Eversheds Sutherland lands seven-strong partner-led M&A team

Eversheds Sutherland has welcomed a seven-strong partner-led team to its global corporate/M&A group.

The Paris-based team joins from international law firm CMS Francis Lefebvre Avocats and comprises lateral Partner hires, Jean-Robert Bousquet and Alexandre Morel; Counsels Célia Mayran and Geoffroy Loncle de Forville; and Associates Anaïs Fritzinger, Jade Huard and Victor Grillo.

The team’s arrival comes at a time when client demand for legal technical excellence on complex multi-jurisdictional M&A transactions is already high and is continuing to increase. Mergers & acquisitions are a major area of investment and development for Eversheds Sutherland, which draws on its global network and its wider legal capabilities to successfully deliver high value strategic M&A transactions for its clients.

Jean-Robert Bousquet advises on M&A, joint ventures and mid-cap transactions in the financial services, media, agri-food, industrial and defence sectors. His international experience (in Germany and the United States) has contributed to his strong delivery on cross-border transactions. Alexandre Morel advises companies on similar M&A transactions. He also advises clients on corporate restructurings and corporate law in the energy, finance, TMT and defence sectors. Their main clients include French and international groups, ETIs and family groups.

Jean-Robert Bousquet and Alexandre Morel join a team led by Eric Knai, Partner and Eversheds Sutherland’s Head of M&A (International). The team in Paris currently comprises 24 lawyers including Partners Catherine Detalle, Franck Bourgeois, Cristina Audran-Proca and Aurélien Loric.

"I am delighted that Jean-Robert, Alexandre and the team have chosen to come on board. Their arrival broadens and enhances the service offering we’re able to provide to our clients. It also reinforces our message to key markets that we remain wholeheartedly committed to investing in our M&A capability, as well as our wider team infrastructure, so that we can continue to successfully deliver complex, multi-jurisdictional M&A transactions for our clients, both in France and globally," said Eric Knai, Eversheds Sutherland.

"The arrival of Jean-Robert, Alexandre and their associates is part of the firm's global strategy to provide our clients with teams who combine cutting-edge legal skills with a high level of service excellence and a commercially-focused approach," adds Rémi Kleiman, the firm’s Senior Office Partner in Paris.

"I am delighted to be joining Eversheds Sutherland and the Corporate/M&A team, whose values of commitment and excellence I already share. I look forward to being fully involved in the firm's continued growth and participating in its ambitions to expand its M&A activities in France and worldwide, drawing on its highly recognised global expertise in certain business sectors," says partner Jean-Robert Bousquet.

"I am very excited to join Eversheds Sutherland. Its highly integrated international network, and its global and entrepreneurial approach to M&A, complement the skills and aspirations I’m looking forward to bringing to the team," continued Partner Alexandre Morel.

In addition to the arrival of the Paris-based team, Eversheds Sutherland is also pleased to announce that Craig T. Alcorn has joined its US-based Corporate Practice Group from law firm, Skadden, as a Partner in its Chicago office.