People

Sarah Amari Associate

Paris

From Orrick Paris Tech Studio, Sarah combines her strategic legal insight with a keen interest in technology, enabling startups and investors tackle complex legal challenges.

Sarah advises founders, tech companies, and venture capital investors throughout their growth lifecycle, covering areas such as corporate governance, employee incentive plans, and M&A transactions.

Julia Apostle Partner

Paris

Julia counsels on compliance issues in relation to European and French tech and data regulations, including the GDPR, the Digital Services Act, the regulation of AI, the Data Act and other new and emerging legislation impacting online platforms, technology developers, and eCommerce businesses. She advises companies of all sizes on a wide range of compliance matters, ranging the drafting of internal policies, to assisting with regulatory investigations, and product counseling.

In the context of strategic transactions covering significant and complex technological issues, she is involved in the drafting and negotiation of agreements relating to data transfer, IT, software, content and brand licensing.

Qualified to practice in the UK and France, Julia is deeply familiar with the commercial considerations’ clients face, having practiced in-house at Twitter, Financial Times and CBS for more than a decade prior to joining Orrick.

Lisandre Bedard-Venne Managing Associate

Paris

Lisandre advises French and international companies on all aspects of French employment and labor law.

Prior to joining Orrick, Lisandre worked as an associate in the employment teams of provincial and international law firms based in Montreal and Paris. Lisandre earned her LL.B. and J.D. from University of Montreal and is admitted to both Paris and Quebec Bars.

Julien Beloeil Of Counsel

Paris

Julien assists listed and unlisted companies, financial institutions, investors and founders in cross-border or domestic transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, acquisition of stakes, strategic partnerships, as well as public tender offers.

Prior to joining Orrick, Julien worked on similar operations as a legal intern at international law firms in London and Paris. Julien also worked at the economic and financial section of the prosecutor’s office of the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris.

Anissa Benadda Managing Associate

Paris

Anissa advises French and international companies on all aspects of French employment and labor law. 

Prior to joining Orrick, Anissa worked on employment matters as a trainee at Allen & Overy, and as a legal intern and legal specialist at Skadden and CMS in Paris.

Emmanuel Benard Partner

Paris

Emmanuel represents numerous French and international companies on all aspects of employment law including international and cross-border issues.

His practice focuses on reorganizations, collective redundancies. He notably advised key players of the Financial, Metal, Food and Beverages, Pharmaceutical, Technology, Leisure and Music Industries in implementing economic dismissals and voluntary departures. He also assists these clients with employee representation and collective bargaining and sensitive individual cases.

Emmanuel has a strong proficiency in collective litigation as well as criminal litigation and currently handles a number of sensitive cases arising from works council and health and safety committee information consultation procedure, professional elections, collective bargaining agreements and employees performance appraisal system.

With a long-standing experience on landmark M&A, he regularly supports HR Directors in dealing with works council information and consultation procedures and transfer of employees triggered by such complex projects, helping them achieving their strategic objectives.

Co-author of an insightful and pedagogic book on all labor and employment facets of companies’ reorganization, Emmanuel is described by his clients as “a guru in the field of employment law” and praised for his “business sense”.

Before joining Orrick in 2016, Emmanuel was a partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Paris, where he was in charge of the Employment, Pension and Benefits Department. Prior to that he was partner at the boutique employment law firm Bélier et Associés where he started his career.

Olivier Bernard Partner

Paris

Olivier advises French and international financial institutions, insurers, funds and other alternative capital providers, as well as borrowers, on structured finance, debt capital markets and securitization transactions, in relation to a variety of assets, including real estate, transportation fleets and infrastructure.

He has been involved on a number of groundbreaking multi-jurisdictional transactions, privately or publicly placed.

