on this deal, says Ignacio, required strong relationships with all parties, as well as in-depth knowledge of antitrust, FDI, and financial regulatory matters.

Delivering sophisticated legal solutions in complex, multi-jurisdictional environments is beneficial to both lawyers and clients.

“The goal is to become our global clients’ law firm of choice in Europe,” says Ignacio. “We want to win the most interesting mandates from clients across Europe, and around the world.”

When the U.S. calls Europe who do they get on the phone?

Henry Kissinger is purported to have asked: “Who do I call if I want to call Europe?” Though he denied ever saying it, the notion reflects the challenge of communicating with a bloc comprising many individual member states, each with its own interests and policies.

The EU has taken steps to speak with a unified voice. And so too has A&O Shearman.

“If you are working in the Middle East, APAC, or the U.S., and you need Europe, you may be inclined to call London since that’s the biggest office and everyone in the firm has connections there,” says Ellen. “However, since Brexit, it is our responsibility to explain EU regulations directly to national, regional and global clients.

“If you really want to understand the Omnibus package, SAFE, REACH, the Green Deal or MiFID, or whether defense will breach the EU’s ESG rules, you need to speak to an expert. We want clients in other regions to hear first-hand about our reach and depth on European regulation, and how it impacts their business in local markets.”

The firm is embarking on client roadshows to highlight its strength across Europe, demonstrating that it can prioritize the markets, sectors, and practice areas most important to other regions seeking inbound business.

“We want to make ourselves more visible to the rest of the world, and show what we can offer,” says Ellen. “That means generating more business in our region, and across the entire network.”

Our European network is a competitive advantage

In September, global managing partner Hervé Ekué attended the official opening of our new Frankfurt office, located in “Four”—the city’s tallest office building.

He shared this reflection from the client event: “I was invited to this client event to mark the official opening and it was there that I was struck by a line in the keynote speech of Professor Carlo Masala (a prominent German political scientist). The more fragmented Europe is, the better it is for everyone in competition with Europe.

“Professor Masala was talking about Europe as a whole, but it also applies to our firm. Our clients want seamless connectivity no matter where they work with us, which is why we are working so hard across our European network to be better connected and make it easier for our clients and colleagues to do business in the region.”

Learn more about A&O Shearman in Europe.