Latham & Watkins is pleased to announce that Jacques-Philippe Gunther and Adrien Giraud will be joining the firm as partners in the Antitrust & Competition Practice based in Paris and Brussels. Both are highly regarded practitioners, with vast experience advising leading French and international companies on a variety of complex, cross-border merger control and contentious antitrust matters. Gunther and Giraud join Latham & Watkins from Willkie Farr & Gallagher’s Paris and Brussels offices.
“The arrival of Jacques-Philippe and his team represents a major milestone for the Paris office,” said Xavier Farde, Office Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins in Paris. “Jacques-Philippe has established a first-class reputation advising major companies on their most significant competition issues. The team will further enhance our ability to advise domestic and international clients on their most challenging strategic transactions, investigations, and regulatory matters.” Gunther and his team have represented French and multinational companies on some of the most significant competition matters in France in recent years.
Gunther has more than 30 years’ experience advising clients on complex disputes before the European and French competition authorities, the European Court of Justice, and French courts on a broad range of anticompetitive practices, with a particular focus on damages claims. He also has deep expertise in complex phase 1 and phase 2 European and national merger filings and state aid. Gunther has particular experience in the telecom, transport, energy, media, defense, sports, and financial services sectors.
Giraud has 15 years’ experience practicing in Paris, New York and Brussels. He advises on the full spectrum of competition law matters, including complex merger filings, anticompetitive practices, abuse of dominance, and state aid. He has extensive experience in damages claims and a proven track record handling major litigation matters in both the EU and France. His expertise covers a broad range of industries, including telecommunications, shipping, energy, media, retail and financial services.
“We have successfully built one of the world’s preeminent antitrust practices, equipped to handle the most complex cross-border matters for publicly listed companies,” added Sven Völcker, Global Co-Chair of Latham & Watkins Antitrust & Competition Practice. “Jacques-Philippe and Adrien bolster our French and EU competition law credentials, at a time when the French enforcement regime is among the most active in Europe. Gunther’s stature at the European competition bar is exemplary, conferred on him by many years of experience advising C-Suite executives and boards on a variety of bet-the-company transactions and disputes.”
Richard Trobman, Co-Chair of Latham & Watkins, said: “Jacques-Philippe and his team possess formidable technical skills and an entrepreneurial approach that is a perfect fit for the firm. His strong strategic advisory skills, which are critical to the representation of French multinationals, together with his client relationships will further strengthen our strategic M&A and other transactional practices in France and beyond.”
Frédéric Pradelles, a competition law partner in the Paris office, added: “I am looking forward to reuniting with Jacques-Philippe and practicing with Adrien. Praised by his peers and clients, Jacques-Philippe is recognized as one of Europe’s foremost competition lawyers. Jacques-Philippe and Adrien are fabulous additions to our practice, and their extensive experience strongly complements the expertise of our talented team in France and Europe.”
“Latham’s global antitrust and competition practice has an outstanding reputation both in the US and European markets. The firm’s breadth of experience, particularly in strategic M&A, its global platform, and its team-oriented culture are attractive qualities to us. We are excited to join the team and to be part of the firm’s continued growth and success in Europe,” said Gunther.
Gunther graduated from the University of Provence Aix-Marseille with degrees in business and international trade, before joining the Paris bar. He is a former president of the F.N.U.JA (Fédération des Unions de Jeunes Avocats, Federation of the Union of Young Lawyers), and a former member of the Board of the National Council of the Bars (C.N.B.). He is part of an elite group of practitioners who are members of the Antitrust Commission of the “Club des Juristes”, a leading think tank. Giraud studied at Université Paris I – Panthéon-Sorbonne and received his LLM from the University of Chicago Law School. He is a member of the Paris, New York, and Brussels bars and lectures on European and French competition law at Université Paris V and the Paris Bar School.
Source: www.lw.com
