French independent law firm De Gaulle Fleurance has promoted four partners and four senior counsel, underscoring a push into disputes, technology and cross-border transactional work.
The appointments span its Paris base and Abu Dhabi platform.
The new partners are commercial litigator Lionel Attal, international arbitration specialist Esperanza Barrón Baratech, IP and technology lawyer Charlotte Hébert-Salomon and Abu Dhabi-based corporate and finance lawyer Racha Wylde.
Attal has spent his entire career at De Gaulle Fleurance, which he joined in 2010. He advises French and international clients in both advisory work and litigation, across healthcare, technology and energy.
He put his promotion down to a busy disputes climate, noting that French commercial relations were becoming increasingly strained, meaning “litigation is becoming a preventive tool and a powerful lever for influencing negotiations”.
May Jarjour, a member of the executive committee, added that Attal played a key role for clients both in securing commercial contracts and in developing litigation strategy.
Barrón Baratech joined the firm in 2024 after more than a decade at Latham & Watkins; her arbitration practice has a particular focus on energy and natural resources disputes.
She is fluent in French, Spanish and English and acts in both commercial and investment arbitrations, representing public and private entities. She is regularly appointed as arbitrator in ICC-administered matters, while also handling Latin America-related work and advising Middle Eastern investors alongside the firm’s Abu Dhabi team.
“Companies are turning to arbitration – particularly by invoking international investment treaties – to protect themselves from the consequences of... [geopolitical] instability,” she said, adding that clients also regarded arbitration as a tool to secure the supply of raw materials.
Executive committee member Jean-Baptiste Santelli said Baratech’s expertise in international arbitration and experience in the energy and mining sectors offered clients a “high-value-added service”.
Hébert-Salomon’s promotion highlights another market pressure: the legal implications of rapid AI deployment. She counsels French and international clients on litigation and advisory matters related to intellectual property and information technology, across sectors such as technology, AI, video games, healthcare, food and energy.
She began her career at De Gaulle Fleurance, then spent five years at DLA Piper and Altana before returning in 2022.
The final move came at the end of last week, with Wylde’s elevation in Abu Dhabi, highlighting the firm’s international ambitions and the increasing importance of legal advice to Gulf-linked businesses amid international upheaval.
Meanwhile, Wylde, who is dual-qualified in Beirut and Paris, advises investors from the Middle East and Europe on opportunities across the Gulf, Europe and Africa, collaborating closely with the firm’s teams in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.
Her work encompasses financing, M&A and commercial contracts. She also advises international companies on energy and technology projects, including AI, throughout the Middle East, Europe and emerging markets.
Santelli said her international experience made her “a valuable asset” to the group.
The firm has also announced four senior counsel promotions: energy and infrastructure lawyer Magalie Dejoux, IP lawyers Céline Forthomme and Sophie Gibert – the latter a luxury law specialist – and dual-qualified arbitration lawyer Diego Romero, who is qualified in New York and Paris.
The promotions come hard on the heels of last month’s unveiling of a new office in Dakar, Senegal, staffed by partners Seynabou Kandji, David Hountondji and Issakha Ndiaye, all of whom joined from DS Avocats.
Last year, it opened a branch in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, its first foray into Africa.
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