Are you looking for legal advice in France?
We are a team of French business lawyers registered with the Bar of Paris, France.
We can help you set up an efficient strategy to handle any legal issue in France.
What We Do
French Corporate Law
We assist founders, shareholders and company directors on all aspects of company law, including :
​​
-
Choice of the most appropriate company structure
-
Incorporation of SARL, SAS, SCI...
-
Mergers & acquisitions, business takeovers and sales (due diligence, drafting and negotiation of sale and purchase agreements, warranty agreements, shareholder’s agreements, legal and tax structure of the transaction)
-
Fundraising transactions (seed capital, venture capital, development capital, LBO, MBO)
-
Joint ventures and strategic partnerships, partial contribution of assets
-
Sharecapital increases, issuance of bonds, warrants
-
Shareholders' agreements and shareholder disputes
-
Litigation relating to corporate matters, including shareholder litigation
French Commercial Law and Contracts
We assist and advise companies on all aspects of commercial law, including on matters such as:
-
Acquisition or disposal of goodwill
-
Commercial agency contracts, rights and obligations of commercial agents
-
Rights and obligations of distributors and franchisees, distribution and franchise agreements
-
Unfair competition
-
Abusive commercial practices
-
Infringement of intellectual property rights
-
Violation of exclusivity clauses
-
Commercial litigation
-
Commercial mediation
-
International arbitration in commercial matters
-
Drafting and negotiation of all types of commercial contracts
French & EU Trademarks & IP
We advise and assist companies on all aspects of intellectual and industrial property law, including
-
French & EU trademark protection, opposition procedure, trademark management
-
Protection of know-how, business secrets, confidential information
-
Copyright and rights related to copyright
-
Domain names, keywords, cybersquatting
-
Counterfeiting, including on the internet
-
Unfair competition, infringement of intellectual or industrial property rights
-
E-commerce
-
Software development and software contracts (license, maintenance, SAAS, distribution contracts)
-
Advertising, misleading advertising, comparative advertising
-
Emergency protective measures (seizures, summary proceedings)
-
Intellectual property litigation before French courts and international institutions, including intellectual property arbitration
Litigation & Dispute Resolution in France
We regularly assist clients in civil and commercial litigation, including in arbitration proceedings.
The firm is particularly active in the following areas:
-
Litigation relating to contractual liability (breach of contract, unpaid invoices)
-
Tort litigation
-
Liability for defective products
-
Debt recovery
-
Emergency and interim measures (seizure, summary proceedings, including ship / aircraft arrests)
-
Abusive termination of pre-contractual negotiations
-
Liability of managers and shareholders
-
International arbitration
French Employment Law
French employment and labor law is notoriously complex and constantly evolving.
​
We assist companies and executives at all stages of the employment relationship, including on matters such as:
​
-
Drafting and negotiation of employment contracts
-
Contractual termination
-
Dismissal
-
Posting / secondment of foreign employees to France
Business Cases
We are here to help. We can help you solve any legal issue, including :
Shareholder Dispute in France
How to Handle a Dispute between shareholders of a French company?
​
Start by reviewing the bylaws of the company and the shareholders’ agreement, if any. They will provide valuable information on the rights and obligations of the shareholders.
​
Analyse the reasons of the dispute (misappropriation of assets by one of the shareholders, disparagement or reputational damage, carrying of competing activity and theft of clients or know-how, excessive remuneration, etc.) and how they qualify under French law and the company constitutive documents (white collar crime, abuse of corporate assets, tortuous responsibility, they constitute or do not constitute valid grounds for exclusion from the company).
​
Determine the negotiation leverage which each of the shareholders have, including by reviewing potential exclusion clauses, put and call options, pre-emption rights and other clauses which may be contained in the bylaws and applicable to the case at hand.
​
Set up a strategy to resolve the dispute, which may include:
​
-
Amicable resolution of the conflict through mediation
-
Exercise of put or call options or exclusion of the shareholder
-
Revocation of the shareholder from managerial duties, if any
-
Court action, including in the name and on behalf of the company, if acts of embezzlement or abuse of corporate assets have been committed
-
Action for dissolution of the company
-
Non-adversarial court action to obtain an authorization to collect proof at the offices of the company or the domicile of the shareholder / manager
​
Shareholders’ disputes are highly conflictual matters, which if not handled properly may have ruinous effects on the company and may jeopardize its very existence. We have sound experience in handling such matters and will be to assist you in the most efficient way.
Breach of Contract with a French Company
How to handle a breach of contract in France?
​
A breach of contract may have multiple intentional or non-intentional causes, such as:
​
-
Delay in the performance of the contract
-
Supply of goods which do not conform to the provisions of the contract or which have hidden or apparent defects
-
External circumstances (such as force majeure or third party acts) which hamper the completion of contractual obligations
-
Disagreement of the parties as regards the interpretation of certain provisions of the contract and their corresponding obligations…
​
We can help you secure your contractual rights by:
​
-
summoning the debtor to comply with its contractual obligations
-
seizing some or all assets of the debtor
-
implementing alternative dispute resolution mechanisms
-
refer the matter to the competent court to obtain an enforceable court decision
Commercial Agency Dispute
A commercial agent is any natural person or entity who, acting as self-employed, on a continuous basis, negotiates or concludes contracts for the sale or purchase of products or the provision of services in the name and on behalf of producers, manufacturers, traders or other commercial agents.
​
On termination of its agency contract, and depending on the circumstances of the termination and the past duration of the agency contract, the commercial agent is entitled to compensation in an amount up to three years of the agent’s commission.
​
We regularly assist agents and principals in the framework of disputes in connection with the termination of agency contracts and the payment of the corresponding indemnity.
Precautionary attachment of assets in France
According to article L. 512-1 of the Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures, “Any person whose claim appears to be founded in principle may request from the judge the authorization to practice a protective measure on the assets of his/her debtor, without a prior command, if that person justifies circumstances likely to threaten the recovery of its claim”.
​
On the basis of the above provisions, a creditor may be granted the authorization to temporarily attach the assets of a debtor, in an effort to preserve its claim. Such interim attachment of assets is also a very efficient means of obliging the debtor to settle all or part of its dues.
​
Precautionary attachment measures (“saisies-conservatoires”) can be practiced on all kinds of property, receivables and rights belonging to the debtor, including:
​
-
Sums of money deposited in a bank
-
Shares and other corporate rights
-
Commercial property
-
Boats and ships
-
Aircrafts
-
Going concern
-
Other miscellaneous assets
​
Precautionary attachment measures in France can be practiced on assets located in France, even if the debtor is located outside France, and even if the underlying contractual relationship is not governed by French law.
​
The firm has extensive experience in this field and assists both creditors and debtors to, respectively, obtain or oppose interim attachment measures.
Court representation
Court representation by a French lawyer is generally compulsory in litigation matters involving an amount at stake of 10 000 € or more or in which the stake has no monetary valuation.
​
We can make an analysis of your case to determine a strategy and assist you in obtaining payment and defending your rights.
​
We can work on an amicable resolution of your case in parallel with court proceedings.​
