Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP today announced that Thomas Binet has joined the firm as a partner in the Corporate & Financial Services Department in the Paris office. Mr. Binet will join the firm’s European Finance Practice, working closely with partner and chair Paul Lombard, and counsel Igor Kukhta. Mr. Binet was previously a partner at Gide Loyrette

Nouel A.A.R.P.I.

Mr. Binet has extensive experience in the areas of structured finance, debt restructuring and corporate finance. He regularly acts as counsel for lenders, borrowers, sponsors, and senior, mezzanine and unitranche arrangers in their financing activities and restructurings.

With the addition of Mr. Binet, Willkie has one of the strongest financing teams in Paris. The group

offers multidisciplinary services in acquisition, syndicated and equity bridge financings, debt

restructuring and private placements.

“The arrival of Thomas is an important step for the Paris office,” commented Mr. Lombard. “I have had the opportunity to work on many deals with Thomas and we are pleased to welcome one of the best practitioners in the Paris market. His experience advising lenders and in debt restructuring will be a major asset in serving our clients in today’s environment.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Thomas. Strengthening the team led by Paul is part of our wider strategy of developing a leading European platform to advise our clients in the areas of financing, private equity, “specialsituations” and restructuring, which has grown with the recent additions of market-leading finance partners Ashley Young in London and Ralf Defren in Frankfurt,” add Eduardo Fernandez and Christophe Garaud, co-managing partners of Willkie’s Paris office.

Willkie’s global finance practice complements our private equity, M&A, restructuring, capital markets, structured finance, real estate and tax groups to provide clients with the complete array of tools needed to achieve their goals. Our Paris Finance attorneys provide counsel on a wide range of financing transactions in France and abroad for large sponsors and corporates as well as a number of leading lending institutions.