What Viguié Schmidt & Associés does

Viguié Schmidt & Associés (VS&A) is a Paris-headquartered boutique law firm organised as an Association d'avocats à responsabilité professionnelle individuelle (AARPI), operating under the trade name VS&A from 146 Boulevard Haussmann, 75008 Paris. The firm was originally founded in 2003 as Viguié Schmidt by Yves Schmidt and Nicolas Viguié, and took its current form in July 2017 through the merger of Viguié Schmidt with SLVF, the boutique co-founded by Louis Chenard and David Scemla in 2012. The firm employs approximately 30-40 professionals across partners, collaborateurs/associates, and administrative staff, managed by cogérants Yves Schmidt, Nicolas Viguié, Olivier Loizon and Fabrice Veverka.

VS&A delivers counsel and litigation services across six core practice areas: Corporate/M&A, Corporate Law and Restructuring, Disputes Resolution, Competition Law, Tax, and Tort and Healthcare Products Law. It targets French and international corporates, private equity firms and institutional investors undertaking strategic transactions (M&A, LBOs, joint ventures, public offers) and complex disputes (shareholder and securities litigation, arbitration, competition and AMF proceedings). Marquee mandates include advising Suez's supervisory board on the Veolia combination, Lagardère SCA on its conversion to a simplified joint-stock company, Headline on Sorare's USD 680 million Series B, SNCF on the sale of STVA, Pearltrees on its primary LBO, and Verdoso on the acquisition of The Kooples.

The firm generates revenue through professional services fees (hourly or fixed-fee arrangements) priced on transaction complexity, matter type and time required, with engagements ranging from multi-year mandates to discrete transactions. Client acquisition is partner-led and built on professional reputation, referrals, and third-party validation from Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 EMEA, Best Lawyers, and Jeune Afrique. There are no subsidiaries, no external investors, and no public funding; the firm is partner-owned and operates exclusively from a single Paris office.

Name

Viguié Schmidt & Associés

Legal name

Viguié Schmidt & Associés

Website

https://vs-a.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Paris-based boutique law firm (AARPI; ~30-40 professionals) advising French and international corporates, private equity firms, and institutional investors on M&A, private equity, competition law, tax, and complex litigation matters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Advisory Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

M&A Advisory (Buy-Side & Sell-Side) (BPAHAOAA)

Keywords

• Corporate legal advisory
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Private equity law
• Commercial litigation
• Competition law services

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Advisory Services: Professional legal services billed on an hourly fee basis or fixed fee arrangements for specific transactions and litigations. Revenue generated from serving corporate clients, private equity funds, and institutional investors in strategic transactions and complex disputes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Viguié Schmidt & Associés is a Paris-based boutique law firm providing legal advisory and litigation services across six core practice areas: Corporate/M&A, Corporate Law and Restructuring, Disputes Resolution, Competition Law, Tax, and Tort and Healthcare Products Law. The firm advises French and international companies, private equity funds, and institutional investors on strategic transactions (acquisitions, LBOs, joint ventures), complex commercial and securities litigation, antitrust matters, and regulatory compliance.

Product overview

Viguié Schmidt & Associés is a Paris-based law firm offering a unified platform of legal advisory and litigation services organized around six core practice areas: Corporate/M&A, Corporate Law and Restructuring, Disputes Resolution, Competition Law, Tax, and Tort and Healthcare Products Law. The firm advises on strategic transactions (acquisitions, LBOs, private equity), corporate governance, restructuring proceedings, complex commercial and securities litigation, antitrust matters, and regulatory compliance across sectors including life sciences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Corporate/M&A Legal advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, including acquisitions or fusions involving public or private companies, private equity transactions, joint ventures, strategic agreements, takeovers, and stock exchange regulation matters. Targeted at listed and non-listed companies, private equity firms, and corporate groups.
• Corporate Law and Restructuring Legal counsel on share capital increases, issuance of complex securities, corporate governance matters, and restructuring schemes for corporate officers, shareholders, and creditors in amicable or insolvency proceedings.
• Disputes Resolution Representation in complex disputes, commercial and securities litigation, shareholders' actions, M&A-related litigation, commercial and investment treaty arbitrations, stock market litigations, and regulatory proceedings before the AMF.
• Competition Law Merger control filings before French Competition Authority and European Commission, antitrust litigation (cartels, abuse of dominance), representation before competition authorities and courts, and advice on restrictive practices.
• Tax Tax advisory on all aspects of transactions including M&A, LBOs, management packages, corporate reorganizations, company and individual taxation, and assistance during tax audits and litigation.
• Tort and Healthcare Products Law Legal representation in tort law matters, pre-litigation strategy, civil, administrative and commercial court proceedings, and specialized counsel on health products law and regulatory decisions affecting client activities or products.

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Violette Dorange / DeVenir ProjectminorOthers · 1 January 2021Historical partner of Violette Dorange and the DeVenir Project since 2021. Violette Dorange is a sailor competing in the Vendée Globe 2024/2025, the youngest entrant in history. The DeVenir project supports young people in difficulty through Fondation d'Auteuil.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Veil Jourde: Paris M&A and corporate boutique serving listed and unlisted French companies. VS&A's recent hire Tanguy Grimald previously worked at Veil Jourde, indicating direct lateral talent flow between the two.
• Bredin Prat: Paris-based elite firm with leading M&A, litigation, and competition practices. Competes directly for CAC 40 board advisory work and high-stakes disputes in the same client universe served by VS&A.
• Gide Loyrette Nouel: One of France's premier full-service law firms with leading M&A, private equity, and dispute resolution practices. Competes for the same CAC 40 and PE sponsor mandates; VS&A's co-founders and several partners trained at Gide.
• August Debouzy: Paris-based business law firm with strong M&A, private equity, and competition practices. Targets similar mid-market and upper-mid-market French corporate clients with complex transactional and litigation needs.
• Bredin Prat: Paris-headquartered elite firm with leading practices in M&A, litigation, competition, and tax. Frequently appears alongside VS&A on the largest French corporate mandates.
• Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier: Elite Paris-based boutique specializing in M&A, litigation, and high-profile strategic matters. The most direct competitor for French corporate and transactional mandates, with several VS&A partners (David Scemla, Louis Chenard, Martin Donato) having previously worked there.

Broad incumbents

• Latham & Watkins (Paris): Global firm with deep Paris M&A, PE, and competition capabilities. Frequently engaged on French-headquartered cross-border deals that require coordinated multi-jurisdictional counsel.
• Freshfields (Paris): Global elite firm with a large Paris office offering M&A, competition, and litigation. Operates at greater scale and geographic breadth than VS&A, frequently competing for cross-border mandates involving French targets.
• Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton (Paris): US elite firm with significant Paris M&A and competition practice. Regularly engaged on the largest French strategic transactions, often competing with VS&A for board-level mandates.
• Skadden Arps (Paris): US firm with strong Paris M&A practice serving French corporates and PE sponsors. Competes on large-cap cross-border transactions where VS&A's boutique scale can be a constraint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vs-associes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Viguié Schmidt & Associés