Paris, June 2, 2025 – Established in Paris for over 100 years, with a solid and recognized international reputation, Jeantet is pleased to announce the launch of its Middle East Desk, a new offering designed to support French and Middle Eastern companies in their cross-border projects.

This strategic initiative aims at providing high-level legal expertise to investors from the MENA region seeking to establish or grow their presence in France, while supporting French companies wishing to expand in the Middle East. Through this new desk, Jeantet reaffirms its determination to be a leading legal partner in this fast-growing region.

This initiative comes at a particularly timely moment, as countries in the region are strengthening their economic diversification strategies and increasing their large-scale international investments in forward-looking sectors, as well as in disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, while consolidating their position as a hub of innovation and economic opportunity.

The Middle East Desk will be led by two experienced lawyers, Ali Baydoun and Joséphine Hage Chahine. With their thorough knowledge of business law, combined with an in-depth understanding of local legal systems and fluency in French, English and Arabic, they are ideally positioned to provide tailored, effective legal support to regional investors and French clients alike.  Admitted to the Paris Bar in 2006, Ali Baydoun assists numerous international clients with their external growth strategies, restructuring and corporate governance projects. Joséphine Hage Chahine is a member of the Beirut and Paris Bars, and has developed recognized expertise in business and international litigation, before both arbitral and state courts.

Leveraging a robust network of local partners in the MENA region, and comprised of professionals with recognized and complementary expertise, the desk delivers both advisory and litigation services, addressing its clients’ needs effectively in the various areas of business law.

“With the Middle East Desk, we provide agile and targeted legal expertise, essential for securing and optimizing strategic opportunities arising from business flows between France and countries in the region. This dedicated platform enables us to provide effective, comprehensive, cross-disciplinary support to investors from the Gulf Cooperation Council in their plans to set up operations in France, by mobilizing the full range of the firm’s capabilities. In parallel, we offer French groups wishing to expand in the Middle East a reliable market-tailored, perfectly adapted to the specificities of each jurisdiction “, say Catherine Saint Geniest and Karl Hepp de Sevelinges, co-managing partners at Jeantet.