Stephanie De Giovanni

*Attorney is a member of a French separate legal entity, Rimôn Electa Law S.E.L.A.S. and not Rimôn P.C. 

Stéphanie De Giovanni is an accomplished lawyer in the fields of international trade law and cross-border litigation, with over 25 years’ practice in international law and complex commercial disputes. Admitted to the Paris and New York bars, Ms. De Giovanni has extensive experience in the fields of distribution law and compliance. She assists her clients with their international expansion projects or their desire to establish a presence in France by setting up an appropriate distribution network.

Since the beginning of her career, she has worked on commercial agency issues, intermediation and the setting up of export distribution networks. In addition, she regularly deals with issues relating to contract termination and related litigation. She regularly examines the conflict between the public policy rules governing distribution and the imperative principles of compliance.

Stephanie focuses her practice on the following areas of law:

• Distribution law and drafting secure international contracts.
• Representing clients in cross-border litigation, arbitration and negotiation of settlement agreements (particularly in connection with termination of contracts or commercial relations).
• Product liability and unfair competition.
• Compliance, including the fight against corruption, export regulations, international sanctions and embargoes, as well as regulatory requirements and rules relating to business ethics.

Ms. De Giovanni has deep experience in advising clients on compliance issues, including the fight against corruption (particularly in the context of France’s “Sapin II” legislation), regulatory issues, international sanctions, as well as corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) and ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) assessment. She assists clients in developing appropriate and effective compliance procedures for deployment within their groups and organizations.

Ms. De Giovanni represents clients in a wide range of sectors, including food, life sciences, automotive, aeronautics, manufacturing, advanced and innovative technologies and luxury goods. In particular, she advises Boards of Directors on their compliance and duty of care challenges. She regularly conducts workshops to train clients on compliance issues and extraterritorial anti-corruption laws.

Stéphanie De Giovanni advises clients daily in the following areas:

• Setting up or restructuring cross-border distribution networks, subcontracting, commercial agency, intermediation and sourcing relationships.
• International contracts and cross-border disputes, including international private law aspects (conflicts of law and jurisdiction).
• Sudden or abusive termination of established commercial relationships, both as advisor and litigator or pre-litigator.
• Complex commercial disputes and negotiation of settlement protocols.
• Compliance policies, including anti-corruption audits, implementation or updating of risk mapping, drafting and adaptation of ethics charters, due diligence and assistance with investigations carried out by the French Anti-Corruption Agency.
• Preventive measures to avoid unfair, deceptive, abusive and/or unfair competition practices (disparagement, confusion, disorganization, parasitism) and representation in litigation or pre-litigation.
• Financial sanctions and embargoes, including international trade restrictions.
• Product liability issues, including regulatory questions, legal proceedings or representation in out-of-court expert appraisals, product recall or withdrawal situations, and negotiation of settlement agreements.

Ms. De Giovanni is a recognized trainer with the training Institute Lefebvre Dalloz Formation, where she regularly offers training on international contracts and compliance issues. Each year, she writes the French chapter of the Kluwer / IBA publication of the International Encyclopedia of Agency and Distribution Contracts.

Ms. De Giovanni is recognized for her drafting of robust compliance programs and is consistently ranked in the Leaders League for compliance. She has also been listed in the Legal 500 in the Life Sciences category. In 2023, she was appointed as French Foreign Trade Advisor by the French Prime Minister.

She also has an extensive network of foreign correspondents around the world, with whom she collaborates closely. Within the Rimôn network, she regularly works with her American colleagues and those from other Rimôn countries on complex international issues.