Hammonds hires French lawyer as first play in move to link with a French firm

HAMMOND Suddards is seeking a tie-up with a law firm in France and has hired French corporate lawyer Corinne Bouffandeau to assist in the move.

Bouffandeau, who most recently was an in-house lawyer, working as economic adviser with the European Commission’s delegation to Sri Lanka, said: “My main objective is to strengthen the French client base. Up to now we only have an office in Brussels. The idea is to have a tie-up with a French law firm. Part of my job will be to approach French firms to find a suitable partner.”

She said it was too early to say whether Hammonds would actually open a joint-venture French office or merely form a loose association with a French firm. “That depends on what I find out,” she said.

Bouffandeau will work in the corporate department of Hammond Suddard’s London office. She has also worked in the Tokyo office of Clifford Chance. In Paris, she worked as head of the Thomson Group’s legal department, at Fives Lille and as head of the international legal department at Axa.