K&L Gates LLP > Paris, France > Firm Profile

K&L Gates LLP
AVOCATS A LA COUR
116 AVENUE DES CHAMPS-ELYSEES
75008 PARIS
France

France > Data privacy and data protection Tier 2

The ‘young and innovative team’ at K&L Gates LLP has a strong reputation in the market for its ability to handle data protection liability issues in M&A transactions and global data protection compliance mandates. Areas of activity for the practice include machine learning, autonomous driving and blockchain-based services. Claude-Étienne Armingaud heads up the team and is described as a ‘fount of knowledge on the subject of privacy and data protection‘. He is frequently sought out by clients from the software industry for assistance with cross-border technology transactions.

Practice head(s):

Claude-Étienne Armingaud

Other key lawyers:

Camille Scarparo

Testimonials

‘The team are a pleasure to work with and the level of knowledge they have is very high in the field of privacy and data protection. I also find them to be very active in thought leadership.’

‘Claude-Étienne Armingaud is great to work with and is a fount of knowledge on the subject of privacy and data protection. Very impressive in front of clients and has a great profile in the sector.’

‘I’m continuously impressed by the personability of everyone I’ve worked with in the K&L Gates privacy group. Everyone is very kind, humorous, and engages with you as a person first, rather than a client. This helps build trust in the relationship, which is really important when engaging legal counsel. You want to know that you are able to trust that they’re working both for you and with you.’

‘Clients want to know that they are protected and there’s no one better than the team at K&L to provide those assurances. They understand everyone’s risk tolerance and needs are completely different. This makes all the difference to the client!’

‘Camille Scarparo is a wonderful associate to work with – she asks all the right questions and provides amazing work.’

‘Knowledgeable, commercial, up-to-speed with latest developments and proactive in alerting clients to upcoming issues.’

‘This is a very young and innovative team, attentive to clients and aware of new technologies.’

‘Claude-Étienne Armingaud has been my first stop in France for all questions related to technology. He has exhibited a consistent and reliable desire to stay on top of trends, innovations, and cultural advancements in communications.’

Key clients

Advantest

Amarin Pharmaceuticals Ireland Limited

Anika Therapeutics S.r.l.

Argo AI

Bamboo Airways

BlueJay Therapeutics

Caisse des dépôts

Calltower

Canali

Cap Gemini

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)

ChannelAdvisor Corporation

Coty Inc.

Crédit Mutuel Arkéa

Crypto.com

Cummins

Cyber Civil Rights Initiative

EMQ

Envision

Ergotron

Federated Hermes, Inc.

First Citizens Bank

Flywheel Partners

Glass, Lewis & Co., LLC

Hexcel

Howmet

Immutable

International Justice Mission

Inveztor

Ipsen S.p.A.

K&N Engineering

Kinship Partners, Inc

La Boite à Encas d/b/a Foodles

Lands’ End

Logistec

Maytronics Limited

SeAH Holdings

SharkNinja

Sloclap

Summit Park

Telstra

TM Forum

Viva Model Management

VTG AG

Wabtec Corporation

Wella International Operations Switzerland S.a.r.l.

World Organisation for Animal Health

Young Presidents’ Organization, d/b/a YPO

Work highlights

  • Offering free legal services to individuals who fall victim to acts of revenge porn as part of the Cyber Civil Rights Legal Project.
  • Assisting leading Chinese multinational corporation Envision with data protection issues relating to its acquisition of QOS Energy SAS.
  • Assisting a non-profit organisation active in rescuing victims of sex and labour trafficking worldwide with the management of its global data protection compliance.

France > Industry focus: IT and internet  Tier 3

K&L Gates LLP covers a myriad of IT and internet issues, from GDRP compliance to contract negotiation. The firm is notable for its expertise in IP and data protection matters, as well as, increasingly, AI, NFT and blockchain issues. The practice is led by Claude-Etienne Armingaud, who is dual-qualified in France and the US, and is consequently well placed to handle multi-jurisdictional transactions.

