Florence Coussau

Partner

Florence is a Partner at Kalliopé, where she manages the Employment – Social Security and Compliance – CSR practices.

For nearly 15 years, she has been advising French and international groups, both listed and unlisted, as well as SMEs and start-ups, in all areas of labour law and social security law, in terms of individual and collective relations.

In addition to the quality of her listening skills, she masters the techniques and tactical strategies likely to be used, both in her advisory capacity and in litigation.

She assists companies with the social aspects of M&A and private capital investments, company transfers and redundancies. She also assists them with day-to-day labour law issues (such as individual dismissals, staff representative bodies, collective negotiations, working hours, international mobility) and social security law.

With regard to executives and managers, she acts in the context of negotiations on remuneration or departure packages, as well as before competent jurisdictions.

Her experience of the different angles of approach to social issues enables her to offer her clients pragmatic and efficient solutions.

Although Florence works in a wide range of sectors, she has significant expertise in the renewable energy, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

Expertises

Labour and Employment – Social Security

Compliance – CSR

Data protection

Legal experience

Individual relations

Hiring, remuneration, changes to employment contract
Dismissals, negotiated departures
Professional mobility (secondment and expatriation)
Status of senior executives (corporate office and delegation of powers)

Collective relations

Reorganisations and economic redundancies (individual, collective, job protection plan)
Collective agreements (working hours, employee savings schemes, teleworking, etc.)
Social and economic committee and economic and social unit (set-up, operation, litigation, etc.)
Compliance and CSR (code of ethics, internal harassment investigations, Sapin II report, etc.)

M&A – Private Equity

Social legal audits
Contracts for the sale and acquisition of shares or assets
Investment transactions, restructuring
Post-transfer advice (employee representation, collective agreements, employment contracts, etc.)
Consultation with employee representative bodies
Negotiation of executive departures

Social security

URSSAF inspection
Applicable social security schemes (international mobility, business expenses, etc.)
Occupational accidents and illnesses

Litigation

Industrial, civil and administrative courts
Labour law
Social security law

Senior managers

Negotiation entry and/or exit (voluntary or otherwise)
Corporate officer

Sector experience

Biotech and pharma
Renewable energies
Chemicals and metallurgy

Membership bar

Paris

Languages

French, English

Professional background

Since 2021 Partner, Kalliopé, Paris
2006-2020 Lawyer, Counsel, Labour Law, Jones Day, Paris
2004-2006 Lawyer, Flichy & Associés, Paris

Academic background

2004 CAPA
2002 Université de Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium), DEA Business Law Université de Paris I Panthéon – Sorbonne, DES Economic Law
1997-2001 King’s College London, LL.B. in English Law Paris I Panthéon University – Sorbonne, Master’s degree in Private Law

Memberships

AvoSial Member
European Employment Lawyers Association (EELA) Member

Commitment

Florence is a volunteer for an association for the employment of women over 45 in their efforts to create a business or return to work.

References

Advised StaffMe and its shareholders on the labour law and employment aspects of its acquisition by Belgian group House of HR.
Counsel to EDF-RE in the performance of due diligence, in particular in relation to employment law, of an acquisition project by merger and acquisition (portfolio of photovoltaic power plant projects based in France with a total capacity of approximately 1,000 MW) and in the negotiation of the terms of the share purchase agreement (SPA) relating to employment law declarations.
Regular advice to French biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies (hiring, dismissals, staff representation, collective agreements, etc.).
Advice on the structuring and consequences from a labour law point of view (employment protection plan, transfer of activities, etc.) of a proposed acquisition of an industrial activity by a leading American industrial company from a major industrial company based in France.
Regular advice to a global US semiconductor manufacturer group on all issues relating to labour law in France and representation in various disputes (employment tribunal and social security in disputes against the URSSAF).
Advising a cultural investment fund and its portfolio companies specialised in the art field as part of their development and external growth.