With a double master’s degree and a postgraduate Master’s in Employment and Labor law from the University of Paris X Nanterre, and 18 months of experience in the HR section at the Valeo group, Bertrand Merville was admitted to the bar in February 2001.
Starting at the law firm UGGC & Associés, Bertrand decided in 2003 to work alongside Dominique de la Garanderie, as an associate lawyer at Veil-Jourde-La Garanderie. In 2006, he actively participated in creating the law firm La Garanderie Avocats, and became a partner with the firm in 2009.
Bertrand provides legal services on behalf of companies of all sizes, while working in litigation and consultancy on a broad array of labor law issues, ranging from collective negotiations, termination, staff transfers, compensation policies, duration of work, URSSAF (Social Security Contributions) audits, Psycho-Social Risks, among others.
He occasionally performs work in English.
He also holds a specialty certification in Labor Law awarded by the French Council of National Bar Associations.
Within the firm, Bertrand heads the department on “Social Dialogue & Collective Employer-Employee Relations” and participates in meetings and discussions of the "Compensation & Benefits Policies" department.
In addition, as the leader of several student seminars for the master’s degree program on Law and Busines Ethics at the University of Cergy, in Paris, he also participates in the in-house department on "Ethics & Compliance."
Fascinated with the phenomenon of entrepreneurship, Bertrand offers legal guidance to a not-for-profit organization dedicated to mentoring entrepreneurs, called Parrainer la Croissance, and actively contributes to the work of the gig economy observatory, l’Observatoire de l’Ubérisation.
He is a member of the non-profit association Réalités du Dialogue Social where he contributes work on, among other issues, the environment and social dialogue.
In January 2018, Bertrand became a Labor Courts/Employment Tribunal judge (Conseiller prud’homal) in Bobigny.
In his spare time, Bertrand heads up an association that carries out social work services on behalf of young people in a Parisian neighborhood.
Bertrand’s keen interest in sports, and football (soccer) in particular, has led him to become a modest shareholder in the oldest French football club. Bertrand also regularly takes part in certificate-awarding training sessions (Wine and Spirit Education Trust) on vineyards and wine tasting.
