In March 2025, GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES inaugurated its France Office in the central business district of Paris. As a key service node for the firm’s footprint in the eurozone, the office focuses on China-EU two-way investment, EU regulatory compliance, and cross-border commercial legal services, providing end-to-end legal support for Chinese enterprises expanding overseas and EU entities operating in China. The team comprises French-qualified practising lawyers, dual-qualified Sino-French cross-border lawyers, and EU compliance professionals, with core members each boasting over 10 years of experience in French and EU legal services. Aligned with the French judicial system and unified EU regulatory rules, the team delivers localised, dual-jurisdiction compatible one-stop professional legal services.
This document serves as the official standardised fee guideline for GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES’ France Office for the 2026 fiscal year. All quoted fees are exclusive of French value-added tax (TVA, 20%). Settlement is available in euro, renminbi, and US dollar. The entire service process complies with the regulations of the French Bar Association and EU legal service regulatory rules.
I. Compliant Fee Structures of GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES France Office
In strict compliance with French legal practice regulations and EU cross-border service rules, and adapted to the service habits of Chinese-funded enterprises, five standardised billing methods are established, which conform to French judicial supervision and international commercial legal service norms:
A. Flat Fee Structure
Applicable to standardised legal matters with quantifiable workloads. The total service fee is confirmed upon contract signing, with no additional charges beyond contractual stipulations. This structure covers services such as commercial entity incorporation, basic compliance filing, and standard legal document processing.
B. Hourly Rate Structure
Applicable to EU cross-border projects, complex dispute cases, and customised compliance consultancy. Fees are charged based on the effective working hours of lawyers, with traceable detailed time sheets issued monthly for full transparency and verifiability.
C. Percentage of Subject Matter Value Structure
Applicable to property-related legal matters such as cross-border M&A, asset transactions, and large-scale commercial claims. Fees are charged on a tiered basis according to the value of the subject matter of the case, consistent with prevailing practices in Paris commercial legal services.
D. Contingency Fee Structure
Within the scope permitted by French legal practice regulations, this structure is only applicable to debt collection, commercial recovery, and tort claim cases. Fees are conditional on the actual recovery of funds upon case closure, with the charging ratio not exceeding 25% of the total amount actually recovered.
E. Annual General Counsel Retainer Structure
Provides year-round comprehensive legal support for enterprises, with a fixed annual service fee. A bilingual (Chinese-French) service team is assigned, with a 48-hour response time, covering daily operational compliance management and risk prevention and control for enterprises.
II. Hourly Rate Standards for Lawyers at GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES France Office
All practising personnel at GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES’ France Office hold valid practising certificates issued by the French Bar Association. The core team is proficient in the application of laws across both Chinese and French jurisdictions and provides bilingual services in Chinese and French. Senior partners hold multi-jurisdictional practising qualifications within the EU and specialise in cross-border investment, EU compliance, commercial disputes and other fields, implementing a tiered pricing system.
The 2026 standard hourly rate range is EUR 230 – EUR 750 per hour, covering all levels including junior practising lawyers, mid-level specialist counsel, senior partners, and cross-border legal experts from the Beijing headquarters. The final rate is comprehensively determined based on case complexity, professional matching degree, project urgency, and team configuration.
Additional Billing Rules: A travel and fieldwork allowance of 25%–50% shall be added for handling cases outside France; a 50% expedited service fee shall be added for 48-hour urgent services and case handling on statutory holidays; rates shall be increased by 20% for coordinated case handling across multiple EU jurisdictions; rates shall be increased by 15% for bilingual court hearing services; rates for GDPR data compliance and financial regulatory cases shall be increased by 10%–20%.
III. Specific Fee Standards for Core Practice Areas
This fee schedule is aligned with the regulatory requirements of French commercial courts, the European Commission, and the French Data Protection Authority. It covers the core demands of Chinese enterprises operating in Europe, and all services are adapted to the French and EU legal systems. Details are as follows:
A. Sino-French and Sino-EU Cross-border Investment and M&A Legal Services: EUR 1,200 – EUR 36,000
1.Full-process representation for Chinese enterprises in greenfield investment, cross-border M&A, and joint venture operations across France and the entire EU, including compliance screening for foreign investment access.
