Bernard Grinspan

Bernard Grinspan is a French and New York qualified partner in the Paris office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where he serves as Chairman of the International Management Committee and Partner-in-Charge of the office.

For more than twenty years, Mr. Grinspan has advised publicly traded and privately held business entities on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and works closely with clients to provide guidance on strategic and financial investments. In addition, he works regularly on debt restructuring and insolvency matters. He also has notable experience in distributorship and licensing agreements as well as FCPA investigations. He has been instrumental in "getting the deal done" in a number of highly visible transactions within the French business community.

Mr. Grinspan is known to be creative in his approach to client's issues, with a constant view to explore all possible avenues available, including those combining negotiations and litigation. He has been essential in a number of cross-border deals where litigation and corporate teams are formed and coordinated to maximize client's results.

Before joining Gibson Dunn's Paris office in 1990, Mr. Grinspan spent nine years in the United States, first as a student at the Harvard Law School, then as a practicing attorney in New York, working successively at White and Case, Schlumberger Limited and Davis Polk & Wardwell. His two-and-a-half-year experience at Schlumberger gave him an excellent insider's view of the corporate world, rather unique in law firms as he was involved in the practical implementation of deals as well as their negotiation. After graduating in France, he completed his military service and practiced for two years in a French firm before leaving for the US.

PLC Which Lawyer? has recommended Mr. Grinspan as a leading lawyer for Corporate/M&A in France for the past five years consectively. He is also recommended as a leading Corporate/M&A lawyer in the 2012 editions of Best Lawyers, Legal Experts EMEA and Legal 500 EMEA, the latter of which noted: "Bernard Grinspan shows an ‘innate understanding of business and human relationships.'"

In addition, Chambers Global 2012 ranked Mr. Grinspan as an 'foreign expert' in Corporate/M&A work, noting that the practice “benefits greatly from Bernard Grinspan's US legal expertise and experience when it comes to handling major transatlantic deals”, and EMEA Legal 500 has described him as “well placed to assist clients on complex transactions” providing “creative advice that goes beyond the pure legal aspects”.

Mr. Grinspan plays a major role in the growth of Gibson Dunn's European practices. He was and continues to be instrumental in the development of the firm's European offices into high quality legal service providers, capable of advising foreign clients on the laws of their respective jurisdictions.