Paris

Fieldfisher has launched a French public law practice with the hire of four lawyers, including Gowling partner Emmanuel Paillard.

Paillard, who becomes the office's head of public law, is a construction specialist whose record includes advising on legal aspects of the design, financing, construction and operation of projects such as the Marseille Vélodrome stadium, France's new Ministry of Defence, Paris's new Palais de Justice, and a high-speed train network in the Alsace region.

He is currently working on the Grand Paris Express project, a group of new rapid transit train lines being built in the region surrounding Paris; and a liquid natural gas power plant project in one of France's overseas territories.

He was previously co-head of Gowling WLG's projects and public law team, and before that spent three years as a partner at Watson Farley & Williams and nine years at the firm now known as Orrick, where he began his legal career and rose to become counsel.

His new team also includes associates Paul Peyret and Stéphanie Legrand. Peyret's career includes time at Bordeaux-based Noyer Cazcarra Avocats, Gowling, Watson Farley & Williams and Ashurst, while Legrand joins Fieldfisher after a year at Dentons, and has also worked at Weil, Gotshal & Manges and French public transport operator Transdev.

The team is completed by trainee Eloïse Ado-Chata, who also moves over from Gowling.

The four lawyers took up their new positions at the beginning of this month.

In August, Fieldfisher recruited Linklaters partner Peter Golden to lead its European private client practice. Alistair Robertson, a managing associate in Linklaters' private client team, will also join the firm, as a partner.

Earlier this year, Fieldfisher elected London corporate partner David Wilkinson as its new senior partner. He replaced Matthew Lohn.