Squire Patton Boggs has appointed private equity lawyer Arnaud Lafarge as a partner in its Corporate practice in Paris. M. Lafarge joins from Lamy Lexel, and is accompanied by two associates, Nicolas Leveque and Eva Jouannic. He joins a Corporate team in France significantly bolstered by the recent arrivals of private equity lawyers Maxime Dequesne and Anthony Guillaume, and private equity finance and tax specialists Benjamin Marché and Charles Briand, and his appointment is the eighth partner hire in the firm’s Paris office since summer 2021.
M. Lafarge is a highly experienced private equity and corporate lawyer, advising funds, private and listed companies and management teams on a wide range of complex, cross-border transactions. He also offers a particular expertise in public M&A and securities law. Dual qualified, in New York and Paris, M. Lafarge has been partner at Lamy Lexel, based in Paris and Lyon, since 2019. After two years in the United States, including one year in New York during which he practised at an international firm, he worked at other leading global law firms in France between 2007 and 2019. He has a Master’s degree in Business Law and Taxation from Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas and an LLM from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Arnaud is another welcome addition to our growing team,” said partner Paul Mann, head of the firm’s European Private Equity group. “Our plan to expand specialist private equity capabilities across key European hubs has led to new teams in the UK, Spain, Italy, and France (and soon Germany), has brought in several new clients, and has strengthened existing ties within the sector. In Paris, Arnaud joins a formidable practice, which is already having an impact in the market.”
Tony Reed, EMEA head of the Global Corporate practice, added, “It’s great to have Arnaud with us. Arnaud’s valuable experience in corporate M&A, private equity, and equity capital markets, will strengthen our broad transactional capabilities in France, reinforcing our position as a leading advisory firm in the global corporate mid-market.”
“We’re pleased to welcome Arnaud to the office,” said Carole Sportes, managing partner in Paris office. “He’ll find a dynamic environment and collaborative work culture that extends across all our practices. He’ll also see some familiar faces too, as he worked previously with Anthony Guillaume at former firms.”
“Squire Patton Boggs has an outstanding private equity platform and tremendous M&A capabilities and I am certainly looking forward to getting involved with the team,” said M. Lafarge. “Squire Patton Boggs has experienced impressive growth in Paris and internationally, and I can see multiple new opportunities opening up for clients across many sectors.”
The Squire Patton Boggs Paris office has seen seven partner appointments in the past 15 months, including Maxime Dequesne and Anthony Guillaume in Corporate, Benjamin Marché in Financial Services, Charles Briand in Tax Strategy & Benefits, Estelle Vernejoul and Thomas Coëffé in Real Estate, and Marion Seranne in Global Investigations and White Collar. The firm’s private equity group in Europe has trebled in size with the appointments in Paris, and of Sara Belotti in Milan and Teresa Zueco and team in Madrid.