Gide announces the appointment of 15 Counsels and one Of Counsel

Gide is pleased to announce the appointment of 15 Counsels and one Of Counsel in its Paris, Brussels, New York, Istanbul and Casablanca offices.

Newly appointed Counsels:

• Célia Alao, Projects and Project Financing (Paris)
• Maëlys Apied Windal, Employment Law (Paris)
• Iklim Gülsün Aytekin, Corporate/M&A – Competition (Istanbul)
• Roxane Bahloul-Seban, Employment law (Paris)
• Vincent Carriou, International Arbitration (Paris)
• Justine Demoulins, Competition (Paris)
• Sarah Doray, Corporate/M&A (New York)
• Charles Ghuysen, Tax Law (Paris)
• Yannick Granjon, Real Estate (Paris)
• John Le Guen, Banking and Finance (Paris)
• Arthur Lemaitre, Corporate/M&A (Paris)
• Hugo Panahpoursalehi, Investment Funds (Paris)
• Célia Révy, Intellectual Property (Paris)
• Marion Toualit, Real Estate (Paris)
• Arnaud van de Putte, International Trade (Brussels)

Newly appointed Of Counsel:

• Julien Nouchi, Tax Law (Casablanca)

Frédéric Nouel, Senior Partner, and Jean-François Levraud, Managing Partner, said:

We are delighted to promote these 16 talented lawyers to the rank of Counsel in recognition of their expertise, commitment and achievements. Their complementary expertise strengthens Gide’s ability to support and guide our clients through their strategic challenges.

Célia Alao, Counsel (Paris)

Célia Alao is Counsel in the Projects and Project Financing team in Gide’s Paris office. She advises governments, sponsors and financial institutions on infrastructure, energy and natural resource projects in Europe and Africa. Célia also advises on tourism and urban development projects built around innovative new technologies (smart cities) in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In the energy sector, Célia assisted ContourGlobal in a gas/HFO power plant conversion project in Senegal. She also assisted EDF in a tender process for the supply of nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic. Her experience in infrastructure includes advising Côte d’Ivoire on economic and industrial zone projects, and MSC Group on port terminal projects.

Before joining Gide, Célia worked in PROPARCO’s legal department and in other Paris law firms. She also practiced in Benin as a legal adviser. She has in-depth knowledge of both OHADA (Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa) and UEMOA (West African Economic and Monetary Union) regulations. Célia graduated from Université Paris René-Descartes and the Sorbonne-Assas International Law School in international business law. She was called to the Paris Bar in 2018.

Maëlys Apied Windal, Counsel (Paris)

Maëlys Apied Windal is Counsel in the Employment Law team in Gide’s Paris office. Her practice focuses on individual and collective employment litigation and on providing ongoing support to clients to manage their employee relations.

Maëlys has developed particular expertise in collective disputes. She acts for clients in proceedings on the merits before the Judicial Court and in emergency procedures (summary proceedings and expedited proceedings on the merits). She works on complex issues relating to informing and consulting staff representative bodies and strike actions (site blockades), as well as on strategic disputes around the application of collective bargaining agreements.

Maëlys also regularly advises clients on all employment law issues, including management of sensitive situations (bullying, discrimination, whistleblowing, relations with the Labor Inspectorate), drafting and negotiating collective agreements, individual and collective dismissal procedures, and the set-up and operation of staff representative bodies.

She assists clients from a broad range of sectors (electricity and gas, cosmetics, sports, aerospace, electronics, cybersecurity, insurance, and hotels), as well as employers with a specific status, such as public industrial and commercial enterprises and non-profit organizations.

Maëlys holds a professional Masters II in Employment Law and Practice from Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas and was called to the Paris Bar in 2019.

Iklim Gülsün Aytekin, Counsel (Istanbul)

Iklim Gülsün Aytekin is Counsel in Gide’s Corporate/M&A and Competition teams in Istanbul (ODSA – Özdirekcan Dündar Şenocak Ak).

She has extensive experience in conducting legal audits, reviewing and drafting contracts, and assisting international companies with their establishment and operations in Turkey. Iklim advises on cross-border mergers and acquisitions in a wide range of sectors. She also specializes in competition law and assists local and international clients with notifications to the Turkish Competition Authority, as well as with preliminary investigations, inquiries and hearings. In addition, Iklim advises clients on developing their competition law compliance programs.

