International law firm Reed Smith has announced the appointment of partners Nicolas Sauvage and Caroline Masson to launch the firm’s employment practice in Paris.  Nicolas and Caroline join from French law firm Courtois Lebel and bring with them a team of four associates (Stéfanie Oudard, Mélanie Race, Nathalie Marchand and Fernando Teixeira) and a legal counsel (Michaela McCormack).

The team assists clients on a broad range of contentious and strategic human resources matters, encompassing both individual and collective working relationships. Much of the department’s work focuses on advising and guiding French and foreign companies through reorganization, mergers and acquisitions, outsourcing and collective redundancies.

Reed Smith’s Paris office already benefits from the employment expertise of a senior associate, Séverine Martel, who joined Reed Smith in 2005.

Benoit Charot, managing partner of Reed Smith’s Paris office, commented:

“The creation of an employment law department was part of our growth strategy. This incoming team is a new step towards the development of our Paris office and we will continue to seize every opportunity to enhance our practice, particularly in corporate/M&A, tax and financing.”

Nicolas Sauvage, who will lead Reed Smith’s employment group in Paris, added:

“Reed Smith is an impressive international law firm which brings solutions to problems linked with business globalization. We were attracted by Reed Smith’s commitment to client relationships and to the quality of its labour practice, which is particularly renowned in the U.S.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

About Nicolas Sauvage:

Nicolas Sauvage (partner) advises clients on crisis management, particularly in restructuring and non-discrimination policies. He regularly lectures on employment law at France’s top business school HEC as part of an international Masters degree program for 6 years. He started is career at E&Y Law before joining Bureau Francis Lefebvre in 1990 and Courtois Lebel in 1992 where he became Partner in 1995.

About Caroline Masson:

Caroline Masson (partner) joined Courtois Lebel as an associate (1997-1998) and then Reinhard Marville Torre (2003-2004) before returning to Courtois Lebel (2004-2008) where she became Partner in 2008. She provides counsel to various companies on matters such as corporate affairs management and, more particularly, relationships with staff representative bodies and trade unions.

About Reed Smith’s Paris office:

The Paris office of Reed Smith was created in 2005 with a team composed of 10 members. It has now grown to nearly forty lawyers including 11 Partners who assist clients in litigation, industrial risks, insurance law, local and global arbitration, shipping, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, securities law, restructuring, employment law, real estate, environment, tax and white collar crime.

About Reed Smith:

Reed Smith is one of the 15 largest law firms in the world, with 22 offices and nearly 1600 lawyers in offices across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the United States.

For further information please visit www.reedsmith.com or contact Jeyda Star (senior branding & communications executive) on +44 (0)20 3116 2571.