Paris

The GIR 100, a definitive guide to the world’s top firms for investigations, recognized Cohen & Gresser for its exceptional representation of high-profile individuals and companies. The firm was highlighted for its strong team of renowned lawyers operating in key jurisdictions worldwide. The GIR 100 is based on comprehensive submissions and rigorous independent research, identifying the top 100 firms globally that excel in government-led, internal, and cross-border investigations.

Cohen & Gresser’s White Collar Defense and Regulation practice, which spans its offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Paris, and London, is central to its continued success. The practice boasts a highly experienced Internal Investigations team that advises global clients, including corporations, boards of directors, special committees, and audit committees.

The team’s work encompasses the full spectrum of investigations, from responding to discrete, anonymous employee complaints to managing complex, wide-ranging investigations tied to ongoing litigation or regulatory and criminal scrutiny.

This recognition underscores Cohen & Gresser’s dedication to providing clients with sophisticated, strategic counsel in even the most challenging investigative matters.

Vincent focuses on white collar and general criminal law, with a strong emphasis on cross-border cases. He advises and defends corporate entities, public figures, and executives in high-profile political, business, and financial matters, including complex financial criminal cases. Vincent most recently worked on several landmark cases at French law firm Temime. He also assisted former President Nicolas Sarkozy in connection with the “Bygmalion” case.

“Joining Cohen & Gresser represents a natural progression in the development of my clientele and the expansion of my cross-border practice,” said Vincent Desry. “It provides my clients with access to a wider range of experience within a firm that aligns with my ambitions to handle complex, high-stakes international criminal cases. The firm’s strong reputation, both in France and internationally, is an invaluable asset that will support the continued growth of my practice.”

Vincent’s extensive experience significantly enhances the firm’s capacity to support French and international clients across a wide range of white collar areas, including criminal defense, regulatory investigations, and compliance matters. His addition bolsters the firm’s ability to navigate complex, high-stakes cases involving fraud, bribery, corruption, and other financial crimes. In cross-border matters, the Paris office seamlessly collaborates with the firm’s New York, Washington, D.C., and London offices, providing clients with a cohesive, global approach to resolving legal challenges spanning multiple jurisdictions.

Vincent’s addition further augments the collective strength of the Paris team, which includes Johannes Jonas and France Portmann Loy, who specialize in transactional matters; Muriel Goldberg-Darmon, a leader in financial markets and services for both advisory and litigation; Angéline Duffour, who specializes in employment law; and Franck Le Mentec, who focuses on tax law. Together, they provide clients with comprehensive legal support across key practice areas.

“Vincent Desry’s arrival marks a pivotal moment for our Paris office. It strengthens our standing as a distinguished international law firm, renowned for offering top-tier expertise in handling complex cross-border matters,” adds Johannes Jonas, Managing Partner of the Paris office.

About Vincent Desry

Vincent Desry holds a Master's degree in Economic Law from the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences-Po), specializing in Economic Litigation and Arbitration, and an LL.M. from New York University. He is a member of the Paris and New York Bars.

Vincent gained his initial experience at Allen & Overy and Dupond-Moretti & Vey before beginning his career at Cabinet Temime in 2017. On November 1, 2024, he joined Cohen & Gresser as a partner on the White Collar Defense & Regulation team.

About Cohen & Gresser

Cohen & Gresser is an international law firm with an outstanding record of success in high-stakes and high-profile litigation, investigations, and transactional work for our clients, including major financial institutions and companies around the world. Our attorneys have superb credentials and are committed to providing the efficiency and personal service of a boutique law firm along with the quality and attention to detail that are the hallmarks of the best firms in the world. The firm has been recognized in a wide range of publications, including Chambers and The Legal 500.

The Paris office advises a wide range of French and international clients on corporate M&A, capital markets law, regulatory compliance, employment law, tax law and civil, commercial and criminal litigation, including white collar defense. The firm also assists with internal investigations, enquiries, inspections and sanctions before the Autorité de Marchés Financiers and the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel, as well as international cooperation with other regulatory bodies (FCA, SEC, etc.) and cross-border investigations (OFAC, FCPA, etc.) conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Cohen & Gresser, a law firm specialized in business law, is pleased to announce that it has advised Otoqi in its new €10 million Series B round of financing from its historical shareholders: Seventure, Aster and Verve Ventures, and from two new investors: Digital Transition Fund from Cdp Venture Capital SGR (CDP VC and Swiss Post Ventures.

Founded in Paris in 2016, Otoqi is a leading provider of vehicle convoying and fleet management services. Three years after its Series A and already present in three European markets (France, Germany, Italy), Otoqi now plans to expand its convoying and fleet management services to six new countries in Europe with the next launches scheduled for early 2025. The aim is to reach 100 million euros in annual sales within four years, and thus strengthen its position as one of the European leaders in the sector.

