Leading international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer has hired Laurence Bary as a partner in its Competition, Regulation and Trade (CRT) practice in Paris.
Laurence focuses her practice on EU and French competition law. She represents clients in antitrust investigations and complex merger control cases before the European Commission and the French Competition Authority, and in subsequent appeals and litigation before the EU and French courts. With a particular expertise in innovative and strategic industries, Laurence has in particular assisted leading companies in the digital and tech, aerospace and defence, and life sciences sectors.
Laurence will work alongside Head of Competition, Regulation and Trade in Paris, Sergio Sorinas, to further strengthen the market-leading team with an additional layer of antitrust expertise in highly strategic sectors. With the addition of Laurence, the team will be ideally positioned to support clients on high-stakes competition law matters both in France and as part of the firm's offering across Europe.
Kyriakos Fountoukakos, Managing Partner of Competition, Regulation and Trade at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, comments: "France is one of the most active countries for antitrust enforcement and investigations as well as private damages actions. Adding a highly skilled practitioner such as Laurence will enable us to deepen our support to clients as they get to grips with this fast-moving landscape."
Sergio Sorinas, Head of Competition, Regulation and Trade in Paris at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, comments "I am delighted to welcome Laurence as a partner. Laurence is a top-tier competition practitioner with a stellar reputation. Her arrival is a perfect fit with our strategy to strengthen our competition practice across Europe and to support the continued growth of our Paris office."
Laurence Bary comments: "The antitrust team of Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer is one of the highest-ranking competition practices in Europe, and the Paris office of the firm is especially dynamic. There are many synergies between my practice and that of HSF Kramer in Paris, London and Brussels, in particular with regard to the digital industry and antitrust litigation, and I’m very excited to join Kyriakos and Sergio to build on the team’s top-notch expertise even further."
Laurence is the latest arrival for the firm in Paris, following the double hire of TMT partners Emmanuel Ronco and Vincent Denoyelle in the firm's Corporate practice in July 2024. The firm also recently strengthened its EMEA competition litigation team through the hire of partne