Practice head(s):

Claude-Étienne Armingaud

Testimonials

‘K&L Gates has unparalleled knowledge of the French court system and also of a wide range of issues that are pertinent in French and international law, including data privacy and intellectual property law. We have worked with K&L France extensively, in active litigation matters, as well as in other areas, such as data protection planning and GDPR-related work.’

‘Claude-Étienne Armingaud has helped us tremendously with all of our legal concerns in France. He is extremely knowledgable in multiple legal areas, highly adaptable, a phenomenal team leader, and a lawyer of the highest calibre.’

Key clients

Argo AI

Coty

Glass, Lewis & Co., LLC

EMQ

Envision

Ergotron

Kinship Partners, Inc

La Boîte A Encas d/b/a Foodles

Lands’ End

Maytronics Limited

SeAH Holdings

SharkNinja

SloClap

SPIBelt

World Organisation for Animal Health

Work highlights

  • Represented Maytronics France in a UDPR complaint before the WIPO for the restitution of an internet domain.

France > Insurance Tier 3

K&L Gates LLP’s insurance practice is noted for its focus on advising corporate policyholders, acting for large multinationals from the chemical, financial, real estate and technology sectors, among others. In addition to strong recent activity in the field of business interruption claims, the team is involved in high-profile product liability and financial fraud cases. Barthélemy Cousin leads the practice.

Practice head(s):

Barthélemy Cousin

Other key lawyers:

Thibaut Gribelin

Testimonials

‘Efficient teamwork.’

‘Valuable insurance specialists.’

‘Thibaut Gribelin answers questions directly and precisely, and does not give convoluted responses which do not give a clear vision of the situation.’

‘An excellent team – very professional and responsive.’

‘Barthélemy Cousin is an excellent lawyer.’

Key clients

Société Générale Singapore Branch

Mercuria Energy Trading Pte Ltd

Société Générale SA

Edeis and Bothnia

Klépierre SA

Calzedonia France

Marsh SAS

Arev Finance

Work highlights

  • Acting for Société Générale Singapore Branch in an ongoing case concerning a $90M trade finance-related fraud that occurred in Singapore.
  • Assisting Mercuria Energy Trading Pte Ltd in an ongoing case before the Paris Court of Appeal concerning a fraud that occurred at the Qingdao and Penglai ports in China, in which the client is seeking $10m from its cargo insurers.
  • Assisting Klépierre in the recovery of the €114M loss of rents suffered due to the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak.

France > Dispute resolution: Commercial litigation Tier 4

Practice head(s):

Louis Degos

Other key lawyers:

Testimonials

‘Good team for insurance disputes. Good availability.’

‘They are excellent at communicating with U.S.-based clients and have a good sense of what is important to their clients.’

‘Charlotte Baillot is a great communicator and excellent strategic thinker. She is client-focused and results-driven.’

‘A great asset of this firm lies in the fact that it only represents policyholders, against insurers. Therefore, there is no risk of conflict of interest.’

Key clients

Sika Supply Center

SAAB

Mercuria Energy Trading

Enigma Software Group

Société Générale

Baltic International Bank

Cummins

Edeis and Bothnia

Klépierre SA

Work highlights

  • Representing Sika Supply Center AG in a complex serial case in relation to a product liability litigation pertaining to a roofing membrane.
  • Representing the Lebanese Saab brothers, as owners of the Federal Bank of the Middle East, in an arbitral award set aside proceeding currently before the Court of Cassation against the Republic of Cyprus.
  • Advising Société Générale Singapore Branch on a $90m trade finance related fraud that occurred in Singapore.

France > Intellectual property: Trade marks and designs Tier 4

Practice head(s):

Claude-Étienne Armingaud

Testimonials

‘The K&L Gates Paris intellectual property team stands out for its excellence and synergy in the field of new technology and intellectual property law. They combines advanced skills and a collaborative approach to successfully meet legal challenges in trade marks, designs and copyright in the digital age.’

