The 20 Best Criminal and White-Collar Crime Lawyers in France in 2026

Jacqueline Laffont leads the first ranking compiled by Impact Lawyers, followed by Emmanuel Marsigny and Antonin Lévy.

How the ranking was compiled

Impact Lawyers has not reproduced the ranking of any individual legal directory. The ranking draws on publicly available information from Chambers France, Legal 500, Leaders League, Best Lawyers and other professional sources, but applies its own editorial assessment to compare profiles that those directories usually place in separate categories.

Chambers ranks departments and practitioners in bands, while Legal 500 distinguishes between categories such as Hall of Fame, Leading Partners, next-generation lawyers and leading associates.

These recognitions are valuable reference points, but they primarily measure corporate practice within each directory’s research process. On their own, they do not reflect the full breadth of French criminal advocacy or a lawyer’s ability before a criminal court or a cour d’assises.

The Impact Lawyers ranking combines five dimensions:

• Consistent individual recognition across several directories: 30%.
• Complexity, diversity and scale of publicly verifiable matters: 25%.
• Criminal-law specialisation, procedural expertise and courtroom experience: 20%.
• Professional leadership, independence and ability to direct a crisis strategy: 15%.
• International reach, scholarly contribution and public influence: 10%.

Media visibility does not generate points by itself. Nor has the apparent number of victories been used as a criterion, because outcomes are not publicly available on a consistent basis, many cases conclude through confidential settlements or arrangements, and the final result depends on facts extending beyond the lawyer’s work.

A ranking that differs from traditional legal directories

The result does not fully coincide with Chambers or Legal 500, and this is deliberate. The Chambers France white-collar crime ranking focuses on the corporate market and primarily ranks law firms by bands.

The Legal 500 individual selection recognises numerous specialists but does not produce a single ordered list from first to twentieth.

Impact Lawyers also includes criminal lawyers with significant activity in criminal trials, organised crime, extradition, civil liberties and high-profile proceedings.

The objective is to assess criminal-law excellence in its full breadth: from an investigation by the Parquet national financier to advocacy before a criminal jury.

Jacqueline Laffont leads the ranking

1. Jacqueline Laffont

Jacqueline Laffont takes first place because of her combination of professional authority, consistency, discretion and experience in political and financial cases of the highest complexity.

Her practice covers corruption, tax fraud, money laundering, political financing and the defence of political leaders and senior executives.

Chambers describes Haïk & Associés as a leading specialist practice and notes Laffont’s work for political figures and senior executives facing criminal proceedings.

Impact Lawyers places her ahead of practitioners at firms ranked in higher bands because this ranking assesses the individual lawyer rather than the overall size or position of the firm.

Emmanuel Marsigny and Antonin Lévy complete the podium

2. Emmanuel Marsigny

Emmanuel Marsigny ranks second. His career brings together major criminal trials, industrial accidents, financial cases and complex investigations.

His move to Skadden to develop its Paris white-collar crime practice added an international platform to more than twenty-five years of experience.

This balance between individual defence, corporate matters and cross-border investigations determines his position.

3. Antonin Lévy

Antonin Lévy ranks third because of his specialisation in French and international investigations, compliance, corruption and the criminal liability of companies and executives.

His practice combines expertise in French criminal procedure with the ability to coordinate proceedings across multiple jurisdictions.

Christophe Ingrain and Julia Minkowski

4. Christophe Ingrain

Christophe Ingrain ranks fourth. His principal strength lies in integrating white-collar criminal law into highly complex corporate disputes.

His position recognises a practice that attracts less media attention than that of some other criminal lawyers, but which is particularly strong in strategy, procedure and corporate defence.

5. Julia Minkowski

Julia Minkowski ranks fifth. After developing her career alongside Hervé Temime, she founded Minkowski & Partners and established her own practice focused on criminal defence, strategic litigation and crisis management.

Her profile combines experience in financial and political matters, work concerning the presumption of innocence and leadership in the generational renewal of French criminal advocacy.

