He is an expert in international, cross-border litigation and has acted in some of the most high-profile litigations before the French courts on behalf of companies in the scope of a wide-ranging practice, including contract litigation, product liability, corporate and banking disputes as well as fraud and asset tracing.

The Legal 500 EMEA 2023

Thomas has a seasoned, wide and multifaceted practice.

The Legal 500 EMEA 2023

Thomas Rouhette is an excellent litigator with great commercial awareness.

Chambers Europe 2023

Thomas Rouhette is an excellent litigator with great commercial awareness.

Chambers Global 2023

“He is spectacularly intelligent, takes the time to understand the strategic needs of our business and beyond that he is a very pleasant individual, the full package.” 

Chambers Global 2022

“The practice unites an impressive bench of stellar litigators, chief among them practice heads Emmanuèle Lutfalla and Thomas Rouhette.“

The Legal 500 EMEA 2021

Signature Litigation Paris “quickly established itself as one of France’s finest dispute resolution practices and consistently attracts high-stakes, often headline-grabbing matters.”

The Legal 500 EMEA 2021

“Thomas Rouhette is highly regarded for his work on cross-border contentious matters.“

The Legal 500 EMEA 2021

“He has an excellent ability to communicate with clients and help them understand the French system and navigate the way litigation is conducted in France.“

Chambers Global 2021

“His strength is to focus on the details and to be extremely closely involved in directing proceedings.“

Chambers Global 2020

Thomas is “highly esteemed for his expertise in handling product liability cases.“

Chambers Global 2020

“Thomas Rouhette is a well-regarded figure in the French market who is highly rated for his excellent work as a commercial litigator, including on international disputes.“

Who’s Who Legal Litigation 2021

Thomas is described as having “a tough style that is very effective”.

Who’s Who Legal 2019

Thomas “is very client-focused, very pragmatic, and creative with solutions”.

Acritas clients survey 2018

“He is very knowledgeable about aviation accident litigation and is a skilled litigator in the French courts.”

Chambers Europe 2019

He “is widely recognised for his activity in product liability litigation.”

Chambers Europe 2019

Thomas is “really proactive and always has the big picture in mind.”

Chambers Europe 2019

The “finest product liability lawyer in the country and one of the very best on the continent”.

Who’s Who Legal

Biography

Thomas is a founding partner of the Paris office of Signature Litigation and a leading commercial and international litigator. Previously a partner in a major international law firm, Thomas has almost 30 years’ experience in litigation.

Described as “an intelligent and clear-minded lawyer“, a “tough but excellent” litigator, “a good strategist and the best trial lawyer [the client has] seen in the French court system“, Thomas focuses on complex, bet the company litigation.

Recognised by Who’s Who Legal as the “finest product liability lawyer in the country and one of the very best on the continent“, Thomas has a seasoned, wide and multifaceted practice, spanning from contract litigation to corporate and banking disputes as well as to fraud and asset tracing. Thomas has been regarded by Who’s Who Legal as one of two ‘Global Elite Thought Leaders’ in France for Life Sciences: Product Liability, and the directory notes he is a “standout figure in the life sciences market“. Previous editions of this directory has also praised Thomas for his “tough style that is very effective.” In Who’s Who Legal’s Product Liability Defence 2022 Guide, Thomas is recognised as one of its ‘Global Elite Thought Leaders’, who is “highly respected by peers and clients alike for his extensive experience in complex product liability cases“.

Thomas has also been listed as one of the “Most Highly Regarded” practitioners in Who’s Who Legal France: Product Liability Defence, with the Guide noting that he is “a pre-eminent figure in the French market“. He is an expert in international, cross-border litigation. Thomas “is very client-focused, very pragmatic, and creative with solutions” (Acritas clients survey, 2018). In the Who’s Who Legal’s Insurance and Reinsurance 2022 Guide, Thomas is ranked as a Thought Leader with the guide noting he “has a sterling reputation in the market thanks to his experience in litigation proceedings, particularly those involving the life sciences sector” and “is a well-established name in the insurance market, held in high esteem by peers for his first-tier work on contentious matters.”

Previous Guides further describe him as “phenomenal for product liability claims and litigation proceedings” and “a tough and pragmatic lawyer” with “deep knowledge of the legal and regulatory environment”. Who’s Who Legal Product Liability Defence France also describes Thomas as “a leading expert in this area for decades” due to his “excellent” work on complex product liability proceedings. He also receives prominent credit as “a very respected practitioner with an exceptionally strong product liability practice”.

