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Claire Toumieux

Partner

Claire advises groups on the HR aspects of strategic operations such as mergers and acquisitions and reorganisations, in particular during the works council consultation phase and negotiations with trade unions.

Clients regularly seek Claire' s guidance about sensitive individual situations.
 
This includes investigations in the workplace e.g. on harassment and discrimination claims; as well as negotiations and disputes before the employment courts. Boardroom advice on executive compensation and termination in regulated environments (listed companies and financial sector) are among her areas of expertise.
 
Claire has been Chair of the European Employment Lawyers Association (2015-2017), the European body for lawyers specialising in employment law. She is regularly interviewed in the French press (Le Monde, Le Figaro, Les Echos, L' Opinion), even TV shows (RMC&Bourdin Direct) and international publications (Wall Street Journal, Financial Times...).
She also contributes to A&O Shearman's leading Employment Law blog as well as European Employment Law Cases publication.
 
Claire has also become a key speaker at the Rencontres Economiques d' Aix-en-Provence, the economic forum which brings together business leaders, academics, international organizations, NGOs and politicians.
 
Claire is recognised by the international reference guides such as Chambers and Partners, Legal 500, Best Lawyers and Who's Who Legal.
 
Claire has also been recognised by International Employment Lawyer (IEL) as a Woman Leader in Employment Law worldwide, and winner of the Woman in Law award 2023 (Labour, Employment & Benefits) by Lawyers monthly magazine.
 

Experience

Representative matters

Other contributions include:

· Appointment as an expert to the European Commission, to review the Written Statement Directive in light of new forms of employment, leading to the adoption by EU Parliament on 20 June 2019, of the new Directive 2019/1152 on Transparent and predictable working conditions.

· Participation in the OECD project to review the Employment Protection Indicators to measure the level of employment protection of OECD countries (2019-2021).

· Speaker at the IBA Annual Employment and Diversity Law Conference 2022, 7-9 September, in Madrid, about promoting equality and implementing modern working conditions through the collective bargaining process.
 

Pro bono

Advising « Action Emploi Réfugiés » in France (NGO launched in June 2016) Advising the Paris Peace Forum

Published Work

  • Claire is the national correspondent for the European Employment Law Cases publication. 
  • Article, La Tribune, "La protection des lanceurs d'alerte, quoi qu'il en coûte", May 2022 
  • Article, «Projet de loi climat & résilience : quelle place pour l’environnement dans le dialogue social ?» - Romaric Lazerges, Claire Toumieux, Arthur Sauzay and Anaïta Massoumi - May 2021 
  • "Gender diversity on corporate boards" - Claire Toumieux, Silvia Bauza (MD), Livio Bossotto (ML), Gilles Dall'Agnol (LU), Sarah Henchoz (LN), Marta Sendrowicz (WR), Katinka Middelkoop (AM), Inge Vanderreken (BX), Marketa Cisarova (PG), Katarina Matulnikova (BT), Balazs Sahin-Toth (BD), Dr Maria Boerner (FR), May 2021 

Speaking Engagements

Speaker, at A&O ESG Webinar, April 2023 - "The S factor: Aligning Employer duties with social responsability and ESG goals."

Speaker at the IBA Annual Employment and Diversity Law Conference 2022, 7-9 September, in Madrid, about promoting equality and implementing modern working conditions through the collective bargaining process. 

Speaker, webinar, June 2022: “A global view on regulated compensation – What are the challenges?” (Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and UK) - Claire Toumieux, Speaker regarding the French aspects 

In December 2021, Claire spoke at a seminar organized at the Institut Français de la Mode, alongside Chanel, on the theme of diversity and inclusion. 

Speaker, Global Client Call, July 2021: “E&B: Employment issues in ESG and sustainability” In June 2021, press conference on the following topic: “Labour law and COVID-19: Assessment and supervision of the end of the crisis ". 

Speaker, webinar, May 2021: “Employee reorganisations – what do you need to know?” In this webinar, members of A&O’s Global Employment team answered questions that many clients are asking us, including: 
·  What trends in employment reorganisation are we seeing globally and locally 
·  How do we anticipate the landscape evolving? 
·  How can employers prepare?

Speaker, Global Client Call, April 2021: “E&B on restructuring” 

Speaker, webinar, March 2021: “A global view on whistleblowing – what is the current and anticipated landscape?” In this webinar, members of Allen & Overy’s Global Employment team discussed how countries are planning to implement the Directive against existing legislation. With levels of existing protection varying enormously across jurisdictions, the team look at steps taken so far as well as anticipate any future changes. They also look more broadly across the whistleblowing landscape and compare views across various jurisdictions, including the US. 

Speaker, Global Covid Client Call, February 2021: “Can you require employees to have the vaccine before they return to the workplace?” 

