At 34 and 36 years of age, Claire de Haut de Sigy and Julian Christen Coat have just started their own firm focusing on white collar crime and compliance.
At 34 and 36 years of age, Claire de Haut de Sigy and Julian Christen Coat have just started their own firm focusing on white collar crime and compliance.
This combined expertise is the product of their training with eminent lawyer Michel Beaussier, whose boutique law firm joined White & Case in 2010. “We first practiced at a boutique law firm” explains Julian Coat, “and we wanted to go back to this kind of professional practice.” To do this, the lawyer came together with his colleague of 10 years. “We had started together at the same firm,” reminisces Claire de Haut de Sigy.
By founding Coat Haut de Sigy, the duo brings together daily criminal law representation of banking and financial cases with strategic advice on compliance with French, European and international corruption and fraud regulations. With extensive experience in cases involving scam, industrial accidents, tax evasion, director disputes and matters brought forward by regulators including the Financial Markets Authority (AMF), the bank regulator (ACPR) and foreign authorities, Coat Haut de Sigy “wishes to affirm its positioning in France before developing internationally” claims Julian Coat. Julian was recently on a nine-month secondment in a large bank to defend it against a U.S. regulatory investigation. Investigations led by French and European authorities are expected to increase in France. The firm fills this gap in the market by providing a rare service in internal investigations and compliance programs.