Expertise
Where the gain is real, and where it is not.
Forty-eight practices across twelve practice groups, from commercial litigation to fund structuring. Assistance does not have the same effect on a due diligence exercise and on advocacy: we prefer to say so practice by practice rather than imply a uniform gain.
Antitrust and competition
The gain lies in document review and quantification, never in the meeting with the authority.
Antitrust and competition litigation
UE · France
Correspondence review, quantification of loss, decision monitoring.
Negotiating commitments before the authority.
−48%
Antitrust and competition regulatory and enforcement
Bruxelles · Paris
Preparation of responses to requests for information, review of practices against the guidelines, triage of seized documents.
Dawn raids, meetings with the case team, settlement negotiation.
−50%
Merger clearance and compliance
Multi-juridictions
Filing-requirement analysis across every relevant jurisdiction, market share extraction, preparation of the filing forms.
Pre-notification discussions, remedy trade-offs, timetable negotiated with the authority.
−56%
Corporate
The gain lies in documentary review, never in the negotiation.
Corporate finance
Acquisition · fund finance
Review of credit documentation against market standard, extraction of financial covenants, monitoring of events of default.
Negotiating the cost of credit, syndication, the banking relationship.
−49%
Corporate governance and disclosure
Cotées & non cotées
Consistency checking of periodic reports, verification of mandatory disclosures, tracking of filing obligations.
The board meeting, trade-offs between shareholders, crisis communications.
−51%
Executive compensation
Instruments & gouvernance
Serial review of incentive plans, simulation of leaver scenarios, consistency checking between plan, contract and articles.
Negotiating the package, discussions with the remuneration committee.
−45%
Family office practice
Patrimoine & gouvernance familiale
Mapping of holdings and vehicles, review of family agreements, tracking of the structure’s deadlines.
Advising the family, trade-offs between branches, succession decided in the family council.
−42%
Mergers and acquisitions
Cross-border
Documentary due diligence, contract review against the client playbook, corpus consistency.
Price and warranty negotiation, signing session.
−61%
Oil and gas transactions
Amont · midstream
Title and licence audit, offtake contract review, extraction of royalties and of decommissioning obligations.
Negotiation with the host state, relations with the joint venture partners.
−47%
Private equity
Mid-cap · cross-border
Portfolio company due diligence, shareholder agreement review, tracking of governance undertakings across a whole portfolio.
Price negotiation, trade-offs between sponsors, relationship with management.
−57%
Venture capital and emerging companies
Amorçage → série D
Production of financing document sets, capitalisation table review, tracking of contractual rights across an entire portfolio.
The decision to invest, valuation, founder mentoring.
−63%
Private funds
Luxembourg · Paris · Delaware
Comparison of fund documentation, side letter review, investor questionnaire review.
The fundraising itself, investor relations, the sponsor’s economic trade-offs.
−55%
Private investment in professional services
Professions réglementées
Review of the professional rules governing ownership, mapping of engagements and of non-compete clauses.
Discussions with the professional body, bringing the partners on board.
−44%
Digital currency and blockchain technology
The gain lies in characterisation and traceability, never in the decision to issue.
Digital currency and blockchain technology
MiCA · AMF · SEC
Characterisation of tokens under the applicable regimes, review of white papers and published code, tracing of on-chain flows.
The decision to issue, dialogue with the regulator, the economic design of the protocol.
−53%
Employment law
The gain lies in serial handling, never in employee relations.
Employment law – France
France
Compliance review, serial litigation, calculation of awards.
Negotiation with employee representative bodies, employment tribunal hearing.
−35%
Employment law – U.S.
Fédéral & États
Review of internal policies against federal and state law, classification checks, serial handling of claims.
Mediation, hearings, dealings with the union.
−38%
U.S. employment investigations
États-Unis
Large-scale messaging review, chronology of the alleged facts, consistency checking of statements.
Witness interviews, reporting to the committee, the disciplinary decision.
−56%
Intellectual property and technology
The gain lies in searching and serial review, never in technical expert evidence.
Intellectual property
Contentieux & conseil
Prior art, infringement, building proof of use.
Technical expert evidence, advocacy on infringement.
−47%
Technology and AI transactions
Logiciel · données · IA
Serial contract review against playbook, open source licence mapping, extraction of service level commitments.
Commercial trade-offs, negotiating a structuring partnership, the client’s internal governance.
−59%
Litigation and arbitration
The gain lies in building the record, never in the hearing.
Appellate practice
Cours d’appel · Cassation
Complete re-reading of the first instance record, search for grounds of appeal, citation checking of the briefs.
Advocacy before the court, the strategic choice of which grounds to press.
−50%
Arbitration and mediation
CCI · LCIA · CIRDI
Building the evidentiary record, multilingual chronology, published arbitral case law.
Choice of arbitrators, hearing, challenge strategy, the mediation session itself.
−44%
Aviation litigation
Sinistres · exploitation
Review of technical reports and maintenance records, flight chronology, applicable treaty framework.
Aeronautical expert evidence, dealings with the families, the hearing.
−42%
Bankruptcy litigation and counseling
France · UK
Accounting analysis, mapping of security interests, receivable scoring.
Negotiation with creditors, conciliation, plan hearing.
−39%
Class action defense
France · États-Unis
Consistent handling of thousands of claims, analysis of class representativeness, review of the documents produced.
The certification hearing, negotiating the settlement agreement.
−60%
Commercial litigation
Paris · Londres · New York
Exhaustive search for grounds, mass document analysis, citation verification, red team.
Advocacy, hearing incidents, dealings with the case management judge.
