Insurance

CMS acts for many of the world’s leading insurers and reinsurers, brokers and others within the general insurance and life sectors. With a network of full-service practices across Europe and beyond, we are able to assist our insurance clients on a full range of issues from day to day operational matters, to strategic corporate planning and development; from addressing increasing regulatory requirements faced, to product development, coverage advice and assistance with claims. We know and understand the industry, and are alive to our clients’ commercial aims and considerations, as well as being able to protect their commercial interests across borders. This ability comes from our understanding of legal issues on a European wide basis, with the ability to provide specific domestic advice on implementation of that law, from our offices in each territory.

As a result of our extensive European presence, we can not only provide clients with a single contact partner in their home or more relevant jurisdiction, but also a coordinated team of lawyers who are well know to each other, and regularly work together.

Our expertise covers the following areas:

• Insurance claims (coverage advice and defence)
• Policy drafting
• Corporate
• Mergers, acquisitions and other transactions
• Capital raisings and reorganisations
• Regulatory
• General commercial - IT contracts, data protection
• Competition
• Banking & finance
• Distribution
• HR - employment, immigration, incentives and pensions
• Intellectual property
• Dispute resolution / commercial litigation
• Property / real estate
• Tax

Investment funds

The investment fund sector has undergone dramatic changes in recent years as a result of new products and innovations, as well as greater complexity. The CMS Investment Funds Practice Group has a wealth of experience in this sector, and can provide cutting-edge solutions for both structuring and promoting funds.

We have provided advice for a number of ground-breaking and innovative funds in Europe and emerging markets. We have advised many key players, including fund managers, promoters, administrators, and institutional investors across numerous sectors and for different fund structures.

Given our broad client base, CMS has developed a deep understanding of all the relevant issues, both from the perspective of managers and investors. In particular, we have advised clients across a number of asset classes including:

• Real estate
• Private equity and venture capital
• Infrastructure
• Hedge and other alternative funds

Our cross-disciplinary funds team comprises specialists from across CMS with a detailed understanding of core services at both the domestic and international levels. Our areas of speciality include:

• Fund structuring
• Fund investment and portfolio advice
• Fund promotion and debt finance
• Tax structured investment products
• Management and performance incentive schemes
• Regulatory advice
• Leveraging investments through derivatives and other instruments
• Dispute resolution
• Advice on market standards