An exporting SME makes legal decisions every week without calling them that. Accepting a German customer’s purchase terms, choosing an Incoterm, delivering a Moroccan distributor before the balance is paid: each choice decides what happens the day the goods arrive damaged or the invoice stays unpaid.
The firm advises exporters and SMEs growing their business outside France. The engagement is ongoing, not one-off: the same lawyer reviews your contracts, answers customs and sanctions questions, and takes over if a dispute arises.
Exporting or preparing a new market? Tell us your countries, your products and how you contract today.
Four risks that keep coming back
The contract first. Many international sales rest on an exchange of emails and two sets of conflicting terms. The Vienna Convention of 11 April 1980 then applies by default, with its own rules on contract formation and notice of defects, and the question of the competent court stays open. The Incoterm and the payment method are chosen together: DAP without a bank guarantee to a country with no enforcement treaty is free credit handed to the buyer.
Customs next: origin, value, tariff classification, proof of exit for the VAT exemption. Sanctions and export controls, which reach SMEs far removed from defence, since Regulation (EU) 2021/821 on dual-use items covers ordinary civil products. And recovery, when the foreign customer stops paying.
Not everything carries the same weight. A well-drafted forum clause protects more than a page of general terms.
What the engagement covers
The firm drafts and updates your standard documents (export terms of sale, distribution and agency agreements, confidentiality agreements), adapts them to the countries you sell to, and reviews the contracts your customers propose. It answers customs and sanctions questions as operations unfold, screens a counterparty before a first delivery, and works through the exporter’s legal checklist with you.
When a dispute arises it acts at once: formal notice, protective measures, a European procedure where the debtor is in the EU, coordination with local counsel elsewhere.
How the firm works
An initial review of your contracts and flows (countries, products, payment methods) shows the priority risks. The fee agreement then sets the ongoing scope and the fees, which depend on the features of each matter. The firm works in English and French.
Typical matters
A first exclusive distribution agreement in the Middle East
Territorial exclusivity, targets, governing law, arbitration rather than local courts: the agreement is negotiated before the first order, and its exit clause is written with the day you will need to change distributor in mind.
A civil product that turns out to be dual-use
A sensor manufacturer learns that one of its references is on the EU list. The firm checks the classification, organises the licence application and reviews contracts in progress so that the delivery delay does not become a dispute.
An Italian buyer disputing conformity eight months after delivery
The Vienna Convention requires notice of defects within a reasonable time. Everything turns on the exchanges in the first weeks, which the firm reconstructs before replying.
Further reading
Specialised services: international contracts, customs law, international sanctions, international commercial litigation. See also outside corporate counsel.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should an export contract be reviewed?
Before the first order, not after the first dispute. The most useful review covers four clauses: governing law, courts or arbitration, the Incoterm and retention of title. Those are the clauses that decide how an unpaid invoice ends.
Does the Vienna Convention apply to my sales?
Yes, whenever you sell goods to a business established in another Contracting State, unless the contract expressly excludes it (article 6). It applies even where the contract chooses French law, because it forms part of French law.
Can a civil product require an export licence?
Yes, if it appears on the dual-use list of Regulation (EU) 2021/821. Classification is checked product by product, and exporting without a licence exposes the company to customs penalties.
How can we protect ourselves against a foreign customer who does not pay?
Through the contract first (documentary payment, guarantee, retention of title), then through the procedure suited to the debtor’s country. Within the EU, the European order for payment and the European Account Preservation Order work without exequatur.
Do Russia sanctions concern an SME?
Yes, even where the end customer is not Russian: EU rules also target circumvention through third countries. Customers, intermediaries and goods should be screened before any new relationship in higher-risk regions.
Would you like a lawyer to follow your international operations? Tell us your markets, your products and your current contracts.
Discuss your international matter
Briefly describe your situation, the documents you have and any urgency: we will tell you whether the firm can act and how the matter could be organised.