Copyright : Re-publication of this article is authorised only in the following circumstances; the writer and Africa Legal are both recognised as the author and the website address www.africa-legal.com and original article link are back linked. Re-publication without both must be preauthorised by contacting editor@africa-legal.com
French international business law firm De Gaulle Fleurance opens a second African strategic hub in Senegal
Established in 2001 in Paris by six passionate lawyers, De Gaulle Fleurance has grown into a leading international business law firm with over 200 professionals in locations including Paris, Brussels, Geneva, Abu Dhabi, and Abidjan. This week it announced further strategic expansion into Africa, launching a new presence in Dakar
The launch this week of a new presence in Dakar, Senegal is part of De Gaulle Fleurance’s desire to offer integrated legal services between Africa and the Middle East, as close as possible to clients’ needs and local realities, says Henri-Nicolas Fleurance, a partner at the French international business law firm.
Africa is now a strategic region for international investors, says the French firm, particularly due to its wealth of natural resources, its growth potential and the scale of its ongoing infrastructure projects. With the United Arab Emirates, where De Gaulle Fleurance has a subsidiary in Abu Dhabi, having “a privileged relationship with the African continent” in terms of being a major investment partner, the firm aims to support the projects and operations of investors it advises from the Middle East, providing them with tailored legal expertise rooted in local and regional realities.
The new presence in Dakar involves three highly experienced partners - Seynabou Kandji, David Hountondji, and Issakha Ndiaye - and becomes De Gaulle Fleurance’s second location in Africa. The team is mainly involved in business law, public law and OHADA law, and adds to De Gaulle Fleurance’s first foray into Africa with Mounira Coulibaly Akougbé, Managing Director of De Gaulle Fleurance Africa in Abidjan.
“We are delighted to strengthen our position in Africa with the arrival of three new lawyers at our firm,” saysJean-Baptiste Santelli, partner and managing director of De Gaulle Fleurance EMEA, the group’s Abu Dhabi-based subsidiary. “With this presence in Dakar, we aim to refine our services to the Middle Eastern companies and public entities that place their trust in us and provide them with long-term support for their investment projects on the African continent,”
Alongside Middle Eastern investors, De Gaulle Fleurance Africa also supports European, Canadian and Asian investors with projects on the African continent.
Kandji has worked at global and international law firms in Paris and Senegal, and advises local and international clients on complex transactions in the infrastructure, telco, energy, environment, sustainable development, and nature resource sectors. Hountondji assists African states and private operators in structuring projects and reforming legal frameworks, particularly in the energy, transport and hydrocarbons sectors. Ndiaye has over fifteen years’ experience advising governments, international institutions, and private investors in Africa, particularly in the energy, transport and infrastructure sectors.
For more information on De Gaulle Fleurance in Dakar, visit here.