6 December 2011 - New Executive Committee at Gide Loyrette Nouel:
Baudouin de Moucheron elected as Senior Partner, Stéphane Puel becomes Managing Partner:

As is the case every two years, Gide Loyrette Nouel, international law firm, has just elected its new Executive Committee to take office in January 2012. Elected by their peers, five partners make up the new management team.

Baudouin de Moucheron, 55, has been elected Senior Partner and succeeds Pierre Raoul-Duval. Former holder of the coveted Paris Bar Debating Society title of Secrétaire de la Conférence, he is one of the leading French specialists in litigation involving employment law and corporate crime. Baudouin de Moucheron was a member of Gide’s Executive Committee from 2003 to 2005. He also founded and managed the Firm’s Istanbul office between 1997 and 2000 and served as a French Foreign Trade Adviser during these years.

Stéphane Puel (graduate of Sciences Po, Paris, 1996), 40, a member of the Executive Committee since 2009, has been elected Managing Partner as successor to Christophe Eck. Stéphane Puel is particularly recognised for his expertise in financial regulation and structuring investment funds.

The three other members of the Executive Committee are:

Christophe Eck, 50, outgoing Managing Partner. Specialising in the law of mergers & acquisitions, Christophe Eck, who began his career with Gide in 1988, has also been one of the builders of the Firm’s international approach, recruiting multi-national teams and accompanying Gide’s clients for their external growth in foreign markets, particularly South-East Asia. A graduate from Nancy University (Master’s degree (DESS) in European Economy, 1985) and Paris University (Business Law, 1987).

David Lasfargue, 40, is joining the Committee. A specialist in distribution law and mergers & acquisitions, David Lasfargue has managed the Moscow office (40 lawyers) since March 2001 and is also in charge of the Firm’s Saint Petersburg office. In this respect, he advises major international investors on their activities in Russia. His election to the Committee - a first for a partner in charge of an international office - reflects the importance of the international network for the Firm and its determination to involve the international offices more closely alongside the Paris office. David Lasfargue holds a professionally-oriented In-House Counsel / Master’s degree (DJCE - DESS) in Business Law and Taxation (Lyon III University, 1994), a Business Lawyer Master’s diploma (Magistère) (Lyon III University, 1994) and a Master’s degree (DEA) in Legal History, Institutions and Social Facts (Lyon III University, 1995).

Frédéric Nouel, 50. Partner in the Real Estate Transactions and Financing department in Paris, Frédéric Nouel works in close liaison with the Firm’s international offices. He mainly concentrates on the acquisition and financing of property assets and both listed and unlisted property companies, the structuring and financing of real estate investment funds, and lobbying. Frédéric Nouel acts in cases of the highest level and, in particular, had a key role in instituting the French OPCI (real estate investment trust). He is a former Chairman of the Union des Jeunes Avocats de Paris. Frédéric Nouel holds a Master’s degree (DEA) in Business Law (Paris University, 1985) and a Maîtrise in Management (Paris University, 1983).

The Executive Committee has set itself the target of pushing ahead with the strengthening of the Firm’s organisation with a view to continuing to deliver the strong added value for its clients which, since 1920, has made Gide’s reputation and its success.

Pierre Raoul-Duval declares: "The election of Baudouin de Moucheron as Senior Partner is a demonstration of our Firm’s renewed confidence in its tradition of excellence and its dynamic strength. With great pride to have him as my successor, I wish him the greatest success at the head of the Firm. I would like to thank the partners who provided me with their support during my four years as Senior Partner, and in particular Xavier de Kergommeaux and Christophe Eck who, as successive Managing Partners, shared this heavy burden of leading the Firm and adapting it to meet the challenges of the future.”

Baudouin de Moucheron, the new Senior Partner, declares: “I thank Pierre Raoul-Duval for the considerable work that he has done during his terms of office to maintain Gide Loyrette Nouel’s ranking. I will apply myself to continuing his efforts for the Firm’s internationalisation and in seeking out best practices to continue to accompany our clients in all areas of law, while respecting the values that make the Firm one of the major players on a worldwide level.”

Christophe Eck explains his decision: “I have been honoured to serve our Firm for these last two years. Today, I wish to leave my place as Managing Partner to a new face, to have more time to dedicate to accompanying my clients for their projects in France and internationally. I am pleased to see that Gide is still the leading firm in the business world, and I know that Stéphane Puel will be able to ensure that we keep our place. I am staying on as a member of this new committee and will continue to involve myself in its organisation."

Stéphane Puel declares: “In a constantly evolving environment, it is through the unfailing quality of our lawyers and our perfectly tailored responses to clients’ needs that we can remain a leader. I will do my utmost to further this tradition of demanding standards to better understand and serve our clients throughout the world."