.avif)
General Criminal Law
Business Criminal Law
Fundamental RIGHTS
Antoine Ory handles a wide range of criminal cases, including homicide, murder, organized extortion, kidnapping and unlawful detention, international drug trafficking, pimping, human trafficking, rape and sexual assault, aggravated violence, and theft. The firm regularly appears before specialized criminal courts (JIRS) tasked with prosecuting organized crime. As such, Antoine Ory has substantial experience in litigation related to the nullity of investigative acts and pre-trial detention.
Examples of recently handled cases:
- Defense of an accused involved in a case including members of Masonic lodges as well as former officers of the secret services officers who carried out contracts for assaults, thefts, or murders;
- Defense of defendants charged in fatal shootings in Nantes, Rennes, Nangis, Clermont-Ferrand, or Sevran;Defense of a defendant in a high-profile femicide case;
- Defense for families whose son was murdered in a settling of scores;
- Defense of a defendant in a case involving the importation of several tons of cannabis by an organized group between France, Morocco, and Spain;
- Defense of a defendant in a bank robbery case resulting in dismissal of charges;
- Defense in a high-profile case of a former pornographic actor accused of rape and human trafficking within an organized group;
- A rape case within the context of a conjugal relationship concluded by dismissal of charges.
The firm regularly handles cases involving money laundering, fraud (including cryptocurrency-related cases), breach of trust, misappropriation of corporate assets, and bankruptcy fraud.
Examples of recently handled cases:
- Defense of a defendant in a case involving influence peddling, passive and active corruption, blackmail, and breach of trust in a matter involving the President of Paris-Saint-Germain;
- Defense of a defendant accused of abuse of weakness relating to an inheritance worth several million euros;
- Defense of foreign clients involved in a money laundering case connected to the kidnapping, unlawful detention, and extortion of the parents of an influencer who made a fortune in cryptocurrency;
- Defense of a Ukrainian national charged with organized money laundering, customs fraud, and criminal association for preparing these offenses, arrested at the Franco-Italian border.
Trained in constitutional and convention-based law, Antoine Ory defends individuals through priority preliminary rulings on constitutionality (QPC) and/or applications before the European Court of Human Rights when necessary. He has pleaded several times before the French Constitutional Council (see QPC No. 2020-846/847/848, QPC No. 2021-895/901/902/903, QPC No. 2021-934, QPC No. 2021-935, QPC No. 2023-1056, QPC No. 2023-1058, QPC No. 2023-1069, QPC No. 2025-1136, QPC No. 2025-1139, QPC No. 2025-1151) and has led to the annulment of several provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Examples of recently handled cases :
- Defense of several descendants of Harkis who filed a complaint for concealment of a corpse and violation of the integrity of a corpse after the bodies of Harki children buried in the Rivesaltes camp were moved without their families’ knowledge;
- Defense of several undocumented migrants who were scammed in a fake residence permit fraud;
- Pleadings of several priority constitutional questions before the Constitutional Council on various subjects;
- Defense of former interpreters of the French army in Afghanistan;
- Defense of individuals placed under house arrest during the Olympic Games, resulting in the annulment of the measures by the administrative court;
- Defense of individuals subject to asset freezing measures.
Antoine Ory is regularly called upon to defend and represent individuals targeted by extradition requests or European or international arrest warrants. He also has proven experience in international and cross-border cases.
Examples of recently handled cases:
- Defense of a defendant in proceedings conducted by the European Public Prosecutor's Office for organized fraud;
- Defense of several former Libyan dignitaries charged with complicity in war crimes and complicity in crimes against humanity;
- Defense of a Tunisian national accused of similar offenses in both France and Tunisia, resulting in recognition of the principle of ne bis in idem and dismissal of charges;
- Defense of a Czech company providing digital asset services involved in a case of organized money laundering before the JUNALCO in Paris;
- Defense of a defendant in an extradition procedure for drug trafficking in Norway.
With a dual background in public law and criminal law, the firm handles cases involving breaches of integrity such as favoritism, unlawful conflict of interest, embezzlement of public funds, influence peddling, and extortion by public officials.
