Best brains in...

Clients appreciate my proactive approach and ability to share insight of French employment law. I am more focused on risk assessment and commercial ways of thinking than simply reciting the law.

Highlight of your career so far?

Introduced in 2000, the 35 hours law continues to make a great impact in France. I had the opportunity to be heavily involved in the implementation of several agreements around the reduction of working time. As this law was very innovative and sophisticated, I carried out a lot of research and my interest in the subject, ability to deal with figures and my technical skills led me to co-write a book on this particular topic: "35 hours in figures and letters".

Most challenging job you've ever done?

I was involved in an urgent termination matter for an American fund. It was not a complicated French matter but as the client was American and prestigious they wanted to understand all the implications of this termination.

As the matter had to be resolved urgently, I was asked to fly to New York to attend the fund board meeting to explain to all the board members the risks and related costs of this termination. I also had to help them to validate the termination allowance to be given to this employee. A challenging and fast-moving project, I only had one day to prepare for both the meeting and trip.

What about outside France?

I advise international clients on a daily basis and I regularly travel to the UK and the US to deliver high-level training on French employment law.

Give an example of your great client service?

These days, clients are looking for advice to control their risks and related costs. It's why I created a specific Excel spreadsheet tool, giving my clients a more practical and accurate picture of the employees' termination-related costs, taking into account all the client criteria including salary level, the applicable collective bargaining agreement and number of employees involved.

Best example of a creative legal solution?

I was involved in a corporate transaction where the termination of two shareholders was connected to an earn-out clause. Because there were multiple situations to be assessed both on corporate and employment sides, I decided to present the client with a sophisticated decision tree to help assess all the possible situations and related costs. This decision tree became the most important evidence for both clients and lawyers during all the discussions around the deal.

What's been written or said about you that you're most proud of?

"I was really impressed by her professionalism, the quality of the follow-up provided, the anticipation of problems and the management of the matter generally. Valerie is extremely sound, efficient and proactive."