Yoan Havard specialises in white-collar criminal law and assists and advises a diverse clientele of both French and foreign managers, companies, and major groups. At the age of thirty-six, he became a partner at Squadra Avocats after having served eight years as an associate of TEMIME Law firm.

There, he trained with Hervé Temime, who has been named ‘Lawyer of the Year’ multiple times by Décideurs Juridiques magazine, and whose firm has been ranked first in the Legal 500 ‘White-collar Crime’ league tables for over ten years, as well as “key player” by Décideurs Juridiques magazine.

During his time at TEMIME, Yoan worked on various high-profile cases – notably defending the famous art dealer, Guy Wildenstein (in first instance, appeal, and before the Supreme Court) in his tax fraud and money laundering trial, as well as on many criminal investigations conducted by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF). In doing so, he gained invaluable experience in high profile and technically complex cases.

Upon joining the cabinet, Yoan thus brought a real expertise in criminal proceedings and a deep knowledge of criminal procedure to Squadra Avocats. After his departure from TEMIME in December 2022, Yoan Havard continued to represent many clients alongside Hervé Temime on several criminal cases, and single-handedly took over their defence in March 2023.

In 2023 and early 2024, Yoan was involved in several major cases. In probably the most important and high-profile case of 2023, he defended Mr. Eric Cesari – former Chief of Staff of Nicolas Sarkozy and leader of the UMP (France’s main Republican party), and one of the main defendants – in the trial related to the financing of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s presidential campaign in 2012 (“Affaire Bygmalion“), before the Paris Court of Appeal.

Yoan has often been mentioned in the press in reference to other cases, including his defence of company directors against criminal investigations conducted by PNF or other financial public prosecutor’s Offices – notably into corruption and influence peddling, misappropriation of public funds, and criminal favouritism.