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Mills & Reeve system for employees.
We're highly experienced in helping companies and individuals access legal services across the Channel.
Whether you need legal assistance in France, or whether you're a French business or individual looking for legal advice in the UK, we can support you.
With several French speakers and people who've grown up in France and other French-speaking nations, we have the business and cultural understanding, connections and language skills to help you navigate the challenges you face.
We're formally affiliated with France’s largest law firm, FIDAL, with more than 87 offices and over 1,300 lawyers.
This partnership has been in place for many years, ensuring we provide you with seamless access to the best specialist lawyers and the right advice for your interests in the UK, France and beyond. For more information visit the FIDAL website.
Our network in France can help provide a complete range of legal services to corporates and individuals, and we can quickly connect you with the right specialist lawyers you need on the ground.
• Establishing a business by incorporation or establishing a branch
• M&A activity, such as buying, selling or restructuring a business, including legal due diligence
• Competition law
• Banking and finance matters
• Advising on general corporate governance
• Drafting and negotiating commercial agreements
• Dealing in commercial property
• Intellectual property matters
• Helping with workforce issues, such as contracts of employment, redundancies and disputes
• Disputes and litigation
• Family, succession and probate issues
• Supporting with related disputes
• Re-domiciliation
• Immigration
Businesses we work with include: RCM, Sodexo, Groupe IDEC, PSD Aero, Groupe Alainé, Vente-privée, Voyageurs du Monde, Maisons du Monde, JOTT, Groupe Pilote, Cuisines Schmidt and 2CRSI.
For several years we've acted for VetPartners, one of Europe's leading vet practice consolidators. In 2019, VetPartners decided to expand its operations into Europe with the addition of practices in several European countries, including France.
While the vet practice market in the UK was mature and developed, the concept of corporate veterinarian practices was very new in France, where the industry remained largely a professional trade of individual partnerships.
We were quickly able to introduce VetPartners to local lawyers at FIDAL in France who could advise on not only the acquisition process, but also on the challenging local and national regulatory environment which would in most cases define the acquisition structures required.
We worked collaboratively alongside VetPartners and FIDAL throughout many of the acquisitions, not only to help nurture a consistency of approach where possible, but also to act as a sounding board for management on more important strategic and commercial decisions linked to their expansion across Europe.
VetPartners now has a well-established network of over 50 practices across France.
Upon the death of her husband, one of our clients inherited a property in France. She had been tangled in a web of complex and unfamiliar bureaucracy for over a year, and turned to us for help.
Within a day, we'd connected her with a private client specialist at FIDAL and arranged an all parties meeting to discuss the matter. Within a week, the file had been transferred to FIDAL who had contacted local notaries and authorities in the right part of France in order to progress matters.
Within two months, all the formalities had been completed and our client was holding the title deeds to the property.
And more...
We recently advised a high net worth individual on his divorce and financial settlement of £27m involving tax advice in France.
We advised ARCHIMED on the £74m sale of Vita Health Group, a market-leading provider of mental and physical health services in the UK.
We acted for a well-known French fashion retailer with over 100 stores in continental Europe on leases of its new flagship retail premises in London.
We acted for leading French automotive dealership group RCM in its first UK acquisition of a Mercedes-Benz truck and van dealership based in the South-West of England.
Not at all. 30 of our lawyers speak French (some are completely bilingual) and we can speak, advise and conduct meetings confidently in the language if required. Similarly, many of our counterparts at FIDAL speak fluent English. We'll will take communication into account when making introductions and referrals to make sure you get the clearest and best advice.
Some of our lawyers spend almost half of their time acting for French clients or connecting clients to our network in France. It’s an important part of our international business. Many of our lawyers will have dealt with French clients or made introductions to our French network, and travel to France regularly to visit clients and contacts.
France is Europe’s largest country and its location at the centre of Europe makes it a desirable destination for business. Paris is second after Tokyo for hosting the greatest number of multinational company headquarters, with around 500 businesses making it their ‘home’ city. Every jurisdiction is different so things may seem more daunting or complex at times, but the key is to work alongside a well-networked team that knows the system and best practice so that they can help you navigate any complexities.