Marie-Hélène FOURNIER GOBERT
Marie-Hélène is a Founding Partner of ASCENT Avocats, the law firm she created with Joséphine IMBERT in April 2017.
Marie-Hélène’s strength is that she brings a clear understanding and strong listening skills to her work as an advisor integrating HR issues and the risk of litigation. Her negotiation skills enable her to intervene effectively and firmly, alongside her clients. She writes well, drawing on extensive experience, speaks forcefully, and is widely recognized for her litigation practice.
Her career:
Holding a CAPA [Certificat d’Aptitude à la Profession d’Avocat – the entrance exam for the French Bar] and a DEA [Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies – Masters level qualification] in Employment Law from Paris II University (Panthéon Assas), Marie-Hélène has been a lawyer at the Paris Bar since 1995.
After working as an Associate with Barthélémy, a law firm specializing in employment law, for almost 10 years, Marie-Hélène became a partner in a Paris business law firm where she created the employment / social protection department.
Marie-Hélène has always been convinced that early identification of the risk of litigation is a basis for better targeted advice and risk control.
From the beginning of her career, she has oriented her professional practice towards advice to and defense of companies. She particularly enjoys the management of high risk situations and litigation where the stakes are high, such as industrial disputes, collective action, challenges to redundancy plans and collective agreements, or where the criminal liability of companies and their managers is engaged.
This experience allows her to provide highly relevant advice to foreign companies seeking to establish themselves in France and in relation to plans for reorganization (takeover of companies in difficulty, sale of subsidiaries, liquidation, collective redundancies).
Marie-Hélène also has solid expertise in negotiations with IORPs and institutional investors.
Joséphine IMBERT
Joséphine is a Founding Partner of ASCENT Avocats, the law firm, which she founded with Marie-Hélène FOURNIER GOBERT in April 2017.
Joséphine’s strengths are commitment to passing on her knowledge and her excellent understanding of human and economic issues. Joséphine takes great care in providing her clients with clear, analytic and pragmatic answers to facilitate their decision making. She persuades judges of the merits of her litigation cases, pleading with conviction, method, and drawing on her extensive learning.
Her career:
Joséphine holds a CAPA [Certificat d’Aptitude à la Profession d’Avocat – the entrance exam for the French Bar] and a DEA [Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies – Masters level qualification] in Employment from Paris Nanterre university. She has been a lawyer at the Paris Bar since 2000.
Her interest in the economy immediately means that she has always wanted to work with business, convinced that the workforce is essential to company performance.
Joséphine worked for four years as an associate at Barthélémy, a law firm specializing in employment law. She then joined BCTG, a law firm in Paris, after two years in London, where she assisted several international companies in their restructuring, takeovers and liquidation projects. Joséphine supported the implementation of codes of conduct and professional warning systems, in liaison with the CNIL.
In 2009, Joséphine created her own firm and continued her consulting activity with companies in the transport, media, education and community sectors. She offers them her expertise in the conduct of their operations of transformation, merger, reduction of staff, and in liquidation. Joséphine also supports them in drawing up appropriate employment contracts, preventing psychosocial risks and managing sensitive situations such as psychological harassment and burn-out.
Antoine SAPPIN
Antoine a rejoint le cabinet ASCENT le 1er janvier 2023.
Antoine a développé une pratique professionnelle fondée sur l’écoute et la compréhension des enjeux formulés par ses clients, une capacité d’analyse et de synthèse et enfin la faculté d’identifier des solutions pragmatiques et innovantes en faisant preuve de réactivité.
Son parcours :
Titulaire du CAPA et du DEA de Droit Social de l’université Paris I – Panthéon Sorbonne, diplômé de Sciences Po Paris, Antoine est avocat au Barreau de Paris depuis 1999.
Antoine a obtenu en 2005 le certificat de spécialisation en droit du travail et de la sécurité sociale et est Maitre de conférences en droit du travail à Sciences Po Paris depuis 2013.
Avant d’intégrer le cabinet ASCENT, Antoine avait effectué l’ensemble de sa carrière au sein du cabinet CAPSTAN, dont il était devenu associé en 2008.
Antoine a plus particulièrement développé une pratique en contentieux, intervenant devant l’ensemble des juridictions concernées par le droit social (Conseil des prudhommes, Tribunaux Judiciaires, Cour d’appels, Juridictions administratives).Il a dans ce cadre défendu les intérêts d’Entreprises et de Grands groupes français confrontés à des litiges tant individuels que collectifs.
Son expérience de plus de 20 ans du contentieux lui permet ainsi de maitriser tant les aspects procéduraux que le fonctionnement pratique des Tribunaux.
Antoine intervient enfin en conseil, notamment sur des problématiques relatives à des situations individuelles complexes et des aspects collectifs (négociation collective, risques psychosociaux, redressements URSSAF…).
Sara BELLAHOUEL
Sara, avocate senior : elle est diplômée du Master 2 Droit social de l’Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne et justifie d’une expérience de plus de 8 ans au sein de grands cabinets d’affaires internationaux parisiens. Elle conseille et représente des sociétés et groupes français et étrangers sur l’ensemble des questions susceptibles de se poser en matière de relations individuelles et collectives du travail et de droit de la sécurité sociale. Elle justifie également d’une expérience aux Etats-Unis et travaille régulièrement en anglais auprès des directions juridiques et des ressources humaines de groupes internationaux.
Elle intervient notamment dans le cadre de réorganisations et de restructurations d’entreprises ou de groupes (licenciements collectifs, plans de départ volontaire, transferts de salariés, etc.) et d’audits sociaux (audits de conformité, audits d’acquisition, etc.).
Elle publie également des articles juridiques portant sur l’actualité en droit social, en français et en anglais.