Jefferson Larue is one of Aliant’s newest members, leading our French operations from Paris. Jefferson specializes in corporate transactions and litigation for French and foreign companies across a range of industries, including manufacturers, insurance and reinsurance companies, and telecommunications businesses.
We asked Jefferson 5 questions as part of our new Meet Aliant series. Here’s what he had to say.
What led you to the practice of law?
A TV show actually! L.A. Law. I was impressed by a witness’ cross-examination and the ability of the lawyer to literally change the outcome of the court case with just a few words!
Tell us about your practice – the types of clients you work with, how you help, how they describe you.
I help listed companies manage their operational risks, including liability and losses, which is substantial in scope. I would say that they see me as proactive and responsive and capable of really understanding their business. I like being concrete and practical in devising legal strategies, looking to help minimize risk and maintain cost efficiencies. The most interesting client to me is the one I don’t already work for but that I work hard to earn as a client! Of course, then I work just as hard making sure they’re a happy client!
What was your most memorable client engagement?
Last summer, I was instructed by my largest client to audit nearly 75,000 documents, representing about 18,000 contracts. The audit lasted for 4 months. We set up a team of 12 people and developed a custom software system to automate the audit. That software can now be used anywhere in the world by other Aliant lawyers who have clients with numerous live contracts, all needing to be tracked, audited, managed, contract end dates monitored, terms and conditions defined, and so much more.
If your clients have too many contracts to count, our software can help them, too.
Tell us about a client engagement where you worked with Aliant colleagues.
I had to draft a contract for a client of Sandip’s (UK) recently, and we are currently handling a litigation case for a client of Malgorzata’s (Poland). Sandip’s UK team is handling a litigation case for one of our clients, too. I also reached out to Bosco (Spain) and Andrea for a French broker operating in Europe. And we also passed an instruction from a French energy operator to Bosco. Jacob also helped me uncover valuable information for a client looking to operate in Mexico. Not bad in just 5 months!
Tell us something about you that others might be surprised to learn?
My father was a farmer for 30 years, and I learned to drive tractors and combines with him, leading to a real, genuine passion for tractors and agricultural machinery! And I’ve lived in the US – from 1984 to 1986, I lived in Pecos, Texas, where my dad was planting grapevines.
