McDermott Will & Emery has added three partners to its Paris office with the hire of a team of lawyers from Orrick Rambaud Martel, SJ Berwin, and Reed Smith.
Bertrand Delafaye is joining McDermott's base in the French capital as a partner in the corporate advisory practice group, after eight years as a partner at Orrick.
Meanwhile, Antoine Vergnat will join the U.S. and international tax team, with Paris and New York Bar member Antony Martinez, who focuses on complex commercial and multiple-jurisdiction disputes, joining McDermott's trial practice group. Both were of counsel at Orrick and join McDermott as partners.
The trio will be accompanied by two Orrick associates and two former Orrick associates who have moved to SJ Berwin and Reed Smith in the interim.
McDermott launched in Paris in May last year, and the hires bring partner headcount at the fledgling base to 10, of which three focus on corporate. Local chief Jacques Buhart said corporate is one of the target areas for growth for the firm, with the new hires allowing it to better service French clients with cross-border transactional needs.
Buhart commented: "This is a very good quality group of lawyers who will significantly expand our offering to our clients. Bertrand, Antoine and Antony's specialist areas fit with our focus areas of corporate, tax and litigation, and we are very happy the whole team of seven lawyers is coming to join us."
Other focus areas for growth include IT and energy in Africa, with the firm already in early stage talks to hire lawyers with the relevant capabilities in Paris.
