The Paris office of international law firm Simmons & Simmons has continued to expand its offering following the arrival of a new partner, Jérôme Patenotte, who will lead the firm’s new private equity practice. He joins the firm along with one of Counsel, Sophie Mesnier-Teissedre, and a senior associate, Savina Jouan. Jérôme and his team joins the firm from Wragge & Co (now Gowling WLG), which he founded in April 2010 with nine other partners. He developed both the LBO and international M&A activities for the firm.

Jérôme is a corporate focused individual who specialises in mergers and acquisitions. He has over 25 years’ experience in the industry and, during his career, has developed a particular expertise in private equity with French mid-cap funds and corporate law with a foreign, mainly American, client base, who he assists in his investments in France. He has also developed an expertise in the field of new technologies.

Commenting on Jérôme’s arrival, Christian Taylor, head of the firm’s corporate and commercial practice in Paris, said: “Jérôme’s expertise will allow Simmons & Simmons to enhance its M&A practice, with a leading team dedicated to private equity in Paris.”

Jacques-Antoine Robert, managing partner of the Paris office, added: “The recruitment of Jérôme and his team confirms the firm’s desire to strengthen its position in Corporate. His arrival broadens the firm’s range of skills and will offer our clients additional purely transactional expertise on the Private Equity sector in Paris, in a rapidly expanding market boosted by French and foreign investments.”

Discussing his arrival, Jérôme Patenotte stated: “Simmons & Simmons is a brand whose corporate practice, both national and international, is highly regarded in the market. While the firm’s reputation in Private Equity has yet to be developed in France, the combined expertise of the various corporate, financing, tax and fund creation practices come together to rise to this exciting challenge. This combination and the firm’s long-standing presence in the French and European markets are real assets in creating new development opportunities.”

Jérôme’s arrival follows two recent appointments in Paris, to include Sandra Esquiva-Hesse as partner in charge of the restructuring practice and Elisa Bocianowska, as partner in charge of the real estate practice.