Bird & Bird boosts Paris and Brussels offices…

Bird & Bird has hired corporate teams in Paris and Brussels to boost its European operations.

In Paris, former Sales Vincent & Associes corporate partners Jodie Cohen-Tanugi and Francois Serres are to join the practice, both as partners.

Cohen-Tanugi will head the corporate/M&A team which, in addition to Serres, includes a further four associates.

She is experienced in a wide variety of international corporate transactions, specialising in the internet, media and communications sectors.

Serres has broad experience in the corporate sector, specialising in international M&A and joint ventures.

Bird & Bird managing partner Frederique Dupuis-Toubol says: "Since the Paris office was opened in January 2000, we have grown to nearly 30 lawyers.

"The addition of two corporate partners with the outstanding credentials of Jodie Cohen-Tanugi and Francois Serres, along with their team, bring substantial benefits for our clients.

"With our new corporate capability and the recent appointment of employment partner Benjamine Fiedler, Bird & Bird's Paris office now offers clients a full-service capability, reinforcing the firm's strong sectoral focus."

In Belgium, corporate lawyer Paul Hermant of Loeff Claeys Verbeke will move to the firm as a partner on 1 June this year. With extensive experience in all aspects of corporate and financial law, Hermant also regularly teaches, publishes and lectures in these areas.

He will be joined in Bird & Bird's Brussels office by a team of three associates, bringing the number of lawyers in the city to more than 35, including seven partners.

David Kerr, executive chairman, says: "The success of our Brussels and Paris offices has been dramatic and is evidenced by their rapid growth.

"Our sectoral approach is integral to the firm's expansion strategy and is proving highly successful in the continental European market."

Fiedler joined the practice in March, following her former managing partner Frederique Dupois-Tubol who took 10 assistants to the UK firm.

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