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K&S hires seven for real estate in Paris

02 May 2012


King & Spalding has built on its arbitration beginnings in Paris to move into real estate with the recruitment of a team of seven from Freshfields. It is the firm's first significant hire in France since it established in 2009.
 
The team is led by Benoît Marcilhacy, who was partner at Freshfields and head of the Paris real estate group, and partner Pascal Schmitz, and includes counsel Alexandre Couturier and associates Cyrille Gogny-Goubert, Blandine Hugon-Pages, Samuel Kujas and Aurélien Néret-Minet

The group's two partners focus on acquisitions and sales of structured property portfolios, sales and leasebacks, real estate funds, M&A, joint ventures and asset sales, among other things. Although real estate is a new area for K&S in Paris, at a global level the group will be integrated into a 70 strong capital transactions and real estate team based in the US, Middle East, Germany and Russia.

Marcilhacy said: "King & Spalding has a first-class real estate group serving clients internationally [...] Our entire team is excited to be part of a firm that is so highly regarded for its spirit of collaboration, commitment to client service and global real estate platform.

The move increases the US firm's presence in Europe and comes barely a year after it launched an office in Moscow with hires from White & Case and Hogan Lovells to focus on energy matters (see here).