Business owners rarely call their lawyer when things are going well. That is exactly the problem. The contract signed without review, the formal notice sent in anger, the letter of intent drafted too precisely: many disputes would have cost far less had they been looked at three months earlier.
This page presents the ongoing legal counsel the firm offers to executives and in-house legal teams looking for a regular outside adviser who knows their files. It covers business law, international trade, maritime law and commercial real estate in France, in English as well as French.
Looking for a lawyer to follow your business over time? Tell us about your activity, your markets and the legal questions that keep coming back.
What regular counsel changes
Occasional advice answers a question. Regular counsel answers the next one before it is asked. A lawyer who has read your terms of sale knows on the first call whether the customer who refuses to pay can be met with a retention of title clause; a lawyer who knows your shareholders’ agreement sees at once whether a co-founder’s departure triggers an exit clause. The gain is measured in days, sometimes weeks, and above all in disputes that never happen.
The firm works on five families of issues: contracts and their negotiation, cross-border operations, pre-litigation and difficulties with a partner, urgent decisions (a formal notice received, a writ, an arrest, a terminated contract), and corporate housekeeping where the company has no in-house lawyer.
Four forms of counsel, depending on your business
An exporter, the French subsidiary of a foreign group, a shipowner and an SME without a legal department do not have the same needs. The firm has therefore organised four distinct offers: counsel for exporters and internationally active SMEs, counsel for foreign companies operating in France, counsel for shipowners and yacht owners and an outsourced legal department for SMEs.
How the firm works
It starts with a first conversation, then a review of your key documents: standard contracts, terms of sale, articles and shareholders’ agreement, main contracts in force. The review shows the priority risks and the useful scope of the engagement. The written fee agreement then sets what is covered, how fees are charged and how to reach the firm.
You have one contact, Hervé Guyader, Doctor of Law, admitted to the Paris Bar in 2011. Matters that go beyond the agreed scope (litigation, an acquisition, an arbitration) are handled by the same lawyer, without a break.
Typical matters
A manufacturer opening three markets in eighteen months
Distribution agreements in Germany, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates, each with its own governing law, forum clause and termination regime. The firm builds a common template, adapts it country by country, then follows the first performance issues.
The French subsidiary of an American group
Commercial lease, supplier contracts, payment terms set by the parent: regular counsel in English, so that the group legal team does not have to rediscover French law with every question.
An SME owner facing a formal notice
A customer threatens to end a six-year contract. When the firm already knows the relationship and its documents, the reply goes out the next day and negotiation starts on solid ground.
The firm’s specialised services
When a matter calls for dedicated treatment, the firm relies on its service pages: business law, international trade law, maritime law, commercial leases, debt recovery.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a lawyer you call occasionally and outside counsel?
The lawyer you call occasionally discovers the business with the file. Outside counsel already knows it: your standard contracts, your partners, your weak points. Answers come faster and fit better, and disputes are seen coming while they are still cheap to avoid.
How are fees set?
By a written fee agreement, which French law (article 10 of the Act of 31 December 1971) requires of every avocat. For ongoing work it usually provides a periodic flat fee for a defined scope, with matters outside that scope charged by the hour or at a fixed fee agreed before work starts.
Can the firm work in English?
Yes. Contracts, correspondence and meetings can be in English or French, which makes it easier to work with a parent company, a foreign partner or counsel in another country.
Do we have to commit for a long period?
No. The agreement sets a reasonable term and notice period. Ongoing counsel proves its worth in use, and the business should remain free to end it.
What happens if a dispute arises?
The firm takes it on, already knowing the file. If proceedings are needed outside France, it coordinates local counsel and remains your point of contact.
Would you like a lawyer to follow your business? Tell us your sector, your markets and the questions that come up most often.
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.