De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés

Agnès Macaire

Partner, Agnès Macaire concentrates on public business law, as both counsel and litigator. As such, she handles issues relating to administrative law, public contracts, public land, financial public law and regulated sectors. Agnès Macaire has developed particular expertise in public-private partnerships and project finance. She assists public law bodies or private entities (sponsors, financial investors and lenders) within the context of award or performance of partnership contracts or concession contracts relating to public buildings, transport infrastructures, electronic communication networks, sport facilities, etc.

Albane Lancrenon

Firm Partner, Albane Lancrenon primarily intervenes in white collar crime matters. After practicing as a lawyer in firms and teams specialising in white collar crime, Albane worked at the Enforcement Committee, and at the Investigations and Controls Department of the French Financial Markets Authority (“AMF”). Since joining our law firm in 2014, Albane has regularly advised, assisted and represented companies and directors before criminal courts (from prosecution and investigation stage to final hearing), and in administrative proceedings before the AMF, the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (“ACPR”), and the French Anti-Corruption Agency (“AFA”). In addition to her solid experience in investigation matters, both on the prosecution and on the defence sides, Albane has also developed a strong expertise in compliance matters, particularly in the implementation of anti-corruption measures (Loi Sapin II) and anti-money laundering and terrorist financing measures. Albane holds a Postgraduate degree in general private law (2000) from Paris XII University and a master’s degree in private law – judicial careers (1999). She is the adviser of the French Private Equity Association (France Investissement) in anti-money laundering and terrorist financing matters.

Anker Sorensen

Anker Sorensen practices essentially in the area of corporate and restructuring with extensive experience in upper mid-market M&A work, including the sale and acquisition of  under-performing companies, complex joint ventures, pre-insolvency strategy, restructuring companies, debt restructuring and related litigation.He was awarded the Council of Europe Prize (Prix du Conseil de l’Europe) following his MBA at the EM Strasbourg Business School.His book, “Corporate Rescue Procedures in France”, published in 1996 was prefaced by the Presiding Judge of the Paris Commercial Court.Anker chaired the French chapter of the Turnaround Management Association until 2007. In 2014, he was named a “top lawyer” by Thomson Reuters and asked to contribute a chapter on “Financial Restructuring in France, Trends and Key Strategies”, published by Aspatore Thought Leadership.

Aurélien Chardeau

Partner, Aurelien Chardeau‘s practice focuses on business litigation (including liability issues in industrial risks), criminal law and compliance (anti-corruption and anti-money laundering). He advises major players in the banking and financial sectors (banks, investment service providers, etc.), Life Sciences (health, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, etc.) and industrial (notably railways). He assists both French and foreign companies (European, Anglo-Saxon and Asian). He teaches business law at ESSEC business school. He is a member of various professional associations: the National Association of Bank Lawyers (ANJB), the Association for the Management of Risks and Insurance of the Company (AMRAE), Law and Procedure, Law and Commerce. As a committed member of the association Droits d’Accès, he works to promote equal opportunity and social integration for students coming from underprivileged areas. In this context, he introduces students from several schools in priority education networks (REP) to the legal profession.

Bruno Deffains

Professor Bruno Deffains joined De Gaulle Fleurance in May 2022, as Of counsel.   A PhD graduate in the economics of civil liability and involved in distribution and competition law, Bruno Deffains brings his expertise to bear on issues of assessment and compensation for competitive, commercial, environmental, and ecological damages.   His work on alternative dispute resolution methods enables him to advise corporations on their litigation strategies. He is an expert in digital economy and technologies based on APIs, Big Data, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and blockchain. He is concerned with issues related to the digital transformation within those industries impacted by this development. Bruno Deffains is the author of numerous publications in law and economics. He has co-authored La Réparation des dommages concurrentiels (2015) and L’Index de la sécurité juridique (2018), both published by Dalloz.   Currently serving at the University of Paris-Panthéon-Assas, Bruno Deffains has directed the Center for Research in Economics and Law for the past ten years. He leads the Master of Business Law and Economics and the ” Digital Transformation of Law and Legaltech ” and ” Economic and Organizational Mediation ” University Diplomas.   Bruno Deffains is an honorary member of the Institut Universitaire de France and has been a visiting professor at many foreign universities, including Yale, where he set up a Summer School program associating ESSEC, Paris-Panthéon-Assas and Yale Law School on the theme “Law and Economics of Contract Law and Arbitration”.   He currently sits on the Commission d’Examen des Pratiques Commerciales and the Commission Nationale Consultative des Droits de l’Homme. He also serves as an expert for the Club des Juristes and is a member of Paris Place de Droit.

