19 Jan 2026
White & Case expands Paris real estate practice with three partner hires
"White & Case in Paris hires partners Antoine Mercier, Sarah Fleury and Romain Guénin to its Real Estate practice; they will work on real estate transactions, financing and Private Capital."
Antoine Mercier brings more than 25 years of experience in real estate. He advises on national and European real estate investments and financings across operational asset classes, including hospitality, tourism and leisure, logistics, senior housing and student residences. He also counsels clients on ESG matters affecting assets, such as installation of photovoltaic cells and other renewable energy infrastructures, and the inclusion of green clauses in portfolios, and has significant experience with institutional investors and fund managers on portfolio acquisitions, disposals and management, partnership structuring and regulatory aspects notably relating to OPCI. Mercier is admitted to the Paris bar since 1998 and graduated from Université Panthéon‑Sorbonne. He joins White & Case from DLA Piper, where he served as partner responsible for the firm’s real estate ESG practice; earlier in his career he worked at Linklaters and at Salans, where he was co‑opted partner in 2010.
Sarah Fleury is a leading real estate transactional lawyer with nearly 20 years of experience advising multinational clients on cross‑border and domestic real estate M&A, including legal structuring, acquisitions and disposals of asset portfolios or companies holding real estate, joint ventures and transactions across asset classes such as hospitality, tourism and leisure, retail, logistics, clinics, operated serviced residences including senior and student housing, self‑storage and data centers. She also practices in commercial leasing and construction and regularly handles technically complex matters and high‑stakes dossiers. Sarah is admitted to the Paris bar and holds degrees from Université Paris‑XI and EDHEC; she is Trustee Europe of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and a member of its France executive committee. She joins White & Case from DLA Piper, where she was a partner since 2024; her prior positions include founding the real estate practice at Goodwin (joined 2019), co‑opted partnership at Orrick, and earlier roles at Linklaters and De Pardieu Brocas Maffei.
Romain Guénin is a specialist in real estate and structured finance with some 15 years of experience advising lenders and borrowers on a wide range of financings and investments related to acquisition and development of real estate assets across sectors such as logistics, offices, hospitality, serviced residences, sports infrastructure and self‑storage. He has developed expertise in loan restructurings and special situations, particularly in complex mortgage financings involving portfolios of real estate assets. Admitted to the Paris bar in 2011 and a graduate of Université Panthéon‑Sorbonne, Guénin joins White & Case from DLA Piper, where he had been a partner since 2023 (previously counsel from 2020) after earlier roles at Allen & Overy and Baker & McKenzie.