Debevoise & Plimpton LLP hosted Emmanuel Edou in its Paris office for a morning seminar. Mr. Edou was the Presiding Judge of the Company law Chamber of the Commercial Court of Paris from in 2017-2018.

During the session, Mr. Edou shared his 12-year experience as a judge at the Commercial Court of Paris, and especially as a Presiding Judge for matters involving companies.

After a presentation of the Commercial Court of Paris, Mr. Edou gave an overview of the most frequently encountered company-related and contract-related legal flaws, and how they are received by the Commercial Court. He also gave his views on how the parties and their lawyers should behave in order to facilitate the judges’ task, and increase their chances of receiving the best and most favorable court’s decision in a timely manner.

Given this rare opportunity to learn from an experienced judge, the audience asked Mr. Edou a number of questions during his talk, sparking a further conversation on the increasing internationalization of the cases dealt with by the Commercial Court of Paris.

This internationalization, the creation of the International Chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal, as well as the impact of the Brexit on the French legal world will be discussed further during a subsequent breakfast-seminar in our Paris office later this year.