Herbert Smith Freehills has appointed Régis Oréal as Managing Partner of its Paris office for a three year term. He succeeds Frédéric Bouvet, who has held the position since 2017. Régis will work closely with the Paris Management Board, which is responsible for the management and operation of the Paris office, and is composed of four partners (Rebecca Major, Emma Röhsler, Jonathan Mattout, Edouard Thomas), as well as with the COO of the Paris office, Jean-Didier Billard. This nomination took effect on 1 July 2022.
Régis, 52 years old, has over 25 years’ experience advising on financing and banking regulatory matters. He regularly assists lenders and sponsors on their project finance transactions, particularly in the field of renewable energies. Régis is also recognised for advising on corporate and real estate finance matters for both domestic and international operations, and has a strong track record assisting banks and financial institutions on their regulatory issues, reorganisations and the sale / restructuring of their portfolios.
Régis holds a DEA (Master’s degree) in Private Law from the Université Paris II Panthéon Assas, an LLM in European Law from the University of Exeter. Having started his career in the capital markets team at Paribas bank, Régis joined the Paris office of Herbert Smith Freehills as partner in the Banking and finance practice in 2006, having previously worked at De Pardieu Brocas Maffei and Lovells.
“I want to thank Frédéric Bouvet for the remarkable work accomplished over the last five years during which the Paris office has grown considerably. Beyond the active pursuit of my practice within the Banking and finance department, I am very honoured to have been appointed to this position. I would also like to thank the firm for its support”, reflects Régis Oréal, Managing Partner.
“After spending more than 5 years as Managing Partner it was important for me to pass the torch on. I am particularly proud of what the Paris office has achieved in recent years. I would like to thank all of our teams whose talent has enabled us to assist our clients in some very fine projects. Régis is well surrounded by all the partners in the Paris office and has very strong ambitions for the development of our office. He will be an excellent Managing Partner. I wish him every success“, adds Frédéric Bouvet, Corporate / M&A partner.
