Laurent Benoit

Laurent is a Counsel our Financial Regulation Group (FRG) in Paris, specialising in banking law, capital markets regulations, derivatives and investment funds.

Laurent has experience in a variety of work including advising credit institutions and investment firms in relation to the provision of banking services and investment services in France, advising on OTC derivatives and cleared derivatives transactions, advising fund managers on structuring and marketing funds in France, and advising banks on prime-brokerage services.

Laurent has been involved in most advisory matters of our Paris office in relation to MiFID II, CRD/CRR, IFD/IFR, BRRD/SRMR, EMIR, SFTR, financial collateral, settlement finality, CSDR, SSR, MAR, PSD, AMLD, UCITS, AIFMD and PRIIPs.
Laurent has worked for the last few years on all major Brexit projects for the most important clients of the firm.

Fintech / Crypto

Laurent has experience in a variety of work including advising credit institutions and investment firms in relation to the provision of banking services and investment services in France including the use of technology, advising on OTC derivatives and cleared derivatives transactions, advising fund managers on structuring and marketing funds in France, and advising banks on prime-brokerage services. Laurent has been involved in most advisory matters of our Paris office in relation to MiFID II, CRD/CRR, IFD/IFR, BRRD/SRMR, EMIR, SFTR, financial collateral, settlement finality, CSDR, SSR, MAR, PSD, AMLD, UCITS, AIFMD and PRIIPs.

Work highlights

Laurent’s landmark experience includes advising:

• Large banks and financial institutions on the implementation of MiFID II and the repapering of their contractual documentation
• Various UK firms and their EEA subsidiaries on the impact of Brexit on their regulated activities in France
• Various European central counterparties (CCPs) on the enforceability of their clearing arrangements in an insolvency of their French clearing members
• Large banks and financial institutions on derivative transactions and the enforceability of their related netting and collateral arrangements
• Various French banks, firms and management companies on the implementation and reform of EMIR
• Large and medium credit institutions on their prudential requirements
• Large banks and financial institutions on M&A transactions and corporate governance/change of control issues

Fintech

• Various French banks, investment firms and management companies: advising on the implementation and reform of EMIR.
• Eurex Clearing AG, Nasdaq OMX Clearing, Clearstream Banking SA, LCH Ltd and CME Clearing Europe: advising clearing houses, settlement systems and clearing members and system participants on the enforceability of clearing/system rules, including associated industry standard agreements, as well as providing ad hoc opinions to market participants in connection with industry standard agreements, such as ISDA, FBF or AFTE agreements.
• Large banks and financial institutions: advising on derivative transactions and the enforceability of their related close-out netting and financial collateral arrangements.
• Jane Street Financial Limited: advising on licensing requirements for OTC crypto trading with French counterparties.
• Zodia Custody Limited: advising on the French regulatory regime for providers of investment services in crypto assets.

Laurent started his career at Linklaters in 2012; before, he worked in-house with two banks.

Between 2008 and 2011, he worked for three and a half years as an in-house lawyer in the equity derivatives and asset management division of BNP Paribas in Paris. He was in charge of the legal and contractual documentation of UCITS funds and AIFs and of the negotiation of ISDA and FBF confirmations of OTC derivative transactions and distribution agreements in France and Luxembourg.

In 2006-2007, he worked for one and a half years as an in-house lawyer in the equity derivatives and structured products division of Société Générale in New York and Paris. He was in charge of the legal and contractual documentation of structured products in Europe, the US, Canada and Latin America.

Certificate of Aptitude for Lawyer Profession (CAPA) from the Paris Bar School (EFB);

Master of Finance (majoring in banking and finance) from the Paris Dauphine University; and

Master (Magistère) of Business Law from the Panthéon-Assas Paris II University.