Gide awarded [or ‘recognised’] for its ability to provide clients with innovative solutions

Gide Loyrette Nouel is delighted to have won the Financial Times ‘Most Innovative Law Firm in Europe (non-UK) 2021’ award, presented on 14 October at the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Europe Awards ceremony.

The Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Europe 2021 report highlights the law firms and legal teams leading the way in digital technology and the development of innovative approaches that deliver value to businesses and society.

The only French law firm among the 11 nominees in the ‘Most Innovative Law Firm in Europe (non-UK)’ category and among the 30 law firms ranked as ‘Most Innovative Law Firms in Europe 2021’, Gide was recognised for its ability to provide innovative solutions to the issues facing its clients today.

Nominated in four categories, the firm’s teams, which for a number of years now have placed innovation at the heart of what they do, were honoured for the following initiatives in particular:

• The creation of Gide 255, led by Franck Guiader with Matthieu Lucchesi and John Le Guen, which over the past three years has been assisting its clients to meet the challenges of digital transformation. The team focuses primarily on the challenges of blockchain and cryptoactives and provides expertise on the regulation of innovation.

Gide 255, with the Capital Markets team and in particular Hubert Merveilleux du Vignaux, partner, and Bastien Raisse, counsel, were nominated in the ‘Moving the Market Forward’ category for their advice on the issuance of the first structured debt product in the form of a security token on a public blockchain.

• The creation of A New Road, the first Think Tank dedicated to African public debt launched by a law firm in France, under the leadership of Nicolas Jean, partner and member of the executive committee, with Perrine Delandre, Célia Alao and Constance Emié-Bennet, associates. This Think Tank aims to facilitate the use of public funding and encourage private investment in Africa. It brings together major players from various backgrounds to achieve its aims.

Gide was nominated in the ‘Innovation in Sustainable Finance’ category for this initiative and Nicolas Jean was nominated in the ‘Most Innovative Sustainable Lawyer’ category for his role as the initiator of the Think Tank.

Frédéric Nouel, Senior Partner at Gide, said: “We are exceptionally honoured to receive this award, which is great recognition of the work done by the firm to meet clients’ expectations with innovation, agility and responsiveness. It reflects two of the firm’s key areas of focus: Africa and technology. We will continue to work in this way to ensure that innovation is 100% directed towards improving client service.”