Stéphane is a tax partner at CMS Francis Lefebvre Avocats since 2007. He coordinates the tax litigation and controversy group of the firm on domestic and international tax issues. He headed the CMS tax practice group from 2009 to 2014.
Stéphane graduated in political sciences from the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po) and attended the ENA, the French college for top government officials, from 1991 to 1993. He has spent 15 years in top positions within the French government. He is a former member of the State Council (France's highest administrative court) and was also adviser on tax policy to the Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry from 1997 to 2000. He was financial counsellor at the French embassy in Japan from 2003 to 2007.
Stéphane is a recognised expert in handling high-profile tax litigation before domestic courts, including France constitutional court, and international courts such as the ECJ or the ECHR. He also has extensive experience on international taxation and the interpretation and application of tax treaties.
He teaches tax law and tax litigation at Sorbonne Law School (University Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne) and is a regular speaker in conferences and seminars. Stéphane has also written many articles on domestic and international tax issues in tax reviews published in French, English and Japanese.
He is a member of the board of the French branch of International Fiscal Association (IFA) and of the organisation representing tax lawyers in France (IACF), that he headed between 2014 and 2017. As a member of the International Tax Group (ITG), Stéphane belongs to the editorial advisory board of International Tax Law Reports (ITLR).
He has been ranked Tax Lawyer of the Year 2010 in France by Best Lawyer. He is ranked each year among the leading individuals in tax litigation in France by Chambers and Legal 500.
A French native speaker, he is fluent in English and speaks some Japanese.
