English speaking lawyers in the South of France

Alice Claramunt

Alice was raised in England and later studied law at Paris’s Panthéon-Sorbonne University. After working at several top-tier Parisian law firms, she was admitted to the Montpellier Bar in 2016, where she has been practicing intellectual property law for nearly a decade.

Prior to co-founding Distique Avocats, Alice spent 7 years as an associate in a firm specialized in intellectual property and new technologies.

She is bilingual and works in both French and in English.

Alice represents both plaintiffs and defendants in litigation and pre-litigation relating to the validity and/or the infringement of intellectual property rights (patents, trademarks, copyright, industrial designs, domain names…), as well as in matters pertaining to unfair competition, contracts, and trade secrets.

Further, her transactional practice consists in advising and assisting clients with matters as varied as R&D contracts, licencing contracts, SaaS, software, partnership, General Terms and Conditions, prior art searches, the filing of trademarks and industrial designs, formal notices/cease and desist letters, due-diligence and audits pertaining to intellectual property, advertising, influencers, trade dress, etc. as well as alternative dispute resolution.

Alice is particularly interested in the legal questions raised by new technologies, and specifically artificial intelligence.

In addition to her legal practice, Alice teaches Data Law at the EPF Engineering School in Montpellier.

Alice co-founded Distique Avocats in 2024.

Education

– École de Formation professionnelle des Barreaux de la Cour d’appel de Paris (2016)

– Master 2 Propriétés Industrielle et Artistique, université Panthéon-Sorbonne (2015)

– Magistère de Droit des Activités Economiques (MDAE), université Panthéon-Sorbonne (2015)

Languages

French, English

Bar admission

Montpellier, France

Hannah Girard

Born and raised in the United States, Hannah is a graduate of Harvard College and Boston University School of Law and has been living and working in France for more than ten years.

She has practiced law in both Paris and Montpellier, in the fields of business law and compliance as well as intellectual property.

Hannah was legal counsel for a cultural foundation in the field of art and design, where she acquired a solid experience in the protection and management of intellectual property rights, including trademark and copyright licensing, as well as publishing contracts with international partners.

Her practice covers all areas of intellectual property law, both in transactional and litigation matters.

Fully bilingual, Hannah can assist clients in negotiating, drafting and/or reviewing contracts in both English and French. In addition, her transatlantic experience allows her to effectively assist clients in the resolution of their cross-border issues.

In addition to her legal practice, Hannah has taught UK and US law at Paris’s Panthéon-Assas University and has also taught courses at Montpellier University.

Hannah co-founded Distique Avocats in 2024.

Education

Harvard University (B.A. – 2004)

Boston University School of Law (J.D. – 2011)

Bar admissions

Montpellier, France

New York

Massachusetts

Languages

French, English, Italian