GIDE LOYRETTE NOUEL

Insurance, Industrial Risks & Transport

Made up of around thirty lawyers in Paris and in our international offices, Gide's Insurance, Industrial Risks & Transport business line constitutes a multidisciplinary team with recognized expertise. Our lawyers work on all types of files dealing indiscriminately with advisory, pre-litigation or litigation issues in all of their areas of expertise.

Our different specialties

• Insurance & Reinsurance
• Insurance litigation
• Industrial risks
• Transport : Air & Space | Maritime & River | Road & Rail

The customer base of our Insurance, Industrial Risks & Transport business line is made up of the main players in the insurance, industrial risks and transport market and in particular insurers, reinsurers, distributors of insurance products, manufacturers, equipment manufacturers and transport operators and any other type of industrial operator encountering problems linked to these areas of activity.

In addition, thanks to our large network of offices around the world and correspondents, our lawyers manage complex files and disputes involving cross-border issues, requiring the intervention of foreign lawyers. We handle cases falling under several national regulations and effectively represent our clients before the national courts of the countries concerned, whether civil, commercial or criminal.

The Insurance, Industrial Risks & Transport business line also works in close collaboration with the firm's other business lines, in order to provide its clients with the best legal advice and implement the most suitable pre-litigation and litigation strategies.

Our lawyers are members of various professional associations and in particular the Association for Corporate Risk and Insurance Management (AMRAE), the Association of Insurance and Reinsurance Lawyers (AJAR), the Association International Insurance Law Association (AIDA), the Union of Young French Insurers and Reinsurers (AJAR), the French Association of Maritime Law (AFDM), the International Maritime Committee (CMI) and the Association of Graduates of the Paris Insurance Institute (ADIAP).

Apart from their advisory role, they actively take part in legal developments in the various areas of insurance through the writing of articles published in specialized and periodical journals ( Revue Générale du Droit des Assurances , Lamy Assurances , L' Argus de l’assurance , Tribune de l’assurance ). They regularly attend specialized insurance conferences and also provide professional and university training in this field.

Arbitrage & Contentieux

Gide a une réputation établie dans la résolution de litiges difficiles et stratégiques, par la voie du contentieux judiciaire, de l’arbitrage ou des modes alternatifs. Nos équipes combinent l’excellence juridique, le pragmatisme et la disponibilité. Au travers de notre réseau international et de notre positionnement généraliste, nous offrons à nos clients une expertise complète et multiculturelle.

Gide s’attache à comprendre les besoins de ses clients. Notre connaissance des secteurs d’activités et des pays est vaste. Chaque litige et chaque client est unique. Notre objectif est donc de déterminer avec vous une solution qui corresponde à vos objectifs. Les ressources du cabinet nous permettent de mettre en place une équipe dédiée, constituée de spécialistes puisés dans les divers équipes et bureaux de Gide, adaptée aux exigences du dossier et capable de le défendre avec efficacité.

Les avocats de contentieux de Gide comptent parmi les spécialistes les plus reconnus du marché français. Sur cette base, nous avons développé une véritable capacité contentieuse internationale. Nos avocats comptent parmi les meilleurs praticiens dans de multiples juridictions de droit civil ou de common law, capables d’intervenir dans une multiplicité de langues, de systèmes et de cultures juridiques.

Notre équipe a une large expérience des litiges transnationaux, factuellement ou juridiquement complexes. Nos références qui comptent certaines des affaires les plus emblématiques en France ou au-delà attestent de notre expérience, dont témoignent également les commentaires du marché : "équipe rigoureuse et réactive", intervenant dans les "contentieux financiers et commerciaux majeurs".

Nos spécialités contentieuses sont les suivantes :

• Arbitrage
• Contentieux de l'assurance
• Contentieux bancaire et financier
• Contentieux civil et commercial
• Contentieux Concurrence, Distribution & Consommation
• Contentieux droit public et environnement
• Contentieux fiscal
• Contentieux pénal
• Contentieux M&A
• Contentieux social
• Droit pénal du travail
• Propriété intellectuelle contentieuse
• Résolution des litiges immobiliers
• Risques industriels

Employment Law

In most countries, employment law is becoming increasingly intricate, with courts rendering the practice more complex still by adding their interpretation of the law to the mix, thereby adding to the complexity of managing the application of employment laws. First and foremost, Gide's lawyers look to find the best operational solutions for our clients, in line with applicable legislation, regulations and case law.

When faced with a litigation risk, our solutions aim to control this risk and lessen its consequences on the company and its directors. Working alongside our clients also means we are able to foresee the potential consequences their strategy may have on the company, in particular in terms of image. 

