Fanny Gauthier

Fanny Gauthier is a Partner at Milestone Avocats, a Paris-based business law firm, and has been named Data Protection & Cybersecurity Lawyer of the Year in France at the Corporate INTL Global Awards 2026. The award recognises her work in one of the most demanding areas of contemporary practice, advising companies on data protection, GDPR compliance and cybersecurity as they grow and scale.

A firm built for growing and hypergrowth companies

Milestone Avocats, formerly known as DJS Avocats, describes itself as a legal partner for growing and hypergrowth companies. Based at Avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, the firm advises businesses across the full corporate lifecycle. Its practice spans corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, commercial law, tax law, restructuring and insolvency procedures, employment law, and digital law, including GDPR and data protection. This positioning at the heart of the French startup and scale-up economy makes data protection and cybersecurity a natural and increasingly central part of the firm's work.

As a Partner at the firm, Fanny Gauthier operates within a compact, senior team that also includes founding partner David Smadja and a group of counsel and associates. For fast-growing companies, data protection and cybersecurity are no longer back-office concerns but strategic issues that affect fundraising, international expansion, product design and reputation. A firm that combines corporate, commercial and digital expertise is well placed to advise on these questions in their full business context, rather than treating compliance as an isolated exercise.

Data protection and cybersecurity in the French market

France has one of the most active data protection environments in Europe, with the GDPR enforced by a well-resourced supervisory authority and a strong tradition of privacy regulation. For companies operating in or expanding into France, this means that data protection and cybersecurity obligations must be built into how the business works from an early stage. Advising in this field requires fluency in the GDPR and French implementing rules, an understanding of how data flows through modern digital products, and the commercial judgement to help clients manage risk without stifling growth.

Milestone Avocats' digital law and data protection practice sits alongside its work supporting scale-ups on legal structuring, governance, fundraising and international expansion, and its advice to executives and founders on wider corporate matters. This integration is particularly valuable in data protection and cybersecurity, where the right approach depends on the company's business model, its technology and its growth stage. For clients, having a data protection specialist who also understands corporate transactions and commercial strategy is a significant advantage.

A firm active in significant transactions

Milestone Avocats acts on notable transactions in the French market, including advising CheckMyGuest on its acquisition by the Indian hotel group OYO. Work of this kind, involving fast-growing digital businesses and cross-border deals, underlines the environment in which the firm's data protection and cybersecurity expertise is applied, where questions of data handling, due diligence and compliance frequently arise alongside the core corporate work.

Why this recognition matters

Data protection and cybersecurity law is a field defined by constant change, as regulation, technology and threats all evolve rapidly. Practitioners who can keep pace with these developments and translate them into practical guidance are in high demand among the growing and hypergrowth companies that Milestone Avocats serves. Being recognised as Data Protection & Cybersecurity Lawyer of the Year in France at the Corporate INTL Global Awards 2026 places Fanny Gauthier among the leading advisers in this area in the French market.

The award is a fitting acknowledgement of her role at Milestone Avocats and of the firm's commitment to supporting ambitious companies through the legal challenges of the digital economy. For businesses in France seeking a data protection and cybersecurity partner who understands both the regulation and the realities of rapid growth, Fanny Gauthier and Milestone Avocats offer exactly that combination.