Speaker, Webinar, “Covid-19 coronavirus: France - Responsabilité pénale de l'entreprise et de son dirigeant en cas de contamination d'un salarié sur son lieu de travail”, May 2020

Participation in the “Journal of 20h” of TF1 where she spoke on the delicate reconciliation between the obligation of security of the employer vs the employees and the respect of the private life and the confidentiality of the personal information, in the context coronavirus health crisis, April 2020 

Webinar, “Covid-19 coronavirus and global employment law: the key risks you need to be aware of”, March 2020

Participation in the live BFMTV Interview Coronavirus : pourquoi le gouvernement ne publie pas une liste des salariés qui doivent travailler" (she shared her expertise on the French legislative framework and the difficulties of drawing up a list of "essential" professionals, who must continue to work in the context of the current health crisis), March 2020

Participation to the second Paris Peace Forum with an A&O team of Partners, November 2019

Intervention lors de l’évènement Les Rencontres Economiques d'Aix-en-Provence, thème “Bad Students Today, Unemployed Tomorrow?”, session together with  Laurent BIGORGNE (Institut Montaigne), Jean-Jacques GUIONY (LVMH), Beatrice GUILLAUME GRABISCH (Nestlé), Saïd HAMMOUCHE (Mozaïk RH), Sandrine FOULON (Alternatives Economiques) and Sayida OUNISSI (Ministre de l’Emploi et de la Formation professionnelle, Tunisie, July 2019

Lead discussant on collective terminations of employment, to participate in the OECD project to review the Employment Protection Indicators to measure the level of employment protection of OECD countries, June 2019

EELA Annual Conference, Tallinn, May 2019

Speaker, "L'UE protégé-t-elle les droits des travailleurs français ?", Le Figaro, May 2019

Speaker, "Travailler les jours fériés pour être payé plus ?" RMC-Bourdin Direct, May 2019

Speaker, Les Rencontres économiques d'Aix-en-Provence - Claire Toumieux speaking on “Is there still time for social Europe ?”, July 2018

Speaker, “Workshop on the Social and Economic Committee (ESC) "La réforme du Code du travail”, May 2018

Speaker, Breakfast in cooperation with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) - Thoughts on the « Future of Work », December 2017

Speaker, Client breakfast seminar “La réforme du Code du travail”, September 2017

Speaker, International Security Management Association’s (ISMA) and Overseas Advisory Council’s (OSAC) joint meeting in Paris, September 2017 

Speaker, Cercle de la Compliance: Sapin II Law – “The implementation of a warning procedure”, June 2017

Speaker, AEF breakfast on the theme “Lanceurs d’alerte, lutte contre la corruption, ce qui change avec la loi Sapin II”, April 2017 

Speaker, Conférence ERA sur le droit social européen, March 2017

Client seminar: Thoughts around the Sapin II law, February 2017

Speaker, Employment Lawyers Association conference on “Data Protection - A European and in-house perspective of the GDPR”, January 2017

Speaker, 16th edition of Les Rencontres Économiques d'Aix-en-Provence, July 2016

Speaker, A&O/AEF event “Décryptage du projet de loi El Khomri”, April 2016 
 


Leadership Positions And Professional Affiliations

Member of the European Employment Lawyers Association (EELA)
Board member (2005-2022) and Chair of the EELA (2015-2017)
Member of the Employment and Discrimination committees of the International Bar Association (IBA)
Member of AVO|SIAL
Recognition
Thanks to her strong expertise, availability and responsiveness in all circumstances, Claire Toumieux proved to be an extremely valuable support in the conduct of our project and contributed to the success of the operation
Chambers Europe, Employment, France, 2023
Claire Toumieux shows great availability, and is both very expert but also practical. Her ability to manage teams is also to be highlighted, as is her ability to advise on complex subjects, and moreover in an international context
Legal 500 EMEA, Employment, France, 2023

Awards

  • Leading indivudal, Legal 500 EMEA, Employment, France, 2020
  • Band 2, Chambers Europe, Employment, France, 2020
  • Recognised practitioner in Best Lawyers, Labor and Employment Law, France, 2020
  • Thought Leaders, Who's Who Legal, Employment, France, 2020
  • Thought Leaders, Who's Who Legal, Emplyment, France, 2023
  • Leading individual, Legal 500, Employment, France, 2022

Qualifications

Admissions

Admitted to the Bar, Paris, 1996

Academic

Master's in International Private Law; University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, 1996
Disclaimer
A&O Shearman was formed on May 1, 2024 by the combination of Shearman & Sterling LLP and Allen & Overy LLP and their respective affiliates (the legacy firms). Any matters referred to above may include matters undertaken by one or more of the legacy firms rather than A&O Shearman.