The 20 best criminal defense and white-collar crime lawyers in France in 2026

Jacqueline Laffont, Emmanuel Marsigny, and Antonin Lévy are among the professionals included in the ranking compiled by Impact Lawyers.

How the ranking was compiled

Impact Lawyers has not reproduced the ranking of any directory. The ranking is based on public information available in Chambers France, Legal 500, Leaders League, Best Lawyers, and professional sources, but applies its own editorial assessment to compare profiles that those directories typically separate.

Chambers ranks departments and professionals by bands, while Legal 500 distinguishes between Hall of Fame, Leading Partners, next generation partners, and leading associates. Those accolades are a valuable reference, but they primarily measure corporate practice submitted to each guide's research process. On their own, they do not reflect the entirety of the French criminal defense bar or capability before a criminal court or a cour d’assises.

The Impact Lawyers ranking combines five dimensions:

• Individual and sustained recognition across multiple directories: 30 %.
• Complexity, diversity, and scale of publicly verifiable matters: 25 %.
• Criminal law specialization, procedural mastery, and courtroom experience: 20 %.
• Professional leadership, independence, and the ability to lead a crisis strategy: 15 %.
• International profile, scholarly contribution, and public influence: 10 %.

Media notoriety does not generate points on its own. Nor has the apparent number of victories been used, because outcomes are not consistently public, many matters conclude through confidential settlements, and the outcome depends on facts that go beyond the lawyer's work.

A ranking different from traditional directories

The outcome does not fully coincide with Chambers or Legal 500 for a deliberate reason. Chambers' French white-collar crime ranking focuses on the corporate market and primarily ranks firms by bands. Legal 500's individual selection recognizes numerous specialists, but does not establish a single list from first to twentieth.

Impact Lawyers also includes criminal lawyers with significant activity in criminal proceedings, organized crime, extradition, civil liberties, and high-profile cases. The purpose is to assess comprehensive criminal law excellence: from an investigation by the Parquet national financier to a trial by jury.

Jacqueline Laffont

Jacqueline Laffont stands out for the combination of professional authority, continuity, discretion, and experience in political-financial matters of the highest complexity. Their practice encompasses corruption, tax fraud, money laundering, political financing, and the defense of leaders and senior executives.

Chambers describes Haïk & Associés as a specialized benchmark and highlights that Laffont is particularly sought after by political figures and executives subject to criminal proceedings. The ranking assesses the individual practitioner rather than the overall size of their firm.

Emmanuel Marsigny and Antonin Lévy

Emmanuel Marsigny Their career brings together major criminal proceedings, industrial accidents, financial cases, and complex investigations. Joining Skadden to develop the Paris white-collar crime practice added an international platform to more than twenty-five years of experience. Their profile combines personal defense, corporate matters, and cross-border investigations.

Antonin Lévy stands out for their specialization in French and international investigations, compliance, corruption, and the criminal liability of companies and executives. Their practice combines French procedural technique with the ability to coordinate proceedings across multiple jurisdictions.

Christophe Ingrain and Julia Minkowski

Christophe Ingrain Their strength lies in the integration of white-collar criminal law into highly complex corporate litigation. Their practice is particularly solid in strategy, procedure, and corporate defense.

Julia Minkowski After developing a career alongside Hervé Temime, founded Minkowski & Partners and established an independent practice focused on criminal defense, strategic litigation, and crisis management. Their profile combines experience in financial and political matters, reflection on the presumption of innocence, and leadership in the generational renewal of the French criminal defense bar.

Bougartchev, Maisonneuve, Dezeuze and Sur

Kiril Bougartchev stands out for experience in corruption, fraud, internal investigations, and cross-border matters. Patrick Maisonneuve brings an especially extensive track record in public proceedings, defense of executives, and white-collar crime.

Éric Dezeuze represents one of the most sophisticated corporate practices in the French market. Pierre-Olivier Sur stands out for a dual presence in general criminal defense and particularly sensitive economic or institutional matters.

All four appear among the most established practitioners in the market, and their inclusion reflects the weight that Impact Lawyers places on individual criminal practice, procedural variety, and continuity before the courts.

Frank Berton

Frank Berton stands out despite not dominating international corporate rankings. Their inclusion reflects the ranking's own criteria: experience before the cours d’assises, defense in high-pressure criminal proceedings, and the ability to operate outside the Parisian white-collar crime circuit also constitute legal excellence.

It would not be coherent to title the article as a ranking of “criminal defense lawyers” and limit it to those advising companies in financial investigations. Berton balances a list that would otherwise measure only one part of the profession.

Other prominent practitioners

Christian Saint-Palais stands out for mastery of criminal procedure and long-standing dedication to defense. Denis Chemla stands out in international investigations and corporate matters requiring coordination across jurisdictions.

Claudia Chemarin stands out for sustained specialization in white-collar crime and the defense of executives. Kami Haeri stands out for combining investigations, compliance, and complex litigation within an international platform. Jean-Marc Fedida has a practice spanning white-collar crime and general criminal defense.

Other prominent practitioners

Antoine Vey Their international profile, extradition proceedings, and presence in major cases bring a distinct dimension from traditional corporate defense. Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard stands out for sustained experience in criminal defense and cases subject to intense public exposure.

Emmanuel Daoud Their work connects white-collar crime, corporate liability, compliance, and human rights. Clarisse Serre stands out for a professional identity strongly linked to criminal defense, procedural practice, and organized crime matters.

François Saint-Pierre Their track record in criminal defense, procedural practice, civil liberties, and legal analysis justifies their inclusion, even though their professional model has less presence in international corporate directories.

How the ranking should be interpreted

The ranking does not claim that an included professional is necessarily the ideal lawyer for any matter. An international corruption investigation, a homicide prosecution, an extradition, and a defamation case require different capabilities.

The ranking expresses a general assessment based on public information available in 2026. Differences between adjacent positions may be small and do not constitute a prediction of outcomes. The choice of lawyer should take into account the exact specialty, conflicts of interest, availability, the relationship of trust, budget, and the competent jurisdiction.

A criminal defense bar broader than white-collar crime

The main conclusion is that France retains one of the strongest criminal defense cultures in Europe. Paris concentrates financial investigations and international firms, but professional excellence does not end at the Parquet national financier or large law firms.

Laffont brings together a combination of technical skill, track record, and authority. Marsigny and Lévy represent the internationalization of white-collar crime. Ingrain, Minkowski, and Bougartchev demonstrate the growing sophistication of corporate investigations, while Berton, Saint-Palais, Serre, and Saint-Pierre remind us that criminal proceedings continue to be built before the courts and around the rights of the defendant.