SINCE 2014, STEPHANIE FOUGOU HAS SERVED AS GROUP GENERAL counsel for Vallourec, a multinational company headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. Vallourec provides solutions to energy industries as well as to others in the industrial sector. The company is organized in four regions: North America, with headquarters in Houston; South America, based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Asia/Middle East, based in Dubai; and Europe, with headquarters in Paris.

LEGAL DEPARTMENT: Fougou says she is in charge of several functions at Vallourec, including its legal department. With 45 lawyers and 10 paralegals based in Boulogne and the different regions, the department is organized to handle regional global legal activities. Much of its work involves contractual, litigation, corporate or regulatory (anti-dumping) matters as well as advising on everyday issues. One lawyer may be nominated as a referent, when working in project mode, for a client to make sure there are coherent negotiations with that client in the different regions.