Recently, Iklim advised Yves Rocher on the disposal of its stake in Flormar, and Izocam, Saint Gobain’s Turkish subsidiary, for the acquisition of exclusive control of His Yalitim in Turkey, advising on the competition law and corporation law aspects of the deals.

A graduate of the Faculty of Law at Marmara University (Istanbul), Iklim holds a Masters 2 in European Union Law and Policies from Université Paul Cézanne (Aix-en-Provence, France) and an LLM in European Law from the College of Europe (Bruges, Belgium). She was called to the Istanbul Bar in 2012.

Roxane Bahloul-Seban, Counsel (Paris)

Roxane Bahloul-Seban is Counsel in the Employment Law team in Gide’s Paris office. Roxane advises and litigates on all aspects of employment law for French and foreign clients. She represents clients before the courts in cases relating to individual and collective disputes. She has been seconded to clients to assist in implementing projects of strategic and operational importance.

Roxane also advises French and international groups and companies on day-to-day HR management. She has extensive expertise in reorganizations and restructuring operations, including redundancies on economic grounds, whether individual or collective and with or without a job preservation plan, in employment law applied to distressed companies, and the employment aspects of mergers and acquisitions.

Furthermore, Roxane acts for intermediation platforms within the scope of litigation brought by employees seeking to have their services agreements reclassified as employment contracts, thus developing in-depth and recognized expertise on the status of workers.

She is a graduate of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) (2018) and the Université Paris 1 – Panthéon-Sorbonne (2015). A member of the Paris and New York Bars since 2019, Roxane offers expertise to meet the cross-border challenges and needs of her clients.

Vincent Carriou, Counsel (Paris)

Vincent Carriou is Counsel in the International Arbitration team in Gide’s Paris office. Vincent acts as counsel and secretary to arbitration tribunals in arbitration proceedings conducted under the auspices of the main arbitration institutions (ICC, SCC, LCIA, ICSID, PCA, SIAC) in cases dealing with cross-border contracts across various industries, such as construction, energy, mining and aerospace.

His experience spans commercial disputes arising from construction and engineering contracts, mergers and acquisitions, shareholder and joint venture agreements, as well as sales contracts. Vincent also acts as counsel before the French courts in investment arbitration and arbitration-related proceedings (set-aside proceedings, applications for provisional measures, etc.). Called to the Paris Bar in 2018 and qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales, he has practiced international arbitration in both jurisdictions. He completed a three-year secondment to Gide’s London office.

Vincent is a graduate of Sciences Po Lille (Master II in Finance and International Trade), Paris I (Masters II in Arbitration and International Trade Law) and the University of Kent (UK, Bachelor of Arts in Politics and International Relations).

Justine Demoulins, Counsel (Paris)

Justine Demoulins is Counsel in the Competition Law team in Gide’s Paris office. She specializes in French and European competition law, with a focus on cartels, abuse of dominant position, and merger control.

She advises and litigates on behalf of French and international operators before the French courts, the French Competition Authority, the European Commission and their respective appeal courts. She also acts for companies in merger proceedings before the competition authorities, which may result in undertakings and/or the opening of an in-depth investigation.

Justine is a graduate of Université de Montpellier (post-graduate degree in corporate law (DJCE) and a Magistère Juriste d’Affaires. She joined Gide in 2020 after gaining initial experience (2017-2020) at Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier. She was called to the Paris Bar in 2017.

Sarah Doray, Counsel (New York)

Sarah Doray is Counsel in the Corporate/M&A team in Gide’s New York office. She specialises in corporate, M&A, private equity and venture capital.

Sarah advises investment funds, strategic investors and both French and international companies in investments, divestments, acquisitions and corporate restructuring. She has particular expertise in cross-border transactions, mainly between France and the United States.

Notable deals she worked on include advising Sofinnova for its investment in Bioptimus in the biotech sector, the sellers of NuxtLabs in the acquisition of the company by Vercel, Planview for its acquisition of the Sciforma group and Hitachi Vantara in the sale of Oxya. She also recently advised HIG Capital in its acquisition of the France Elevateur group, alongside US law firm Ropes & Gray.

Sarah is working out of Gide’s New York office since 2018. She is a graduate of Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne in Business Law and Economics, HEC Paris and New York University (NYU) School of Law. Sarah was sworn in to the Paris Bar in 2017 and to the New York bar in 2023.

