About us
Anne-Laure Gaillard founded Withlaw after more than fifteen years working at the heart of in-house legal departments.
Her background, including ten years at PwC where she structured and led the contracts and data protection units within the legal department, has given her an operational understanding of contractual, technological and compliance issues.
She now assists companies and organisations in negotiating strategic contracts, developing compliance programmes and managing their regulatory obligations, in France and internationally.
Passionate about ethics, she also focuses on the issues related to digital sovereignty and artificial intelligence, particularly in sensitive sectors such as defense.
She works in both French and English.
Anne-Laure is a member of the Bar Council.
And to enhance our capacity: always available, tireless and equipped with cross-disciplinary skills, our digital assistant supports both legal research, structuring and drafting work, as well as administrative tasks related to the firm’s day-to-day management.
Naturally, it must be challenged — and regularly corrected. Its integration within the firm nevertheless represents a genuine added value, enabling us to be ever more responsive in supporting our clients.
Because cybersecurity, digital technologies and data protection are by nature collective challenges, Withlaw is deeply embedded in the main specialised ecosystems in Brittany and beyond:
- Pôle d’Excellence Cyber (PEC) – An initiative led by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces and the Brittany Region, bringing together universities, research labs, SMEs, major industrial players and institutions to structure and strengthen the French cyber-defence and cybersecurity ecosystem.
- Agence Bretagne Next – The regional economic development agency for Brittany, dedicated to anticipating and supporting emerging strategic sectors (including digital technologies and cybersecurity), and connecting companies with public and private stakeholders across the region.
- CLUSIR Bretagne (Board member) – The regional information security club, bringing together cybersecurity professionals throughout Brittany, promoting peer exchange and relaying the work of the national CLUSIF.
- AFCDP (French Association of Data Protection Officers) – The leading French association for DPOs and privacy professionals dedicated to GDPR compliance and data protection under French and EU law.
- BCI – through an international network of partners, the association helps companies design, structure and accelerate their international development by providing strategic advice, market intelligence, connections with partners and service providers, and support for export initiatives or international establishment.
Active involvement in these recognised professional networks enables us to:
- stay closely connected to operational practices (CISOs, DPOs, IT stakeholders, public bodies);
- anticipate regulatory and technological developments;
- provide our clients with solutions grounded in practical realities and aligned with regional, national and European dynamics.
More broadly, the firm is committed to a decidedly collaborative approach.
Convinced that legal, digital and compliance challenges require cross-disciplinary responses, it works in close coordination with other lawyers and trusted partner advisers (notably cybersecurity experts) to deliver comprehensive, consistent and operational solutions to its clients.
For you, this approach means a single legal point of contact, able to understand your broader challenges, coordinate the relevant expertise, and provide solutions that are coherent, secure and immediately actionable.
AEA – International Lawyers Network
Withlaw is a member of AEA, an international network of independent law firms present in more than 120 jurisdictions.
This membership allows us to support our clients in cross-border matters, whether they involve contracts, data protection, cybersecurity incidents, regulatory issues or litigation.
AEA brings together firms sharing common values of independence, technical excellence and responsiveness. Belonging to this network ensures that we can quickly mobilise trusted foreign partners when a matter requires coordination beyond France.