When KPMG Avocats announced this month that it had recruited a 10-lawyer IP/IT team from a rival firm, it included two law-graduate interns who were in the middle of a six-month training stint.

“Of course we brought the interns over,” said Moustapha Oussedrat, president of KPMG Avocats. “Interns are full players on the team. The current situation does nothing to change that.”