‘Claude-Étienne Armingaud embodies the avant-garde of intellectual property in the demanding context of new technologies. His expertise makes him a reference in trade marks, designs and copyrights. A visionary, Claude-Étienne combines the depth of his legal knowledge with an intuitive understanding of technological innovations, allowing him to deliver legal advice that is not only relevant but also provides strategic added value.’

‘The IP practice at K&L Gates is fully integrated, which makes global portfolio management a breeze.’

‘Claude-Étienne Armingaud has been at the forefront of new tech-related issues with trade marks, notably in relation with digital assets in the metaverse and NFTs. He allowed us to navigate the hype’s troubled water in serenity.’

Key clients

American Express Global Business Travel / Klee Data System

AR24

Crédit Mutuel-Arkéa

Enigma Software

Fiocchi Muzinioni

Guccio Gucci

POC Sweden AB

Priska Pasquer

Robin Layton

Sloclap

TripAdvisor/The Fork

TuSimple, Inc

World Organisation for Animal Health

Yoplait

Work highlights

  • Assisting Scrypto behind a crypto-currency and decentralised finance asset-oriented smart contract programmation language in the defense of its trade mark across the European Unions, its member states and the United Kingdom against another Fintech company trying to leverage on the fame of Scrypto’s prior trade mark.
  • Assisted Maytronics France in filling an UDPR complaint in front of the WIPO for the restitution of the internet domain name fraudulently registered by a third party in infringement of the copyright and trade mark rights owned by Maytronics, to sell similar products without their approval.
  • Assisting French start-up Weathermind which developed an innovative AI tool for insurance services, consisting in image recognition for various objects and state of damage within the context of insurance claims. Managing the global trade mark portfolio for this client, notably in the EU and UK.

France > Dispute resolution: International arbitration Tier 5

Practice head(s):

Louis Degos

Testimonials

‘The team stands out for its precision, excellent cohesion, responsiveness, constant desire to innovate, high availability, wide use of technologies and very effective collaboration.’

‘Louis Degos and his team demonstrate immense responsiveness.’

‘Excellent mastery of French arbitration legal issues and of related arbitration judicial proceedings’.

Louis Degos is a reference in the field’.

Key clients

SAAB

France > Mergers and acquisitions Tier 5

Practice head(s):

Raphaël Bloch

Testimonials

‘Excellent team with a business and efficient approach.’

‘Raphaël Bloch: very good negotiator with a practical mind and the desire to find a solution allowing the parties to move forward.’

‘An efficient team on all types of transactions.’

‘Raphaël Bloch is very responsive and knows how to be pragmatic. A true commercial partner on mergers and acquisitions transactions.’

Key clients

Securitas AB

Envision Digital

Glass Lewis

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Caisse des Dépots et Consignations (CDC)

Kinship Inc (Mars Petcare subsidiary)

Banyan Pacific Capital

Work highlights

  • Advised Securitas on its acquisition of the electronic security business of Black & Decker.
  • Advised Envision Digital on its acquisition of the Nantes-based software publisher QOS Energy.
  • Advised Glass Lewis on its acquisition of Proxinvest.

The Firm: Through its Paris office, K&L Gates provides comprehensive international, domestic, and cross-border advice on all aspects of business law, from transactional services to litigation. Our in-depth knowledge of the laws, cultures, and industries in the markets where we operate allows us to adapt and respond to the rapidly changing global legal environment.

K&L Gates is an integrated, international law firm with more than 45 offices located on five continents. Through our global network and the relationships between our offices and practice areas, we assist our clients with their most complex issues.

