France's Veil Jourde has successfully defended Societe Generale in the high-profile €50bn (£44bn) fraud case involving rogue trader Jerome Kerviel.

Founding partner Jean Veil advised SocGen on its successful recovery of the €4.9bn (£4.3bn) the bank claimed it had lost as a result of Kerviel's actions.

Kerviel was sentenced by a Paris court to five years in jail, with two years suspended, in addition to his repayments to his former employer.

He was found guilty on charges of forgery, unauthorised computer use and breach of trust. He was represented by Olivier Metzner of Paris criminal defence boutique Metzner Associes.

Kerviel was arrested in 2008 on charges of covering up €50bn worth of bets between late 2007 and early 2008.

He argued during his trial that SocGen knew what he was doing and encouraged him while he was making a profit.

The bank has already been fined €4m (£3.5m) by French regulators for "serious shortcomings" in its internal controls that led to trading losses.

In a statement, SocGen said: "This is an important decision for SocGen, its employees, its clients and its shareholders, in light of the exceptional nature of the fraud suffered by the bank. SocGen learned the lessons of this affair from the outset, and has committed significant human and financial resources to strengthening all of its controls."

Veil Jourde is a 13-partner Paris firm, well known for its respected white collar crime practice.

  • For a profile of the French litigation legend Jean Veil, see Behind the veil