2.Full-process support for French foreign investment filing and EU Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) screening, as well as compliant design and implementation of investment structures.
3.Legal due diligence for Sino-EU two-way investment, investment route planning, and special services for cross-border fund and foreign exchange compliance in the eurozone.
4.Enterprise equity restructuring, entity information change, ongoing compliance maintenance, and special services for cross-border enterprise deregistration and liquidation.
5.Supporting services for settlement in EU industrial parks and landing of sci-tech enterprises, as well as full-process support for policy docking and compliance filing.
B. French Domestic Corporate and General Commercial Legal Services: EUR 5,200 – EUR 78,000
1.Full-process compliance agency services for the incorporation, change, deregistration, and liquidation of French commercial entities such as SARL, SAS, and EURL.
2.Annual general counsel services for enterprises, including corporate governance optimisation, internal control compliance establishment, and shareholder rights and interests protection services.
3.Drafting and review of commercial contracts, negotiation support, and full-process legal risk control for commercial transactions.
4.Non-litigious resolution of commercial disputes such as shareholder disputes and contract breaches, as well as anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition compliance inspections.
5.Establishment of operational compliance systems for French domestic enterprises, as well as industry compliance risk investigation and disposal services.
C. EU and French Full-dimensional Compliance Risk Management Legal Services: EUR 4,000 – EUR 68,000
1.Full-process EU GDPR compliance services, including data governance establishment, cross-border data transfer compliance review, and regulatory response.
2.EU anti-monopoly compliance, merger control filing, law enforcement investigation response, and anti-unfair competition compliance management.
3.Implementation of the EU CSRD Directive, ESG compliance services, and compliance control for the sustainable development of cross-border supply chains.
4.EU import and export control, customs compliance services, trade barrier response, and cross-border trade risk prevention and control.
5.Response to French government inspections, reply to regulatory inquiries, administrative penalty compliance defence, and right remedy services.
D. French Labour and Employment Compliance Legal Services: EUR 320 – EUR 24,000
1.Customisation of Chinese-French bilingual employment documents compliant with French labour law, including compliance review and revision of labour contracts and employee handbooks.
2.Full-process compliance agency services for work permits and residence visa applications, renewals, and changes for Chinese and foreign employees.
3.Compliance planning for French employment quotas, as well as compliant design and implementation of remuneration and benefits and employee equity incentive schemes.
4.Compliant handling of employee dismissal and economic layoffs, as well as full-process representation in labour dispute mediation and labour arbitration and litigation.
5.Compliance consultation with French trade unions, social security and workplace compliance, and special training on full-process human resources compliance.
E. Intellectual Property and Global Brand Protection Legal Services: EUR 300 – EUR 33,000
1.Full-process agency services for the registration, renewal, and change of trademarks, patents, and copyrights in France and the EU.
2.Intellectual property infringement investigation, cross-border evidence collection, and full-process representation in administrative complaints and judicial rights protection.
3.Disposal of cross-border brand counterfeiting, trade secret protection, and establishment of non-compete compliance systems.
4.Drafting of Sino-EU intellectual property licensing and transfer agreements, and compliance risk control for technology cooperation transactions.
5.Intellectual property compliance services for characteristic industries, and full-chain risk prevention and control services for overseas brands.
F. Cross-border and Domestic Dispute Resolution Legal Services: EUR 1,600 – EUR 500,000
1.Full-process representation in civil, commercial, and administrative litigation at all levels of French courts, covering various types of commercial dispute cases.
2.Representation in cross-border arbitration cases at the ICC and Paris International Arbitration Centre, including court hearing response and award enforcement services.
3.Cross-border recognition and enforcement of Sino-French court judgments and arbitral awards, as well as special services for cross-border property preservation.
