Chapelle Avocat, the entrepreneurial adventure in criminal law

Despite a specialist profile in business law and a start to her career as a general litigation lawyer, Juliette Chapelle has chosen to focus on criminal law. After three years of collaboration within Cleary Gottlieb’s litigation and arbitration team, she decided to devote herself to the subject that fascinates her. So in September 2016, she opened her own firm: Chapelle Avocat.

Take advantage of the entire legal arsenal

When creating her structure, Juliette Chapelle was certain of one thing: she would devote herself to complex affairs. “My ambition was to create a firm to support my clients on sensitive issues in criminal matters and on technical files which require the development of innovative strategies “, she explains. If the files of banking and financial criminal law occupy him as much as those of criminal law of persons, lately, the trend is changing. “My practice of business criminal law occupies me more and more and I wish to strengthen it further “, delivers the founder, who works surrounded by a collaborator and an intern.

Initially focused on litigation, the firm’s offer has also evolved into consulting to meet the needs of a clientele of managers who are sometimes helpless in the face of criminal risk. Not to be confused with the preparation for internal investigations, police custody or instructions, which the cabinet already provides. “We train our clients to identify the criminal risk, to manage it by setting up tools to prevent them from being caught in the police and judicial machinery. If the criminal risk materializes, they know how to react and safeguard their rights. We make sure they aren’t caught off guard when a police officer comes knocking on their door, explains Juliette Chapelle. Chapelle Avocat stands as a real partner for managers in the development of their activity in a secure manner. “

The firm, which mainly represents leaders of VSEs or SMEs, legal entities and start-ups, increasingly intervenes on behalf of elected officials and politicians. One of the last files handled by the cabinet concerns a case of favoritism: several elected officials from the community of Saint-Martin, in the West Indies, are being prosecuted for violating the rules of public procurement after the passage of the hurricane. Irma in September 2017. “We also advise individuals with a certain wealth on questions of labor criminal law or fiscal criminal law, as well as start-ups and young restaurateurs “, details Juliette Chapelle who works at La Frégate, an incubator for restaurateurs, or at Agoranov, a Sciences & Tech start-up incubator in Paris.

The lawyer also defends companies prosecuted for tax fraud, forgery and use of forgery, fraud or breach of trust. “Thanks to our 360-degree vision of the criminal issue, we always seek the most favorable outcome for our clients. This can sometimes go through a negotiated criminal procedure. We must take advantage of all the legal arsenal in place to safeguard the interests of our clients “, comments Juliette Chapelle.

Develop international criminal law

On the international side, Chapelle Avocat recently defended an IT company sued in several European countries for tax fraud and undeclared work. A file that is one of those that Juliette Chapelle plans to develop for her office. She is also involved in associations linked to her practice. Its membership in the International Bar Association allows it to benefit from the sharing of legal practices between the different member countries of the network. Secretary of the association for the defense of prisoners’ rights created in 2015, she collaborates with the International Prison Observatory (OIP). Member of the International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism (Licra), she defended the association at first instance in the Abdelkader Merah case. Juliette Chapelle puts all the chances on her side to achieve the goals she has set for herself.