Chassany Watrelot & Associés

Managing Partners: Philippe Chassany, Jérôme Watrelot

Number of partners worldwide: 15

Other lawyers worldwide: 60

Number of lawyers in France: 53

Languages: Arabic, English, French, German, Spanish

International Offices: Paris, Lyon, Nice Sophia-Antipolis, Casablanca, Tangier, Tunis, Algiers

Firm Overview:

A law firm founded in 1987 by Philippe Chassany and Jérôme Watrelot, Chassany Watrelot & Associés’ practice is exclusively dedicated to employment law as well as to other legal areas affecting human resources management. Located in France (Paris, Lyon, and Nice Sophia-Antipolis) as well as in the MENA region (Casablanca, Tangier, Algiers and Tunis), Chassany Watrelot & Associés brings together over 60 specialized lawyers providing legal advice and representation during litigation before all courts of justice. Chassany Watrelot & Associés also develops and conducts professional training tailored to its clients’ needs. Favouring an easy and direct contact with clients, Chassany Watrelot & Associés supports companies at all stages of the labour relations, either collective or individual. In the daily management of human resources as well as in the framework of large scale operations, Chassany Watrelot & Associés focuses on providing customized, operational and secure solutions taking into account all the requirements and time constraints of its clients and their business environment.

Main Areas of Practice:

Backed by over 30 years of experience, Chassany Watrelot & Associés (CWA) provides legal advice to major international groups or SMEs, which benefit both from the very personalized, follow up of a lawyer specifically dedicated and from the expertise of the entire firm through its technical hubs. Employment Collective Relations: A partner of companies and/or employer organizations, Chassany Watrelot & Associés brings its knowledge of legislation and case law, its responsiveness and its analysis in order to help master the management of labour relations (implementation of staff representative institutions, conduct of collective negotiations...) always anticipating the consequences of strategic choices onto the management of the company.

Restructuring/Mergers & Acquisitions:

Chassany Watrelot & Associés is involved in restructuring operations such as mergers and acquisitions, business transfers or outsourcing operations. Whether harmonizing working conditions or leading restructuring operation, Chassany Watrelot & Associés addresses all matters: staff representatives’ consultation, legal due diligence reports, impact of business transfers on employees or elaboration and implementation of redundancy plans, negotiation of management packages, etc. Thereby, Chassany Watrelot & Associés advises and assists its clients in providing legal advice focusing on the proactive management of risks at all stages of the operation as well as the development of practical, innovative and tailor-made solutions taking into consideration the specificities of the client business area.

Compensation & Profit Sharing: Chassany Watrelot & Associés assists its clients in all issues relating to compensation and benefits, in particular in the elaboration of remuneration strategies including incentive plans, taking into account the legal environment for social and tax optimization and the client specific constraints and needs (notably in case of merger or any other restructuring operation). Pensions & Welfare Protection: Chassany Watrelot & Associés assists companies on retirement plans, supplementary healthcare schemes or death-incapacity-disability schemes. Chassany Watrelot & Associés has also developed a wide expertise in end-of-career plans. This expertise allows Chassany Watrelot & Associés to advise its clients in the framework of their relationships with the staff and its representatives, but also with insurance companies, pension funds, brokers etc.

Social Security:

Chassany Watrelot & Associés offers its expertise in the upstream application of social security rules, but also during the operations of control of companies. Chassany Watrelot & Associés’ teams immediately apprehend the impact of changes in social security regulations for companies and optimally support the latter in the implementation of these rules as well as in the decision-making process.

Health & Safety at Work:

Chassany Watrelot & Associés offers companies a comprehensive support adapted to their activity and to the latest legal evolutions (i) during the development and the follow-up of the occupational hazards prevention policy and (ii) in the conduct of relations with the staff representatives. Chassany Watrelot & Associés also accompanies its clients when accidents at work/occupational diseases occur and assists them at all steps of these files and their pre-litigation and litigation stages.

International Mobility:

Chassany Watrelot & Associés has developed a high-level expertise in the employee mobility management and assists companies in their international development, with constant focus on the safety of the solutions advocated. Chassany Watrelot & Associés’ transversal team (tax, employment and social security law) dedicated to international mobility, works in connection with a wide network of foreign lawyers able to act jointly in assisting its clients in the day-to-day management of their employee mobility.

International Work:

Thanks to its extensive experience of international operations, multilingual skills and foreign lawyer’s network, Chassany Watrelot & Associés provides companies with innovative, operational and secure solutions, taking into account all the requirements of their business environment, especially in an international context. Liaising with CWA Morocco, CWA Tunisia as well as CWA Algeria, Chassany Watrelot & Associés is notably in a position to provide national and international companies and organizations with a full range of legal services throughout the MENA zone. Chassany Watrelot & Associés offices work with best-friends legal networks such as International Bar Association (IBA), Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA), Eversheds African Legal Institute (EALI), Institut international de Droit d’Expression Française (IDEF), Employment Law Alliance (ELA).

Clients:

Chassany Watrelot & Associés provides legal advice and assistance to a wide range of clients, large international groups as well as medium-sized companies, in various areas such as media and telecommunications, consumer goods and retail, automotive, financial institutions, aeronautics, medical equipment or pharmaceuticals. Chassany Watrelot & Associés also assists employers’ organizations.