Press Release
20 April 2021

Goodwin Extends Premier Life Sciences And Technology Platform to France with the Addition of Partner Anne-Charlotte Rivière

Global law firm Goodwin announced today the expansion of its global Life Sciences and Technology platform in France with the appointment of partner Anne-Charlotte Rivière, resident in the firm’s Paris office. Rivière brings more than 20 years of experience advising life sciences, venture capital and private equity clients. She will work alongside Paris partners Thomas Dupont-Sentilles and Benjamin Garçon.

“As the second-largest biotech market in Europe, France presents an exciting opportunity to scale our global destination practice for innovative life sciences companies and investors,” said Mitchell Bloom, chair of Goodwin’s Life Sciences practice. “We have built an integrated, highly collaborative team of corporate, intellectual property, licensing and regulatory specialists who advise companies across the entire corporate lifecycle. Anne-Charlotte is an outstanding lawyer and deeply connected within the French life sciences, technology and private equity ecosystems. She will further bolster our capabilities as these industries continue to converge and create significant opportunities for our clients worldwide.”

“We are delighted to launch a life sciences and technology-focused offering in France with Anne-Charlotte, Thomas and Benjamin as the leads,” said Maxence Bloch, Chair of Goodwin’s Paris office. “Extending the firm’s industry leading platform in this market — where we are already advising clients across technology, private equity, financings and restructurings — allows us to provide clients with the full Goodwin experience, across all of our industries of focus. Anne-Charlotte’s hire is a major step in the expansion of the Paris office which has grown to more than 50 lawyers since opening in 2016.”

Rivière specializes in venture capital, private equity and M&A in the life sciences and technology sectors. She advises seed-stage companies and established players, as well as French and foreign investment funds. Rivière has led countless fundraising rounds, including several French “unicorns”, and specializes in complex transactions that combine fundraising and strategic agreements. Rivière is ranked as a leading lawyer by Chambers Europe 2021 for venture capital and is recognized by The Legal 500 EMEA 2021 in healthcare and life sciences. She has been named a top 5 lawyer on fundraising under €20 million and a top 10 lawyer most active in technology by CFNews Magazine.

“Joining Goodwin was a natural choice for me,” said Anne-Charlotte Rivière. “The firm has a long and distinguished international bench in the life sciences, technology and private equity sectors, and my practice complements the global practice perfectly. The entrepreneurial culture, focus on diversity, equity and inclusion and the multidisciplinary approach of the Paris office provide an ideal platform for advising French start-ups looking to expand abroad as well as French or foreign venture capital firms looking to invest in these companies.”

Clients in France will be able to draw on Goodwin’s global Life Sciences and Technology platform of more than 350 lawyers who represent leading public and private companies and investors across their entire life cycles — including financings, capital markets transactions, M&A, collaborations and licensing, intellectual property, and regulatory matters.

U.S. News — Best Lawyers’ 2021 edition named Goodwin the Biotechnology Law Firm of the Year for the sixth time. LMG Life Sciences also named Goodwin firm of the year for 2020 in the corporate, lifecycle, and intellectual property categories. Mergermarket’s Deal Drivers FY 20 reports named Goodwin the number one firm (by deal count) for Pharma, Medical, and Biotech M&A in North America and the number two firm (by value) for Pharma, Medical, and Biotech M&A in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Chambers UK 2021 recognized Goodwin’s Life Sciences UK practice for the first time in 2020 and The British Legal Awards named Goodwin’s UK team the Life Sciences Team of the Year in 2020.