d&a partners

Management Committee: Daniel Arroche, Margaux Frisque

Number of partners: 8

Languages: English, French

Firm Overview:

d&a partners is a French boutique advising scale-ups, fintech innovators and leading financial institutions. Embedded in the web3 ecosystem since 2017, the firm is recognised as a leader in cryptoassets and blockchain. It blends rigorous business-law execution with deep regulatory insight to steer licensing and authorisations, product structuring, governance and cross-border expansion under frameworks such as MiCA. Partner-led, pragmatic and implementation-focused, d&a partners delivers clear, actionable counsel and dispute support across the corporate and regulatory lifecycle.

Main Areas of Practice:

Regulatory Banking and Financial Law:

Led by Daniel Arroche and Pauline Robin, the team focuses on licensing, AML/CFT and cybersecurity, guiding clients through procedures, regulator engagement and governance. The team provides 360-degree support across crypto, banking, investment, payment and asset-management regulation. Work includes MiCA CASP licensing, banking and payments licensing, and AML/CFT programmes, with advice on authorisations for credit institutions, payment institutions and e-money institutions. Services cover prudential and governance set-up, compliance target operating models, AML/CFT risk assessments and policies.

Corporate, Structuring, Venture Capital and M&A:

Led by Stéphane Daniel, the team advises tech and web3 companies on equity, token and hybrid fundraisings and on domestic and cross-border M&A. It is particularly active in the structuring of decentralised finance (DeFi) projects and tokenised instruments, including SAFEs, SAFTs, token warrants and stablecoin-subscribed instruments. The team is recognised for landmark, upper-tier corporate finance in the crypto ecosystem, leading marquee fundraisings and strategic transactions for high-growth tech companies.

Litigation and Contract:

Led by Margaux Frisque, the team advises and litigates for regulated crypto-asset and fintech platforms. It drafts and secures core commercial agreements and platform terms and conditions, and supports clients during AMF and ACPR supervisory reviews and investigations covering market abuse, AML/CFT and CASP compliance. The team handles complex civil, commercial and criminal proceedings and arbitration in France and internationally, with a strong grasp of the underlying technologies.

Tax:

Led by Axel Sabban and Elisabeth Descamps, the team advises companies and executives across Web3 on tax structuring from incubation to exit. The practice covers management packages and incentives, product development and fundraising, as well as private wealth planning and cross-border tax residence matters. It also assists with the tax treatment of crypto-assets and related VAT and withholding issues for fast-growth platforms and institutional players.

Employment:

Led by Allison Benichou Corchia, the team advises French and foreign companies on individual and collective matters, including full remote models and remuneration systems involving crypto assets, alongside traditional employment, restructuring and litigation work.

IP, IT, Data and AI:

Led by Matthieu Quiniou, the team protects IP for innovative, fast-growing projects and brings deep expertise in AI and technology-heavy platform terms, and it also supports regulated web3 actors on cybersecurity in their dealings with regulators. The practice advises on AI governance and ethics, audits of models and datasets, DORA readiness, GDPR and copyright, trade secrets and licensing, and drafts robust T&Cs, privacy and data policies for complex, API-driven and web3-enabled products, including security-by-design, incident response and supervisory reviews.

Main Sectors:

Technology and Web3 across financial institutions, fintech and gaming companies, reflecting the firm’s positioning as business law applied to blockchain.

International Work:

Advises EU and non EU clients on market access to France and the EU, including MiCA passporting strategies and multi jurisdiction transactions, and supports clients with presence in Paris, Marseille and Nice-Sophia Antipolis to engage with European innovation hubs.

Offices:

Paris, 22 boulevard Malesherbes, 75008 Paris (main office)

Marseille, 92 rue de la République, 13002 Marseille (secondary office)

Sophia Antipolis, 10 boulevard du Cap, 06160 Antibes (branch)