Hugo is a partner in the corporate/commercial and the data, privacy and technology teams. He is involved in a significant number of advisory and transactional matters in which he provides assistance on a broad range of Irish and French law matters.
Hugo is a fully qualified lawyer both in France and Ireland. He is one of the few lawyers in Ireland with a dual French and Irish qualification. He is therefore fully conversant with both legal systems. Hugo is a member of the firm’s French Desk and works with French speaking clients looking to set up in Ireland. He is actively involved in the Franco-Irish community in Ireland. Hugo is also a member of the France Ireland Chamber of Commerce in Dublin.
In 2024, Hugo was appointed by the French government as a French Foreign Trade Advisor. He is the only lawyer on the committee in Ireland and will work with a team of senior managers, business leaders and entrepreneurs.
Before joining Philip Lee, Hugo trained and worked in general practices in France and French Polynesia where he gained broad experience on various areas of French law such as commercial and property law. Hugo also worked in the legal department of Tahiti’s largest bank as well as a judicial assistant in the Tribunal and Court of Appeal of Tahiti.
Hugo’s practice areas include: corporate transactions (both buy-side and sell-side), shareholders agreements, commercial contracts (including SAAS contracts, e-commerce terms and conditions/terms of business and intellectual property matters arising from same), company restructuring, corporate and commercial advisory, data protection and privacy and artificial intelligence.
Hugo has experience in advising clients on mergers and acquisitions, private equity/venture capital transactions and company reorganisations. Hugo regularly advises start-ups and early-stage companies as well as investment funds and private/angel investors on private equity/venture capital investment transactions and shareholders agreements. His experience also includes providing advice on a broad range of corporate and commercial matters including corporate governance and compliance matters.
Hugo also specialises in technology matters such as Artificial Intelligence and Data Protection. Hugo advises on GDPR compliance and regularly reviews and drafts policies and assists clients on their path to compliance with data protection legislation and any data protection matters arising from commercial contracts. Hugo is CIPP/E certified (Certified Information Privacy Professional) (GDPR included). Hugo regularly speaks at seminars and lectures on the area of data protection and often conducts workshops and training sessions on the practical implications of data protection legislation.
