Kramer Levin snares ex-Credit Agricole GC for Paris office

US firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel has picked up the former general counsel of French bank Crédit Agricole, Hubert de Vauplane, as a partner in its Paris office.

Vauplane left Crédit Agricole earlier this year and has been replaced at the bank by Pierre Minor, who was previously a partner at independent firm De Pardieu Brocas Maffei.

De Vauplane worked in-house, first at BNP Paribas and then Crédit Agricole, for nearly two decades before leaving for Kramer Levin. He is joining the firm’s banking and finance group and is its 12th partner in Paris, the only office outside New York.

Minor also previously worked at Banque National de Paris (BNP) before joining De Pardieu as head of the firm’s banking department in 1998.

Kramer Levin Paris managing partner Alexander Marquardt said de Vauplane’s hire gave the practice additional depth.