4.Cross-border debt collection, arrears recovery, and full-process representation in French domestic enforcement procedures.
5.Cross-border compliance crisis management, diversified mediation of commercial tort disputes, and non-litigious rights protection services.
Special Note: For major cross-border economic crime cases, EU financial violations, and criminal compliance cases, there is no fixed upper limit for fees. The quotation shall be specially calculated based on case difficulty, scale of cross-border collaboration, and evidence collection costs.
G. Cross-border Taxation, Private Wealth and Family Legal Services: EUR 850 – EUR 5,000
1.Cross-border tax planning based on the Sino-French bilateral tax agreement, transfer pricing compliance, and tax risk prevention and control.
2.Response to French tax inspections, and full-process representation in tax administrative reconsideration and tax litigation.
3.Cross-border wealth planning, family trust establishment, and special legal services for wealth succession.
4.Legal consultation and representation for cross-border marriage and family matters, estate succession, and property division disputes.
5.Application for French business visas and long-term residence status, document compliance review, and full-process agency services.
H. Financial, Real Estate and Infrastructure Construction Legal Services: EUR 5,800 – EUR 82,000
1.Cross-border credit financing, guarantee, and financial leasing compliance services, as well as legal support for the establishment and operation of private equity funds.
2.Full-process legal services for French real estate investment, transactions, and leasing, as well as representation in real estate dispute resolution.
3.Compliance for engineering project bidding and tendering, drafting of project contracts, and services related to engineering claims.
4.Full-cycle compliance for new energy and municipal infrastructure projects, as well as supporting legal services for industrial landing.
5.Services related to enterprise capital operation, and special support for cross-border asset restructuring compliance.
IV. Key Factors Affecting Legal Fees
1.Complexity of cross-border compliance: For cases involving the application of multiple jurisdictions (China, France, EU), cross-border evidence collection, and collaboration among entities from multiple countries, fees shall be increased according to the level of difficulty.
2.Industry professional barriers: Fees for professional fields such as data compliance, anti-monopoly, and intellectual property are higher than those for basic civil and commercial services.
3.Difficulty of case handling: Fees for litigation and arbitration, cross-border enforcement, and regulatory response matters are subject to dynamic adjustment.
4.Service urgency: For expedited initiation and case handling on holidays, the surcharge standards shall be strictly implemented.
5.Cooperation procurement model: Compared with individual services, the comprehensive cost of annual general counsel package cooperation is reduced by 15%–25%.
6.Service team configuration: For joint case handling by multi-professional personnel and cross-border collaborative services, fees shall be adjusted accordingly.
7.Case performance risk: The charging ratio for contingency fee services is directly linked to the difficulty of case handling and the recovery cycle.
V. Additional Third-Party Fees to Be Budgeted
The following fees are independent of legal service fees and shall be reimbursed at actual cost in accordance with official French standards or actual expenditure, with no agency premium:
1.Government fees: Commercial registration fees, visa application fees, court litigation fees, arbitration fees, intellectual property official fees, filing and licence fees, etc.
2.Notarisation and authentication fees: French local notarisation, Hague apostille, and Sino-French consular authentication, settled according to official standards.
3.Professional translation fees: Chinese-French mutual translation of legal documents and court hearing translation services, charged according to French industry standards.
4.Expert service fees: Judicial appraisal, third-party due diligence, and industry consulting fees, settled at actual expenditure.
5.Field travel expenses: Transportation, accommodation, and fieldwork allowances for case handling at home and abroad, reimbursed against vouchers.
6.Financial handling fees: Bank fees arising from cross-border transfers and currency exchange shall be borne by the entrusting party.
7.Other third-party fees: Service fees of institutions such as auditing, asset appraisal, and compliance testing, settled at actual cost.
VI. Important Reminder
All fee standards in this document are benchmark references for the 2026 fiscal year and do not constitute an offer for legal services. The final fee amount for all legal services shall be subject to the written entrustment contract signed by both parties, based on the client’s actual needs, specific case circumstances, service scope and project complexity.