Olivier Metzner found dead in an apparent suicide

Olivier Metzner, one of France’s best-known criminal lawyers, has been found dead.

His body was found floating off his private island in Brittany.

A note was found at Olivier Metzner’s home and an investigation has been opened, with police treating the case as suicide.

Olivier Metzner made his name in a series of high-profile cases, defending the rogue trader Jerome Kerviel, former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, and Vivendi chief Jean-Marie Messier.

He was one of a handful of star lawyers in France, who between them have dominated the great court cases of the last two decades.

Olivier Metzner, one of France’s best-known criminal lawyers, has been found dead

Olivier Metzner successfully defended former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, when he was accused of a conspiracy to defame President Nicolas Sarkozy, but his client Jerome Kerviel – who caused billions of euros in losses at the bank Societe Generale – was convicted.Other clients included the businessman and former head of Vivendi Jean-Marie Messier, who was convicted of fraud, and Continental Airlines, which was eventually cleared of criminal liability in causing the crash of a Concorde in Paris in 2000.

Rarely seen out of court without a large cigar, Olivier Metzner was renowned for his intricate understanding of the most complex cases, and multinational corporations regular sought his services.

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