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Emmanuelle Barbara

Senior partner, Specialist in Employment & Social Welfare Law

Emmanuelle Barbara, Senior Partner at August Debouzy, has been a member of the Paris Bar since 1993. As a Managing Partner of August Debouzy from 2001 to 2017, she created the labor department (comprising 30 lawyers, including 8 partners), which is involved in all areas of employment law and the development of HR strategies. In just fifteen years, her team has become a leading provider of labor law services and advice. In 2012, 2018 and 2024, Emmanuelle Barbara received the “Lawyer of the Year” award in labor law from Best Lawyers magazine. She teaches at the Master’s level (Master 2) at Sciences Po Paris Law School. She also actively participates, within multiple think tanks, in the debate on the evolution of French labor law.

Emmanuelle Barbara is a member of the board of directors of the French think tank Institut Montaigne and was a board member and approved qualified person of the French Central Agency of Social Security Organizations (ACOSS) between 2007 and 2017.

Practice Area

  • Employment and Social Security Law
  • Dispute Resolution


Education

  • Specialization Certification in employment, social security and social welfare law, 2000
  • Postgraduate degree (DESS) in Business Law and Taxation, University of Paris II, 1989


Admitted to the bar

Paris, 1993


Languages

French I English I Italian

CHAMBERS AND PARTNERS FRANCE 2025
Employment: Band 1

LEGAL 500 EMEA 2025
Employment: Hall of Fame

BEST LAWYERS 2025

(Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2010)
2026: The Best Lawyers in France: Employee Benefits Law, Labor and Employment Law
2012, 2018 and 2024: “Lawyer of the Year” award in labor law   


FORBES 2021/ 2022/ 2023
Top 40 of CAC40 Lawyers

WHO'S WHO LEGAL 2024
Labour, Employment & Benefits: Thought Leader
Pensions & Benefits: Recommended

MAGAZINE DES AFFAIRES | RESTRUCTURING 2024
PSE et contentieux collectifs: Catégorie 1

DÉCIDEURS STRATÉGIE FINANCE DROIT 2025
LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT

Criminal
labor law: highly recommended

DÉCIDEURS STRATÉGIE FINANCE DROIT 2024
LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT

Social compliance: highly
recommended
Criminal
labor law: highly recommended
Mobility and expatriation:
highly recommended
Additional social protection: excellent
Representation of senior executives: highly recommended
Social
security: excellent
High-
risk individual litigation: leading
Collective bargaining and social relations
: leading
Collective and individual compensation: excellent
Reorganizations, socials programs, and related litigation: leading
  • AD Life

    August Debouzy’s lawyers have been recognized and honoured in the first edition of the “Top 40 lawyers of the CAC 40” list published by Forbes magazine (France)

    AUGUST DEBOUZY’S LAWYERS HAVE BEEN HONOURED AND RANKED IN THE FIRST EDITION OF THE “TOP 40 LAWYERS OF THE CAC 40” LIST PUBLISHED BY FORBES MAGAZINE (FRANCE

  • AD Article

    La loi « Pacte » ou le renouveau de l’épargne retraite d’entreprise ?

    L’épargne retraite est aujourd’hui peu développée en France par rapport à d’autres dispositifs d’épargne : elle représentait fin 2016 un encours total de 219 milliards d’euros contre 1.700 milliards d’euros pour l’assurance vie et près de 400 milliards d’euros pour le livret A et le LDDS.

  • AD Article

    Retraites à prestations définies : quand la France transpose une directive européenne…

    Nous l’avions écrit il y a un an (cf. Article AD du 9 juillet 2018 « L’épargne-retraite vue par le projet Pacte : on change tout ! »): les régimes de retraite à prestations définies à droits conditionnels allaient vivre leurs dernières heures avec la loi PACTE.

  • AD Life

    August Debouzy BEST LAWYERS - 2020 Edition

    August Debouzy's lawyers have ranked in Best Lawyers since 2010. Their skills have been rewardd yet again this year. Find out about our 32 Best Lawyers !

  • AD Deal

    August Debouzy advised the founders of l’Usine in connection with their efforts to become fully autonomous

    August Debouzy advised the founders of l’Usine, a company operating premium sports clubs in Paris, Brussels and Geneva, on the acquisition, with the support of investment funds managed by two asset management companies, 123 Investment Managers and Sigma Gestion, of all the shares held by Lagardère Sport & Entertainment since 2015.

  • AD Life

    August Debouzy BEST LAWYERS - 2019 Edition

    August Debouzy’s lawyers have ranked in Best lawyers since 2010. Their skills have been rewarded yet again this year. Find out about our 23 Best Lawyers!

  • AD Article

    "Pourquoi la meilleure avocate française en droit social pense que notre droit n’est absolument plus adapté à ce qu’est devenu le travail"

    ​Le droit social ne répond pas encore complètement à la logique du 21ème siècle, estime Emmanuelle Barbara, qui vient d'être désignée "Avocat français de l'année", dans la catégorie droit social, par la revue juridique américaine Best Lawyers.​

  • AD Life

    AUGUST DEBOUZY creates a Business Ethics practice group : first firm in the French legal market to provide cross-disciplinary compliance services

    ​In launching its BUSINESS ETHICS practice group dedicated to compliance issues, the French law firm August Debouzy intends to support companies which, beyond just ensuring compliance, aim to use ethics as a means to drive growth. Their objective: help companies foresee and confront specific compliance related risks, and use the requirements to make their businesses more competitive and attractive, in France and internationally.

  • AD Article

    Hausse de la CSG sur les revenus d’activité : 2018, une année délicate (Projet de loi de financement de la Sécurité sociale pour 2018)

    Une des mesures phare du programme présidentiel en matière de distribution de pouvoir d’achat est d'alléger les charges pesant sur le travail, en basculant une partie du financement de la protection sociale vers la contribution sociale généralisée (CSG). L’article 7 du projet de loi de financement de la Sécurité sociale pour 2018 (PLFSS 2018), tel que transmis au Sénat, prévoit une augmentation du taux de la CSG sur les revenus d’activité de 7,5% à 9,2%.

  • AD Article

    Ordonnances Macron : régression ou évolution ?

    Brouhaha médiatique et polémiques plus ou moins virulentes entourent le débat public depuis que le 31 août dernier, Edouard Philippe et Muriel Pénicaud ont présenté le contenu de cinq projets d’ordonnances destinés à réformer le Code du travail au cours d’une conférence de presse remarquée. Les réactions sont contrastées. Ceux qui s’érigent comme les défenseurs du modèle social dénoncent une atteinte portée au Code du travail compris comme une digue immuable face aux « abus patronaux ». Les autres accusent les premiers de passéisme et d’œuvrer pour le maintien d’un empilement de contraintes rédhibitoires à l’activité économique et à l’attractivité de la France.

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