HFW has added an international arbitration team in Paris from Eversheds Sutherland including partners Julien Fouret and Gaëlle Le Quillec.

The duo specialise in international commercial arbitration and investment treaty arbitration and will join HFW on 2 May alongside a senior associate.  

Their arrival follows HFW recruiting M&A private equity partner Thomas Forin for its 50-lawyer Paris office last year as well as restructuring of counsel Armelle Loste, who joined earlier this month from August Debouzy.  

Jean-Marc Zampa, head of HFW’s Paris office, commented: “This is a clear statement of our intent to continue building complementary practices through the recruitment of leading practitioners to provide a broad range of support to our clients.  

“Julien and Gaëlle will be a great addition to our international and domestic arbitration practices. Having worked together for many years, they have considerable experience and will offer our clients depth of knowledge spanning international markets. I take this opportunity to welcome them joining our team in Paris at such exciting time in our regional growth.”

Fouret is ranked among France’s leading international arbitration lawyers by legal directory Chambers and has joined the firm after nearly five years as a partner at Eversheds Sutherland, which he joined alongside Le Quillec from Parisian boutique Betto Seraglini.

He focuses on investment treaty arbitration and international commercial arbitration in the construction, energy, mining and oil and gas sectors and has been counsel, chair and arbitrator in many arbitrations under the rules of most prominent arbitral institutions. He also brings extensive experience in sports arbitration before the CAS/TAS.

Fouret is the secretary general of the International Academy for Arbitration Law and was previously vice-chair of the IBA Arbitration Committee and counsel at the Secretariat of the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC.  

Meantime, Le Quillec specialises in international commercial arbitration with a particular focus on the aviation, defence, energy, construction, leisure, transport and hospitality sectors. She also advises on investment treaty arbitration proceedings and commercial litigation, including disputes relating to commercial contracts, supply chain, sellers’ guarantees and post-M&A litigation.

Le Quillec has significant experience as counsel in arbitrations and is regularly appointed as an arbitrator in international disputes. She is president of the Paris Place d’Arbitrage and a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR.  

Fouret commented: “HFW has an amazing international platform, and we’re looking to working with all of the firm’s offices and colleagues to continue to grow the international arbitration practice, both for investment treaty and commercial disputes. We are particularly looking forward to building a truly dedicated international arbitration group in Paris.”

Fouret and Le Quillec’s arrival continues a period of sustained growth for HFW globally, with the firm adding 30 new partners since the beginning of FY23. It now has 190 partners globally, according to data from Pirical.  

Among the arrivals was Maurice Thompson, who rejoined from Clyde & Co in Melbourne in January as global head of litigation funding alongside three other lawyers. Last November the firm also added a quartet of corporate, projects and disputes partners in Perth and Sydney from MinterEllison alongside a team of 15 lawyers.  

HFW posted record results for FY23 in June, growing revenue by more than 13% to £225.3m in the 12 months to the end of March against a 17.5% jump in PEP to £786k, a performance that saw the firm buck the trend among its UK rivals of revenue growth but flat or falling profits.  

HFW has also expanded elsewhere in the APAC region recently with the launch of an office in Shenzhen Qianhai, to better serve its clients in China’s booming Greater Bay Area.