Nataline Fleury is a partner in the Paris office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, and a member of the firm’s Labor and Employment practice group.

Nataline Fleury heads the Labor and Employment practice in Paris, where her work focuses on employment law and social security issues. Ms. Fleury provides French and international clients  with employment law advice related to corporate reorganizations and downsizing, mergers and acquisitions, and relationships with unions and employee representatives. Ms. Fleury’s work encompasses a broad range of issues including but not limited to, the implementation of workforce reduction plans, employment audits, employment contracts, executive earnings programmes, transactional agreements and dealing with employee representatives, in particular for the implementation of collective agreements, codes of compliance and data protection policies.

Ms. Fleury’s recent experience include employment law advice in relation to complex high-profile restructuring matters on the French market,  representing   La Halle, Conforama, Sagal, Lapeyre, Vivarte and Camaïeu , as well as  the employment aspects of Hologic, Inc.’s acquisition of SuperSonic Imagine.

Legal 500 EMEA 2021 has distinguished Nataline Fleury as a “Next Generation Partner” in its Employment category (Tier 3). Le Magazine des Affaires ranks her Tier 1 for redundancy plans and collective litigation while Option Droit & Affaires recommends her labor practice too in its 2021 Restructuring ranking.

Before joining Gibson Dunn in 2019, Ms. Fleury practiced with Ashurst from 2008 to 2019, as head of the Paris Employment practice for 11 years.  Prior, she practiced with Jones Day  for 10 years.

Admitted to the Paris bar in 2000, Ms. Fleury  speaks both French and English fluently. She is a member of Avosial, a lawyers’ only club devoting their professional activity to legal representation and advice to employers in the field of labor law and social security, and a member of Women in Restructuring, a club gathering female professionals in the field of distressed companies.

Publications and conferences

• Gibson Dunn Webcast – La levée du confinement : comment anticiper au mieux la reprise de l’activité au sein de votre entreprise – May 2020.
• La reconnaissance légale du droit à la déconnexion : premier bilan (Initial conclusions after the recognition of a legal right to disconnect) – La Lettre des Juristes d’Affaires-April 2017.
• Reconnaissance d’une situation de co-emploi dans les groupes de sociétés en difficulté (Recognition of a situation of co-employment in groups of companies facing financial difficulties), – Le village de la justice – February 2012.
• Forfait jours : la justice encadre strictement le temps de travail des cadres (Working time computed in working days – justice imposes constraints in computation of the working time for executives) – Le Figaro économie, p. 21-23 – June 2011.
• La Cour de cassation ne remet pas en cause le forfait-jour des cadres, (The Supreme Court does not challenge the working time in days for the executives) – AFP – June 2011.
• Cadres: le forfait jour pourrait être invalidé (Executives – the computation of the working time in days could be challenged) – Le Figaro Economie – June 2011.
• Non-concurrence dans les pactes d’actionnaires : faut-il traiter désormais les actionnaires comme des salariés? (Non-compete in the shareholders agreements – should the shareholders be treated as employees ?) – Option Droit et Affaires, p.8-9 – April 2011.

