Bredin Prat appoints 9 Counsels

Bredin Prat is pleased to announce that the following lawyers have been appointed as Counsel with effect from 1 January 2025: Wenceslas Chelini and Bertrand Homassel (Competition and EU Law), Kathy Ribeiro Leite (Litigation), Laura Gabay, Valentine Pouyet and Jérôme Vincent (Corporate), Guillaume Léonard (Public Law), Caroline Combes and Geoffrey Gury (Employment Law).

Bredin Prat’s Senior Partner, Didier Martin, commented: “I would like to congratulate our nine new Counsels. Their appointment as Counsel recognizes their remarkable investment in serving the firm and our clients. Our commitment to valuing the talent that makes up our firm is an essential pillar of our model, encouraging the continuity and confidence that be indispensable to serving our clients effectively in their projects in France and abroad, whether on transactional matters or in litigation matters.”

Wenceslas Chelini, Counsel | Competition and EU Law

Wenceslas Chelini, Counsel, is a member of the Competition and EU Law team.

He assists French and international clients before French and European regulatory authorities and courts, in cases involving all aspects of competition law (cartels, abuse of dominant position, merger control and state aid).

Wenceslas was admitted to the Paris Bar in 2016 and is a graduate of the University of Paris 10-Nanterre (Master’s degree in European Business Law, 2012).

Recognised in “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” in Competition/Antitrust Law

Best Lawyers®, 2025

Bertrand Homassel, Counsel | Competition and EU Law

Bertrand Homassel, Counsel, is a member of the Competition and EU Law team.

He assists French and international clients before French and European regulatory authorities and courts, in cases involving all aspects of competition law (cartels, abuse of dominant position, merger control and state aid).

Bertrand was admitted to the Paris Bar in 2015 and is a graduate of the University of Paris 2-Panthéon-Assas (Master’s degree in European Business Law, 2012; Master’s degree in Public Law).

Recognised in “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” in Competition/Antitrust Law

Best Lawyers®, 2025

Kathy Ribeiro Leite, Counsel | Litigation

Kathy Ribeiro Leite, Counsel, is a member of the Litigation team.

She advises and represents companies and their senior executives in proceedings before the civil, commercial and criminal courts.

Kathy was admitted to the Paris Bar in 2016 and is a graduate of the University of Paris 2-Panthéon-Assas (Master’s degree in Private Law, 2014) and the University of Paris 1-Panthéon-Sorbonne (Master’s degree in Business Law and Tax, 2013; Master’s degree in Business Law, 2012).

Recognised in “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” in Litigation and International Arbitration

Best Lawyers®, 2025

Laura Gabay, Counsel | Corporate

Laura Gabay, Counsel, is a member of the Corporate team.

Her practice focuses mainly on M&A, private equity and securities law, advising privately- and publicly-owned companies on their cross-border transactions.

She advises French and international corporate clients and their senior executives in connection with their external growth transactions, strategic alliances and joint ventures.

Laura was admitted to the Paris Bar in 2015 and is a graduate of the business school HEC Paris (2014), the University of Paris 2-Panthéon-Assas (Master’s degree in International Tax Law, 2014) and the University of Paris 1-Panthéon-Sorbonne (Master’s degree in Business Law, 2012).

Valentine Pouyet, Counsel | Corporate

Valentine Pouyet, Counsel, is a member of the Corporate team.

Her practice focuses on M&A and private equity.

She also advises listed companies on securities law and corporate governance issues.

Valentine joined Bredin Prat in 2016 and was seconded to Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York from 2020 to 2021.

She was admitted to the Paris Bar in 2016 and is a graduate of the business school ESSEC (Grande École programme, 2016), University of Paris 2-Panthéon-Assas (Master’s degree in Business Law, 2013) and Oxford University (Diploma in Legal Studies, 2012).

Recognised in “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” in Private Equity Law

Best Lawyers®, 2025

Jérôme Vincent, Counsel |Corporate

Jérôme Vincent, Counsel, is a member of the Corporate team.

His practice includes advising on M&A transactions (including private equity), securities law and corporate governance issues.

Jérôme was admitted to the New York Bar in 2016 and the Paris Bar in 2017. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School (Master of Laws – LL.M., 2015) and the University of Paris 2-Panthéon-Assas (Master’s degree – Magistère de Juriste d’affaires – DJCE, 2014).

Guillaume Léonard, Counsel |Public law

Guillaume Léonard, Counsel, is a member of the firm’s Public Law team, advising on both transactional and litigation matters.

He regularly assists clients on matters involving highly complex issues in regulated or closely supervised sectors (energy, audiovisual, defence, health, aviation and airports, agriculture, etc.), in the public sector (governance issues in state-owned companies, lobbying issues, etc.) and in relation to environmental law matters.

Guillaume also has broad experience advising clients in relation to foreign direct investment in France and related issues.

Guillaume lectures on public law at the School of Public Affairs at Sciences Po Paris and has given seminars in administrative law at the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne. He is the co-rapporteur for the work currently being carried out by the Environmental Law Committee of the legal think-tank, the Club des Juristes, on infrastructure and the green transition.

Guillaume was admitted to the Paris Bar in 2018 and is a graduate of Sciences Po Strasbourg (Master’s degree Sciences Po Strasbourg and Master’s degree in Economic and Regulatory Law in Europe, top-ranked student, 2015) and of the Freie Universität of Berlin (Master of European and International Business, Competition and Regulatory Law, top-ranked student, 2014). Guillaume also studied at Georgetown University, Washington DC (exchange student in 2010-2011).

“Guillaume Léonard: expert in administrative law, very available and highly adaptable to unusual contexts.”

Recognised as “Recommended” in Administrative and Public Law

The Legal 500 EMEA, 2024

Recognised in “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” in Administrative and Public Law

Best Lawyers®, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025