Veil Jourde shrugs off Gibson losses and raids Gide for corporate rebuild

French independent Veil Jourde has reinforced its corporate team with a four-lawyer hire from Gide Loyrette Nouel.

Gide senior associate François de Navailles joins Veil Jourde as an M&A partner, bringing with him three other associates, who will retain their status at their new firm.

The hire comes a month after Gibson Dunn & Crutcher raided Veil Jourde for an eight-lawyer team that included partners Ariel Harroch and Marie-Charlotte Trebuchet. That loss followed the departure of Guillaume Kuperfils and four other lawyers to Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw.

However, Veil Jourde has started to rebuild. As revealed by The Lawyer (11 September), restructuring star Gabriel Sonier is currently working from the firm's premises, although a conflict of interest over the Eurotunnel administration has delayed his integration into the partnership.