Bruno Lunghi

Firm Partner, Bruno Lunghi has a recognized expertise in the tax and transactional real estate sectors. Bruno Lunghi assists asset managers, developers, real estate companies, family offices, French and foreign institutional investors, as well as companies, in particular in their sale and leaseback operations. He has a considerable professional experience in the creation of real estate investment vehicles, in real estate acquisition operations (asset deals / share deals), in real estate outsourcing operations for French and international groups, as well as in the structuring of financing / refinancing and fund raising. He also advises companies on the taxation of their investments, transactions, and restructurings. With more than 30 years of experience in international law firms where Bruno Lunghi has held management positions, as Head of the “Real Estate and Hospitality France” practice for all service lines. He is also a member of the “regulatory and tax committee” of the EPRA (The European Real Estate Association) as well as of the tax commission of the ASPIM.

Catherine Castro

Firm partner, Catherine Castro has strong expertise in the real estate sector: acquisitions/takeovers of completed or in future state of completion buildings, acquisitions/takeovers of immovable assets portfolios, sale and leaseback, leases (commercial leases, including in future state of completion), construction and property development. Catherine Castro specialises in all kinds of assets: offices, warehouses, complex buildings. She participated in numerous transactions in the hotel industry in France and abroad (takeovers, acquisitions, financing, sale and leaseback) as well as in the drafting and negotiation of management or construction agreements. In terms of commercial leases, Catherine Castro assists and advises more particularly occupants including for the performance of works and the implementation of good environmental practices.

Cécile Théard-Jallu

Firm partner, Cécile Théard-Jallu has developed in-depth expertise as an attorney in private practice representing multinational corporations, including major US and European firms and organizations in the R&D and healthcare sector (public or private research institutions, academics, pharmaceutical laboratories, biotechnology companies, medical equipment manufacturers, service providers, software or connected health platforms publishers, investors, competitiveness clusters, tech transfer agencies and other intermediaries in the field of innovation…) as well as in other industrial sectors such as energy or transportation, but also in the field of IT and services. Cecile focuses primarily on complex transactions including R&D and consortiums, technology transfers, licensing deals and other technological change related projects. She assists clients with their responses to calls for projects in the R&D and innovation sector in the context of public funding, for instance, with respect to the future investments program (Programme des Investissements d’Avenir) conducted by the French Government.She also advises them on the structuring of their contractual flows as well as the design, drafting, negotiation and enforcement of their commercial or IT contracts. She assists clients on the building and implementation of their digital health strategy.Cécile is ranked among the Best Lawyers in France in Biotechnology and Information Technology law (ranking published by the US publisher Best Lawyers in cooperation with the French newspaper Les Echos).

Charles-Edouard Renault

Firm partner, Charles-Edouard Renault specialises in media, audiovisual and entertainment law, as both advisor and litigator and is thus continually at the forefront of new developments linked to technology in the production sector (website content, film restoration and digitalisation, VOD and SVOD etc.) as well as in communication crises (corporate or professional e-reputation protection, follow-up of online audio and video playback content). As one of the few French arbitrators at the International Film & Television Association (IFTA, Los Angeles) and at WIPO (Geneva) for Film & Media ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution), Charles-Edouard Renault is very active in entertainment litigation and film production disputes. He has extensive experience in assisting French motion picture companies and has been involved in the legal aspects of various international film productions, several of which were nominated for the International Cannes Film Festival, the Oscars and the Berlin International Film Festival. He is co-author of "From Script to Screen - The importance of Rights Documentation in the Distribution of Films" published in January 2012 by OMPI and also regularly publishes articles on legal topics in the French and international markets. He is an associate professor at Lyon University in media law and gives lectures at the Erich Pommer Institut GmbH für Medienrecht in Berlin, Vienna and Vilnius since 2006.

