The Accor legal department is led from the front by François Pinon, who, in addition to his role as group legal director and secretary of the board, takes an innovative...

Aéroports de Paris, trading under Groupe ADP, historically made its mark through the operation of Paris’ main airports including Paris-Charles de Gaulle. It now operates 25 airports globally and is...

The 39 members of the Air France legal team have a demanding workload to regularly navigate. Among others, the diverse areas of transport, distribution, consumers and IP, corporate, contracts and...

Anne-Sophie Le Lay, formerly long-term group general counsel of Renault, leads the highly capable Air France-KLM legal function, which is the group-level legal function responsible for the immense Air France-KLM...

Supporting the operations of the world’s leading industrial gas supplier, the Air Liquide legal team supports a number of interesting initiatives. In late 2017, the company signed an agreement with...

A company which is among the most famous in the world, Airbus boasts a legal and compliance team to match its stellar reputation, with approximately 450 individuals globally, Airbus has...

Céline Castillon-Valéro took over the lead of ALD Automotive’s legal function on April 2019, taking over from Amélie de Valroger in the process. The team is seven in number and...

Led by Loïc Legouet and composed of 114 full-time employees across France and 14 other countries including the US, UK, Luxembourg, Ireland and Italy, the Amundi legal team contains a...

Arkema maintains a highly organised and extremely effective legal department of 75 individuals across three regional hubs – EMEA, Americas and Asia Pacific – across six offices led by group...

Private equity group Astorg possesses a legal team which punches above its weight in support of the group’s objectives. The team is led by general counsel Sophie Saden, who has...

Atos’ 240-strong legal team is among the best-performing large in-house legal teams headquartered in France and contains top-quality lawyers from top to bottom. Among its senior staff, Alexandre Menais (Group...

Boasting €50bn in revenue for 2018 and a workforce of approximately 355,000 people, Auchan Retail International is one of the world’s largest employers, a fact which alone means its legal...

AXA Group has recently centralised most of its support functions via a Group Operations division, which includes a group legal department. The newly-created AXA Group Operations (AXA GO) legal team...

Laurent Pitet, an extremely well respected legal director and compliance officer in his own right, has a highly competent legal team supporting Bayer Healthcare’s company objectives. ‘Each team member has...

Responsible for the management of all legal aspects of M&A transactions for BNP Paribas Group entities and business lines around the world, the BNP Paribas M&A legal team is an...

There has been movement at the top of Bouygues, as Arnauld Van Eeckhout was appointed group general counsel in June 2018. He brings unparalleled experience to the role, given that...

The approximately 70-strong legal department of Bpifrance is headed by an extremely well-qualified team of senior lawyers and departmental heads, overseen by group general counsel Boubakar Dione. Sophie Paquin is...

Certification powerhouse Bureau Veritas maintains an extremely competent legal, risk and compliance department which provides enhanced risk avoidance through the close cooperation of these functions. August 2019 saw the company...

Perhaps the most prominent event in the CANAL+ Group’s recent business calendar came in May 2019 with its acquisition of M7 for €1bn. This extremely strategically important move, which the...

Group general counsel and group executive committee member Maria Pernas leads the legal team of Capgemini that contains approximately 200 lawyers, data protection officers and support staff worldwide. Operating on...

Carrefour has more than 115,000 employees in France alone, has a strong international presence and has more than 120 businesses in the Group, making it among Europe’s strongest retail brands....

A major international mixed real estate developer, Ceetrus is also a subsidiary of French multinational retail group Auchan Holding. Ceetrus act as a global urban player who meets people and...

Chanel’s leading position in the fashion world is mirrored by the excellence of its well-structured and highly regarded legal team. The team received a number of nominations during the research...

Leading luxury goods producer Christian Dior has seen movement among the senior ranks of its legal team as of late, with new top talent being added. The team has recently...

Led by director of legal and public affairs Cristina Perpiñá-Robert Navarro, and overseen by director general and expert lawyer Gadi Oron, the CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and...

