Boutique International Law · Paris & Nice

Boutique counsel for cross-border disputes, sanctions and asset recovery.

A practice at the intersection of financial crime, EU sanctions and complex litigation — operating natively between the European Union and the CIS. Senior counsel on every matter, in French, English and Russian.

§ 01
In brief
15+
Years in
international practice
2
Bar qualifications
France · Russia
3
Working languages
FR · EN · RU
4×
Lexology Index thought
leader · 2022–2025
§ 02
Practice

Five tightly defined areas, each demanding specialist knowledge under pressure.

Focused expertise.
Advice you can act on.

We work where financial crime, international sanctions and cross-border litigation meet — the matters that rarely sit within a single jurisdiction, and never within a single legal culture.

01 EU & International Sanctions Challenging restrictive measures before the EU courts, with advice on sanctions compliance, licensing and delisting strategy.
02 Asset Recovery & Civil Fraud Tracing and recovering misappropriated assets across jurisdictions, acting for creditors in complex international fraud.
03 Recognition & Enforcement Recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards in France (exequatur), including against sovereign entities.
04 White-Collar Crime Defence Defence in criminal matters of international scope — fraud, corruption, money laundering, extradition and confiscation.
05 International Litigation Complex civil and commercial disputes before the French courts, with cross-border and parallel-proceedings dimensions.
§ 03
Elena Fedorova

The person behind the practice — and behind every mandate.

Elena Fedorova

Founder · Avocate

A dual French- and Russian-qualified litigator with recognised expertise in financial crime and sanctions law. Her dual qualification gives clients a genuine advantage in matters bridging the European Union and the Commonwealth of Independent States — a perspective that is rare in the field.

Before founding the practice between Paris and Nice, Elena spent more than fifteen years in established firms in Moscow and Paris, developing the cross-jurisdictional fluency that now defines her work.

Qualifications
Paris Bar · 2018
Russian Bar · 2013
Education
Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
HSE University, Moscow
Languages
French · Russian · English
Memberships
ECBA · Russian Arbitration Association
Lexology Index · Thought Leader 2022–2025 GIR Asset Recovery GRR Women in Restructuring 2023
§ 04
The boutique advantage

In high-stakes matters, the boutique model is a structural advantage — not a limitation.

Every mandate
receives senior attention.

Strategy is never delegated, and the cross-jurisdictional view is built into the practice rather than assembled on demand.

01

Senior counsel from day one

Elena handles every matter personally. There is no delegation to junior associates at critical stages — from the first consultation, the work carries fifteen years of direct experience.

02

Dual-system fluency

Qualified in both French and Russian law, Elena operates within each system as a practitioner rather than a foreign observer, reading its procedural and cultural logic from the inside.

03

Parallel proceedings, coordinated

Complex international matters rarely stay in one forum. We manage parallel proceedings and coordinate strategy across legal systems without losing the thread.

04

Frank, direct counsel

Clients hear a clear assessment of risk, not reassurance. In matters of this scale, an accurate reading of exposure is worth more than comfort.

§ 05
Track record

Representative matters

Experience at the
highest stakes.

~$200M
Recognition & enforcement of a US judgment in France
Instructed on the recognition and enforcement in France of a major US judgment concerning a failed financial institution, with related asset-tracing across several offshore jurisdictions.
Asset Recovery · Exequatur
~$7.5B
Transnational fraud & money-laundering proceedings
Acting in criminal proceedings for a Central Asian banking matter involving alleged transnational fraud and money laundering, including issues around an Interpol Red Notice and cross-border asset recovery.
White-Collar · Asset Recovery
~€57M
Multi-jurisdictional money-laundering investigation
Acting for a client in a complex multi-jurisdictional investigation involving alleged money laundering and parallel criminal proceedings.
White-Collar · International
~$50M
Defence of an arbitral award in set-aside proceedings
Acting in the defence of a major arbitral award challenged on grounds of fraud, with coordination across parallel enforcement proceedings.
Arbitration · Litigation
ECJ
EU sanctions delisting proceedings
Representing individuals subject to EU restrictive measures in delisting proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union, together with advisory work on sanctions compliance and licensing.
EU Sanctions · ECJ
CIS
Enforcement of CIS insolvency judgments in France
Acting on the recognition and enforcement in France of insolvency judgments from a CIS jurisdiction for asset-recovery purposes, including related search measures.
Exequatur · Insolvency

Descriptions are anonymised and indicate the nature and scale of the work, not its outcome. Figures denote the value of the matters concerned, not sums recovered.

§ 06
Contact

Complex matters benefit from early counsel.

Let's discuss your matter.

A preliminary, confidential conversation — in French, English or Russian. We are happy to hear the shape of a matter before it becomes a mandate.

Email
Phone
+33 (0)7 86 45 89 83
Paris
55 rue de Prony
75017 Paris
Nice
60 rue Gioffredo
06000 Nice
Send a e-mail