Danielle Smolders

Danielle Smolders intervenes in real estate law and more particularly in construction matters. In this respect, she assists clients as well as contractors and insurers from the contractualisation (works contracts, project management, promotion,…) to the implementation of the insurance coverage, and with the disputes which might arise during the course of the works or after completion. Danielle also intervenes in commercial leasing contracts both as a litigator and as a legal counsel in front of the local, arbitration or foreign jurisdictions.She specialises in commercial leasing contracts both in French and in English.

Deborah David

Firm partner, Deborah David developped a recognized practice in the social aspects of corporate restructuring and transformation, both in counsel and litigation. She also address French and International companies in all employment law issues linked to their operations in France (collective bargaining, staff transfer, Sunday work, implementation of stress prevention policies, etc.).

Francine Le Péchon-Joubert

Partner

François Couhadon

Firm Partner, François Couhadon is specialised in mergers and acquisitions, stock exchange and private equity. He advises listed and non-listed companies and investment funds in the context of national and international transactions, including acquisitions and assignments, public offerings, delisting, securities issues, restructuring, implementations of joint-ventures and shareholders agreements.

François Zocchetto

Firm Partner, François Zocchetto mainly works in corporate and tax law, assisting both public and private actors. Chartered accountant, François Zocchetto began his private career with an audit/accounting and statutory auditor firm, and then founded in 1987 a law firm in business law for SMEs located in Paris and Western France. He has experience of the law applied by public actors and companies, and supports public projects (contracts, urban planning, public procurement, public service delegation) as well as restructuring, acquisition and transfer operations in entities of various sizes. He has held numerous mandates, including Senator of the Mayenne department from 2001 to 2017 and has been Mayor of Laval since 2014.

Frédéric Destal

Firm partner, Frédéric Destal specialises in public law and is involved in regulatory issues linked to governmental authorities and legislatures, as well as in all types of administrative disputes. He also assists and advises during procurement procedures and at the termination of the delegation of public services particularly in the telecommunication networks sectors (internet, fibre optics, etc.). He is also involved in major telecommunications projects. Frédéric Destal also has profound expertise in the field of public ownership, urban planning and public transportation for which he was the interlocutor for the principal project managing authority in Paris (Ile de France). He is the author of several articles on the subjects of the legal characterisation of the delegation of public services and the role and impact of semi-public companies (SPCs) in the local economy as well as the responsibility of local officials.

Georgie Courtois

Partner

Gilbert Ladreyt

Firm partner, Gilbert Ladreyt specialises in French and international tax law. His background as a certified public accountant has paved the way for him to develop expertise in acquisitions, corporate restructurings and equity transactions. His tax competencies in regards to private clients are also well recognised, which enables him to advise companies, as well as their managers and shareholders. Gilbert Ladreyt handles various tax disputes, particularly in the field of EU law.

Henri-Nicolas Fleurance

GEIE De gaulle Fleurance Services

Jean-Baptiste Santelli

Jean-Baptiste Santelli intervenes mainly in banking and finance law. He advises banks, corporate entities, investment funds and governments on syndicated lending, structured finance and debt restructuring.He regularly speaks during international conferences dealing with financing issues. He is also a lecturer at HEC Paris business school and at Paris Dauphine University on banking and finance law matters.

Jean-Christophe Amy

Firm partner, Jean-Christophe Amy is an experienced business lawyer. His practice primarily focuses on mergers and acquisitions, complex group restructurings and general corporate matters. He also has developed extensive expertise in dealing with taxation issues for corporations and entrepreneurs. Jean-Christophe Amy collaborates with French and foreign groups, whether listed or private, on corporate finance transactions, in connection with external growth operations (acquisitions or sales of shares or assets), joint ventures or issuance of securities. His practice covers private equity transactions where he advises shareholders as well as investment funds, and equity finance operations such as IPOs or private capital raising. He also advises on corporate restructuring (mergers, capital contributions, spin-offs). As an expert in both legal and tax issues, Jean-Christophe Amy is involved in the structuring as well as in the implementation of related operations. He also advises many entrepreneurs on the structure and tax optimisation of their groups. He represents clients in a variety of industries, including financial services, commercial real estate, communication and mechanical industry. He frequently assists foreign groups in connection with French legal matters.