Main Areas of Practice

Commercial Litigation and International Arbitration: The Commercial Litigation and International Arbitration team in France has the depth of experience and capability to deal with the most complex and difficult engagements efficiently and cost effectively, working with clients in domestic and international litigation, arbitration, and alternative dispute resolution (mediation). The team works across a variety of industries, including energy, waste management, chemical products, mining, insurance, transport, construction, and finance. Members of the practice manage cases before French courts and before all major arbitral institutions, such as the ICC and ICSID, as well as under UNCITRAL, Swiss rules of international arbitration, CMAP, and AFA arbitration rules. Our team in Paris has a dedicated Insurance Coverage practice, with extensive experience defending policyholders in their claims against the insurance market. In addition, the team has a strong focus on industrial risks and product liability disputes, including cross-border matters, and is known for their business-oriented and pragmatic approach, and the ability to understand complex technical issues and efficiently manage technical expertise.

Labor, Employment, and Workplace Safety: Our Paris Labor, Employment, and Workplace Safety team advises on the full range of employment issues in France and provides strategic corporate and pragmatic advice to domestic and multinational clients, frequently working with colleagues across the firm’s European and other global offices. The focus of the Paris team is on complex reorganisations, mergers and acquisitions, disposals, and restructurings. This work includes assistance on due diligence, consultation procedures with the Works Council (CSE), and negotiations with employee representative bodies and trade unions. The team is also active in conducting and managing internal investigations following presumed misconduct by staff or management.

Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity: The Paris Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity team advises domestic and international clients on a full range of transactional and corporate matters and has developed solid expertise in tech-related transactions in the new economy, often involving artificial intelligence and internet-based solutions. Through its positioning at the intersection of technology and Mergers and Acquisitions and Private Equity, the team advises clients operating across a variety of other sectors, such as media, retail, energy, health, food and beverage, security, consulting, and financial services. While providing legal services to a number of large corporate French clients, the team also specializes in advising U.S. and international investors on their deals in France and is known for successfully structuring and completing complex transactions.

Real Estate: The Real Estate team has a wealth of transactional and advisory experience, delivering strategic and practical advice on large and complex real estate transactions spanning multiple jurisdictions. Acting as strategic advisors for high-end investment products, they are a hub for structured investments in France and in Europe, successfully assisting foreign investors in navigating through the French regulatory landscape to secure and maximize investments on a large portfolio of asset classes, including logistics, hospitality, office, landmark buildings, etc.

Technology, Data Protection, and Intellectual Property: Our Paris Intellectual Property team focuses on the commercial and intellectual property aspects of a broad spectrum of tech-intensive and data-driven projects. The team provides clients with a pragmatic approach by making complex technical, regulatory, and transactional issues accessible to a broad range of stakeholders (boards, managing directors, legal, marketing, IT, and security departments), notably with regard to personal data sharing and international transfers. With extensive experience in understanding technological and structural processes, the team advises clients in a variety of industry sectors, including connected transportation, video games, luxury and fashion ecosystems, as well as machine-learning and artificial intelligence projects, NFT, and Blockchain-based services.

Restructuring and Insolvency: Our Paris Restructuring and Insolvency team advises companies in financial distress, their shareholders, and managers, as well as creditors and investors interested in carving out or acquiring assets or business from distressed companies, guiding them through complex insolvency proceedings, debt restructurings, and turnarounds, whether in-court or out-of-court. Well connected in the French restructuring ecosystem, the team knows how to pull together the right experts to achieve best value for stakeholders. While focused on building consensus, our Paris lawyers also represent clients in complex bankruptcy-related litigations and shareholder disputes.

Paris Managing Partner: Louis Degos

Offices

Europe: Berlin, Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, London, Luxembourg, Milan, Munich, Paris. Middle East: Doha, Dubai. United States: Austin, Boston, Charleston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Worth, Harrisburg, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Newark, Orange County, Palo Alto, Pittsburgh, Portland, Raleigh, Research Triangle Park, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Wilmington. South America: Sao Paulo. Asia: Beijing, Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo. Australia: Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney.