Bignon Lebray

The firm: Bignon Lebray is a French law firm established more than 40 years ago that provides business law services to large and medium-sized companies. The firm is recognised for delivering creative, cost-effective solutions that are tailored to the individual needs of its clients. Its fully integrated offices in France (Paris, Lille, Lyon, Aix-Marseille), its strategic presence in China (Shanghai) and India(New Delhi) and its active involvement in the Meritas International Network provide the firm with a clear overview of its clients’ markets, as well as a good understanding of the clients’ roles within those markets.

Areas of practice: The firm has 110 lawyers, including 32 partners, working within 11 practice areas.

Corporate law – mergers and acquisitions: the firm advises clients on transactions involving the purchase or sale of private and listed companies, and creation of partnerships and joint ventures. The M&A department also assists with public tender offers, audits, corporate restructuring, acquisition financing, and risk and development capital.

Private equity: Bignon Lebray is also recognised for its expertise in the field of private equity, in particular in venture capital, development capital and LBOs for small and mid-cap transactions (companies valued up to €100m).

Tax law: the firm advises companies on corporate, transactional and strategic tax matters, including transfer pricing issues. The team has extensive experience representing companies in the context of tax investigations and negotiations with tax authorities and appearing on their behalf in courts. The firm’s tax experts also provide assistance with property transactions and with matters relating to employee benefits and estate planning.

Employment and social security law: Bignon Lebray is equipped to respond to all challenges faced by companies and their management in terms of employment law, human resource management and social security. The team advises clients on both negotiations and disputes.

Banking, finance and capital markets: Bignon Lebray advises financial institutions and private and public borrowers on all types of financing, including structured finance, derivatives and capital markets. The firm’s expertise extends to regulatory and UCITS-related issues, with significant experience in managing banking and financial disputes.

Competition and distribution law: the firm has considerable expertise in distribution and competition law. The firm assists clients with the management of their contractual relationships and the implementation and enhancement of distribution techniques, as well as with compliance issues.

Property law and property management: the firm works with both institutions and professionals on property transactions. The firm’s expertise extends to mergers and acquisitions, commercial leases, construction contracts, construction claims and disputes, and co-ownership management and disputes.

Public, environmental and PPP law: the firm offers extensive experience in all areas of public and environmental law, in both transactional and litigious contexts. It assists clients with development and promotional projects, preemptions and expropriations, PPPs, project finance, mergers and acquisitions and environmental audits.

Intellectual property and technology law: Bignon Lebray assists clients with identifying, protecting and enhancing the value of their trade marks, patents, designs and models, and databases, etc. The department also has extensive experience in the advanced technologies field, notably as related to information technology and the internet.

Transport and logistics: the firm has both in-house and private practice experience, and extensive experience in the risk management and insurance fields. This allows it to assist clients in the shipping and logistics industries with both transactional and contentious matters.

Litigation and arbitration: the firm acts in disputes in all areas of business law across sectors including food, wine and spirits, industrial, transport, energy, health, urban planning, public and banking. Its lawyers assist and defend both companies and their management before civil, commercial and criminal courts.

Health: Bignon Lebray has developed specific savoir-faire and advises figures from this market throughout their projects: ensuring that the strategy is consistent with legal and regulatory frameworks, advising founders on choosing a suitable legal structure, assisting in the social management of strategic reorganisation: Acquisition or transmission of essential intellectual property for these kinds of projects, protection of enterprise-specific knowledge, marketing of products and, if required, assistance with litigations.

Sport: Sportsmanship and sporting values are profoundly embedded into Bignon Lebray’s mindset, as demonstrated by the numerous projects initiated by the firm. Our savoir-faire applies to all sports (e.g. football, rugby, golf, tennis, motorsport, equestrianism), and includes all areas of French and international business law (contracts, corporate law, taxation, competition law, intellectual property, public law, association law, mediation and litigation).