Jean-François Paque

Jean-François Paque is principally involved in litigation and arbitration including corporate law (post transfer disputes, partner disputes, contractual disputes, etc.).He is also involved in business transfers (management handovers, shareholder agreements, etc.).Jean-François has also developed strong activity in the sports sector, advising and representing current top level and former athletes and sportspeople.

Jean-François Vilotte

Jean-François Vilotte, former senior public servant, has experience in areas as diverse as infrastructure projects, public economy, sports and new technologies. He graduated in public law from Paris-I University, has been appointed élève administrateur (administrator) of the city of Paris and attended the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (national French Administration School). He spent part of his career in French prefectures and in Paris civil services; in the Architecture Department, then as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Mayor and as Executive Director for economic activity and employment development. He then assumed the position of Chief of Staff for Jean-François Lamour first at the Ministry of Sports and then at the Ministry for Youth, Sports and Community Life (2002 – 2006). In 2007, he was appointed Executive Director of the French Tennis Federation, a position he has returned to between 2019 and 2021 prior to joining again De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés as a Partner. He then became Chairman of the Mission to Promote the ARJEL (French Online Gambling Regulatory Authority) before being appointed President in 2010. First at the head of the French delegation of the editorial committee of the international convention of the European Council against the manipulation of sports, he was then elected Vice-President.

Jean-Marie Job

Firm partner, Jean-Marie Job has developed highly specialised expertise in various areas of health and especially in the fields of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. He is also involved in the creation of IT contracts and issues related to the management of personal and commercial data. He represents numerous clients before the CNIL (Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés). Before joining the law firm of de Gaulle Fleurance & Associés in 2001, he practiced for fifteen years in the legal department of Aventis. Jean-Marie Job is an honorary member of the Association of Pharmaceutical Industry Counsels and regularly lecturers on health law. He is also recognised by the CNIL as a recommended interlocutor. He lecturers in "data-privacy of personal health data" and "rules and laws governing clinical testing" at Paris-VI University. Jean-Marie Job was nominated by his peers “Lawyer of the Year 2011 in Biotechnology” by the Best Lawyers Awards (In partnership with Les Echos).

Jonathan Souffir

Firm Partner, Jonathan Souffir is specialised in banking and financial law, more particularly in corporate financing, acquisition financing (either senior or mezzanine debt), public or private project financing (more specifically in the sector of renewable energies) and real estate financing. He advises both French or foreign lenders and borrowers and sponsors.

Julie Cornély

Firm Partner, Julie Cornely is an experienced business lawyer. Her practice primarily focuses on issues of mergers and acquisitions, complex group restructurings and general corporate matters. She notably handles high-end transactions cases either for external growth (acquisitions, securities or assets sales), joint ventures or securities issuance. She also intervenes in transactions such as group restructuring, spin-offs or national and cross-border mergers.  Julie represents clients that are mainly international, notably in the following industries and sectors: renewable energy, biomedical, mass retail, luxury and services.  

Julien Horn

Partner

Louis de Gaulle

Partner

Matthieu Bichon

Partner, Matthieu Bichon, member of the Paris Bar since 2006, practices essentially in mergers & acquisitions, corporate law and securities law. He assists French and foreign clients, principally, in acquisitions and divestitures of shares or strategic assets transactions, private equity deals, joint ventures and capital operations as well for the structuring of their management packages. He also advises in M&A litigations. Over the recent years Matthieu has been involved in many transactions for investment funds and medium and large companies operating in various sectors such as media, banking and insurance, hospitality, and industry. Matthieu also regularly advises new technologies start-ups in connection with fundraising and strategic partnership.