Examples of recently handled cases:
- Defense of a municipality whose mayor is under investigation for influence peddling and illegal taking of interests;
- Defense of a major real estate developer against a municipality accusing him of forgery and use of forged public documents;
- Defense of a private individual in litigation with a municipality over river pollution.
The Law Firm is active in penitentiary law and sentence adjustments before the Sentence Enforcement Judge.
It has also undertaken numerous procedures, both administrative and criminal, aimed at holding the penitentiary administration accountable in cases of suspicious deaths or suicides.
Examples of recently handled cases:
- Representation of a family whose relative died in the Fresnes penitentiary under unclear circumstances;
- Representation of several families who filed complaints against the Fresnes penitentiary following a relative’s suicide;
- Representation of several families who initiated administrative proceedings to hold the State liable for negligence in the suicide of a detainee;
- Appeals against decisions refusing visitation rights and permits.
The Firm handles cases related to cybercrime, representing both defendants and victims.
Examples of recently handled cases:
- Defense of a defendant tried for fraud before the Paris Criminal Court for creating a "smart contract" through which digital assets circulate;
- Defense of an individual accused of laundering proceeds from a fraud involving several tens of millions of euros, with partial restitution of seized crypto-assets;
- Defense of individuals subject to seizure of crypto-assets claiming to be good-faith third parties;
- Defense of several hundred victims of an international pyramid scheme in the cryptocurrency sector.
The firm is specialized in matters of defamation, insult, protection of the presumption of innocence, and online reputation. It frequently files defamation complaints on behalf of individuals or legal entities and assists clients seeking to have illegal online content removed.
Examples of recently handled cases:
- Conviction of an important journalist for violating the presumption of innocence in their coverage of a sensitive and high-profile criminal case;
- Representation of a major social and solidarity economy group (with a turnover of over one billion euros) in defamation complaints filed against several media outlets;
- Defamation complaint on behalf of a private individual under investigation for aggravated rape in a high-profile case, targeted by an article containing false information about them;
- Requests for removal of illegal content accepted by companies such as Google, TikTok, and various websites;
- Requests for delisting of search results accepted by search engines including Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
Antoine Ory has been a member of the Paris Bar since 2018 and is the founder of Ory Avocats.
A graduate of Sciences Po Paris and the University of Paris-Sorbonne, he trained under leading criminal defense lawyers.
Winner of the Paris Bar Conference Competition in 2020 and 2021, a contest that has rewarded the twelve most eloquent young lawyers each year for two centuries, Antoine Ory is regularly called upon to handle complex and sensitive criminal cases.
He was selected in 2022 by Vanity Fair magazine for the “30 under 30” list (read the profile), an annual ranking recognizing individuals considered as talents in their respective fields.
Antoine Ory advises, assists, and defends individuals and legal entities, both victims and defendants, at all stages of criminal proceedings, from police custody to sentence adjustment, primarily in criminal law and business criminal law.
He regularly pleads before criminal courts and assize courts throughout France, both in mainland France and overseas territories.
He also has expertise in fundamental rights law, having pleaded ten times before the Constitutional Council (see QPC Nos. 2020-846/847/848, 2021-895/901/902/903, 2021-934, 2021-935, 2023-1056, 2023-1058, 2023-1069, 2025-1136, 2025-1139, 2025-1151).
Antoine Ory practices in French, English, and Spanish.
Marie-Lou Serna is a lawyer at Ory Avocats.
She has a Master's degree in International and Business Criminal Law from Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne University, as well as degrees from the Universities of Strasbourg and Leicester (LLB in English Law and a Master's in Criminal Law and Criminology).
During her studies, she was involved in AMICUS, a Franco-American organization defending individuals sentenced to death in the United States.
Between 2022 and 2024, she trained with prominent criminal lawyers. She also worked with magistrates at the Paris Judicial Court specialized in cybercrime and organized crime.
As part of her training, she spent six months with Matthew Galluzzo, a lawyer at the New York Bar.
She primarily practices in general criminal law, business criminal law, and international criminal law.
Marie-Lou Serna practices in French and English.