Bougartchev, Maisonneuve, Dezeuze and Sur

6. Kiril Bougartchev

Kiril Bougartchev ranks sixth for his experience in corruption, fraud, internal investigations and cross-border matters.

7. Patrick Maisonneuve

Patrick Maisonneuve ranks seventh and brings a particularly extensive career in public trials, the defence of senior figures and white-collar crime.

8. Éric Dezeuze

Éric Dezeuze, in eighth place, represents one of the most sophisticated corporate criminal practices in the French market.

9. Pierre-Olivier Sur

Pierre-Olivier Sur ranks ninth because of his presence in both general criminal defence and particularly sensitive economic or institutional cases.

All four are among the market’s most established practitioners, but their order reflects the weight that Impact Lawyers assigns to personal criminal advocacy, the diversity of proceedings handled and sustained courtroom experience.

Frank Berton enters the top ten

10. Frank Berton

Frank Berton ranks tenth despite not dominating international corporate legal directories.

His high position reflects the ranking’s broader methodology: experience before the cours d’assises, defence in criminal proceedings under exceptional pressure and the ability to practise outside the Paris white-collar crime market also constitute legal excellence.

It would be inconsistent to describe the article as a ranking of criminal lawyers while limiting it to practitioners who advise companies in financial investigations.

Berton therefore balances a list that would otherwise measure only one part of the criminal-law profession.

Positions 11 to 15

11. Christian Saint-Palais

Christian Saint-Palais ranks eleventh because of his command of criminal procedure and his long-standing dedication to defence work.

12. Denis Chemla

Denis Chemla ranks twelfth and stands out in international investigations and corporate matters requiring coordination across jurisdictions.

13. Claudia Chemarin

Claudia Chemarin occupies 13th place because of her sustained specialisation in white-collar crime and the defence of executives.

14. Kami Haeri

Kami Haeri ranks fourteenth through his combination of investigations, compliance and complex litigation within an international platform.

15. Jean-Marc Fedida

Jean-Marc Fedida completes the top fifteen with a practice spanning white-collar crime and general criminal defence.

Positions 16 to 20

16. Antoine Vey

Antoine Vey ranks 16th. His international profile, extradition proceedings and involvement in major cases provide a dimension that differs from traditional corporate defence.

17. Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard

Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard ranks 17th because of her sustained experience in criminal defence and cases subject to intense public scrutiny.

18. Emmanuel Daoud

Emmanuel Daoud ranks eighteenth. His work connects white-collar crime, corporate liability, compliance and human rights.

19. Clarisse Serre

Clarisse Serre occupies 19th place with a professional identity strongly associated with criminal defence, procedure and organised-crime cases.

20. François Saint-Pierre

François Saint-Pierre completes the ranking. His career in criminal defence, procedure, civil liberties and legal scholarship supports his inclusion despite a professional model with less visibility in international corporate directories.

What a position in the ranking means

The ranking does not claim that the lawyer in first place is necessarily the right practitioner for every matter. An international corruption investigation, a murder trial, an extradition case and a defamation proceeding require different skills.

The positions represent a general assessment based on publicly available information in 2026. Differences between lawyers in neighbouring positions may be small and do not constitute a prediction of outcomes.

The choice of lawyer should take into account the precise specialisation required, conflicts of interest, availability, the relationship of trust, budget and the competent jurisdiction.

Criminal advocacy extends beyond white-collar crime

The principal conclusion is that France retains one of Europe’s strongest cultures of criminal defence. Paris concentrates financial investigations and international firms, but professional excellence does not end with the Parquet national financier or major corporate law firms.

Laffont’s first place recognises an exceptional combination of technical ability, experience and authority. Marsigny and Lévy represent the internationalisation of white-collar crime practice.

Ingrain, Minkowski and Bougartchev demonstrate the growing sophistication of corporate investigations, while Berton, Saint-Palais, Serre and Saint-Pierre serve as a reminder that criminal procedure is still shaped in the courtroom and around the rights of the person being defended.