Four new partners at Gide in Brussels and Paris

Gide is pleased to announce the appointment of four new partners, effective on 1 January 2019: Ségolène Pelsy (Competition & International Trade) in Brussels, Franck Audran (Competition & International Trade), Guillaume Goffin (Banking & Finance) and Nicolas Jean (Projects – Finance & Infrastructure) in Paris.

Xavier de Kergommeaux and Stéphane Puel, respectively Gide’s senior and managing partners, state: “We would like to warmly congratulate our four new partners, who are among the most promising talented lawyers of our firm. These appointments support our dynamic development and reflect our commitment to offer our clients the best quality of advice.”

• Ségolène Pelsy
  Brussels | Competition & International Trade

  Admitted to the Paris Bar in 2008, Ségolène Pelsy (36) specialises in all aspects of competition law. As regards merger control, Ségolène handles complex transactions that may require the negotiation of innovative commitments. She has, for instance, acted on the acquisition of ready-meals player William Saurin by Cofigeo and on the first use by the Minister of the Economy of his right to raise a case on other grounds than those of competition law (Phase III). Moreover, she has assisted SNCF on the notification to the European Commission of the creation of railway companies Eurostar and Thalys. She has also acted for clients as third parties (plaintiffs) in Phase II operations such as Arianespace and ChemChina / Syngenta. As regards anticompetitive practices, Ségolène has been working on the procedure brought against Google by the European Commission for abuse of dominant position. She has assisted one of the main plaintiffs, and is now assisting it as intervener before the EU General Court. Additionally, Ségolène has significant experience of cartel procedures and the management of related internal audits (compliance training), and assists trade associations active in Brussels in this regard. Lastly, Ségolène advises companies in competition law in countries outside of Europe, in close partnership with the firm’s other international offices located in particular in North Africa. She holds an LL.M. in European law from the Institute for European Studies (Brussels), a Master’s degree in French and English law from the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, as well as an LL.B. in European and international law from King’s College in London.
   

• Franck Audran
  Paris | Competition & International Trade

  Admitted to the Paris Bar in 2007, Franck Audran (39) specialises in French and European law on competition (cartels, dominant position, merger control). He assists clients in litigation proceedings, both before supervisory bodies (cartel and abuse of dominant position) and commercial courts (compensatory remedies, restrictive competition practices, etc.). He has also acted on complex merger control cases, some of which required commitments and/or the initiation of an in-depth investigation phase before the French Competition Authority, the European Commission, the national competition authorities of both EU member states and non-EU countries. Franck has gained particular expertise in the digital economy sector. After joining Gide’s Bucharest office in 2007, Franck worked in the European and Economic Law team in Paris. Franck was also seconded to our Budapest office, which he co-headed over the 2014-2015 period. He holds a postgraduate degree (DEA) in business and economy law from the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne (2005) and a Master’s degree in European law from the University of Erlangen, Germany (2004).
   

• Guillaume Goffin
  Paris | Banking & Finance

  Admitted to the Paris Bar in 2009, Guillaume Goffin (38) specialises in financial services law and regulation, with a particular focus on investment funds (UCITS and all types of alternative investment funds including real estate funds, infrastructure funds, private equity funds and debt funds). He acts for investment managers, banks and fund promoters, insurance companies and other institutional investors in connection with the structuring, setting up and distribution of investment funds and investment mandates. His areas of expertise cover transactional and regulatory matters, including local business licensing. Guillaume also represents financial institutions in investigations and enforcement actions by regulatory bodies. Guillaume holds a postgraduate degree in Business Law (2004) and a postgraduate degree in Banking and Financial Law (2005) from the University of Paris II, as well as an LL.M. in International Business Law from Exeter University (2006).
   

• Nicolas Jean
  Paris | Projects (Finance & Infrastructure)

  Nicolas Jean (34) joined Gide in 2008. He specialises in projects, project financing, and banking and structured financing. He acts mainly in sub-Saharan Africa in the fields of infrastructure, energy, real estate, tourism and telecommunications. He advises governments, public authorities, investors, local and foreign developers and industrial companies, and banks on development projects, their structuring, implementation (during construction and operation) and financing. Nicolas joined Gide’s Tunis office in 2008, before moving to the Structured Finance team in Paris from 2011 to 2015, and the Projects (Finance & Infrastructure) practice group since January 2016. He holds a specialised Master’s degree in international business law and management from ESSEC Business School (2008), and in business law and in European business law from Nancy II University (2007). Nicolas is a lecturer in structured finance law at Lorraine University. He is admitted to the Paris Bar (2013).