Winston & Strawn has pulled four partners to its transactions department in their Paris office. The four partners all left the K&L Gates Paris office to join their American rival.

Group of four

The group of four brings significant experience in the areas of cross-border M&A, private equity, banking, leveraged and project finance, tax, and restructuring to the firm. “We have worked together for several years and are delighted to bring our team to Winston & Strawn,” said Jean-Patrice Labautière, one of the new Paris partners. “Winston has a strong global platform and the sector-specific excellence of the Paris office will be beneficial to our clients. We are looking forward to collaborating with the team in France and at the global level.” Jean-Patrice Labautière regularly advises leading corporations, financial institutions, and private equity clients on the structuring, negotiation, and documentation of complex acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, and joint ventures involving the coordination of legal teams from different jurisdictions. Nicola Di Giovanni focuses his practice on M&A and private equity work. He regularly advises leading industrial and investment funds in transactions such as acquisitions, buy-outs, and joint ventures nationally and internationally. Mounir Letayf led his prior firm’s banking and finance practice. He has extensive experience in acquisition finance covering a large spectrum of financing products. His core areas of practice are real estate finance, project finance, debt restructuring, and structured finance. Bertrand Dussert mainly handles the tax structuring of M&A and private equity operations in France and abroad for investment funds and international groups. His practice includes the assistance of individuals with various French and foreign tax issues.

European boost

“The addition of this group bolsters our European transactions offerings for clients, particularly those within the healthcare, technology, media and telecommunications, and financial services sectors,” said Winston Chairman Tom Fitzgerald. “This group of partners reinforces the capabilities of our global M&A practice and creates three new departments in Paris from which to serve our clients: Private Equity, Finance, and Tax,” added Gilles Bigot, the firm’s Paris managing partner. “By welcoming this group, we are establishing a full-service office in Paris to support our clients’ needs in the US, across Europe, and in the Middle East and Asia.”