Thomas is highly ranked across the Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500 guides; he is ranked as a leading expert by Chambers Global 2023 and Europe 2023 for his litigation and aviation expertise, with sources praising him for his “invaluable” advice, experience and knowledge. The Chambers Europe and Global Guides note Thomas is “an excellent litigator with great commercial awareness” and clients describe him as “spectacularly intelligent” as well as noting that he “takes the time to understand the strategic needs of our business and beyond that he is a very pleasant individual, the full package”. Another client also adds that his “strength is to focus on the details and to be extremely closely involved in directing proceedings.

The Legal 500 EMEA Guide ranks Thomas in its ‘Hall of Fame’ for his aviation and commercial litigation practices, and he is also recommended for insurance. The Guide notes that the aviation team “stands out through its stellar product liability work in the aviation sector“.

Thomas recently co-authored, with Counsel Claire Massiera, the “Investigative Measures: Domestic and International Legal Aspects” chapter in Private Enforcement of Competition Law in Europe, the leading book examining procedural and substantive issues in respect of private enforcement of competition law in Europe.

Thomas is a member of the Board of the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC). He also serves as Chair of the Superior Appellate Commission of the French Football Federation (FFF).

Experience

  • Advising a worldwide automotive manufacturer on emissions issues in France.
  • Representing a commercial aircraft manufacturer in the defence of personal injury claims arising from major aircraft accidents.
  • Representing an online marketplace in disputes against trademark owners (alleged liability in counterfeiting, breach of selective distribution networks, gross negligence through the websites it hosts).
  • Representing a CIS bank in a high profile case against the bank’s former owner in the scope of enforcement proceedings involving piercing the corporate veil and attachment of assets located on the French Riviera and in the French West Indies.
  • Representing an Austrian bank in the defence of proceedings before the French Courts in order to obtain the cancellation, based on alleged vitiated consent and fraud, of several subscriptions of subordinated participation capital bonds which amount to a total of €200,000,000.
  • Representing corporate clients in defending post M&A claims made on allegations of fraudulent inducement and misrepresentation.

Publications

2023

La lenteur de la justice française : constat et perspectives – Gazette du Palais – 21 March 2023

2022

Collective Redress & Class Actions 2022Chambers Global Practice Guide – 05 December 2022

Regulation of the Legal Profession in France Overview Thomson Reuters Country Q&A – 1 December 2022

Antitrust Litigation 2022Chambers Global Practice Guide – 2 November 2022

Signature Litigation Paris promeut deux avocates – Décideurs Magazine – 8 July 2022

Signature Litigation Paris : deux nouvelles Counsels – Le Monde du Droit – 4 July 2022

Guide to Product Liability & Safety 2022: FranceChambers and Partners – 23 June 2022

2021

Signature Litigation : une belle croissance en 2021Affiches Parisiennes – 22 December 2021

Signature Litigation annonce une croissance de 22 % et une participation annuelle aux bénéfices de 17,6 %, fait unique à Paris – Le Monde du Droit – 21 December 2021

Signature Litigation annonce une croissance de 22 %Jusristes associés – 15 December 2021

Partners Sylvie Gallage-Alwis and Thomas Rouhette and Associate Nikita Yahouedeou contribute the French Chapter of Chambers Collective Redress & Class Actions 2021 – Chambers & Partners – 9 November 2021

Antitrust Litigation 2021: France, Trends and Developments – Chambers Global Practice Guides – October 2021

La judiciarisation du devoir de vigilance est enclenchéeCompliances – 9 July 2021

Investigative Measures: Domestic and International Legal AspectsChapter in Private Enforcement of Competition Law in Europe – June 2021

CDR – Fraud, Asset Tracing & RecoveryCDR – 19 March 2021

2020

SIGNATURE LITIGATION TRIPLE SES RÉSULTATS ET ANNONCE UNE PARTICIPATION ANNUELLE AUX BÉNÉFICES DE 17,2 % – Juristes Associés – 6 October 2020 

The rise of data breach litigationGlobal Data Review – 18 March 2020

Thomas comments on his wishes for 2020Option Droit et Affaires – 8 January

Signature Litigation fête son premier anniversaire à ParisLe Monde du Droit – 7 January 2020

2019

L’action de groupe : quelle défense pour demain ?Option Droit et Affaires – 11 December 2019

Class Actions in France: A Unique Scheme that Requires a Tailored Defence StrategyICLG – 11 November 2019

French blocking statute reform: An opportunity to strengthen international judicial cooperation?Thomson Reuters – 17 May 2019

All tied upGlobal Data Review – 13 May 2019

New reform proposal to relaunch the French blocking statute raises concernsFT’s Global Risk Regulator – 7 May 2019

Proposed reforms to French blocking statute would still leave companies “stuck between two evils”Global Investigations Review – 18 April 2019

C’est si bon for Signature LitigationGlobal Legal Post – 17 January 2019

Signature moves into Paris with Hogan Lovells hires after 35% growthLegal Week – 17 January 2019

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