Charles Ghuysen, Counsel (Paris)

Charles Ghuysen is Counsel in the Tax Law team in Gide’s Paris office. He advises investment funds and many French and international corporate groups with a focus on M&A and transaction tax (public and private mergers and acquisitions, complex restructuring, and private equity). Charles has also built up specific experience in executive profit sharing.

He recently advised Bridgepoint on the acquisition of Bridgepoint Development V fund’s acquisition of a stake in Brevo. He also advised Artefact’s founders and management team on Cinven’s acquisition of the group from Ardian.

He holds a Magistère de Juriste d’Affaires – DJCE from Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas. He is a graduate of the University of Oxford and the Saïd Business School (Masters in Law and Finance). He was called to the Paris Bar in 2018.

Yannick Granjon, Counsel (Paris)

Yannick Granjon is Counsel in the Real Estate Law team in Gide’s Paris office. He assists French and international clients on all aspects of real estate law.

Yannick advises clients and handles litigation relating to acquisitions, disposals, asset development and management, with a focus on real estate portfolio transactions and complex large-scale projects. His practice also covers the negotiation and formation of real estate joint ventures, as well as the negotiation and management of contracts across the entire asset life cycle. He assists listed and unlisted real estate firms, investment funds, insurance companies, developers and users.

Yannick has significant experience across a range of sectors, including logistics, hotels, offices and retail. He has a particular interest in PBSA (purpose-built student accommodation) and data centers. His practice extends across all stages, from assisting clients with the design of their transactions to the resolution of their real estate disputes.

Yannick is a graduate of Université Rennes I (DJCE), University College Cork (Ireland), Université de Montpellier, Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas, and Université Jean Moulin Lyon III. He was called to the Paris Bar in 2019.

John Le Guen, Counsel (Paris)

John Le Guen is Counsel in Gide’s Banking and Finance team in Paris. He advises on financial services, with particular expertise in FinTech and crypto-assets (team 255) for French and international players, including banking and financial institutions and emerging players.

He assists them in the legal and regulatory structuring of their activities (financial services, crypto-assets, payments, management, LCB-FT, gambling) and assists them before the regulatory authorities in their applications for authorisation and disciplinary proceedings. On the transactional side, John is involved in the structuring of mergers and acquisitions and the restructuring of companies from the financial and crypto-asset sectors, Web3 investment funds and club deals covering a broad spectrum of underlyings.

Prior to joining Gide, John worked in the legal affairs department of the AMF and the compliance department of Natixis CIB. Since 2021, he has been teaching banking and financial law applied to FinTechs as well as asset management at Paris Dauphine University.

A graduate of the Master 2 in Banking and Financial Law (Paris II) and a Master 2 in Law & Finance (Paris Dauphine), John regularly speaks and publishes on topics related to the interactions between financial markets law and crypto-asset law. He is also involved in the work of the financial markets and professional associations active in these sectors.

Arthur Lemaitre, Counsel (Paris)

Arthur Lemaitre is Counsel in the Corporate/M&A team in Gide’s Paris office. He regularly advises French and international clients on international mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances and joint ventures, including multi-jurisdictional transactions, and on general corporate law matters.

Arthur has worked on many cross-border transactions that require coordinating legal teams in multiple jurisdictions, and on complex acquisitions, disposals and strategic alliances. He works mainly in the financial institutions (banking, insurance and financial services) and real assets (infrastructure, real estate and industry) sectors. He recently advised J.P. Morgan Asset Management and QuinSpark Investment Partners on the acquisition of a student accommodation portfolio in France, the Somdia group on its disposal of subsidiaries in France and in Africa, and the Michelin and EDF groups on setting up joint ventures.

Arthur is a graduate of EDHEC business School (Grande Ecole Program) and Lille Law School (Masters 2 in business law). He was called to the Paris Bar in 2017.

Hugo Panahpoursalehi, Counsel (Paris)

Hugo Panahpoursalehi is Counsel in the Investment Funds team in Gide’s Paris office. He advises management companies and other asset managers on all legal and regulatory issues in relation to the structuring and formation of regulated and non-regulated investment funds and their related transactions and operations. Hugo’s practice focuses on private equity funds, debt funds, infrastructure funds, and funds of funds.

