Julie Duvivier has been Legal Director France and Belgium at Klépierre since January 2021, leading a team of more than 30 people.

A real estate lawyer, she spent eight years at Anglo-Saxon law firms, Freshfields and then Jones Day, before joining Caisse des Dépôts, where she held various positions, and was subsequently appointed Group Legal Director of Twenty Two Real Estate.

Her career has shaped a conviction that guides her role today as General Counsel: legal excellence is not enough if it does not translate into decision-making and action. The role of the lawyer is to identify and manage risks, but also to understand the company’s challenges and contribute to developing solutions.

It is in this spirit that she is leading the transformation of Klépierre’s Legal Department, favouring a gradual evolution, driven by the teams and informed by their own work, rather than a top-down model.

The process began in 2024 with a shared assessment of the function, conducted with senior management, operational departments and lawyers at all levels, leading to a transformation plan aligned with the Group’s strategy. This assessment also established the starting point against which progress would be measured. From 2025, the lawyers themselves contributed to defining the indicators, combining measurement of results with the ability to anticipate: workload, deadlines, digitalisation, skills development and value creation. Built around the purpose of the function, the framework was rolled out by department in 2026, followed from 2027 by an annual transformation barometer.

Artificial intelligence is part of the continuity of this approach. The teams were first trained before any deployment. A first concrete use case was then selected: an internal legal FAQ, designed to answer recurring questions from operational teams and free up lawyers’ time for higher-value matters. Its governance was defined in advance: a closed scope, a hierarchy of sources, controls to ensure that information remains up to date, and explicit rules governing responses.

This desire to evolve the function also extends to the women and men who make it up. Julie Duvivier encourages internal mobility, including towards roles outside the legal profession, convinced that changing perspective and embracing new challenges allows people to continue learning, renew their commitment and sometimes rediscover the desire to challenge themselves. The same approach leads her to support lawyers who have had less exposure than in the past to traditional legal practice.

Julie Duvivier holds a Master’s degree in Business Law from Assas, a DEA in General Private Law and a DESS in European Business Law, complemented by a Master’s degree in International Law and Management from HEC. She is a member of Association Elles et Droit and Cercle Montesquieu, and Vice-President and Treasurer of Association Juridim.