Taylor Wessing in Paris raid on Richards Butler

Taylor Wessing in Paris raid on Richards Butler" />The former joint managing partner of Richards Butler’s Paris office has quit to join the fledgling French team at Taylor Wessing.

Pascal Roux, who was Paris corporate head before becoming joint managing partner, leaves with his three-person team.

Roux was relieved of his managerial duties at the end of 2003 as the firm streamlined its managerial team. Roux’s co-head Lars Lewis was retained as sole managing partner, with Mike Mackenzie-Smith continuing as senior partner.

Richards Butler managing partner Roger Parker claims that Roux’s appointment was only an interim arrangement, but at the time of Roux’s appointment in May 2002, Parker said: “The senior partner is British and we wanted to develop a career structure for more French managerial involvement to bring the cultures closer together for the long term.”

Roux is the third corporate partner to leave the firm’s French office in the last year following the departures of Sébastien Burget and Corinne Cashard.

“Over a five-year period we’ve absorbed a number of hires from outside the office, which has grown to a 35-lawyer practice.

“From time to time, in a consolidating market, it’s inevitable that there will be the occasional departure,” said Parker.

Roux is a corporate finance lawyer, who focuses on the technology, media and telecoms (TMT) sector.

Taylor Wessing launched in Paris in November 2003 with a TMT team of eight partners and more than 20 associates recruited from Landwell.