Jean-Luc Bédos
Of Counsel
Admitted to the Paris Bar from 1984 to 2025, Jean-Luc Bédos is now Of Counsel. A graduate of Harvard Law School (Master’s degree) and holder of a PhD in law from Paris-Assas University, he has extensive experience advising French and international companies and investment funds on investment transactions, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, and high-level corporate matters.
Jean-Luc joined Vivien & Associés in September 2019, after more than 35 years with leading international law firms, including White & Case, Slaughter and May, Dentons and Lefèvre Pelletier.
A recognised figure in the private equity sector in France and Africa, Jean-Luc authored the Private Equity Guide published by Option Finance (2016) and co-edited the White Paper on Private Equity in Africa published by France Invest (2017).
Deeply committed to humanitarian causes in France, Jean-Luc founded Association Droits d’Urgence in 1995, the largest French NGO dedicated to access to justice for the most vulnerable (50 employees and 400 volunteers), which he chaired for nearly ten years. He is a board member of the U.S.-based NGO PILnet and of the Break Poverty Foundation.
A regular speaker at international conferences, Jean-Luc has also been closely involved, since 2016, in the launch and development of the Paris Conference of the International Economic Forum of the Americas, which he chaired until 2020.
Corporate – Mergers & Acquisitions
Private Equity and Venture Capital
LL.M. Harvard Law School, 1983
PhD in law (University Paris II Panthéon-Assas), 1984
• Best Lawyers 2025: Recognized since 2012 in Mergers & Acquisitions Law and in Corporate Law
• Le Point – Best Lawyers’ Firms Ranking 2024 : Recognized in Corporate Law
• Décideurs – Leaders League 2024 – Africa Desk – Corporate/M&A: Recognized “Recommended”
• Legal 500 EMEA 2024: Recognized in Mergers and Acquisitions
• Chambers Europe 2024: Recognized in Corporate/M&A: Mid-Market – Band 1
• Décideurs – Leaders League 2023 – Mergers & Acquisitions – Operations worth between €75m & €500m: Recognized “Excellent”
• Décideurs – Leaders League 2023 – Africa Desk – Corporate/M&A: Recognized “Recommended”
• Legal 500 EMEA 2023: Recognized in Mergers and Acquisitions
• Chambers 2023: Recognized in Corporate/M&A: Mid-Market – Band 1
• Chambers 2022: Recognized in Corporate/M&A: Mid-Market – Band 1
• Legal 500 EMEA 2021: Recognized in Mergers & Acquisitions
• Décideurs – Leaders League 2021: Recognized in Mergers & Acquisitions
