Soulier Avocats welcomes two new Counsels

We are pleased to announce that Claire Filliatre and Marion Fleuret have joined the Firm as Counsels.

Claire Filliatre focuses her practice primarily on business law and contract law, both as advisor and litigator, as well as on white collar crime and press offences.

She assists French and foreign companies on all legal and regulatory issues likely to arise in connection with their business operations and relationships, provides representation in complex prelitigation, litigation and arbitration cases pertaining to various areas of business law as well as in criminal proceedings relating to press offences and white-collar crime.

Marion Fleuret’s practice focuses on law of persons, in particular patrimonial law and inheritance law, both as advisor and litigator, as well as on criminal law.

She assists a clientele mainly composed of company directors, managers and individuals in proceedings related to patrimonial, inheritance and matrimonial regime liquidation disputes, and more generally, in civil litigation, in particular family law, and criminal cases.

Compliance Information Center

Compliance has become a major issue for companies in France since the adoption in 2016 of the Sapin 2 Law on transparency, the fight against corruption and the modernization of the economy, inspired by the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials.

For many years, they have been faced with an increased criminalization of their activities and an explosion of new and increasingly complex regulations in a wide variety of areas.

Our Compliance Information Center aims to inform companies about the evolution of this rapidly expanding field and about the compliance measures and systems that they must imperatively implement after having drawn up a risk map.

Advertising and the environment: Update on “greenwashing” regulation

Laure Marolleau, Esq.

“Greenwashing” (“écoblanchiment” in French) can be defined as an abusive or even misleading communication from an organization that promotes an eco-friendly positioning that does not reflect the reality.

In a context of increasing greenwashing practices, this article discusses the latest evolutions of the regulation that governs these practices.

Towards an extended protection of craft know-how within the European Union

Sandrine Petoin, Esq.

Indications of origin and quality are valuable tools for local producers to promote the unique characteristics of their products as well as their traditional know-how. Therefore, a “geographical indication” can be granted whenever the product in question has a specific link to the place where it is made.

The European Union has been in favor of these indications since the early 1990’s with a triple objective: Fair competition between producers, development of rural areas and quality production and informed choice for consumers. Time has come to expand the range of products covered.

Misconduct justifying a dismissal: Articulation between the employee’s freedom of expression and sexist comments

Fabien Pomart, Esq.

Although employees enjoy, within and outside the company, the right to freedom of expression, sexist comments made by an employee outside of his/her working time can justify a dismissal for serious misconduct, as recently ruled by the Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court) in a decision handed down on April 20, 2022.

Optional profit-sharing scheme: The late filing of the agreement results in the loss of the right to social security exemptions

Matthieu Blaschczyk, Esq.

In a decision issued on May 12, 2022, the Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court) recalled that the filing by the employer of the optional profit-sharing agreement after the 15-day period following its conclusion results in the loss of the right to social security exemptions for the first financial year in which the agreement becomes effective.

French Supreme Court rules that compensatory allowance and duty of support between spouses are two legal concepts that must be distinguished

Marion Fleuret, Esq.

A recent decision of the Cour de Cassation (French Supreme Court) has clarified the criteria for assessing the disparity in the respective living conditions of the spouses for the purpose of determining the compensatory allowance.

The benefit granted to one of the spouses during the divorce proceedings on the basis of the duty of support between spouses should not be taken into consideration in order to dismiss a request for compensatory allowance.

International Perspective: UK Employment Fact Sheet 2022

This month, we are pleased to feature a contribution entitled UK Employment Fact Sheet 2022 authored by Alex Denny, Emma Vennesson, and Charlotte Marshall from the U.K. employment team at Faegre Drinker, a full-service international law firm.

As we begin to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, the world of UK employment law also continues to evolve and this helpful fact sheet pulled together by our friends at Faegre Drinker sets out the key employment rates and limits in force in the UK from the beginning of April.

Of course, the fact sheet cannot contain every detail of every employment right, but these are the most commonly needed figures and will be helpful for HR and legal professionals to keep as a quick reference guide.