−52%
Directors and officers litigation
D&O · assurance
Reconstruction of the board’s decisions, review of minutes and exchanges, analysis of the insurance cover.
Preparing the director personally, the hearing, dealings with the insurer.
−49%
Review of billing across the whole period at issue, reconciliation of certifications with accounting records, chronology of internal reports.
Discussions with the prosecutor, the decision to settle, the relator’s deposition.
−57%
Fiduciary, trusts and estates litigation
Trusts · successions
Reconstruction of flows across decades, comparative reading of successive instruments, review of the fiduciary’s accounts.
Dealings with the heirs, family mediation, the hearing.
−40%
Insurance
Couverture & recours
Cross-reading of policies, endorsements and exclusions, chronology of claim notifications, serial handling of claims.
Loss adjusting, negotiation with the insurer, the hearing.
−52%
Products liability, mass torts and consumer class actions
Rappels · dommages de masse
Analysis of individual files in very large numbers, review of vigilance data, search for internal warnings.
Scientific expert evidence, hearing the claimants, crisis communications.
−62%
Professional liability
Professions réglementées
Reconstruction of the file as it stood before the professional, checking of the diligence owed, loss of chance analysis.
Disciplinary hearings, dealings with the professional body, peer expert evidence.
−44%
Real estate litigation
Baux · construction
Mass lease review, reconstruction of the landlord and tenant account, review of construction records.
Site visits, court-appointed expert proceedings, negotiation with the tenant.
−43%
Securities litigation
Marchés · actions de groupe
Reconstruction of the information published over time, price and volume analysis, review of internal exchanges.
The certification hearing, opposing financial expert evidence, settlement.
−55%
Media, entertainment and sports
The gain lies in rights chains, never in the relationship with the talent.
Media, entertainment and sports
Droits & production
Reconstruction of rights chains, serial review of production and licence agreements, checking of royalty statements.
Negotiating with the talent, editorial judgement, relations with the broadcasters.
−41%
Privacy and data security
The gain lies in systematic checking, never in the decision whether to notify.
Privacy and data security
RGPD · CCPA
Mapping of processing activities, systematic review of processor agreements, checking of transfers outside the Union.
The decision to notify a breach, meetings with the authority, product trade-offs.
−57%
Real estate
The gain lies in portfolio review, never in the site visit.
Real estate
France · Royaume-Uni
Mass lease review, title and easement audit, extraction of the financial clauses of an entire portfolio.
Site visits, negotiation with tenants, dealings with local authorities.
−46%
Regional practices
The gain here is slight, and we prefer to say so: these practices rest on relationships.
Africa practice
OHADA · francophonie
Research across national laws and OHADA law, comparison of investment regimes, review of state contracts.
Relations with local administrations, local counsel, negotiating on the ground.
−36%
Israel practice
Tel-Aviv · cross-border
Review of technology company financing documents, mapping of intellectual property titles, checking of export restrictions.
Relations with founders and local funds, running the fundraising.
−34%
Korea practice
Séoul · cross-border
Bilingual document review, comparison of clauses against local standard, tracking of group reporting obligations.
Relations with Korean groups, negotiating on the ground, local business custom.
−33%
Tax
The gain lies in verification, never in the structuring decision.
Corporate tax
Structuration · cross-border
Clause-by-clause review of tax consequences, comparison of holding structures, monitoring of guidance and treaties.
The final structuring decision, advance rulings, tax audits.
−41%
Private clients
Transmission & trusts
Mapping of assets and holding vehicles, comparison of succession structures, tracking of reporting obligations.
Advising the family, trade-offs between heirs, the decision to pass assets on.
−37%
Tax litigation
Contrôle & juridictions
Reconstruction of the positions taken year by year, preparation of responses to requests, research into the applicable guidance and case law.
Meetings with the inspector, the tax commission, the hearing.
−46%
White collar defence and regulation
The gain lies in the document mass, never in the interview or the police custody.
Criminal defense
France · international
Mass document analysis, chronology, consistency of statements.
Police custody, judicial investigation, criminal hearing. No gain.
−22%
Economic sanctions
UE · OFAC
Screening of counterparties and flows, reconstruction of ownership chains, monitoring of the lists and applicable regimes.
Licence applications, meetings with the authority, the decision to exit a market.
−61%
FCPA/anti-corruption
FCPA · Sapin II
Third-party intermediary diligence, review of payments and expenses, country-by-country risk mapping.
Employee interviews, the decision to self-report, negotiating the resolution.
−58%
Internal investigations
Global
E-discovery, messaging review, risk mapping.
Interviews, reporting to the audit committee.
−58%
Regulatory compliance
AMF · CSSF · SEC
Review of compliance programmes, preparation of examination files, checking of marketing materials and regulatory filings.
Meetings with the regulator, the decision to self-report, settlement.
−54%
Regulatory enforcement
AMF · ACPR · SEC
Response to the regulator’s requests, reconstruction of the conduct alleged, research into comparable enforcement outcomes.
The hearing before the enforcement committee, negotiating the settlement.
−44%
“Time” column: observed reduction in handling time at constant case scope, measured on cases closed over the last three financial years. It says nothing about the quality of the outcome, which is the subject of the method page.
Sectors
Industry & energy
14 active cases
Financial services
22 active cases
Asset management & funds
19 active cases
Health & life sciences
9 active cases
Technology & data
31 active cases
Retail & luxury
17 active cases
Real estate & hospitality
13 active cases
Infrastructure & construction
11 active cases
Transport & logistics
8 active cases
Public sector & concessions
6 active cases