Creation of Oyat law firm
Collective intelligence at the service of our clients
We are pleased to announce the opening in Paris of the law firm Oyat, headed by three founding partners: Marie-Hélène Tonnellier, Caroline Basdevant-Soulié and Laurent de La Brosse. They have been joined by Guillaume Ledoux and Romain Canot, former Counsels, who become partners in this new structure and Charlotte Barraco-David, Counsel.
From the outset, the firm has had a multidisciplinary and experienced team of 20+ lawyers.
Oyat is a law firm with a pioneering spirit, a pool of talent bringing together professionals recognized for their excellence in M&A, private equity, public law, environmental law, energy law, digital and IP, commercial law, real estate and litigation.
Everyone works with agility, in France and abroad, relying on an extensive network of experts located mainly in Europe, Asia and the United States to provide each client with the strategic and operational support required.
Like the oyat, the agile and robust “binder plant” that ensures the cohesion, unity and durability of the dune in the face of the elements, this collective intelligence is a real strength. Combined with an entrepreneurial spirit, it allows the firm to project itself into the challenges of tomorrow with a vision of committed lawyers, constantly attentive to economic, societal and technological changes.
At Oyat, each client has the opportunity to build a dedicated team of multi-specialists by combining the expertise, synergies and flexibility necessary to address its complex issues.
Its lawyers, experienced in teamwork in project mode, practice their profession for, but also and above all, alongside their clients. Conceiving their role as a partner and strategy advisor, they are capable, through their experience, of intervening both in anticipating their clients’ problems and in helping them define the best strategy on innovative or defensive issues requiring listening, understanding, tenacity, rigor and competitive spirit.
Attentive to a changing world, its partners seek to guide and accompany each Oyat lawyer in a spirit of ambition and surpassing oneself, but also of solidarity and listening.
Marie-Hélène Tonnellier is the head of the Digital/IP department and advises on IT projects, in particular those related to the digital transformation strategy of companies, in the context of technological litigation, on issues related to new technologies (artificial intelligence, drones, robots, blockchain, etc.) and to personal and/or public data, as well as in the context of e-commerce projects. She teaches in the Master 2 Digital Law program at the University of Paris-Saclay.
Marie-Hélène worked as a partner at Latournerie Wolfrom for 23 years, after having worked for one year in London and 9 years at Moquet Borde et Jeantet.
Caroline Basdevant-Soulié, who heads the Corporate/M&A department, and Guillaume Ledoux specialize in corporate law, with a strong focus on private equity. They advise executives, French and international groups and investment funds. They also have a corporate venture practice.
Caroline specializes in private equity transactions (minority and majority stakes), joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and corporate ventures. She advises managers, French and foreign companies as well as investment funds, particularly in the tech and healthcare sectors.
Caroline is a member of the Paris Bar and holds an LLM from the University of Berkeley in the United States. She practiced for 9 years at Latournerie Wolfrom after having worked for 11 years at the international law firms Hogan Lovells and Bird & Bird and was seconded to the Caisse des dépôts et consignations for 15 months between 2010 and 2011 to set up the competitiveness cluster platforms.
Guillaume Ledoux advises companies, investment funds and management teams in the context of equity transactions, equity investments, restructurings and the implementation of management packages. He also advises numerous start-ups on their development and financing, whether at the seed BA/VC or series A/B stage.
The team has been involved in large-scale transactions alongside CDC, such as, with the Digital team, the structuring and negotiation of the Alentour Joint Venture project (a technical platform for identifying tourism offers in France) between Amadeus and CDC to boost tourism in France, a project initiated by Bruno Le Maire, or with BPI in the context of the LBO of Mesotrans.
Laurent de la Brosse has significant expertise in the execution of complex transactions, both in consulting and litigation, particularly in the conduct of development operations or the construction of major infrastructures. He is also very active in the mobility sector. He has experience in institutional relations and a perfect knowledge of public decision-making processes, which enable him to provide his clients with strategic advice aimed at the success of their projects. He strives to build a relationship of trust and proximity with his clients and to deliver secure and pragmatic legal advice. Previously, Laurent worked for 23 years in the public law team of Latournerie Wolfrom, where he was a partner.
Alongside him, Romain Canot has developed a highly specialized expertise in environmental law, both as counsel and in administrative or judicial litigation in the industrial, service, energy and large infrastructure sectors. Romain supports a clientele of public and private operators faced with the growing demands of environmental issues. He is particularly active in the fields of polluted sites and soils, the circular economy, and technological and health risks.
He also has solid experience in complex public-private arrangements, both in the contracting and execution phases (public contracts, competition, public domain, etc.).
“We want to innovate in all areas of law, while maintaining our agility in practice. We are convinced that the complementarity of our professions and expertise is a fabulous opportunity to form a collective, natural, almost organic intelligence capable of positively influencing the future of our clients,” the partners announced.
Confident in its ability to attract talents sharing the same ambition, energy and motivation to complement its know-how and remain at the forefront of innovation, Oyat wishes to continue its development by strengthening its expertise in certain sectors such as regulatory/health, real estate, energy and NFT.
The firm acts for French and international, public and private companies such as Bolloré, Crédit Agricole Assurances, Paris La Défense, Eutelsat, Sopra Steria, Njuko, CDC, Oui sncf, Conforama, Central Supelec, Relais & Châteaux, Galeries Lafayette, Bein sports, CDC, BPI, Arpilabe, among others.