The Clear Channel France legal and compliance team is led by Patrick Remot and structured according to three departments: compliance, private law (headed by Naouel Khellaf) and public law and...

A major player in the global insurance market with a presence in a number of jurisdictions, Coface maintains a well-regarded and highly skilled legal team located across multiple continents. It...

Compagnie des Alpes is responsible for running some of the most popular ski resorts and amusement parks across Europe, including France’s second-most popular tourist attraction, Parc Astérix. The 10-strong legal...

An extremely successful real estate investment trust, which was known as Foncière des Régions until 2018, Covivio’s real estate legal department has five in-house lawyers and ‘places a high priority...

Led by general counsel Didier Moutard who is ably supported at the apex of the team by vice general counsel Matthieu Gennot, Groupe Duval’s 14-person legal department has been extremely...

Continuing its eminent position in the global food sector, Danone achieved €24.65bn in revenues in 2018, over half of which came from its dairy and plant-based division. Its global presence...

General counsel Annabelle Raguenet de Saint Albin has been with high-end speaker and amplifier producer Devialet since mid-2016, part of a small but very capable legal team that came in...

Edenred’s dominance in the transactional solutions market – allowing companies to provide additional incentives to employees through the triple business lines of employee benefits, fleet and mobility solutions and complementary...

EDF announced in December 2018 that a new professional would take leadership of its legal team. New legal director Sabine Le Gac has been a highly-respected member of the legal...

Construction powerhouse Eiffage possesses an expert legal team composed of both subject matter experts and versatile generalists. Among a number of projects which have borne fruit in recent months include...

Engie continued its excellent record of success in 2018 with revenues of €60.6bn posted at year end. Its legal team prizes excellent knowledge of the law and implications on the...

The Essilor legal team combines entrepreneurial spirit with excellent legal and business knowledge, and operates as a true business partner. Led from the front by general counsel Alexander Lunshof, it...

The global nature of Euler Hermes’ operations means its legal team has to oversee a diverse workforce, also affording it ample opportunity to showcase its cross-border work. The company’s status...

Eurazeo’s legal team is led by head of legal, general counsel and member of the executive committee Nicolas Huet, and ably supported by deputy general counsel Cécile Gilliet and Nathalie...

Europcar Groupe, one of the largest rental car companies in Europe with a 27% market share, possesses a high achieving in-house legal team deserving of recognition. The rental car giant...

A leading player in the exciting satellite market, Eutelsat’s team of experienced lawyers are expert in negotiating satellite capacity agreements with the company’s regular customers in the television and radio...

A powerhouse in the already lucrative and rapidly-growing mobile games market, Gameloft was acquired by Vivendi in 2016 which led to a restructure of the 17-person legal team to meet...

Led by Éric Boré and under the supervision of the group corporate secretary Stéphane Cassagne, the GEODIS legal team has 25 individuals among its ranks, organised under legal managers each...

Group legal director Céline Haye-Kiousis pairs her legal role with a position on the Group’s supervisory board, adding legal insight to strategic decision-making. May 2019 saw the signing of an...

Groupe Casino’s legal team is responsible for a vast portfolio of brands located in Europe, South America and Africa contributing to overall revenue of approximately €37bn for 2018. Recently the...

Led by general counsel Didier Moutard who is ably supported at the apex of the team by vice general counsel Matthieu Gennot, Groupe Duval’s 14-person legal department has been extremely...

The Groupe Fnac Darty legal team came in for particular praise from nominators for its excellent understanding of the complex omnichannel retailing sector in which it works, tailoring its advice...

Groupe Lactalis’ leading position in the global dairy market makes for a multibillion-dollar revenue stream annually and a wealth of strategic initiatives for its highly capable legal team to support....

Group PSA’s responsible for manufacturing automobiles and motorcycles under the Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Opel and Vauxhall brands. This provides the Groupe PSA legal team extremely complex supply chain and associated...

