Jennifer Melo

Jennifer is an Associate at Signature Litigation’s Paris office, specialising in civil and commercial international disputes, banking litigation, and corporate sustainability.

She represents both claimants and defendants before the French civil and commercial courts at all stages of litigation.

Her practice spans commercial litigation, international disputes, banking litigation, and enforcement proceedings.

Jennifer has developed particular expertise in the French law on the duty of vigilance (devoir de vigilance) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive at European level. She assists clients in litigation arising from their duty of vigilance obligations and advises on the drafting of duty of vigilance reports.

Jennifer’s clients include French and international companies across a range of sectors, including logistics, financial services, mass distribution, energy, construction and engineering.

Prior to joining Signature Litigation, Jennifer studied French, Spanish, and Latin-American law at the University of Nanterre, and commercial litigation at the Sorbonne.

Jennifer was called to the Paris Bar in 2021. Jennifer is native French and Portuguese speaker. She is also fluent in English and Spanish.

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 a Hong Kong construction company before the French commercial courts in a EUR multi-million dispute with a contractor arising from the alleged wrongful performance of engineering contracts relating to LNG terminals in Indonesia and the Philippines.
Representing a leading European retail group in a pioneering dispute arising out of the French Corporate Duty of Vigilance Law 2017 and initiated by a group of NGOs. The case involves allegations that the company’s overseas subsidiaries contribute to environmental risks through insufficient monitoring of its suppliers. The value of the claim exceeds EUR 70m.
Representing a nuclear plant operator in a EUR 30m dispute with a European investment bank concerning the call of a first demand bank guarantee issued in connection with a project for building an extension to the nuclear plant.
Representing a French logistics company operating in France and internationally in a dispute against a client over the wrongful termination of a logistics services contract (warehousing, packaging and packing).
Representing Société Générale, a global investment bank, in the English Court defending declaratory proceedings brought by Clifford Chance following Societe Générale’s EUR 500m professional negligence claim for alleged mishandling of a dispute with Turkish jewellers, Goldas Kuyumculuk Sanayi Ithalat Ihracat AS, and other companies in the same group.
Representing a French bank as the defendant in separate but related proceedings initiated by the bank’s clients involving allegations of breach of its duty of care in relation to alleged fraudulent schemes.

Article: Quel avenir pour le contentieux français de la vigilance sous l’ère de la directive européenne ? – Actu Juridique – 14 June 2024