The Firm’s relationship with global investment company Cobepa is an excellent example of the value of providing a client experience that sets us apart. We’ve been working with Cobepa since 2003 and they joined our Key Client program in 2016. Since then, the relationship has continued to flourish.

In fact, CEO Jean-Marie Laurent Josi recently shared his thoughts on Cobepa’s relationship in a video interview (see panel). His comments endorse the importance of the client experience – something the Firm has put at the center of its 2025 Strategy.

Global Relationship Partner Thierry Bosly, who has worked with Cobepa from the beginning, explains: “Cobepa require a firm with the right capabilities across multiple jurisdictions to help them compete for transactions in a fast-moving market.

“Most importantly, they demand the qualities of a big international firm, but with the personal touch of having a single point of contact who can manage each project and be on hand to fix any issues.

“That’s why the Key Client program was such a game changer for our relationship with them.”

Recent times have seen us truly show the value of our relationship with Cobepa when we leveraged the power of the Firm on two important transactions.

Thierry says: “Last summer, I got a call from CEO Jean-Marie Laurent Josi one Friday evening.

“One of Cobepa’s portfolio companies was in the process of acquiring a French target and they’d initially thought the deal was too small for White & Case, so they were being advised by another law firm.

“However, after the deal had been fully agreed between both parties, the selling company announced they had accepted a higher bid from a rival company and Jean-Marie asked if we could take over.

“Within an hour, we were able to gather together 20 lawyers from three jurisdictions to take part in a call that Friday evening and, by 11pm, we served the seller with a notice of default.”

A team led by Partner Diane Lamarche in Paris filed a petition with the court in France at 10am on Monday morning, followed by a similar petition prepared by a team led by Local Partner Olivier Vanhulst in the afternoon, blocking the transaction between the selling company and the new bidder.

Thierry says: “Two months later, the seller was instructed to pay Cobepa the highest break-up fee paid in continental Europe over the past five years. And, because the whole thing played out in court, the private equity community across the continent learnt not to mess with Cobepa.

“Jean-Marie was delighted with the outcome. It really illustrated the value we bring.”

The Firm also showed its worth in the winter of 2020 when Cobepa needed an important transaction to be completed between Christmas and New Year.

A team of more than 100 lawyers from the Firm had worked on the transaction but, having realized it would be impossible for lawyers from both parties to negotiate some sensitive details of the deal over the Christmas period, Jean-Marie asked Thierry to be sole negotiator for that element.

Thierry says: “The other party also appointed a sole trusted legal advisor meaning only the CEOs of both companies and the two of us knew about these negotiations.

“Together, we were able to agree to the key commercial principles of the deal, which completed successfully in the new year.

“You only get asked to be a sole negotiator if a client truly trusts you, based on 20 years of working with them.

“It was a very important transaction for Cobepa, so they needed to know that we fully understood their values and what they wanted to achieve.”

Thierry adds: “Luke Laumann in New-York is building a similar relationship with Pete Connolly, the CEO of Cobepa North America. This is a wonderful example of how acting as a team and being united means we are able to establish broad and longstanding relationships with key clients.”

Jean-Marie endorses Thierry’s comments in the video (see panel). He says: “Being able to be heard and knowing someone is taking care of our questions, issues or problems is of course something which really matters in this type of trusted relationship.

“White & Case has to have a very good understanding of how we work and how we want to achieve our goals.

“Speed of service when there is an emergency is also important.”

When it comes to delivering a client experience that sets us apart, our Cobepa relationship team also goes above and beyond to ensure it offers a consistent level of service on every project.

Thierry says: “Sharing best practice is key, so on every new transaction we spend an hour with the local team to brief them on the dos and don’ts of the client and project.

“Cobepa expect its legal counsel to represent it in the right way. They don’t want us to act aggressively and expect us to always behave in a way that reflects their values.”

Our team has also created a central database of Cobepa information that is available to everyone who works with the client.

“We do this because we know Cobepa does not appreciate it if we have to ask them for documents they’ve already provided on a different job or to another person,” says Thierry. “For instance, we often need ID documents for senior Cobepa people, so having those held centrally on our server means we don’t have to ask them again unnecessarily.

“It seems like a small thing, but sometimes these little touches make all the difference.”

Another value-add aspect of the relationship is the Firm’s willingness to go beyond legal advice.

Thierry says: “We recently helped the client complete the biggest sale in its history (see panel), which involved negotiating with six bidders, one of whom has worked with Cobepa on several transactions.

“When Cobepa didn’t choose them, I spent four days in close contact with the unsuccessful bidder to explain the reasoning behind the decision and to ensure that the relationship wasn’t damaged.

“Jean Marie appreciated that because when he did contact them a few days later the difficult part of the conversation had been covered and everyone was more relaxed.

“It’s so much more than a transactional relationship. We’re ambassadors for Cobepa and they know we care about them and their business.”

Another thing that Cobepa values is the Firm’s eagerness to listen and understand its priorities.

“Listening is so important,” says Thierry. “We have to understand the ultimate objective of any project from the outset and to be sure of every detail.

“If not, we run the risk of working around the clock for days and delivering something that is worthless.

“That’s why I’d encourage anyone to live and breathe the case you’re working on.

“If you do that, it’s far easier to argue your case and achieve your client’s goals.”

Thierry also stresses the importance of building the right team for each project.

He says: “Putting the right team together quickly is one of our strengths, but it’s better to admit you don’t have the right team than to take an instruction and fail. Letting a client down on a project can have huge, lasting consequences and it can take years to repair trust.”

Speaking in the video, Jean-Marie adds: “The right people are those who are able to understand quickly what matters for us in any specific filing.

“In any transaction, the lawyers are part of the negotiation team, so it’s important that, without always reverting back to us, White & Case is able to take positions, because they know how Cobepa will react and what really matters for us.”

Looking to the future, Thierry is keen to keep building on the close relationship between the Firm and Cobepa.

“In recent years, we’ve developed our partnership with Cobepa to make it truly global. Many partners having excellent relationships with members of their executive committee.

“The next stage will be to improve relationships between the next generation of our lawyers and the new talent coming through in Cobepa.

“This will be key to building on our strong relationship with Cobepa in the generations to come.”

Members of our Brussels office who work with Cobepa include (from left to right) Associate Julien Hislaire, Partner Hadrien Servais, Associate Nick Hallemeesch, Global Relationship Partner Thierry Bosly and Associate Eline Souffriau