Groupe Renault’s legal team is based at the Boulogne-Billancourt headquarters and the Renault Technocentre, and is led by senior vice president, group general counsel Jean-Benoît Devauges and consists of six...

The Groupe SEB legal team has a total of 50 lawyers around the world – including one vice president of legal, Philippe Sumeire – and is organised along four lines...

The global nature of Euler Hermes’ operations means its legal team has to oversee a diverse workforce, also affording it ample opportunity to showcase its cross-border work. The company’s status...

Global financial technology leader Ingenico has innovation at the very heart of its business proposition, and its diverse and well-resourced legal function has a correspondingly forward-thinking outlook. It has recently...

Present in 90 markets worldwide, Ipsos is one of the most trusted names in the opinion, market and research sector worldwide. The company is known for its successful acquisitions strategy...

Ivanhoé Cambridge, the real estate subsidiary of La Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec, has a six-person legal team located in Luxembourg and Paris, where legal head for Europe...

Keolis has enjoyed an extremely successful past 24 months, with a number of exciting international projects for its highly-regarded legal team to support. Highly-regarded in-house lawyer Patrizia Marraghini provided some...

Non-profit and jointly-managed, Klesia provides social protection through insurance services for those on complementary pensions. Setting the institution’s legal standards for the plans it provides members is among the key...

Lagardère Group’s vast media operations are supported by an expert in-house legal function that is fully equipped to deal with the multi-faceted business lines the company operates in. July 2019...

Corporate social responsibility has taken a front seat in recent months at electrical hardware leader Legrand. It recently published its gender equality index and a corporate social responsibility roadmap, which...

Located in France and the UK, Linkcity’s successful real estate development portfolio is backed up by an extremely competent legal department which is central to its success. The team received...

“One of the leading names in high-end luxury goods, the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton legal team not only has to ensure the reputation of its brands worldwide, as well...

General counsel Johan Harrysson leads the 35-strong MF Brands Group International (part of the Maus Frères group) legal team, which is responsible for a number of highly respected and notable...

A truly heavyweight in-house legal team, Michelin has a legal community of 187 members led by group general counsel Benoit Balmary, with the lion’s share of the legal function (82...

The product of a February 2018 merger of the digital and privacy teams, the new Michelin digital and privacy legal team is led by Sandrine Rambaud and is a seven-person...

Mouvement des Entreprises de France’s (MEDEF) legal team is led by Joëlle Simon, the company’s deputy director general, legal, ethics and corporate governance lead. Responsible for legal support for the...

Murex has been developing market-leading technology solutions for trading and risk and operations teams for over 30 years, and made €540m revenues in 2018. Its EMEA legal team is led...

Nexans is a highly successful cables and subsea infrastructure company headquartered in Paris, with a global network of offices and a global remit. Listed on the CAC Mid60, the company...

Nexity is a market leading French property developer and real estate company with a range of commercial and residential properties in its portfolio and a highly developed business in real...

Coordination between the legal team and executive management has always been particularly strong at Orange, and is evidenced by former legal director Nicolas Guérin being made secretary general and secretary...

One of the best-regarded legal functions in France, Orange Business Services received multiple nominations from contemporary in-house legal staff from other teams spoken to in this year’s GC Powerlist, which...

French alcoholic beverages provider Pernod Ricard has a large and highly qualified legal team with a triple-digit headcount and an extremely wide talent base. The team has been supporting major...

With three legal departments in France – one corporate team and one each for the company’s two main business groups of Pierre Fabre Medicament Santé and Pierre Fabre dermo-cosmetics –...

The oldest and one of the largest and most well-known advertising and public relations companies in the world, Publicis Groupe posted approximately €10bn in revenue in 2018 which is larger...

Sylvestre Dhombres oversees five other individuals in the Pylones legal department, which also takes on HR matters for the company and its 12 European subsidiaries and Asian production plant. ‘Legal...

