Firm Profile > De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés > Paris, France

Data privacy and data protection Tier 1

De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés stands out for its team organisation, which operates in non-departmental structures; it assembles specialist teams from a cross-practice and sectorial perspective. With its wide-ranging sector expertise, including healthcare, energy and environment, financial services, real estate and e-commerce, and further strength in advisory, transactional and contentious matters, the group handles a varied workload. The development and implementation of data protection strategies, compliance audits and international data protection surveys are particularly busy lines of work. The team has offices in Paris and Brussels and joins forces with a network of international law firms for matters requiring expertise in foreign law. Cécile Théard-Jallu, Jean-Sébastien Mariez and Georgie Courtois are the main contacts.

Healthcare and life sciences

Intellectual property: Copyright Tier 1

De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés's 'very responsive' intellectual property team is jointly headed by Julien Horn and Louis de Gaulle. The latter represented TF1 (the leading French TV group) in a series of disputes against the main internet service providers (namely Altice-SFR, Orange and Free) and the French TV channel package distributor Groupe Canal+. Other key clients include many of the major players in the French and international markets in the media and entertainment and software industries and the cultural sector, including DreamWorks, Microsoft and the French National Library. Charles-Edouard Renault 'understands the need for creative freedom and attempts to find practical solutions'. Sandra Strittmatter is also recommended.

Intellectual property: Trade marks and designs Tier 1

De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés's team inspires 'a high degree of confidence in the firm's trade mark expertise'. Both contentious and non-contentious matters, including trade mark portfolio management and advice on the launch of new products or new advertisement campaigns, are handled 'very collaboratively'. The team acts for noteworthy clients in a range of sectors, including DreamWorks Animation/NBC Universal and UEFA. Serge Lederman, who jointly heads the practice with Julien Horn, successfully defended Mango against a design infringement and unfair competition action filed by the French fashion house Celine. Other key names to note are Louis de Gaulle, Francine Le Péchon-Joubert and Sandra Strittmatter.

Media and entertainment: Cinema Tier 1

De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés advises several US film studios, whom it notably assists with clearing film distribution rights in France, but also acts for many French and international independent production companies. The firm is able to provide all-round expertise, spanning the negotiation of motion pictures and series' production, IP rights, financing and distribution issues. The practice also handles litigation and arbitration proceedings before the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA)'s dispute resolution committee. Charles-Edouard Renault and Julien Horn are in charge.

Media and entertainment: Sports Tier 1

De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés has a prominent client base composed of several professional sports federations, sports leagues and major sport event organisers such as the French Tennis Federation, Paris Olympics 2024 and football championship league UEFA. The firm provides all-round expertise, including public-law, IP, commercial law and TV rights issues. The practice was notably involved in several high-profile disputes pertaining to illegal sport event ticket sales. In addition, the practice assisted several professional players with various issues, including negotiating club transfer contracts. Rhadamès Killy is highly recommended. Louis de Gaulle and Agnès Macaire are also key contacts. The group welcomed Jean-Louis Valentin in 2019, who joined as of counsel and who brings valuable experience from his previous positions as deputy general manager at the French Football Federation and as general secretary of the International Motor Federation. Jean-François Vilotte, who was named general secretary of the French Tennis Federation, left the firm in 2019.

Media and entertainment: Television/radio Tier 1

De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés has a strong involvement in the media sector. The firm assists several major French and US television broadcasters and producers as well as leading video-on-demand ('VOD')  platforms acting as producers. The team notably advises on production contracts and rights clearance of TV and VOD series and also advises a major sport event organiser on the sale of TV rights. Other work includes strategic litigation, notably in relation to TV channel broadcasting and IP issues. Charles-Edouard Renault and Louis de Gaulle are in charge. IP expert Julien Horn is also a key contributor.

Industry focus: Healthcare and life sciences Tier 2

De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés stands out for its strong e-healthcare expertise that brings together digital, data and healthcare regulatory know-how. The practice also provides assistance on contract licensing matters and public law healthcare procurement tenders. Medtech companies, software and platform providers, start-ups, as well as pharmaceutical laboratories and professional bodies are clients. Jean-Marie Job and Cécile Théard-Jallu both combine regulatory and IT expertise, while Blandine Fauran has particular knowledge of regulatory, competition, ethics and compliance issues.

Industry focus: IT and internet Tier 2

De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés assists a prominent client base composed of leading French technology user companies and several high-profile technology providers, including longstanding client Microsoft. The practice advises clients on the negotiation of major IT and digital platform contracts, and also handles related contentious work. The group's deep know-how of the e-health sector is another asset. Data protection and internet issues area also dealt with. Recent highlights include assisting French bank BPCE with the setting up of major e-payment project. Louis de Gaulle and Julien Horn co-head the practice. Other key members include Georgie Courtois, Jean-Sébastien Mariez and Cécile Théard-Jallu .

Administrative and public law Tier 3

De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés three-partner team assists private operators, as well as governmental and local public entities. The team has a good breadth of expertise spanning public sector contracts and projects, and regulatory and urban law issues. It is particularly involved in matters relating to the transport, renewables energy, building, telecoms, data, sports, mining and healthcare sectors. It recently advised on several major infrastructure projects in France and in its overseas territories. It is notably handling a high amount of work in relation to various modernisation projects in French Guyana. Litigation expertise is also strong and the firm is managing several sensitive files dealing with major public contract performance issues. Several sport federations and Paris 2024 Olympics are also clients. Frédéric Destal, Agnès Macaire and Gaïa Witz are in charge. Louis de Gaulle is also noted.

Dispute resolution: Commercial litigation Tier 3

De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés handles a diverse range of disputes. The firm is representing leading French companies and international groups in commercial, M&A and industrial disputes. The firm is also handling a growing amount of new cases dealing with renewables energy M&A transactions and is also a good fit to manage cases involving public sector entities. In addition, the firm has strong reputation for its particular expertise in the media, IT and sport sectors where it is regularly handling key matters. It recently won a major victory regarding illegal sport ticket reselling and is managing several high-stake cases for TF1 TV channel, including several issues involving internet providers and broadcasters. Louis de Gaulle and Jean-François Paque co-head the practice. Several other partners also contribute including Julien Horn and Philippe Moncorps.

Industry focus: Energy Tier 3

De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés

Intellectual property: Patents Tier 3

The team at De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés is particularly active in the transactional field, with a strong emphasis on advising clients on transfer of technologies, joint ventures and the intellectual property implications associated with start-ups. Louis de Gaulle, who jointly heads the practice with Francine Le Péchon-Joubert, leads a team which is drafting various co-ownership and licensing agreements for Alstom relating to its a joint venture with Ademe. The group has recently expanded its client base in the manufacturing and biotechnology sectors, where new clients include Cahers and GenOway. Also notable are Blandine Fauran, Julien Horn and Cécile Théard-Jallu.

Banking and finance: transactional work Tier 4

De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés

Employment Tier 4

Insolvency Tier 4

Tax Tier 4

De Gaulle Fleurance & Associés' sizeable team is able to tackle a wide range of issues. The practice is noted for its corporate, restructuring and transactional tax advice to leading corporations, and recently advised on the structuring of a landmark proposed M&A transaction. The team also assists clients with VAT, transfer pricing and litigation issues. Clients include foundations and several companies in the sport and public sectors. Henri-Nicolas Fleurance and Vincent Schmitt co-head the practice. Pascale Farey Da Rin, Frédéric Paquet and Gilbert Ladreyt are other key team members.

Dispute resolution: International arbitration Tier 5