Member Profile

R. Passemard is a founding partner of Selarl Ormen Passemard – ORPA Legal, a highly regarded law firm in the areas of commercial litigation, liability, insurance and reinsurance. He has nearly three decades of experience and advises insurers, reinsurers, financial institutions and major corporations. Rémi acts in a broad range of insurance matters involving general liability, professional indemnity, E&O, product liability and industrial risks, serving as monitoring, coverage or defence counsel before French courts. He has a strong expertise in financial lines (D&O, EPL, IPO, and crime/fraud), and also practices life insurance, regulatory, policy wordings and cyber risks.

In commercial and banking, Rémi acts in litigation, debt recovery, enforcement of securities, financial investments and unit-linked life insurance contracts. Rémi advises French and foreign clients, insurers, banks or major corporations in disputes arising before French or foreign jurisdictions.

Having developed since 2004, ORPA Legal’s expertise, knowledge and reputation have all equally grown over the years and is praised for its ability to handle large, complex matters, including mass litigation. P. Ormen and R. Passemard have developed specific, complementary and in-depth knowledge in high-stakes litigation areas, particularly in insurance (life / non-life), reinsurance, liability including professional indemnity, construction, financial lines, industrial risks, product liability, property and cyber risks.

The firm includes 2 partners, 12 associates and 2 trainees and has been recognized by its clients and several directories (Décideurs, Chambers, WWL) as a leading law firm for insurance, reinsurance and commercial litigation in France. Every matter is kept under close review by the partner in charge to ensure that the services rendered address the client’s needs within the projected time frame with the required level of quality.

Insurance & Reinsurance Litigation:

ORPA Legal provides services in all areas of the insurance industry. The firm has a strong reputation in insurance law and is one of the French law firms practicing reinsurance. The firm has extensive experience in coverage disputes and also handles subrogation actions. ORPA Legal is regularly involved in disputes specific to the insurance/reinsurance sector. Relevant areas also include casualty and PI claims; property; life insurance; bond and credit insurance; cyber-risks; contamination.

Insurance Regulatory:

ORPA Legal provides assistance on licensing requirements in France, regulation of insurance products, policy wordings. The firm also advises on insurance issues raised by significant mergers and acquisitions in various industrial sectors and assists foreign insurers marketing insurance products tailored to the French market.

Product Liability:

ORPA Legal is used to handle major product liability cases. The firm has specific experience in pharmaceutical, electric and electronic products. Areas of practice include household appliances, consumer products, parts suppliers and motor-vehicle manufacturers, health products, chemical products.

Financial Lines:

ORPA Legal is one of the few French specialist in financial line policies and is appointed by French or foreign insurers as monitoring counsel, coverage or defense counsel in connection with losses pending before French or foreign jurisdictions (D&O, EPL, IPO, crime and fraud, transaction risk insurance, FI).

Industrial Risks:

ORPA Legal is in the vanguard of a great number of major industrial accidents. The firm intervenes in crisis situations to preserve the rights of its clients and assists them in expert investigations and legal proceedings for recovering compensation or defending their interests and reputation. Areas of practice include energy production (electric power station, offshore oil platforms etc), large-scale construction projects (building of airports, shopping malls and industrial facilities), fire at industrial facilities, professional premises etc.; material damage, consequential losses and bodily injury arising from losses at major industrial sites.

Construction:

ORPA Legal acts for builders, property developers or owners in a multitude of construction law cases. Relevant areas relate to enforcement of builders’ warranties, building defects, completion bonds, compliance with contract specifications and building permits, construction of major public facilities, shopping malls and high-class buildings.

Health & Life Sciences:

ORPA Legal acts for multinational pharmaceutical companies in extremely sensitive matters. The firm represents drug manufacturers in matters relating to pharmaceutical drug liability and medical malpractice matters.

Cyber-risks:

ORPA Legal advises insurers in connection with cyber-risks policy wordings, coverage advice and indemnification of losses in cooperation with IT experts investigating the losses (lost data, security breaches etc).

Environment:

ORPA Legal acts in a wide variety of environmental matters involving severe pollution. In particular, the firm represents industrial companies and their environmental liability insurers in recent significant cases involving the application of the EC Directive regarding environmental liability.

Commercial litigation:

ORPA Legal acts in corporate litigation and shareholders disputes; performance of commercial contracts; commercial disputes, termination of contractual relationships, damages for breach of contracts, non-conformity of goods.

Banking:

ORPA Legal acts for foreign and French financial institutions in various liability cases concerning unsatisfactory financial investments; debt recovery and enforcement of securities.

2004 to date: Member, ORPA Legal

2002 – 2004: Member, Norton Rose

1999 – 2002: Associate, Norton Rose

1994 – 1999: Associate,Gide Loyrette Nouel

1990 – 1994: Associate, Jeantet

Rémi holds master’s degrees from the University of Paris I – Sorbonne in international private law and international trade law (1990) and European law (1991).

Rémi is a member of the French Association of Risk Managers (AMRAE), the French Association of Insurance and Reinsurance Lawyers (AJAR) and the French Association of Banking Lawyers (ANJB).