French boutique Brandford-Griffith raids Jones Day for tax chief

French M&A boutique Brandford-Griffith Baverez Pasturel has poached Jones Day’s European head of tax Pierre Ullmann.

Ullmann will spearhead the development of a tax team at the French firm.

Managing partner Henri Brandford-Griffith told The Lawyer that efforts to secure a team of associates to complement Ullmann are well under way.

The high profile lateral hire comes after partners working on large leveraged buy-outs (LBOs) lobbied for a strong tax capability.

From 1983 to 1990, Ullmann practised with Bureau Francis Lefebvre, where Brandford-Griffith also worked before joining Veil Jourde La Garanderie.

The managing partner founded Brandford-Griffith two years ago to focus on high-profile M&A, administrative law and litigation.

The recruitment brings the number of partners at Brandford-Griffith to eight and a total of 25 lawyers.