Norton Rose Paris reshuffle yields White & Case hire

Norton Rose is continuing the widespread shake-up of its Paris office as a second partner opts to leave for White & Case.

Corporate finance partner Eric Laplante will join Norton Rose’s former head of competition in Paris, Jean-Patrice de la Laurencie, who is also moving to the US firm. Both partners jumped ship for Norton Rose three years ago from Coudert Brothers.

It is expected that Laplante will take a team of four associates with him. While competition partner Laure Givry has been promoted to head the competition group.

Commenting on the departures, Norton Rose’s Paris managing partner George Paterson said: "We’re pretty happy with the restructuring of the office and the young and dynamic competition team we will now have."

Paterson took over the running of the Paris office nine months ago with a remit to reorganise the group. During that time a number of partners have left including a clutch of Norton Rose insurance partners who left to set up on their own.

Paterson said: "We are restructuring the office and the people who didn’t want to be part of that restructuring have moved on."

Earlier this year, Norton Rose bolstered its corporate finance team after recruiting a team, lead by Jean-François Mercadier from independent French firm Sokolow Dunaud Mercadier & Carreras.

White & Case declined to comment.