02 Sep 2026
Mada welcomes Professor Arnaud de Nanteuil as of counsel
"Mada welcomes Professor Arnaud de Nanteuil as of counsel to reinforce its international arbitration and public international/investment law practice."
Professor agrégé of public law at Université Paris-Est Créteil, where he directs the LLM in Advanced International Business Litigation, Arnaud de Nanteuil is one of the most recognised specialists in international investment law. He is the author of the only French handbook dedicated to that discipline (fourth edition published in 2025) and of a reference work on free trade and investment law in Africa; both books have been awarded prizes by the Académie des Sciences morales et politiques. He was also invited to lead the research centre on mining extraction and international law during the 2027 summer session of the Hague Academy of International Law.
For more than ten years he has combined his university duties, which he will continue to hold, with an active practice of advisory work and expert opinions, and he sits as an arbitrator in investor–state disputes. He appears on the lists of arbitrators of several French and international institutions, including the Common Court of Justice and Arbitration of OHADA.
Mada said his arrival strengthens the firm’s capabilities in international arbitration and brings leading expertise in public international law, a discipline that frequently structures large extractive and infrastructure projects. The firm noted that his appointment consolidates its ability to advise clients on investment protection, international taxation, the law of African regional institutions (UEMOA, CEMAC, ECOWAS), exchange control regulation, land and maritime borders, recognition of governments and transboundary environmental issues, while opening new perspectives for state-to-state relations.
Arnaud de Nanteuil will work closely with Mada’s team, with whom he has already collaborated for several years in consultations, opinions and international arbitration proceedings, notably alongside Stéphane Brabant, Lucien Bou Chaaya and Rayan Keyrouz on international litigation, and Jérôme Le Berre on international tax matters.
Lucien Bou Chaaya, Global Managing Partner of Mada, hailed de Nanteuil’s "rare mastery of international law" nourished by leading research, and emphasised that his versatility fits perfectly with the firm’s practice. Stéphane Brabant, Senior Partner, highlighted the added brilliance the professor brings to the firm’s international investment law practice and the new dimension he introduces in alternative dispute resolution and relations with subregional and financial institutions in Africa.