Matthieu Dary

Firm Partner, Matthieu Dary advises and litigates mainly in the fields of contract law, distribution (network organization, unfair competition, abrupt termination of commercial relations) and sales promotion (consumer information, e-commerce, assistance during DGCCRF inspections). He has also developed an expertise in compliance and has recently assisted several clients in their compliance with the anti-corruption section of the Sapin II law and with the GDPR. Matthieu Dary advises groups in the cosmetics, luxury goods, distribution, media and real estate sectors. For several years, he has been involved in the drafting of the books Lamy Droit Economique and Code de Procédure Civile Commenté.

May Jarjour

Firm partner, May Jarjour specialises in Banking and Finance law. She has significant expertise in corporate finance and structured finance transactions, as well as in restructuring. She advises financial institutions as well as French and international corporations, on the negotiation, the setting up and the restructuring of their financing transactions.

Mireille Mull-Jochem

Firm Partner, Mireille Mull-Jochem is involved in corporate and private equity, and more particularly in the structuring of management companies and investment funds. She advises portfolio management companies as well as industrial and service groups on the structuring of their investment vehicles and on all their regulatory and/or specific issues. Particularly involved in private equity activities, she intervenes in the following areas: structuring of private equity investment vehicles, organisation and authorisation of portfolio management companies with the AMF (the French Financial Markets Regulator), regulatory audits of management companies, assistance to management companies in the context of AMF controls or litigation, audits of fund ratios, eligibility of transactions for funds' regulatory ratios, etc.

Muriel Guillin-Modaine

Partner, Muriel Guillin-Modaine specialises in property law and in particular in transfers of real estate properties (transfer/acquisition of real estate properties and/or property rights), legal arrangements for construction projects, contracts for the implementation of real estate development (property development agreements, construction agreements, project management agreements) and leases. She also works regularly in pre-litigation and litigation in these areas.

Philippe Moncorps

Firm Partner, Philippe Moncorps supports our practice in the media and new technologies sectors. An expert in audiovisual transformations (content production and protection, advertising models and brand content challenges, etc.), he has expanded his practice to other sectors that are also facing accelerated digitization issues. He provides his services as an advisor and in litigation, on cases involving intellectual property law, media law, audiovisual and film production law and regulation, as well as in commercial and criminal law. He started his career as a lawyer, practicing for 14 years in the Cabinet Louis Bousquet (1992–2006) on litigation cases for the entire TF1 Group, particularly in the areas of media law and intellectual property. He then joined TF1 Group as Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs, reporting to the Secretary General (2006–2010) and then Legal Director of Information and Judicial Affairs, reporting to the Legal Director of TF1 Group (2011–2017).

Philippe Feitussi

Firm partner, Philippe Feitussi is an experienced business-law lawyer specialized in both advisory and litigation matters. He assists his clients in the framework of negotiations, legal structuring, litigation and arbitration. His extensive experience in counseling and litigation has given him a strategic and global vision of his clients’ matters. He has earned numerous distinctions reflecting the market recognition of his practice. After an experience in Oxford, he joined a first law firm as an associate. In 2001, he created a business law department dedicated to the environment in a major French law firm, where he became a partner. In 2007, he is one of the founders of Genesis Avocats where he has developed an important international network. He has been a lecturer, notably at Paris V, Paris I, CNAM, ESAM and INSEEC.

