Global law firm Reed Smith has announced the arrival of an eight-lawyer team to its tax practice in Paris. The team, comprising three partners, three counsel, one associate and one jurist, join the firm from Winston & Strawn on 1 March. The eight lawyer team join from Winston & Strawn.

The team arrives at a time of significant expansion for Reed Smith’s Paris office, following the arrival of 18 lawyers (in the areas of tax, competition/antitrust, corporate and private equity) who joined the firm from King & Wood Mallesons in January this year. The office now has 66 lawyers, including 22 partners.

Partners Jean-Pierre Collet, Florence Bilger and David Colin and their team advise a range of organisations and individuals, including investment funds and entrepreneurs, providing tax advice on corporate transactions (M&A, private equity and real estate), advice on and representation in tax disputes and general tax advice (including corporate tax, VAT and transfer taxes).

“Consistent with our strategic objective of growing our transactional capabilities in line with our key industry sectors globally, we are delighted to add further to our tax capability in Paris. Following on from our recent hires across corporate, tax and private equity from KWM, these additions of talented French lawyers help us provide a truly cross border transactional service to our clients.” said Tamara Box, managing partner for Europe and the Middle East.

Reed Smith’s transactional practice (in particular tax, corporate, M&A, private equity and competition/antitrust) are all areas of strategic focus for the firm. The arrival of this new team will expand the firm’s Paris tax practice from eight to 16 lawyers and its wider European corporate practice to almost 90 lawyers.

“This is a huge step forward for us and leads to the creation of one of the largest tax practices in Paris”, said Peter Teare, Reed Smith partner and head of the firm’s Europe and Middle East corporate practice. “We have had an exciting start to the year and expect to see further growth in the months ahead, as we continue our strategic drive to expand our transactional practice across Europe.”

Jean-Pierre Collet led the tax department of Winston & Strawn in Paris. His practice covers all areas of corporate taxation, and he has specific experience advising domestic and international companies, investment funds and entrepreneurs on tax structuring, restructuring and the tax aspects of mergers and acquisitions in France.

Florence Bilger advises on the tax aspects of investments, restructurings, and mergers and acquisitions. She has experience representing French and international clients in their inbound investments and restructuring transactions. She also advises French clients on the tax aspects of mergers and acquisitions, including structuring transactions, conducting due diligence, and handling post-acquisition advice and litigation.

David Colin focuses his practice on indirect taxes, European VAT and tax litigation. He has 20 years’ experience in optimisation of indirect taxes in cross-border transactions, VAT advisory matters, negotiation with tax authorities, and due diligence counseling. His work on these matters has involved the industrial, chemical, telecommunication and real estate sectors, among others.