Myria Saarinen is a partner in the Litigation & Trial Department of Latham & Watkins' Paris office. She primarily handles complex commercial litigation, data privacy, and compliance matters. She recently served as Global Co-Chair of the Technology Industry Group.

Ms. Saarinen resolves a broad range of complex disputes through litigation proceedings, mostly in an international context and in various areas of business (healthcare, aeronautics, information technology, construction works, insurance, finance, etc.). She is very active in litigation relating to major industrial operations and is involved in a broad range of general commercial disputes (contract and liability) and corporate litigation.

Ms. Saarinen has expertise on cross-border issues raised in connection with Discovery and similar requests in France. In addition, she has developed specific expertise, for 20 years now, in the privacy/personal data area, advising international clients. She supports her clients in their compliance program regarding the GDPR. She is also active in the corporate governance and compliance area and assists clients in drafting and implementing grant of powers, delegation of liability, and other compliance schemes.

Ms. Saarinen is also active in firm management, serving on Latham's Ethics and Privacy Committees. She previously served as the Money Laundering Reporting Officer (AML) - France for the Paris office.

Recognition Highlights

‘We work with Myria Saarinen who is a great expert with a very pragmatic approach. For particularly complex cases, it is a pleasure to work with Saarinen and her team. The consultations are detailed, but include a pragmatic synthesis and practical diagrams.’ The Legal 500 EMEA 2022

Myria Saarinen’s practices of Commercial and Financial Litigation have been ranked as Excellent by Les Décideurs in 2021 and 2022. 

“Clients highlight that the litigation team has some real financial services experts and good regulatory knowledge.” Myria Saarinen is a key contact at the firm. Chambers Europe 2017

The practice is jointly led by the “very responsive and business-oriented” Myria Saarinen, who is “expert in the data privacy field.” The Legal 500 EMEA 2016

“Myria Saarinen, who specialises in data protection issues and handles litigation for large international companies, shows a good ability to understand and address technical matters.” The Legal 500 EMEA 2014

Ms. Saarinen recent experience includes:

  • Representation of a PE firm in connection with a litigation arising out of the payment of an earn-out  
  • Representation of an investment bank in connection with the liquidation of its multi-billion securities portfolio after the Lehman bankruptcy
  • Representation of a global insurance company in a mass action (more than 30 actions) brought by policy insurance holders
  • Representation of a French leading retail company (fashion) in a litigation raised out of the exercise of call options
  • Representation of an airline company against a helicopter manufacturer in an action for hidden defects  
  • Representation of a leading provider of aircraft maintenance in obtaining the judicial attachment of an Airbus A340 belonging to the Republic of Libya
  • Representation of a leading IT provider in a lawsuit brought by its client for breach of a software integration contract
  • Representation of a leading provider of smart card readers in a lawsuit for sudden breach of contractual relationship
  • Representation of a supplier of medical technology and services following the termination of a public contract (civil and administrative courts)
  • Representation of an investment bank in several lawsuits brought by former top traders claiming the payment of past bonuses invested in bonus plans and lost as the result of the subprime crisis
  • Representation of a US medical device manufacturer in several lawsuits brought by shareholders of its former French distributor seeking indemnification for alleged contractual breaches
  • Representation of an investment fund in a lawsuit brought for fraud in the context of the sale of its shares
  • Advising a global spirits group in its GDPR compliance program at a European level and then in its subsidiaries at an international level
  • Advising companies on their return to work programs from a data protection perspective in the context of the Covid-19 context
  • Advising a world-wide spirit manufacturer in internal investigations for suspected fraud and bribery acts
  • Representation of a luggage company in a post M&A dispute (arbitration and judicial proceedings)
  • Day-to-day assistance of a global pharmaceutical group on various aspects of data protection

Bar Qualification

  • Avocat (Paris)

Education

  • Postgraduate Degree in Copyright and IP Law (DEA), University of Paris II, 1998
  • Graduate Degree English and French Law, University of Paris I (Pantheon-Sorbonne), 1997
  • LLB, King's College London, 1997