Gide relies on a veritable international network, thanks to its numerous offices worldwide and regular correspondent firms in most countries of the world. We assist and advise our clients in all aspects of dispute resolution relating to employment law and social security law, both in France and abroad, and represent them before the competent administrations and courts in France and in all the countries in which we are present.

The internationalisation of business in general and changes in legislation indicate that most strategic cases in employment law require a combination of several skills. For instance, restructuring a company active in the chemical industry requires that thought be given to the impacts of such a project on other areas, such as employment, tax and environment. Specialists in these practice groups must therefore also be consulted. Similarly, it is not possible to efficiently advise a manager on the consequences his/her changing career may have on the company without taking into account tax and employment law aspects. Neither is it possible to advise a client on the scope of a non-compete clause subject to New York law without being able to quickly call on lawyers proficient in this type of law.

Within the firm, 50 employment law practitioners (lawyers and legal consultants), including seven overseeing partners, assist national and international clients alike in all aspects of employment law, particularly in the following fields:

• Collective relations
• Restructuring operations
• Complex operations - transfers of undertakings
• Social security and social protection issues
• Health and safety
• Employee savings and pension schemes
• Individual relations
• Executive management
• Criminal employment law
• Employment litigation
• Compliance & Risk management

Our Employment Law practice group’s strategy has always been to:

• Train our lawyers in supporting our clients when drafting and implementing the solutions that best meet their operational needs
   
• Consider that our employment law practitioners can rely on the quick help of Gide lawyers specialising in the case’s other legal fields, their intervention being essential if we are to give our clients comprehensive and precise solutions
   
• Support our clients abroad

Our firm is highly active in the Lex Mundi world association of independent law firms, with our lawyers regularly offering their legal expertise to leading local firms in those countries in which Gide is not physically present.

Above and beyond advising and litigating for their clients, our lawyers actively take part in the development of employment law as a whole, in particular by taking part in symposia and training sessions that are tailored to companies’ needs and by drafting memos and articles in the specialised press, both in France and abroad.

Intellectual Property, Telecommunications, Media & Technology

Intellectual property has been one of the firm’s core activities for the past 40 years. In most of our offices, specialist practitioners assist clients throughout the development of their intangible assets, from the birth of intellectual property rights through to their exploitation, and their defence. We have also acquired a high level of expertise on legal questions raised by digital communication means, i.e. media, IT and new information technology laws, as well as in telecommunication law.

Our Intellectual Property, Telecommunications, Media & Technology practice group (IP-TMT), is organised into two groups:

Intellectual Property

Over forty partners, associates and paralegals specialise in intellectual property law in Gide’s IP-TMT department. They are drawn from among the best specialists in trademark law, patent law, copyright, designs and models law, and the related issues of unfair competition.

Thanks to our extensive knowledge of our clients’ businesses and business sectors, and to frequent practice of all types of disputes in the intellectual property field, we offer our clients a unique and personalised approach in terms of:

• Transactional intellectual property
• Intellectual property litigation
• Intellectual property rights management

Telecommunications, Media & Technology

Ever since its creation, our dedicated team has been offering clients its expert knowledge of convergent TMT sectors, which combines knowledge of network regulation with content intellectual property rights and aspects related to new technologies and the Internet.

Gide sets itself apart both by its sector specialisation and its international scope. We are the only firm to offer the services of an international specialist team entirely dedicated to telecommunications, media and technology law. Working closely with the Intellectual Property team, the TMT team acts regularly in France, Central and Eastern Europe, throughout Africa, in the Middle-East and in South-East Asia.

Our skills are recognised in all fields of law applicable to copyright, the press, radio and television broadcasters, and the Internet. We are therefore in a position to act for all our clients on all topics relating to the management and development of content. Our expertise in telecommunications, information technology and new technologies means we can offer an overall legal assistance that combines understanding and a perfect command of all legal issues arising in these converging fields.

Mergers & Acquisitions / Corporate

In each of the countries in which we are present, Gide is a major player in mergers & acquisitions (M&A) and corporate law (except in the USA and Belgium). The skills of our practice group cover the full range of essential M&A practices, ranging from public takeover offers to private equity, via dispute resolution and restructurings, in the most diverse sectors of activity.

Mergers & Acquisitions and corporate law are at the heart of Gide’s activities throughout the world, and we are proud to assist international clients in their establishment, acquisition, sale and joint venture projects.