Representative Experience

• La Halle in connection with the labor aspects (“Plan de Sauvegarde de l’Emploi”) of its distressed acquisition by Beaumanoir.
• Conforama Group in connection with the labor law aspects of the sale of Conforama France to Mobilux, including redundancies.
• Zebra Technologies Europe Ltd. In connection with day to day advice on employment matters and litigation against a protected employee and a former employee.
• Krones in connection with all of the group’s employment matters in France.
• KDC-One in connection with redundancy advice.
• Apollo Management International LLP on transfer of an employee in France.
• Eaton Corp., a global power management company, on the employment aspects of its $920 million acquisition of Souriau–Sunbank Connection Technologies from TransDigm Group Inc.
• Hologic, Inc., the NASDAQ-listed medical technology company, in the employment aspects of its acquisition of France-based innovator in cart-based ultrasound product SuperSonic Imagine.
• A first rank American investment funds in connection with the employment aspects of the acquisition of a French listed company’s division.
• Vivarte in relation to the employment aspects of its operational and financial restructuring. This operation represents the largest debt restructuring of a private company in France.
• a large pool of senior lenders led by a working group composed of CVC, Farallon, Ochziff, Goldentree, HIG Capital / Bayside and Carval in relation to the employment aspects of the follow-up of the second restructuring of Camaieu.
• Medix on employment matters related to the acquisition of French group Talentoday.*
• SNCF on the competition and employment matters related to the sale of its bus division Ouibus, to the French start-up BlaBlaCar, global leader of carpooling.*
• Orion Capital Managers on employment related matters.*
• Pillet Hand Prostheses Paris on general employment aspects.*
• Acquisition of control of PCAS company by Novacap.*
• Savills SA on general employment aspects.*
• Laboratoire Famar FFH the buyer as part of the sale and change of control.*
• Société d’Etudes Techniques et Economiques SA on employment related matters.*
• Zebra Technologies Europe Limited on employment related matters.*
• Hagen on the closure of the French subsidiary.*
• Sateba Système Vagneux in the implementation of a cross-border dismissal in liaison with a local counsel for legal aspects abroad.*
• Liberty House in the context of the acquisition of Aluminium Dunkerque.*
• Implementation of the GDPR regulations for various groups across Europe (GEA, Savills, LafargeHolcim).*
• Vivarte on the employment aspects of the sale of various of its subsidiaries (Naf Naf, Kookaï, André, Defi Mode).*
• Cegedim in relation to the signing of a protocol regarding the acquisition of Futuramedia.*
• Comexposium on the 33% acquisition of share capital and voting rights of Sopexa along with Hopscotch.*
• Stirling Square on the potential purchase of AD Industries.*
• Financière Holding CEP on the acquisition of Immoprêt.*
• CHG Participations on the sale of its subsidiary (CHG Codet) which holds and operates a five star hotel in Paris.*
• a Canadian group specialized in building and infrastructure engineering in relation to the acquisition of a French company, the establishment of an agreement on working time, the conclusion of new amendments and the merger of several establishments with the harmonization of social benefits for employees.*
• Global leader in specialty chemicals on the expatriation of its senior executives to foreign subsidiaries.*
• CGN on its investment into Hinkley Point C, the establishment of a broader UK partnership for the development of new nuclear power stations at Sizewell in Suffolk and Bradwell in Essex and a key joint venture designed to bring Chinese nuclear technology to the UK for future projects.*
• a French company specialized in prosthesis in the context of a litigation where an ex-employee claimed damages for dismissal on discriminatory grounds (termination of the trial period of a pregnant employee).*
• a French pharmaceutical group in relation with intra-group transfers and the negotiation and implementation of a collective agreement regarding the transferred savings scheme and benefits.*
• a French group on a disposal project associated with a termination of activity.*
• Charterhouse Capital Partners on the acquisition of French pharmaceutical group Cooper, previously owned by the investment fund Caravelle (€749 million).*
• Intermediate Capital Group Plc (ICG) on the sale of the Parkeon group to Astorg Partner.*
• Financière Holding CEP on their acquisition of Empruntis.*
• a Canadian group specialized in building and infrastructure engineering in relation to the acquisition of a French company, the establishment of an agreement on working time, the conclusion of new amendments and the merger of several establishments with the harmonization of social benefits for employees.*
• Charterhouse Capital Partners on its disposal of the Webhelp group to KKR. *
• Charterhouse Capital Partners and Mirion Technologies Inc. on the acquisition of Canberra. *
• Peaked Hill Partners in relation to the restructuring of Arc International.*
• Arc International France in relation to a dispute with an employee protected before the Court of Prud’Hommes of Saint-Omer for the legal termination of the employee’s employment contract and obtaining damages.*
• Itochu on the acquisition of a French company operating in the production of vegetable oil business sector with assets in France, Uruguay and Argentina. *
• Bridgepoint, an international fund and leading European investor on the unlisted market, in connection with the sale of the Compagnie du Ponant, a luxury cruise operator, to the Artémis group, holding held by the Pinault family. This deal represents a key example of a success of a Private Equity fund selling its portfolio company to a strategic buyer. *
• a Swedish group specialized in food packaging in relation to the termination of an outsourcing contract and the related employees redundancies.*
• Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co L.P. (KKR) on the acquisition of the entire share capital and voting rights of Pont-sur-Sambre Power and Toul Power, two combined cycle gas turbine power plants in France, from Verbund AG, a power transmission and trading company (€150 million).*
• WSP on the acquisition of Technip TPS SAS.*
• Charterhouse Capital Partners on the sale of Nocibé to the shareholders of Douglas (€540 million).*
• GDP Vendôme in connection with the sale of its shares in DVD Participations (DomusVi).*
• Groupama S.A. in relation to the sale of a portfolio of investments in private equity funds and the sale of its management company.*

* Some of these matters may have been handled prior to Nataline Fleury’s joining Gibson Dunn.

She speaks French and English fluently.