Before joining Orrick in 2016 as a partner, Olivier was counsel in the finance department of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Charlotte Berrat Associate

Paris

Charlotte Berrat is involved in public contracts, in particular concession contracts and public-private partnerships for major projects (airport, port, motorway, building, telecommunications). She assists consortiums in the award of these contracts, from the bidding phase to the post-award phase.

She advised the winning consortium for the concession contract to operate Beauvais-Tillé airport (near Paris), as well as a bidding consortium for the public service contract for the lines 16 and 17 of the Grand Paris Express (the new metro linking the main residential and business districts of the suburbs without passing through Paris).

Charlotte Berrat also has experience in the energy sector and in environmental law. She regularly advises operators on complex issues relating to connection to electricity distribution and transmission networks. She has also participated in drafting and negotiation several corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs), representing both producers and buyers depending on the transaction.

Charlotte Berrat also advises operators, sponsors and lenders on project development and M&A transactions for wind and solar assets, both in France and internationally.

Her practice also covers all regulatory aspects related to regulated sectors such as telecommunications, transport and energy.

Charlotte Berrat also handles litigation in these sectors.

Prior to joining Orrick, Charlotte gained significant experience in the public and energy law teams of several international law firms and a public transport operator.

Geoffroy Berthon Partner

Paris

Geoffroy advises on public contracts, particularly in the context of concessions and PPPs. He has been involved in projects relating to the financing, construction and operation of the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille; the Sud Europe Atlantique high-speed line; the Athletes' Village for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games; the Grand Paris Express and the offshore extension of the Principality of Monaco. He has also worked on several French highway (A412, A69, RCEA, A88, A41, A150), port (Calais, Cannes) and airport projects (Nice, Lyon, Beauvais).

In the renewables field, he acts alongside the French government (Ministry of Energy Transition) in calls for tenders for the construction of offshore wind farms, including floating wind turbines, and advises operators in the realization of biomass and geothermal projects, as well as investors in the context of "M&A" operations concerning wind and solar assets and methanization. He also has experience in hydroelectricity matters. He advises both sponsors and lenders and works regularly with public entities and governments. He also advises on the drafting and negotiation of corporate PPAs, acting for both energy producers and buyers.

Geoffroy Berthon is recognised by clients as "a high quality lawyer whose analyses are very precise and rigorous and whose pragmatic approach is highly regarded" (Legal 500) and as a Leading Individual by Legal 500 (EMEA 2023) in public law and energy.

Geoffroy holds a doctorate in public law, was a lecturer in public contract law at Sciences Po, and frequently published in both English and French.

Solène Blandin Senior Associate

Paris

Solène assists French and international clients on all aspects of French employment law both in contentious and non-contentious matters.

Her area of expertise covers collective aspects of employment law (professional elections, relationships with the employee representatives, collective agreements, working time, reorganisations, mass redundancies, post-acquisition integrations, internal investigations, background checks and monitoring) and individual aspects (drafting employment documentation, dismissals, negotiation and settlement agreements, bonus schemes and restrictive covenants).

Solène has been a French-qualified lawyer (Avocat à la Cour) since February 2018. Prior to joining Orrick, she was an associate for 7 years within a global UK law firm's employment team.

In addition, she holds a Master’s Degree in Employment law from the University of Paris II Panthéon- Assas. Solène is also an alumna of the Oxford University (Diploma of Legal Studies - 2014).

Constance Boillot Of Counsel

Paris

Her practice covers the development of projects, particularly in the energy and infrastructure sectors, notably within the framework of public contracts such as concessions and PPP contracts, as well as the regulatory aspects of regulated activities. She also handles litigation in these sectors.

She advises both sponsors and lenders, and also works with public entities.

Constance started her career at Orrick in 2013, before joining the project finance legal desk of Bouygues Construction at the end of 2018 for two years. She rejoined Orrick in 2021.

Hélène Boukez Of Counsel

Paris

Hélène advises French and international firms on all employment matters.

Prior to joining Orrick, Hélène was an associate in the Employment, Pensions & Benefits department of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer for six years.