Jean-Claude is a partner in Bird & Bird Paris office and co-head of the firm’s global Space & Satellite Group.

Jean-Claude advises clients in the Aerospace and Defence sector in relation to regulatory matters, commercial, investment and finance transactions and litigations. He is currently advising a Government in the Middle-East for the preparation of their national space legislation. He regularly advises manufacturers, operators, start-ups, banks or investors in relation to space transactions, including the financing of a LEO satellite constellation, the construction and launch of satellites and hosted payloads, the negotiation of a cooperation agreement in relation to a space laser communication project and various project finance transactions.

Before joining Bird & Bird, Jean-Claude spent 13 years as Vice President Legal Affairs at Airbus. He led the negotiations of a number of landmark space projects, including the Skynet V refinancing in the UK, the European Galileo project, the French next generation military satellites and a sub-orbital flight and spaceport project.

Jean-Claude was Technical Advisor to UNIDROIT during the Diplomatic Conference for the adoption of the Space Protocol to the Cape Town Convention.

Before Joining Airbus, Jean-Claude worked as French lawyer and English Solicitor for nearly 10 years, with White & Case and Clifford Chance in Paris and Tokyo.

Jean-Claude is a former Commercial Court Judge in France.

Jean-Claude is admitted to practice in France (avocat) and in England & Wales (Solicitor). He holds an MBA from ESSEC Business School, graduated the Paris Political Studies Institute (Sciences Po) and holds a law degree from the Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne University. He speaks French, English Spanish and Japanese.