Pierrick Le Goff

Firm Partner, Pierrick Le Goff focuses his practice mainly on international arbitration, major infrastructure projects, and compliance. He is also involved in various areas of international business law linked to these fields (equity joint ventures, consortium structures, technology transfers, sales and distribution agreements, subcontracting, etc.). Before joining De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés in 2019, Pierrick Le Goff was Group General Counsel of Alstom (2015-2019), a multinational corporation in which he has also held the function of General Counsel of the transport sector (2011-2015) as well as various positions in the energy sector in England, Germany and the German-speaking part of Switzerland (1994-2011). He had previously started his career in Paris in 1992 with a business law firm.His significant in-house career has enabled him to acquire a strong international expertise as well as a solid understanding of the industrial world and of major energy and transport construction projects. He has also been exposed regularly to claims management activities and the handling of disputes arising from projects execution. Finally, he has been involved in the management of compliance matters in relation with financial institutions and foreign judicial authorities (DOJ, SFO), the monitoring of due diligence reviews and internal investigations, and the follow-up of arbitration proceedings with commercial agents. In this context, he has gained a notable experience in the implementation of advanced ethics and compliance programs. In particular, Alstom became in 2017 the first company in France to be certified ISO 37001 for its anticorruption management system. This initiative has led him to receive on behalf of his legal and compliance team the Gold Trophy 2017 of the most innovative Legal Department by Leaders League.Pierrick Le Goff is an affiliate professor at Sciences Po Law School in Paris and serves as adjunct faculty member at the University of Marburg in Germany. His teaching and speaker activities focus on international commercial law, international litigation and arbitration, international construction law, corporate social responsibility as well as ethics & compliance. He has written his doctoral thesis on the topic of liquidated damages and penalty clauses in international contracts for the construction of industrial plants.

Samantha Nataf

Partner

Serge Lederman

Partner

Sylvie Perrin

Firm partner, Sylvie Perrin is an international business lawyer specializing in Banking and Finance. She is notably active in the energy and transportation sectors. She is reputed in the setting up of complex, innovative asset and project finance deals where integrated team skills are critical to the success of projects. Over her long and focused experience in finance, she has acted for all sides in both domestic and cross-border transactions. Sylvie is an expert in structuring off-balance sheet transactions in relation to leasing of assets and financing various investments. With a solid reputation in asset and project finance transactions acting for major Banks and Financial institutions, Sylvie Perrin is counsel to many Financial Advisers and internationally based companies in organising the most efficient debt structuring for various types of projects. ln the energy sector, Sylvie pursues a large-scale project finance activity notably in the field of renewable energies. She covers all market positions across a wide range of operating sectors: co-designs structuring with arrangers, implements secured schemes for lenders and provides proactive assistance to sponsors and developers. ln the context of the classic banking sector, she advises arrangers and lenders for club deal financings of their wind, solar, biomass and biogas energy projects. She also takes part in the setting up of alternative financing schemes enabling more particularly the actors in the energy market to finance their development and compensate for the decrease of bank credit availability.

Thierry Gillot

Firm partner, Thierry Gillot is an employment lawyer. His expertise in labor & employment law matters, social security law and immigration is grounded on an experience of more than thirty years in the service of French and foreign groups and extends to all their needs, counselling them in restructuring transactions, business transfers and M&A deals, as well as with respect to questions on individual and collective work relationships, salary savings schemes, social security coverage and immigration in France and abroad. Thierry has also developed a strong reputation in litigation matters. He was designated by his peers and legal directors as an expert in the “Guide to the World’s Leading Labour & Employment Lawyers” edited by the Legal Media Group, Euromoney.

Thierry Titone

Thierry Titone advises corporate clients on the organization of their activities, from procurement to the release for consumption of products and services.He specializes in relations between the industrial and distribution sectors and in the development of networks in France and abroad (e-commerce, franchise, selective network, etc.). He handles as well anticompetitive cases (advice, compliance and litigation), restrictive competition practices, and merger control in support of M&A teams.He has written numerous articles and recently co-authored a book on risk management, standards and product compliance. He is also a lecturer, notably for the DJCE – Diplôme de Juriste Conseil d’Entreprise, Certificate of Specialization in Distribution Law at the Centre du Droit de l’Entreprise in Montpellier.

Vincent Schmitt

Firm partner, Vincent Schmitt’s area of practice covers tax advice and tax litigation regarding both corporate and individual clients. He is mainly involved in international operations (including transfer pricing) and complex corporate structuring, domestic and cross border mergers and acquisitions. He also advises international families with their investments in France or abroad and for international private tax planning. His practice area also covers all aspects of French tax litigation (defence for tax investigations, negotiation with tax authorities, Court litigation, tax ruling negotiation) for corporations and individuals. He is also a TEP and member of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) and advises on trust matters; he is currently the chairman of the STEP French branch.