French Desk – Serving Francophone Markets and Clients

French Desk – Serving Francophone Markets and Clients

Our recently launched French Desk benefits from having several French-speaking attorneys, including Lionel Bochurberg, an active member of the Quebec bars and the Paris bar.

Effective advocacy starts with speaking the same—legal or otherwise—language as our clients. We pride ourselves on acting as their ambassadors, inside and outside the organization. Our deep cultural awareness in international environments enables us to thrive in complex cross‑border matters.

Inbound activities: The French Desk is a natural “go-to” resource for French-speaking entrepreneurs and companies doing business or looking to set up and grow in the United States as Clark Hill provides a full suite of legal services in the United States. The desk helps streamline the understanding of U.S. legal requirements and coordinate activities across the teams working on the project.

Outbound activities: The French Desk serves also as a bridge and ambassador between our North American clients and local counsel in French-speaking countries (France, Quebec, Switzerland, Belgium, French-speaking African countries). We provides strategic advice, select local counsel and ensure the highest standards of legal services are met.

Corporate Law

Clark Hill’s corporate attorneys advise corporate clients through all phases of their life cycle—planning, formation, growth, and exit, whether through acquisition, merger, or public offering.

We represent private and publicly traded clients, including private equity and venture capital firms, across a wide range of industries, such as automotive, building materials, construction, dairy processing, e-commerce, energy services, health care, manufacturing, oil and gas, outsourcing, real estate, and technology.

Our services capture a broad range of business matters, including:

• C suite strategic advice and outside general counsel services
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Private equity fund formation and transactions
• Corporate governance and compliance
• Joint ventures and strategic alliances
• Securities regulation and offerings
• Entity formation and structuring, including tax counseling
• Commercial contracts
• Tax-exempt and nonprofit organization issues
• E-commerce and technology matters
• Transfer of corporate foreign Headquarters to the US (“Flip”)

Immigration

Clark Hill’s global immigration practice serves as a centralized resource for companies managing international talent mobility, guiding them through the full spectrum of immigration processes and compliance requirements worldwide.

Our global immigration professionals deliver innovative immigration strategies and services to over 100 countries worldwide. We provide hands on, around the clock support to clients with our unique service delivery model that combines centralized case management with regional and local support to provide immediate responses regardless of time zones. The Clark Hill global immigration team provides comprehensive support to companies and individuals regarding business visas, work and residence permits, permanent residence and citizenship, document procurement, and right to work compliance.

Employment Counseling

Clark Hill advises employers and their human resource staff on employee performance and discipline and the practical structuring of employment policies. We provide legal counsel at all stages of the employment relationship, from HR planning and termination to every type of employment document, including applications, interview questions, termination, handbooks, medical leave, and FMLA procedure and documentation.

Among the issues we regularly address are:

• Employee evaluation, discipline, and discharge
• Preparation of employee handbooks and policy manuals, employment agreements, separation agreements, employment applications, and related forms
• Executive compensation, retention, and change of control
• Incentive plans
• International employee secondment agreements
• Protection of trade secrets and confidential information
• Enforcement of non-compete, confidentiality, and trade secret agreements
• HIPAA
• Federal contracting compliance
• Training on employment issues

Intellectual Property & Technology

Clark Hill helps individuals and companies, including startups and mid-sized companies, multinational corporations, and universities, protect their innovations at every stage, from design and development through production. Our intellectual property attorneys foster relationships with innovators that deepen technological and scientific understanding and enable robust protection in the United States and abroad.

Our attorneys are skilled in writing, obtaining, and safeguarding patents for electrical, mechanical, and medical devices, as well as software and chemical compounds. Our team prepares, files, and prosecutes patent, trademark, service mark, and copyright applications. We also assist clients through licensing and opinion counseling, including advising on IP management programs that optimize research and development investment.

Clients also consult with us for technology transactions: mergers and acquisitions, licensing, joint development agreements, outsourcing agreements, technology transfers, joint ventures, and strategic alliances, as well as non-competition, confidentiality, employment, and consulting agreements.

When enforcement scenarios arise, our team provides guidance that considers the tribunal (e.g., USPTO or district court), court system (state or federal court), and venue for enforcement of IP rights, as well as the client’s specific business objectives, the product market, and the strengths and weakness of existing IP protection, among other factors.

Litigation

At Clark Hill, our experienced litigation attorneys provide strategic, results-driven representation tailored to each client’s unique legal and business objectives. Whether resolving disputes through negotiation, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or litigation in state and federal courts across the country, our team is committed to protecting our clients’ interests at every stage of the legal process. Our French desk is here to help facilitate the understanding of the US legal systems. We are also a robust international Arbitration practice, comprising French Speaking attorneys.