To support this growth, the historical partners have decided to reinforce their initial investments, alongside new European investors Cdp Venture Capital and Swiss Post Ventures, thus renewing their "trust in Otoqi's ability to continue innovating and creating value in its sector.” (Bruno Rivet, Investment Director, Seventure Partners).

Cohen & Gresser advised Otoqi with a team comprising partner France Portmann Loy and associates Pauline Thuet and Eléonore Messina. Cdp Venture Capital SGR's Digital Transition Fund (CDP VC) was advised by Squair (Olivier Lopez, partner) and the Italian firm QLTLex (Francesco Fiore, Nicola Romano, partners, Lorenzo Scapellato, counsel).

For additional information, please contact parisassistant@cohengresser.com.

Johannes Jonas is recognized for corporate law. His practice focuses on cross-border transactions and investments, mergers and acquisitions, employment law, and general commercial law.

Angéline Duffour is recognized for labor and employment law. Her practice focuses on all aspects of employment law in a diverse range of industries (including hospitality and leisure, life sciences and health care, chemical industries, luxury, fashion and transportation).

Muriel Goldberg-Darmon is recognized for banking and finance law, financial institutions, mergers and acquisitions law, and regulatory practice. Her practice focuses on advising listed companies and their managers, investment funds, insurance companies, and financial institutions on a wide range of regulatory and compliance issues, investigations, and corporate transactions.

Franck Le Mentec is recognized for tax law. His practice focuses on cross-border taxation, both for multinational enterprises and private clients.

Guillaume Guérin is recognized for regulatory practice. His practice focuses on advising publicly listed and non-listed companies and their managers, investment funds, and financial institutions on a wide range of regulatory and compliance issues, investigations, and corporate transactions.

The Best Lawyers in France relies entirely on peer review to determine and recognize professional excellence.

Established in 2014, Cohen & Gresser’s Paris office provides comprehensive legal services for our clients, including advising on corporate, employment, tax, financial services, white collar defense, and litigation-related matters. Our Paris attorneys work closely with the lawyers in our other offices on cross-border transactions, investigations, and litigation, in order to provide superior service to French and international clients.

Andrew is also recognized in both the Criminal Fraud and Investigations categories of the UK Bar Silks report, which lists “the very best barristers … across over 28 areas of business and commercial law, including some of the leading litigators globally.”

WWL identifies leading lawyers across 80 areas of law and in more than 150 countries. Leading practitioners are determined by independent analysis of recommendations and feedback from eminent private practitioners in a particular sector or industry, as well as from corporate counsel or other clients who have worked closely with the nominees.

Partner Franck Le Mentec is one of only four lawyers in France recognized as a Leading Individual in Transfer Pricing and International Tax, and partner Muriel Goldberg-Darmon is one of only 16 lawyers in France recognized as a Leading Individual for Stock Market Litigation, encompassing AMF investigations and sanction proceedings.

The 2024 edition also recognized partner Angéline Duffour as a recommended lawyer for Employment, and counsel Guillaume Guérin as a recommended lawyer for Stock Market Litigation.

Established in 2014, Cohen & Gresser’s Paris office provides comprehensive legal services on corporate, employment, tax, financial services, white-collar defense, and litigation-related matters. Our Paris lawyers work closely with the lawyers in our U.S. and UK offices on cross-border transactions, investigations, and litigation, providing superior service to our French and international clients.

The Legal 500 EMEA guide provides annual researched coverage of over 80 countries and over 2,700 law firms. The research involves a detailed assessment of various factors, including work conducted by law firms over the past 12 months and historically, experience and depth of teams, and client feedback.

France advises on a full range of corporate matters, with expertise in venture capital. She advises her clients — founders of SMEs, ETIs and start-ups, family groups, and family offices — on their growth and transformation operations (growth and venture capital, mergers and acquisitions), as well as on their internal reorganization issues. Her clients are primarily technology and impact companies, which gives her a deep knowledge of these businesses, their way of functioning, their values, and their challenges. She recently advised the majority shareholder family on the sale of control of Biose Industrie to Bpifrance and L-Gam, and advised Intact Regenerative on a major industrial investment.

“My arrival is the outcome of a fruitful meeting with partners who are a perfect match for me, both in terms of the skills we bring to the table and the structure of the firm,” said France. “The firm’s agility and international footprint is key for my clients and the support they need for their projects.”

