Industry focus: Energy

Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Bertrand Andriani
Hall of fameLinklaters
Bertrand is Head of the Energy & Infrastructure department in the Paris office. He specialises in structured finance, including major project financings, leveraged finance, banking, secured and unsecured syndicated loans, derivative products, insolvency and corporate restructuring. Bertrand is also Head of the Francophone Africa Desk.
François April
Hall of fameLinklaters
François is widely regarded as a leading renewables and energy & infrastructure practitioner in France. A Partner in the Energy & Infrastructure practice in the firm’s Paris office, François focuses on project financing in the energy, mining and infrastructure sectors. He also has in-depth knowledge of infrastructure assets, including airports, ports and roads and power distribution. François advises sponsors, investors (including investment funds) government entities and lenders on all aspects of projects, including finance and contractual arrangements, as well as regulatory issues, on projects in France, Francophone Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Canada, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. He is actively involved with the firm’s initiatives surrounding Canada, including developing and maintaining Canadian client and institutional relationships.
Delphine Siino Courtin
Hall of fameClifford Chance
Delphine Siino Courtin specialises in projects and project finance, particularly in Africa and Europe. Delphine has advised on projects in the power, oil & gas and mining sectors as well as on French private finance initiatives (PFI) and on acquisitions in the energy sector. Delphine is the Africa Practice Leader for Energy and Infra Transition.
Nikolaï Eatwell
Hall of fameClifford Chance
Nikolaï Eatwell specialises in Project, Project Finance and Export Credit transactions, particularly in Africa, Russia, the former CIS and Turkey. The matters Nikolaï has advised on include projects in the mining, metals, oil & gas, power and telecommunications sectors and financings with a wide range of commercial banks, ECAs and multilaterals. He also works on commodities financing.
Pascal Agboyibor
Hall of fameAsafo & Co.
Simon Ratledge
Hall of fameAsafo & Co.
Stéphane Vernay
Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I.
Leading individuals: Energy projects
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Marie Bouvet-Guiramand
Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I.
Marie Bouvet-Guiramand, joined Gide Loyrette Nouel in 2002 and is partner since Jan. 1, 2017. Specialized in project finance, she represents all players of the infrastructures, public facilities sector and energy, be they sponsors (investors and industrial groups), lenders or public administrations. She deals with all issues (project and finance) relating to project structuring or tender preparation, negotiating project and finance agreements and their implementation during construction and operation. Marie also advises on sales and acquisition project companies, industrial groups or projects portfolios and assets refinancing. In France and abroad (Africa, and also South America, Eastern Europe and Asia), Marie advises on PPP/concessions and adhoc projects as well as innovative financing structures in many sectors: transport infrastructures (urban transport, roads, railway lines, tramways, airports, ports), energy (renewables, offgrid and storage, hydropower, oil & gas, mining), water and waste (production, irrigation, desalination, treatment, distribution) and public facilities (stadia, entertainment venues, prisons, administrative and industrial facilities, public lighting, urban heating, telecommunications networks, hospitals, universities, schools, military equipment/facilities). Marie Bouvet-Guiramand holds a Magistère in business law, a DJCE from the University of Paris II ? Panthéon Assas and is a graduate of Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC). Marie Bouvet-Guiramand is recommended in Project Finance and Energy by international legal guides Legal 500 and IFLR1000. She is well recognized for her work on the African continent and is regularly listed in the rankings of Jeune Afrique and Décideurs - Africa Desk.
Bruno Derieux
Linklaters
Head of the Corporate/M&A practice in Paris, Bruno advises corporates, financial sponsors and banks on a wide range of complex, cross-border corporate transactions, including public and private M&A, private equity law.
Mark Barges
Ashurst LLP
Olivier Mélédo
Mayer Brown
Vincent Trévisani
Ashurst LLP
Leading individuals: Mining, oil and gas and natural resources
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Nina Bowyer
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Nina Bowyer is an energy and natural resources partner at Herbert Smith Freehills and Managing Partner of the firm's offices in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Nina is based in the firm's Paris office and is dual English law and French law qualified. Nina works with a broad range of clients on single and multi-jurisdictional mergers, acquisitions and disposals, joint venture structuring, project development and related financing arrangements in the oil, gas, power and mining sectors. Although Nina has particular experience in helping clients with their transactions and projects in Africa, she also works on matters in France/Europe (mainly gas related), South America, Asia and the Middle East.
Thierry Lauriol
Jeantet
Partner - Energy and natural resources law - Arbitration, mediation and alternative dispute resolution - OHADA law
Rebecca Major
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Rebecca Major is a corporate partner at Herbert Smith Freehills and head of the Paris office Energy, Mining and Infrastructure practice. She also co-led the firm's energy and natural resources team in Tokyo for 5 years. Rebecca specialises in acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures and projects in the energy (oil & gas, renewables, power and energy transition projects, such as batteries, green steel and green hydrogen) and mining sectors. She has many years of experience of doing cross-border work, particularly in Europe and Africa, but also has substantial experience in Asia, South America and the Middle East. Rebecca is a British and French national who is qualified to advise on English and French law.
