Law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP has appointed partner Nicolas Demigneux as the Paris office managing partner, effective 1 May 2020. He succeeds Sharon White, who held the role from 2015.

Demigneux will play a leading role in the development of the firm’s Paris office, with a particular focus on creating a strategy which will support the ambitions of the wider firm, and position the office to respond to evolving market conditions.

“Stephenson Harwood is known to be an entrepreneurial environment, in which colleagues are encouraged to apply creative thinking to the challenges facing the firm and our clients,” said Nicolas Demigneux, partner, Stephenson Harwood. “There’s never been a more important time for us to use this approach, or for us to encourage colleagues at every level and in every area of our business to do the same.”

“While I could never have anticipated taking on this role under such extraordinary global circumstances, I do so safe in the knowledge that we are in a strong position to weather the storm, and to support our clients as they do so,” Demigneux continued. “It’s more important than ever that we adopt a pragmatic approach, and bring genuine commercial awareness to our advice – qualities on which we pride ourselves as setting us apart from peer firms. I look forward to supporting my colleagues in the Paris office as we embark on the next chapter of our business.”

Demigneux joined Stephenson Harwood as counsel in 2013, before being promoted to partner three years later. A disputes lawyer qualified in Paris and New York, he specialises in general commercial litigation, arbitration and private international law.

Stephenson Harwood’s Paris office was opened in 2001. Comprising ten partners and thirty lawyers, across a range of transactional and contentious disciplines, it serves clients including listed and unlisted industrial bodies, private equity funds, banks, shipowners, airlines, rail operators, and leasing and insurance companies. The team has seen notable growth in recent years, with three partners - Guillaume Briant (corporate), Jeremy Grant (debt capital markets) and Olivier Couraud (tax) – joining with their teams in the last year.