We help our clients to anticipate and adapt to changes in our society and economy
Looking back, what is your assessment of 2023?
Marilyn Bénichou: in 2023, our growth continued on its long-term upward path.
We have progressed in all segments of business law and have accompanied the emergence of new practices, such as Finance 3.0, the development of the space sector and notarial activities. We have reinforced our capacity to operate internationally by opening another office abroad, in Geneva, following on from Abu Dhabi.
To keep moving forward and meet the various short, medium and long-term challenges, including that of artificial intelligence, in 2023 we recruited a general manager whose background is in the legal IT world.
Has the combined lawyer-notary services offer lived up to its promises?
Louis de Gaulle: in 2023, we put the effectiveness of our integrated business lawyer and notary service to the test. The feedback from our customers has been excellent. Whether they used our services for financing, corporate or real estate operations, they really appreciated this one-stop shop, finding that this made the service more responsive and more efficient and helped to keep costs down..
For example, on a merger/acquisition or financing operation or a transfer of real estate assets, the notarial instruments that have to be signed to make the agreement or claims enforceable are dealt with within the same team of lawyers and notaries, from the audit phase onwards, taking into account in the legal and tax planning aspects of the operation.
International investors particularly appreciate the simplicity of this organisation and also our ability to support them in English, including on the notarial side.
What trends do you see ahead in 2024?
L. de G.: we will be concentrating on our two main specialist areas, advice and litigation: advice to companies on structural operations (mergers & acquisitions, corporate and project financing, disposal & acquisition of assets, business transfers and takeovers, etc.) and operational transactions (business contracts, public procurement contracts, joint ventures, intangible assets, digitalisation, etc.); litigation before the ordinary and administrative courts or in international arbitration proceedings.
In keeping with our motto, Legal Step To Change, we help our clients to anticipate and adapt to changes in our society and economy: CSR, carbon-free energy, mobility, media, space, artificial intelligence, Finance 3.0, healthcare, land use planning, etc. On all of these subjects, 2024 is going to be an important year, especially with the entry into force of the CSRD and the ISSB non-financial disclosure standards.
In 2024, we will have an even bigger international presence, enabling us both to support our clients in their investments from our offices in Paris, Brussels, Geneva and Abu Dhabi, and to export our know-how, especially in connection with major infrastructure and energy projects.
Finally, Paris has the honour of hosting the Olympic Games this year, and we will be on call to support clients whose teams are coming over to Paris.
Companies' ESG commitments are becoming an increasingly salient issue. Does this also apply to a firm of lawyers and notaries like De Gaulle Fleurance?
M. B.: Definitely. Our lawyers and our notaries advise companies on CSR and that means they have to set an example on such issues. That's why in 2023 we set up a CSR committee which structures our actions.
The values we have built our group on are now enshrined in our CSR Charter and our sustainability report: promotion of equality and diversity; avoidance of any kind of 'closed shop' and the fight against all types of discrimination, whether it is based on gender, social origin, religion, skin colour, sexual orientation, age, disability or anything else.