Gide has become a major actor recognised as one of the best firms in M&A/Corporate in each country in which it is present, and regularly acts on operations in countries where it has no office thanks to its established network of local correspondents. Over 150 of our practitioners (of which 30 partners) work in this field of law, which, at Gide, means managing cases, training junior lawyers, and sharing knowledge and know-how. The firm’s practice covers all sectors (finance, services, industries, energy etc.) and all types of operations, more particularly the following specialties:

• Mergers & Acquisitions of non-listed companies, joint ventures  
• LBO
• Mergers & Acquisitions of listed companies   
• Venture Capital
• Corporate law
• Restructuring
• Listed company law
• Privatisations

Experience includes:

• Leroy Somer (motors, drives and electric power generation businesses): advising Japanese motor manufacturer Nidec Corporation on the acquisition of Leroy Somer, the motors, drives and electric power generation businesses owned by Emerson Electric Co., a diversified global manufacturing company.
   
• Privatisation of the Nice and Lyon airports: advising the French State Investments Agency (APE) on the privatisation of the Nice and Lyon airports.
   
• PFR / Bank Pekao / Unicredit: advising on the acquisition of 32.8% of shares in Bank Pekao from UniCredit S.p.A.
   
• Société Générale / Central Europe: advising Société Générale on the acquisition of Banque PSA Finance assets in central Europe.
   
• ABC / China / Africa: advising Agricultural Bank of China, one of China’s Big Four banks, on the establishment of a bank in the Republic of Congo, the Sino-Congolese Bank for Africa (BSCA).
   
• HNA Tourism Group / Pierre et Vacances: advising the tourism division of the Chinese conglomerate HNA Group on its 10% equity investment in Euronext Paris-listed Pierre et Vacances SA.
   
• Totalgaz: advising Total on the sale of Totalgaz, its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distributor in France, to UGI Corporation the parent company of Antargaz.
   
• Monoprix: advising Casino on the corporate, anti-trust and financing aspects of the acquisition by Casino of the 50% shareholding held by Galeries Lafayette in Monoprix, a joint venture in which Casino and Galeries Lafayette were each 50% shareholder since 2000.
   
• CA-CIB / CLSA / Cheuvreux: advising Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank (CA-CIB) on the sale of CLSA, its Asia brokerage activity, to CITICS Securities International Limited Company (CITICS) and on the sale of Cheuvreux, its French brokerage activity, to Kepler Capital Market.
   
• REAL Eastern Europe: advising the Auchan Group on the acquisition of Real Eastern Europe, i.e. 91 supermarkets in Eastern Europe, formerly held by Metro AG.
   
• Eurostar International Limited: advising SNCF on the creation of Eurostar International Limited, a company operating the Eurostar international traveller transport service.
   
• Areva T&D: advising Areva on the sale of its Transmission and Distribution (T&D) activity to the Alstom and Schneider consortium.
   
• Polkomtel: advising KGHM Polska Miedź S.A., Polish leader in the extraction of copper and silver, on the sale of its 25% stake in the capital of Polkomtel S.A. to Zygmunt Solorz-Zak.

Real Estate Transactions & Financing

The real estate market has gained in complexity and structure in the past few decades, with extensive financialisation, more complex players, and an increasing number of regulations and court rulings. Gide's team dedicated to real estate operations, set up in 1971, enjoys recognised expertise in all legal and tax issues likely to affect real estate players.

Our 70 partners and associates working exclusively in this sector offer an excellent comprehensive service. Our teams are market practice innovators and pioneers in operations involving a real estate aspect. To this end, they keep abreast of legal news and regularly conduct seminars on current hot topics as well as legal training sessions, and always anticipate the legal changes and the needs of our clients, with quality as a primary focus.

Thanks to our ability to act quickly and creatively for our clients and their projects, be they local or international, we have advised a significant number of financial institutions (banks, insurance companies, etc.), investment funds, land corporations, fund managers and asset managers, developers and construction companies, advisors and technicians active in the real estate sector, lessors and operators, and public bodies (State, local authorities, public institutions, mixed-economy companies, etc.).

We offer them advice and assistance on all types of real estate assets, whether for industrial, tertiary, residential or agricultural use, such as:

• Office buildings of all types (high-rise buildings, public-access buildings, etc.)
• Commercial assets (in particular shopping centres, hyper/supermarkets, retail outlets on ground floors of buildings and department stores)
• Hotels
• High-rise buildings, buildings open to the public
• Logistics platforms
• Manufacturing plants
• Leisure centres
• Farms, logging companies, winegrowers
• Healthcare institutes
• Wind farms, photovoltaic power stations

Our practice areas:

• Transactions - Real estate investments
• Real estate financing
• Operations arrangement, Development & Construction
• Urban planning law
• Public-Private Partnerships
• Leases
• Environment - Sustainable development
• Litigation and resolution of real estate disputes
• Property management
• Real estate taxation