France’s deep experience strengthens the firm’s ability to support French and international clients in mergers and acquisitions, equity financing, expansion capital, and early-stage deals. For cross-border transactions, the Paris office works closely with the New York, Washington, D.C., and London offices. Most recently, Cohen & Gresser’s Paris team was involved in the sale of La Tribune to CMA CGM and the sale of part of the Atalian group’s activities to CD&R.

France’s background contributes to the collective strength of the Paris team and seamlessly integrates with the experience of other partners in the office: Johannes Jonas, who specializes in transactional work; Muriel Goldberg-Darmon, who specializes in financial markets and financial services, both in advisory and litigation work; Angéline Duffour, who specializes in employment law; and Franck Le Mentec, who specializes in tax law.

“We are delighted to welcome France and her team, with whom we share a similar vision of the legal profession, blending technical expertise, market knowledge, and values. Their arrival fits in perfectly with the firm’s growth strategy and complements the strengths and experience of other members of the Paris team,” said Johannes Jonas, Managing Partner of the Paris office.

About France Portmann Loy

France started her career at Linklaters in 2000 before joining Debevoise & Plimpton in 2005. In 2010, she set up her own firm, FPL Avocats, and joined Rossi Bordes & Associés as a partner in 2018. In January 2024, she became a partner in the Corporate department of Cohen & Gresser, which she joined with two associates.

She holds a Master’s degree in Litigation, Arbitration, and ADR from the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas and an LLM in Commercial Law from the University of Bristol. She has been a member of the Paris Bar since 2001.

About the Team

Pauline Thuet holds a Master’s degree in Private Litigation Management from the Université Côte d’Azur and has been a member of the Paris Bar since 2017. She started her career at Rossi Bordes & Associés and joined Cohen & Gresser’s Paris office in January 2024 as a senior associate.

Eleonore Messina graduated in business law from the Universities of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne and Paris II Panthéon-Assas, and holds Master’s degrees in business taxation from Inseec and in M&A from Paris Saclay. After gaining experience with firms such as Grant Thornton and Rossi Bordes & Associés, she joined Cohen & Gresser’s Paris office as an associate in January 2024.

Press Coverage

France Portmann-Loy rejoint Cohen & Gresser avec son équipe, La Lettre des Juristes d'Affaires (Feb. 2, 2024)

Cohen & Gresser Adds Venture Capital Team in Paris, Law.com International (Feb. 2, 2024)

Press Contacts

France: Amélie Lerosier, amelie@blue-wall.com, +33 06 63 58 34 62; Juliette Rohmer, juliette@blue-wall.com, + 33 07 60 21 20 34

United States: Angela Turturro-Sabella, aturturro@cohengresser.com, +1 212 957 7600

"Congratulations to these talented lawyers on their well-deserved promotions," said Lawrence T. Gresser, the firm’s managing partner. “Shannon, Pauline, Marvin, and Pierre each demonstrate extraordinary commitment to client service and embody our firm's core values of excellence, integrity, and respect. We recognize their outstanding accomplishments and positive impact, and look forward to their continued success at Cohen & Gresser.”

Shannon Daugherty – Counsel, New York

Shannon Daugherty practices complex commercial litigation and criminal and regulatory defense. Shannon advises clients across a broad array of industries on a wide range of disputes, including contract, civil RICO, bankruptcy, and tax matters. She also maintains an active pro bono practice. She has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star for business litigation.

Pauline Koch – Counsel, Paris

Pauline Koch practices corporate transactions, compliance, and mergers and acquisitions. Pauline holds a Master’s degree (JD equivalent) in English and North American Business Law, as well as a Master’s degree in International Law from the University of Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne. She received her Bachelor of Laws from the University of Strasbourg and her LL.M. from UCLA School of Law. Pauline is admitted to practice in France and California.

Marvin Lowenthal – Counsel, New York

Marvin Lowenthal practices white collar defense, general commercial and securities litigation, and privacy and cybersecurity. He is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) in the United States. Super Lawyers has recognized Marvin as a Rising Star each year since 2018.

Pierre Wolman – Counsel, Paris

Pierre Wolman’s practice encompasses advice and litigation on corporate and M&A transactions both for publicly listed and private companies as well as on a wide range of regulatory and compliance issues. He holds a Masters II Degree in business law and taxation from the University Paris II Panthéon – Assas and a Master in Financial Regulation and Risk Management from Sciences Po Paris. He also holds a Bachelor of Civil Law from University College Dublin, Ireland. Pierre is admitted to practice in France.

WWL identifies leading lawyers across 35 practice areas and in more than 160 countries. Leading practitioners are determined by independent analysis of recommendations and feedback from eminent private practitioners in a particular sector or industry, as well as from corporate counsel or other clients who have worked closely with the nominees.