Eric Russo joined the firm in 2021. His practice focuses on white collar crime, regulatory investigations, compliance and litigation.
He advises and assists companies and their managers in the conduct of internal investigations and, in the context of judicial investigations, at all stages of the proceedings from the opening of the investigation to the trial, including extradition and European Arrest Warrant proceedings.
His expertise also covers financial market abuses and corporate and commercial litigation.
Eric Russo has a background of 20 years within the French Judiciary, where he occupied as a prosecutor at the court of appeals of Paris and at the National Financial Prosecutor’s office (PNF), among other positions.
Within the PNF (2015-2020), he successfully handled several of the highest profile investigations, among which those resulting in the conclusion of three CJIP (the French equivalent of deferred prosecution agreements) representing a total amount of fines of EUR 2.7 billion. In 2019, he also co-led the prosecution team which obtained a fine of EUR 3.7 billion, the highest ever ruled by a French court, in a money laundering of proceeds of tax fraud case.
Eric Russo has a wide experience in carrying out high profile and multijurisdictional investigations along with high-stakes trials in matter of corruption, money laundering, tax fraud and more broadly white collar criminal cases.
His skills in the conduct of investigations and negotiations with enforcement authorities and regulators as well as in the conduct of bench trials are appreciated.
He regularly serves on the faculty of the Ecole Nationale de la Magistrature, the Paris Bar School and the French Association of company lawyers (AFJE). He also lectures at the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne on white collar investigations, international cooperation, internal investigations and CJIP.
- National School of Magistrates – Ecole Nationale de la Magistrature (ENM)
(1999-2002) - University of Lorraine
(Master in Business Law and Tax, 1998)
The Nanterre Bar
- French
- English
- Parquet National Financier (PNF):
- Deputy-Prosecutor with the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office, 2015-2020
- Deputy-Prosecutor with the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office, 2015-2020
- Court Of Appeal Of Paris:
- Secretary General of the Public Prosecutor's Office, 2012-2015
- Secretary General of the Public Prosecutor's Office, 2012-2015
- Ministry Of Justice - Civil Affairs And Sceau Directorate:
- Head of contract law division, 2005-2011
- Head of contract law division, 2005-2011
- First Degree Court Of Reims:
- Investigating Judge, 2002-2005
- GIR Awards 2020 – Most important development of the year (Airbus case)
- GIR Awards 2020 – Prosecutor of the year (PNF’s Airbus case team)
- Featured in PNF and AFA Publish Draft Guidance for Corruption Investigations, Global Investigations Review, 17 March 2022
- “Gauvain bill. Towards a new era of anti-corruption in France? - International review of compliance and business ethics n°1 – February 2022
- "The new challenges of compliance" - Cahiers de droit de l'entreprise n°1, January-February 2022
- Featured in France to Consider Tough Anti-Corruption Reforms, Global Investigations Review, 24 October 2021
- "International corruption: the noose is tightening a little more around companies", International review of compliance and business ethics n°5 - October 2021
- “The rising star of the national financial prosecutor's office becomes a lawyer. », Les Echos, October 7, 2020
- Featured in French Airbus prosecutor to join US law, Global Investigations Review, 12 October 2020
- Director of the annual training session for magistrates : “Strategies and methodology for white collar crime investigations” (Ecole nationale de la Magistrature)
- Lecturer on the Magistrats-Avocats-Juristes training session about judicial negotiations
- Lecturer – Diplôme Universitaire Compliance et Ethique des affaires – Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne.
- "CJIP: adjustments made by the law of December 24, 2020 and other subjects for reflection for the future", AJ Penal, February 2021
- Auditor of the 17th annual session of the IHEE (Institute for Advanced Business Studies), 2017