巴黎 | Stephenson Harwood

Overview

Our team advises on all aspects of business law, including corporate transactions, restructuring and insolvency, IT and technology, intellectual property, competition and foreign investments, strategic regulatory affairs, real estate, tax, and employment law.

We are also recognised for our robust litigation and arbitration practice, with experience in insurance disputes.

Whether you are seeking guidance on a high-value transaction, navigating regulatory challenges, or managing complex disputes, our advice is always grounded in commercial reality—cutting through complexity to focus on practical solutions that make the most business sense for you.

As we're part of an international law firm, you gain the advantage of a Paris-based team with deep knowledge of the French legal landscape, supported by the resources and networks of a global practice. With experts across time zones and deep sector insight, we help you stay ahead in a fast-changing world. Whether you are expanding into new markets, restructuring operations, protecting your intellectual property, or facing a dispute, we tailor our advice to your specific needs and priorities.

With a client-focused approach, we help businesses and institutions navigate legal challenges in France and internationally.

Experience

Innovative financing solutions tailored to every market and need.

Our Banking & Finance team advise on the full spectrum of financing solutions, including traditional bank lending (acquisition finance, LBOs, real estate and project finance), specialised finance (equity bridge and asset finance), disintermediated finance (capital markets, private placements), and alternative finance (private debt, factoring, leasing).

Our team is recognised for its innovative approach and deep understanding of the sectors in which our clients operate.

An experienced M&A and Private Equity team delivering comprehensive legal support across the M&A and Private Equity spectrum.

Our M&A and Private Equity team regularly advises a wide range of stakeholders across the ecosystem, including strategic groups, investment funds, family offices, managers, and entrepreneurs. This broad positioning allows us to understand the specific challenges and cultural nuances of each player and their respective markets. Leveraging our cross-disciplinary expertise, we deliver tailored, innovative, and robust legal solutions.

Strategic dispute resolution across borders

Our litigation and arbitration team supports clients at every stage of risk management, from prevention to resolution. We represent French and international companies, banks, insurers, and SMEs in complex, high-stakes disputes across all areas of business law. Backed by sector knowledge, global offices, and a trusted international network, our multilingual team delivers effective solutions across jurisdictions and legal systems.

Supporting clients through every stage of financial distress.

Our Restructuring and Insolvency team is dedicated to assisting clients—whether companies, creditors, shareholders, or investors—who are navigating financial distress or crisis situations. We offer strategic guidance in both preventive contexts (such as ad hoc mandates and conciliation) and formal insolvency proceedings.

Our team of talented lawyers has an in-depth understanding of the real estate sector. Combined with a practical hands-on approach and legal expertise, this helps us to deliver the commercial outcomes our clients are looking for, efficiently and cost-effectively.

We offer support across the board, addressing anything from day-to-day enquires to providing guidance on larger, more complex transactions. Our goal is to deliver practical and cost-effective advice that benefits our clients, incorporating innovation where suitable.

The competition team at Stephenson Harwood advises and supports its clients in all areas of competition and distribution law, both in advisory and litigation matters.

The team assists French and international clients and has particular experience in the banking and financial services, transport (rail, maritime, air, logistics, etc.), energy, digital, healthcare, life sciences, consumer and retail sectors, as well as in insurance.

Responding to new risks and adapting to changes in the regulatory landscape.

A unique, multi-disciplinary team that supports public and private sector players on their global compliance strategies, from ethical norms and internal investigations, to designing and implementing compliance programmes and legal representation in courts.

Regulatory expertise across Banking, Fintech and Financial Services.

Our Banking and Financial Services Regulatory team advises banks, fintech, and financial institutions on all aspects of UK, EU, and French regulation—both advisory and contentious. With core strengths in trade finance, cash management, general banking, and fintech, we also bring strong experience in capital markets.

Supporting Fund Managers and Investors Across Global Markets.

Our team advises on all aspects of general and sector-specific investment funds. We support European and African GPs, fund managers, and investment teams in the structuring and launch of French, pan-European, and African funds, and throughout the fund lifecycle—from fundraising to exit.

We handle complex cross-border disputes providing both pre-litigation and litigation strategies related to infringement of IP rights and unfair competition and parasitism behaviour.

We also provide tactical advice on the protection and exploitation of IP rights: IP & Data due diligence, administrative proceedings before IP Offices, negotiation of complex agreement involving IP rights, etc.
Our team is also very active in emerging new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain technology and NFTs, which raise significant new legal issues pertaining to intellectual property rights.

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