Paris, [Insert Date from Original Article – January 11, 2024] – Bredin Prat, a leading law firm in Paris, has announced the promotion of four lawyers to partner and five to counsel positions, reinforcing its expertise across key practice areas. This strategic move underscores the firm’s commitment to growth and its dedication to providing clients with top-tier legal counsel.
The newly appointed partners come from the firm’s esteemed Corporate, Tax Law, White-Collar Crime, and Litigation departments. Simultaneously, the new counsels are drawn from Corporate, Competition and EU Law, White-Collar Crime, and Public Law practices, showcasing a broad strengthening of the firm’s capabilities.
With these appointments, Bredin Prat now boasts a robust team of over 200 lawyers, including 52 partners and 22 counsels, solidifying its position as a major player in the French and international legal landscape.
Didier Martin, Senior Partner at Bredin Prat, expressed his enthusiasm: “We are thrilled to welcome Myriam Epelbaum (Corporate), Jean-Baptiste Frantz (Tax Law), Martin Horion (White-Collar Crime), and Tom Vauthier (Litigation) as our newest partners. The promotion of Jenyfer Bianchi (White-Collar Crime), Douceline Chabord (Corporate), Chloé Méléard (White-Collar Crime), Gabrielle Reddé (Public Law), and Sophie Troussard-Fauré (Competition and EU Law) to counsel further strengthens our firm. These advancements are crucial to maintaining the high quality and specialized expertise our clients expect from Prat Partners and the entire Bredin Prat team.”
Meet the New Prat Partners
- Myriam Epelbaum, Partner | Corporate
Myriam Epelbaum, now a partner in the Corporate team, brings extensive experience in corporate governance. Her practice is heavily focused on advising listed companies, particularly on critical ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) matters. As a trusted advisor, she guides clients through complex M&A transactions and securities law issues, especially those with significant governance implications.
Beyond her practice, Myriam contributes to legal education by leading seminars in company law at the prestigious University of Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas and the University of Paris Dauphine. Her expertise is further recognized through her participation in working groups for the Haut Comité Juridique de la Place Financière de Paris (HCJP), where she notably serves as the Rapporteur for the Say-on-Climate working group, highlighting her commitment to cutting-edge legal and corporate responsibility issues.
- Jean-Baptiste Frantz, Partner | Tax Law
Jean-Baptiste Frantz joins the partnership in the Tax Law department, where he advises on the intricate tax aspects of a wide array of corporate transactions. His expertise spans public and private M&A, private equity, and corporate reorganizations. A significant portion of his practice is dedicated to assisting clients through tax audits and resolving complex tax litigation, demonstrating his capability in handling high-stakes tax matters.
His client base also includes private clients, such as senior executives and shareholders, seeking sophisticated tax advice. Jean-Baptiste’s international experience includes a secondment to Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York City, broadening his global perspective on tax law.
- Martin Horion, Partner | White-Collar Crime
Martin Horion is promoted to partner within the White-Collar Crime team, recognized for his deep expertise in this critical area of law. His proven track record covers major aspects of white-collar criminal law, including violations of probity, financial offenses affecting public funds, market abuse, consumer law violations, labor law, competition law, restructuring law breaches, cybercrime, international sanctions, and corporate criminal liability, among others.
He expertly represents companies, senior executives, and public figures in enforcement proceedings and damage actions, both in France and internationally, across all types of legal proceedings. Martin’s dual admission to the Paris and New York Bars underscores his international legal competence.
- Tom Vauthier, Partner | Litigation
Tom Vauthier becomes a partner in the Litigation team, bringing his skills in resolving complex business law disputes, particularly in international contexts. His practice encompasses contract law, corporate law, and private international law, advising and representing companies and their executives in high-stakes litigation.
Tom is adept at representing clients in civil, commercial, and criminal courts, and also facilitates dispute resolution through effective out-of-court settlements. His experience includes a secondment to Kirkland & Ellis in New York, further enriching his international litigation expertise.
Bredin Prat Welcomes New Counsels
- Jenyfer Bianchi, Counsel | White-Collar Crime
Jenyfer Bianchi is appointed Counsel in the White-Collar Crime team, where she focuses on assisting and representing companies and their senior management in criminal proceedings before both courts and market authorities. Her practice is particularly centered on complex financial offenses, including money laundering, corruption, and tax fraud, as well as proceedings initiated by the French Financial Market Authority (Autorité des Marchés Financiers – AMF) related to market abuse.
- Douceline Chabord, Counsel | Corporate
Douceline Chabord is named Counsel in the Corporate team, specializing in capital markets transactions. Her expertise includes IPOs, spin-offs, share capital increases, private placements, block trades, and equity-linked and bond issues across French and international markets. She also provides counsel to listed companies on broader corporate and securities law matters.
- Chloé Méléard, Counsel | White-Collar Crime
Chloé Méléard advances to Counsel in the White-Collar Crime group. She represents companies, executives, and public figures in criminal, civil, and commercial court proceedings. Chloé’s work includes handling criminal investigations, proceedings initiated by authorities like the AMF and the French Anti-Corruption Agency (AFA), and developing a general criminal law practice, showcasing her versatility in criminal defense.
- Gabrielle Reddé, Counsel | Public Law
Gabrielle Reddé is appointed Counsel in the Public Law team. She advises both public and private sector clients, particularly in large-scale infrastructure projects within transport, construction, and energy. Her practice covers project structuring, development, financing, M&A transactions, asset management, and dispute resolution. Gabrielle has significant experience in complex pre-litigation and litigation related to these projects, handling regulatory and contractual aspects with expertise.
- Sophie Troussard-Fauré, Counsel | Competition and EU Law
Sophie Troussard-Fauré becomes Counsel in the Competition and EU Law team. She represents French and international companies before French and European courts and competition authorities. Her focus includes cartel and merger control investigations, covering all facets of competition law. Sophie’s prior experience at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP enriches her practice at Bredin Prat.
These strategic appointments of new prat partners and counsels demonstrate Bredin Prat’s ongoing investment in talent and its commitment to maintaining its position as a leading law firm, ready to meet the evolving needs of its clients in a complex global legal environment.