Hugo has assisted leading asset managers with their fund-raising, advising on the legal structure best suited to their needs, and with negotiating the terms of fund documentation with institutional investors.

Before joining Gide, Hugo practiced at Goodwin Procter Paris (LLP) and at Arendt in Luxembourg. He holds a Masters 2 in business law from Université François Rabelais de Tours and is a member of the Paris Bar.

Célia Révy, Counsel (Paris)

Célia Révy is Counsel in the Intellectual Property team in Gide’s Paris office. Her practice covers all industrial property rights, trade secrets and related unfair competition issues.

With a dual legal and scientific background, Célia’s practice focuses on patent litigation across a range of sectors (life sciences, chemicals, mechanics and telecommunications) before the French courts and the Unified Patent Court. She is also a very experienced litigator in cases involving execution of R&D projects, know-how, and violation of trade secrets.

Célia advises clients on contract negotiation involving industrial property rights (research partnerships, technology transfers, etc.) and on freedom to operate (FTO) evaluations.

Célia is a graduate of Sciences Po Paris (Master’s degree in Economic Law) and Sorbonne Université, Paris VI – Pierre et Marie Curie (Master’s degree in Chemistry). She has worked as a patent engineer. She was admitted to the Paris Bar in 2019 and is a representative before the Unified Patent Court.

Marion Toualit, Counsel (Paris)

Marion Toualit is Counsel in the Real Estate Law team in Gide’s Paris office. She practices in all areas of real estate and corporate law, with a particular focus on real estate transactions (structuring, disposals and acquisitions of real estate companies and/or real estate assets, sale and lease-back transactions, partnership formation, etc.).

Marion also assists her clients in negotiating their commercial and off-plan leases and in managing their real estate portfolios (restructuring, negotiating asset management and property management contracts, etc.).

Marion regularly acts for clients in strategic real estate transactions, including the acquisition, disposal and management of prestigious assets, as well as setting up investment vehicles (OPCI, SCI) and joint ventures. She advises industrial groups, investment funds and institutional investors on high value-added transactions involving financial, regulatory and environmental issues.

Marion was called to the Paris Bar in 2018. She is a graduate of HEC Paris (Grande Ecole Program, 2017) and holds a professional Masters 2 in Business Law and Taxation from Université Paris 1 – Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Arnaud van de Putte, Counsel (Brussels)

Arnaud van de Putte is Counsel in the International Trade team in Gide’s Brussels office. His practice covers trade defence and international sanctions.

Arnaud assists both companies and governments in anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard procedures, and on European and WTO law. Familiar with the internal workings of the European Trade Policy, he advises clients on trade, customs and EU regulatory issues, as well as the compatibility of trade barriers with WTO rules. He also advises on compliance with sanctions and export control regulations, focusing on Europe and France.

Arnaud’s recent work includes assisting European steel producers with anti-dumping proceedings targeting China, assisting a European agrifood industry in a Chinese anti-dumping investigation, and advising a financial institution on the compatibility of financing to the aerospace industry with WTO rules. He also assisted multinationals in assessing sanctions compliance of the distribution of dual-use products, financing and technical assistance.

Arnaud studied at the Université Saint-Louis Bruxelles (Bachelor in Law, trilingual), the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Master in Law) and the University of Edinburgh (LL.M. in International Economic Law). He was admitted to the Brussels Bar in 2020.

Julien Nouchi, Of Counsel (Casablanca)

Julien Nouchi is Of Counsel in the Tax Law team in Gide’s Casablanca office. He advises on both domestic and cross-border transactions with tax and foreign exchange implications, including acquisitions, disposals, mergers and restructuring operations.

He also handles matters relating to Moroccan customs regulations and the implementation of free trade agreements. In addition, Julien’s practice covers obtaining and implementing the authorizations required for employee share ownership plans for foreign listed and private companies.

He has advised many Moroccan and foreign clients on their dealings with the tax authorities, including during audits and obtaining tax rulings. Julian also advises on efficient tax structures for foreign investments and managing permanent establishment risk. He works closely with the Projects and Project Financing teams on negotiating engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts and their tax structuring, and with the M&A department on tax due diligence and the tax aspects of SPAs.

Julien is a graduate of Université Paris-Dauphine (Corporate Taxation (2012) and Estate Management (2011)). He is a member of the Paris Bar. Specializing in corporate tax, he joined Gide’s Casablanca office in 2017.