Anglo-French Services | Lawyers, Solicitors London

Kingsley Napley is an internationally recognised law firm based in London. As part of our growing international services, we offer legal support to French speaking clients, both individuals, their families and businesses, living in the UK and overseas. We also advise British expats living in France and elsewhere.

With French speaking lawyers in most of our specialist areas, we bridge the gap to advise clients in France and French speaking countries and French speaking clients in the UK on English law in French or by reference to French cultural and business practices.

Our lawyers are renowned for integrity and expertise in dealing with complex, often high profile and international cases.

We are also skilled at simplifying issues arising from cross border situation, in business and in private lives. We can advise our French speaking clients in corporate, criminal, dispute resolution, employment, family, immigration, medical negligence, private client and real estate.

corporate

We specialise in acting for entrepreneurs, owner managed businesses (OMBs) and investors. We advise in relation to corporate transactions, banking, financing, commercial contracts and on all aspects of running and growing a business in the UK. Our lawyers combine strong technical expertise with a track record in delivering flexible and creative solutions for our clients.

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS

In this increasingly inter-connected world, we act for people and companies of all nationalities who find themselves caught up in the English criminal justice system. We understand well how different that system is to the one in France and are adept at helping our clients navigate through it.

We have good contacts with leading French defence firms and, working with those partners, can provide a seamless service in any cross-border investigation involving our two countries.

Alun Milford in the criminal litigation team has good working knowledge of French and travels regularly to France to meet with clients and professional contacts.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION & LITIGATION

Our dispute resolution team regularly advises French companies and nationals on litigation and arbitration disputes based upon English law. We also advise on cross-jurisdiction matters, e.g. where assets are held overseas, and in relation enforcement of French judgments and Arbitration Awards in the UK and elsewhere and we work closely with our network of foreign legal and tax experts.

Fiona Simpson is a French speaker and she travels frequently to France and other French speaking countries.

Our specialist team of litigators advise French nationals and companies on:

Commercial and contract disputes
Shareholder and boardroom disputes
Professional negligence
Civil fraud and investigations
Financial services disputes
Real estate litigation
Wills, trust and inheritance disputes
Insolvency
International and cross-border disputes and ICC, LCIA , UNCITRAL etc. arbitrations
Sports law
Reputation and media
Intellectual property disputes

EMPLOYMENT AND PARTNERSHIP

We act for directors, executives, partners, employers and firms and explain the legal implications of employment and partnership issues clearly and concisely. Drawing on many years of experience and our commercial and strategic expertise, we help clients to resolve sensitive disputes creatively and deliver results in line with their commercial or personal objectives.

Emmanuelle Ries, who heads the firm’s Anglo-French Group, is a dual French and British national with long experience of advising start-ups and established companies – including many French owned businesses – on all aspects of English employment law.

Nikola Southern is a fluent French speaker and is recognised as a leader in her field.

Clodagh Hogan has lived in Paris before embarking on her legal career in London and advises clients on all aspects of English employment law including bringing and defending claims in the Employment Tribunal.

Find out how our employment lawyers can help.

Family

We provide a specialist family law expertise to French clients and those who have links with French speaking countries. This is widely recognised as the leading service of its kind in England.

French speakers in the team include Claire Wood, who represents French clients and advise in Anglo French cases, sometimes involving proceedings in more than one country. Charlotte Bradley also has a substantial French practice and she is a recognised family law expert in the legal directories. We have strong relationships with lawyers and professional advisors in France , Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Monaco.

We can help you to resolve divorce or separation disputes, whether there are aspects relating to finances, children or both. We are experts in cross border children cases, in particular cases where one party wishes to return or move to France with a child or children. We also regularly advise on the preparation of prenuptial agreements involving French clients who live in, or are planning to move to England.

IMMIGRATION

Kingsley Napley's Immigration team covers all areas of business and personal immigration as well as British nationality law.

We have long experience of advising start-ups and established companies - including many French-owned businesses - on sponsor licence applications and work visas for non-UK employees. Our work has greatly increased for French parent companies wishing to set up or run subsidiaries and branches in the UK.

We are also experts in European free movement law. We help French nationals and other EU citizens with applications to obtain pre-settled and settled status under the Home Office’s EU Settlement Scheme and assisting with advising on and submitting British Citizenship applications. Many of our French clients are senior executives in global businesses or founders of businesses based in the UK who need professional advice on these applications for them and their families. We can provide advice and support on anything from a straightforward application for a pre-settled status to complex family applications.

Nicolas Rollason and Kim Vowden, both partners in our Immigration team, are recognised as leaders in this field and are both bi-lingual. Elspeth Guild, a renowned legal counsel, and Emma Dauriac, are also fluent French speakers and strongly support the French community in the UK with the consequences of Brexit.

For French nationals and British expats who may wish to transfer to other locations, we can assist with securing relevant visas by working in conjunction with our specialist network of KN Global immigration co-counsel.

MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE AND PERSONAL INJURY

Led by partners with over 25 years of experience in this area, our medical negligence solicitors are recognised as specialists in clinical negligence and personal injury.

Within our team, solicitor Eurydice Coté is a French speaker and she specialises in medical liability and personal injury. Their field of expertise includes medical accidents, traffic accidents and accidents at work.

PRIVATE CLIENT

Sophie Voelcker is a partner in Kingsley Napley's Private Client team. She focuses on advice to UK resident and/or domiciled clients regarding wealth structuring, estate planning and trusts, with a particular interest in any cross-border taxation and succession issues for clients with international assets or who have relocated abroad, including to France. Sophie also has experience providing such advice in the context of matrimonial disputes and pre-nuptial agreements, making her well-versed in the complexities that French clients may face.

REAL ESTATE

Our real estate team of solicitors are able to advise on all areas of real estate and construction law.

We are very well placed to be able to assist French and francophone clients with legal matters concerning their property interests in England and Wales.

Our previous experience includes:

acting on a number of sales and purchases of high value residential properties in England for French and Belgian nationals; and
advising a developer based in Luxembourg on the documentation for the construction, sale, purchase and letting of various commercial developments in England.