12 Mar 2026
August Debouzy strengthens competition practice with arrival of Mathilde Saltiel as partner
"August Debouzy hires Mathilde Saltiel as partner and Laure Maes as counsel to establish a competition, European regulation and foreign investment control practice."
Mathilde Saltiel is joining August Debouzy as a partner. She is recognized as a leading lawyer of her generation in competition law in France. Her practice covers merger control, dawn raids, cartel and abuse of dominance investigations and litigation, follow-on damages actions and compliance programmes. Aged 39, Saltiel is a graduate of Sciences Po Paris and the University Paris Descartes in European law. She worked at Willkie Farr & Gallagher in Paris and New York before joining Latham & Watkins in Paris, where she became a partner in 2021. She has advised clients across sectors including financial services, industry, healthcare and telecommunications, and has worked on transactions such as EssilorLuxottica’s acquisition of GrandVision, Worldline’s acquisition of Ingenico and L’Oréal’s acquisition of Aesop, as well as on investigations and litigation matters for Essilor, TDF and Orange.
Laure Maes joins August Debouzy as counsel. A graduate of the College of Europe (Bruges), University Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, King’s College London and the University of Strasbourg, she built a solid competition law practice covering merger control, investigations, litigation and compliance programmes. Maes practiced at Willkie Farr & Gallagher and then at Latham & Watkins in Paris alongside Mathilde Saltiel. She has worked on complex merger operations including Orange’s acquisition of Voo, Siemens’ acquisition of Altair Engineering and L’Oréal’s minority investment in Galderma, and represents clients in investigations and proceedings before French and European competition authorities.
The new practice group brings together rare and complementary profiles within a single structure. Vincent Brenot will handle foreign investment control and public business law; Emmanuelle Mignon, former presidential chief of staff and member of the Conseil d’État, co-leads the Brussels office and contributes experience in EU public law and litigation before Union courts; Nicolas Baverez, former magistrate at the Court of Auditors and long-time partner at Gibson Dunn, intervenes in economic public law and State aid; Pierre Sellal, former Permanent Representative of France to the European Union, contributes deep knowledge of EU institutions and decision-making processes; Marc Mossé, former director of legal and public affairs for Microsoft Europe and co-head of the Brussels office, advises on digital competition; and David Zygas is noted for his expertise in European litigation. In competition law, Mathilde Saltiel and Laure Maes will be supported at August Debouzy by three collaborators.