A major transportation system operator formed from parent company RATP in 2002, RATP Dev’s innovative approach to its work has seen it grow to an extremely impressive size, and it...

Safran is a major component of the booming French aerospace industry, as well the company responsible for producing the rocket engines for the Ariane series of European spacecraft via its...

Organised around the three pillars of legal, IP and ethics and business integrity, and overseen by the well-known and highly regarded Karen Linehan, the Sanofi legal department is among the...

A subsidiary of TwentyTwo Real Estate, Scaprim is a major real estate player in its own right, and its compact but extremely capable legal team has proved an indispensable component...

Schlumberger’s expert legal team was nominated by sources in both the in-house and private practice legal worlds, evincing widespread knowledge of its high standards. Senior legal team members are part...

The Schneider Electric legal team is located in a number of locations across multiple countries, and the team has managed to master coordination between its approximately 300 members. The team...

As the fourth-largest global reinsurer in the world, SCOR’s Paris-based group legal department, led by group general counsel Maï Novello, is structured to provide day-to-day support and innovative legal solutions...

Société Générale’s in-house legal team has been a major component of its success for many years, and enjoys excellent coordination with senior management through group general counsel Dominique Bourrinet. The...

A team of 10 professionals working at the company’s Paris headquarters, with another 30 located across the wider Group, Sonepar’s legal team contributes a truly global legal resource and has...

Sony Music Entertainment’s small but highly effective France-based in-house legal team received plaudits from nominating sources for its excellent recent performance. In particular, the team’s work in litigation in defence...

Sopra Steria is a leading European multinational digital transformations company specialised in providing consulting, systems integration, software development, infrastructure management and technical business management services to clients across 25 countries...

Water and waste utilities giant Suez Environnement’s multi-billion dollar revenue business is a highly coordinated and well-run operation, with its legal team being a key buttress of this structure. An...

Operating in France since 1996, Teva Santé is the French subsidiary of the Nasdaq and Tel Aviv-listed Teva Pharmaceutical Group, and its legal team is extremely well regarded in a...

Thales’ excellence in the highly competitive and technologically-dependant defence sector is underpinned by excellent internal processes which mirror the precision in the company’s products; its legal team is no different....

With responsibility for all Adecco Group companies in France and responsible for all areas of law except tax, which is monitored by the finance department, the Adecco Group’s legal team...

One of the most well-resourced and effective legal departments worldwide, Total’s legal team has a complement of 520 individuals, 480 of whom are lawyers; half are based in Paris while...

Uber’s France-based in-house legal team has been dealing with two major regulatory overhauls of the mobility sector which cut the available pool of drivers by almost half in a less...

Cécile Russeil is chief legal officer and head of the 50-person legal team of videogames powerhouse Ubisoft, which is usually organised by area of expertise but also on a regional...

One of the most notable business acquisitions of 2018 was that of Westfield by Unibail Rodamco to create Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, the largest commercial real estate company in Europe by market value...

A truly global company, Valeo’s 113,600 employees are located across 33 countries and 186 production units, fulfilling its vast, multibillion-Euro revenue automotive supply operations that are the culmination of over...

Now structured in a traditional matrix organisation along the lines of expertise, core business activities and regions, the Vallourec legal team is led by group general counsel and company secretary...

The wind power market is one that is set to assume even greater importance globally given the widespread desire to move towards renewable energy, which should translate to an extremely...

An extremely successful past 24 months for the VINCI legal team was epitomised by its acquisition of a controlling 50.01% stake in Gatwick Airport for £2.9bn, which was formally completed...

Vivendi’s legal department is led by group general counsel Frédéric Crépin, an individual of immense experience who has been with the company for almost 20 years, having first joined in...

Vivescia is a French headquartered international agricultural group, co-owned by 11,000 farmers in Northern France, and specialises in collective farming and food processing. It is supported by a high quality...

Founded in 1998, VMware is one of the most disruptive companies of the Silicon Valley. A pioneer of hybrid cloud, VMware also helps its customers build, manage and operate their...