Bertrand Montembault
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Bertrand Montembault is a partner at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, based in the firm's Paris office. Bertrand is a French law qualified corporate and projects lawyer who has over 30 years of experience advising the firm's clients on their activities in the natural resources and energy sectors throughout Francophone Africa. Bertrand has an excellent knowledge of Francophone Africa's local and regional legal and regulatory frameworks, including OHADA and CEMAC/UEMOA, and a strong network of local contacts. He was ranked in the 6th position of Jeune Afrique's Top 100 Legal Powerlist of the most influential lawyers in French-speaking Africa in 2023. Although Bertrand has spent most of his professional life in Paris, he was also based in Africa for a number of years, including in South Africa where he headed-up the Francophone Africa team in the Herbert Smith Freehills Johannesburg office (from October 2016 to December 2018), but also Gabon where he was based for over two years in the early part of his career.
Yann Alix
Ashurst LLP
Yves Baratte
Simmons & Simmons
Yves heads the Paris Office energy, natural resources and infrastructure projects team. He advises international corporate clients, funds, financial institutions and governments on the most complex power, water, natural resources (mining and oil & gas) and infrastructure projects internationally with a particular focus on France and North and Sub-Saharan Africa. He regularly speaks at energy and natural resources conferences in France and internationally.
Andrew Bernstein
Hall of fameCleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Barthelémy Faye
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Leading individuals: Regulatory and public law
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Bénédicte Mazel
Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I.
Partner Bénédicte Mazel is a member of Gide's Projects (Finance & Infrastructure) and Public Law practice groups in Paris. She supports industrial customers, investors and banks in these operations, including litigation. She works in all areas of public business law, with a particular emphasis on defence issues (public procurement, licensing, export control, regulatory) and has extensive experience in (i) construction, operation and financing of public facilities and infrastructures; (ii) public sector institutional restructuring operations, from the valuation of public assets to the outsourcing of services; and (iii) public sector funding.
Fabrice Cassin
CGR Avocats
Cendrine Delivré
CDE Avocat
Next Generation Partners: Energy projects
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Victor Grandguillaume
Gide Loyrette Nouel A.A.R.P.I.
Admitted to the Paris Bar in 2009, Victor Grandguillaume is a member of the Projects (Finance & Infrastructure) practice group where he focuses on projects in the energy, infrastructure and natural resources sectors. He acts in particular on thermal and renewable energy power plants, and on mining and infrastructure projects (ports, airports, roads, water treatment plants). Victor advises sponsors, financial institutions and public authorities on all aspects (development phase, drafting and negotiating project and financing documents) of projects located in Europe and Africa. He has developed specific expertise in the field of renewable energy projects in Africa, and advises leading sponsors, financial institutions and public entities on the development and financing of wind, solar and hydro power plants in Sub-Saharan Africa. He is a graduate of ESCP-Europe (Master in Management, Finance, 2007) and Paris XI University (Master 2 Professionel, Business Law, 2007).
Darko Adamovic
Gibson Dunn
Next Generation Partners: Mining, oil and gas and natural resources
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Bob Bastos
Asafo & Co.
Alban Dorin
Mayer Brown
Sébastien Gaudu
Asafo & Co.
Next Generation Partners: Public law and regulatory
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Mathias Dantin
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Mathias Dantin is a highly experienced energy, natural resources and infrastructure regulatory and public law expert who has a particular focus on the evolving energy transition / decarbonisation sector. He also advises the firm's clients on their litigation and pre-litigation strategy for regulatory and public procurement matters before the administrative courts in France, the European Union and Francophone Africa. Mathias' experience spans onshore/offshore wind, solar, green hydrogen, biofuels, biogas, renewable heat, EV charging stations, carbon capture, Guarantees of Origin (GOs), White Certificates and voluntary carbon credits. He also supports developers on the energy and decarbonization aspects of new gigafactories with green ambitions (EV batteries, green steel, rare earths recycling, etc.). Mathias also offers deep knowledge of the legal and regulatory framework governing sub-surface activities in the geothermal, extractive (notably lithium), gas storage and carbon storage sectors in France. Mathias is a key member of the firm's cross-practice ESG team, with a particular focus on environmental issues. He is the founder of the Paris office Climate Change Hub and co-founder of AFEN (Association Française pour les Émissions Négatives).
Jacques Dabreteau
Ashurst LLP
Ruxandra Lazar
DLA Piper
Leading associates
Rising stars with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Charles-Douglas Fuz
Ashurst LLP
Anton Nothias
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton

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