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Photo, Francis Donnat

Francis Donnat

Partner
Baker & McKenzie A.A.R.P.I.

Biography

Francis Donnat began his professional life as member of the "Conseil d'Etat" (French Administrative Supreme Court and legal advisor to the government) from 1998 to 2005. He was also legal adviser to the Ministry of National Education, and served as rapporteur to the Court of Budgetary and Financial Discipline (CDBF).

Between 2005 and 2012 he acted as chief of staff and référendaire to the French judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg.

He joined Google in 2012 as counsel, head of policy for France.

From 2016 to 2021 Francis Donnat acted as general secretary and member of the executive committee of France Télévisions, the French public broadcaster and first French media group.

He taught public law for many years at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris and public law and European Union law at the University of Strasbourg, where he was an associate professor.

He joined Baker McKenzie as a partner in 2021.

Practice Focus

Francis Donnat is a partner in the Firm's Paris office, where he advises on public law, European law, information technology and media law, large contracts, public corporate law and environmental law.

Francis Donnat brings his extensive knowledge of the digital and public sectors to Baker McKenzie's clients, as well as his extensive expertise in public law and European Union law, including environmental law, personal data law, media law and, more generally, complex matters linked to the regulation of network activities.

His diverse experience in private and public companies is a unique asset at the service of our clients for the legal conduct of their major projects.

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • President (since January 2023) of the Business Law Section of the Society of Comparative Legislation (Société de Législation Comparée)
  • Club des Juristes – Member (since 2012)

Admissions

  • Paris~France (2021)

Education

  • Ecole Nationale d'Administration in Paris (Promotion Valmy) (1998)
  • Institut d'Etudes Politiques/Paris (1993)

Languages

  • English
  • French
  • Spanish

Books

  • Author, "European Internet law (networks, data, content)", LGDJ, 2018
  • Co-author (with E. von Bardeleben and D. Siritzky), "The Court of Justice of the European Union and European litigation law", La Documentation française, 2012
  • Author, "European annulment litigation", LGDJ, 2008

Recent publications

  • Author, "Ensuring an open internet in the European Union", published by La Revue Lamy droit de l'immatériel, March 2023
  • Author, "De-referencing - Right to be forgotten and fake news, the de-referencing of manifestly inaccurate information", published by La semaine Juridique, LexisNexis, January 2023
  • Co-author (with Winston Maxwell), "The DSA requires platforms to identify ills and invent remedies, under the eye of the European Commission", published by the newspaper Le Monde, November 2022
  • Author "From Television without Frontiers to the Digital Services Act and sanctions against Russia: the free circulation of content in the European Union", published by la Revue Lamy droit de l'immatériel, August/September 2022
  • Co-author of the quarterly column “Regulation” in the Concurrences Law Review