International law firm Pinsent Masons has appointed a project finance specialist, Stéphane Gasne, from the East African Development Bank.

Stéphane becomes the first projects partner in the firm's Paris office, and adds to Pinsent Masons' existing capability in construction disputes and advisory work. Stéphane has experience in concessions, construction, public-private partnerships (PPP) and project finance in Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific.

Stéphane's primary area of focus at Pinsent Masons will be the infrastructure, energy and public utilities market, which offers many opportunities in secondary markets, greenfield projects and specialist areas including offshore wind.  He is an expert administrative lawyer enabling Pinsent Masons to support clients across the whole project lifecycle in France and in many key jurisdictions in Africa.  He will work as part of the 150 lawyer Global Projects team.

Having spent several years with Gide Loyrette Nouel, in both France and China, Stéphane went on to be appointed as Head of Major Projects Legal Division at Colas, a subsidiary of Bouygues in 2013. Stéphane's most recent experience, at the East African Development Bank in Uganda, means he also has significant insight into infrastructure projects in Anglophone Africa as well as Francophone Africa (West Africa). He also has significant experience of the oil & gas and mining sectors.

Michael Watson, Head of Projects at Pinsent Masons, said:

"This is an exciting appointment that builds upon Pinsent Masons strategy to become an international market leader in the global sectors in which we operate. Stéphane is a first-class projects lawyer but also has an excellent insight into infrastructure projects across the African continent. This is a significant and growing market for many of our clients over the coming years."

Christoph Maurer, Head of Pinsent Masons Paris office, said:

"We are delighted to welcome Stéphane to the Paris office. The firm has made significant investment in this sector over the past three years, bringing in Peter Rosher and Fred Gillion in Paris, who also work closely with our Africa lead Akshai Fofaria who is well-known in the French and London markets. I firmly believe we now have an infrastructure team operating in Paris that is top-tier."