In May 2024, Guozun Cathay Associates officially opened its Georgia office in Tbilisi, the national capital. As a core hub for the firm’s Eurasian cross-border legal practice, the office delivers services across the entirety of Georgia and can coordinate with counterparts in neighbouring Caucasus jurisdictions including Armenia and Azerbaijan. The team comprises locally admitted Georgian lawyers and China-Georgia cross-border legal specialists, with lead practitioners boasting over 10 years of dedicated experience in Caucasus commercial legal services. Well-versed in the local judicial framework, regulatory procedures and the key challenges faced by Chinese enterprises expanding overseas, the team focuses on cross-border investment, trade compliance, infrastructure development, dispute resolution and other practice areas, providing localised, integrated dual-jurisdiction professional legal services.
This document sets out the 2026 standardised fee schedule for Guozun Cathay Associates’ Georgia office. All quoted rates exclude Georgian value-added tax and administrative levies, and settlement is available in three currencies: United States Dollars (USD), Chinese Yuan (CNY) and Georgian Lari (GEL).
I. Compliant Fee Structures
The firm strictly adheres to the Georgian Lawyers’ Practice Administration Regulations and judicial industry standards, and has established five standardised billing modalities tailored to the cross-border service requirements of Chinese enterprises, aligned with prevailing international commercial legal practice norms.
A.Fixed Flat Fee
Applied to standardised foundational services such as company incorporation, qualification application and document drafting. The total fee is agreed upfront on a one-off basis, with no hidden charges.
B.Hourly Billing
Applied to complex cross-border projects, bespoke compliance advisory and intricate dispute cases. Fees are calculated based on the actual billable hours of instructed lawyers, with transparent time records provided at regular intervals.
C.Tiered Value-Based Fee
Applied to pecuniary matters such as cross-border mergers and acquisitions, asset transactions and high-value commercial recovery. Fees are charged on a tiered basis according to the value of the subject matter, consistent with industry practice across the Caucasus region.
D.Success-Based Fee
Exclusively available for debt collection, commercial claims and infringement enforcement cases, operated within the bounds of local professional conduct rules. The fee percentage shall not exceed 25% of the total amount actually recovered.
E.Annual Retainer Fee
Provides enterprises with ongoing year-round legal support for a fixed annual fee. A dedicated bilingual service team is assigned, guaranteeing a 48-hour response time for routine matters, and covering day-to-day compliance and risk management.
II. Hourly Rate Schedule for Legal Practitioners
All practicing lawyers at the office hold official Georgian practising certificates and are proficient in handling matters in both Chinese and Georgian. Senior partners possess deep expertise in core practice areas including cross-border investment, infrastructure construction and international arbitration. A tiered pricing framework is in place.
2026 Hourly Rate Range: USD 160 – USD 520 per hour, applicable to junior lawyers, specialist counsel, senior partners and Chinese cross-border experts. The final applicable rate is determined holistically based on case complexity, area of law, service urgency and team composition.
Supplementary Billing Provisions
A field travel surcharge of 25%–50% applies to matters handled outside the territory of Georgia.
A 50% expedited service premium applies to urgent instructions and work carried out on statutory public holidays.
Rates are increased by 20% for cross-border matters requiring joint handling across multiple jurisdictions.
Rates are increased by 15% for dedicated bilingual court representation services.
Rates are increased by 10%–20% for specialist matters involving energy infrastructure and financial compliance.
III. Fee Breakdown for Core Practice Areas
The following fee ranges comply with Georgian regulatory requirements, address the priority needs of Chinese enterprises operating overseas, and cover full-scope legal services:
A. Cross-Border Investment and M&A Legal Services: USD 1,100 – USD 35,000
1.China-Georgia investment structuring, tax compliance optimisation, and end-to-end support for greenfield investment and joint venture projects
2.Legal due diligence on target entities, transaction document drafting, and dedicated legal support for commercial negotiations
3.Corporate merger, acquisition and restructuring, implementation of investment exit strategies, and full follow-through on administrative approvals and filings
4.Compliance implementation support for investment in key sectors including energy, manufacturing and e-commerce
5.Foreign investment access compliance review, and legal services aligned with Eurasian Economic Union investment frameworks
B. International Trade Compliance Legal Services: USD 4,200 – USD 65,000
1.Compliance review of cross-border trade contracts, and advisory on customs clearance and foreign exchange regulatory compliance
2.Defence in trade remedy investigations, and the establishment and upgrading of supply chain risk control and compliance systems
3.Full-cycle compliance for cross-border e-commerce operations, and handling of import/export control compliance matters
4.Pre-litigation mediation of trade disputes, and dedicated non-litigation enforcement services for contract breaches
5.Bilateral trade compliance risk management, and formulation of commercial risk identification and mitigation plans
C. General Corporate and Commercial Legal Services: USD 3,000 – USD 52,000
1.Agency for the incorporation, amendment and deregistration of Georgian companies, and processing of business qualification and licence applications
2.Corporate governance optimisation, equity incentive scheme design, and ongoing annual legal counsel services
3.Intellectual property registration, enforcement and assignment, and establishment of trade secret protection frameworks
4.Anti-commercial bribery compliance programme development, and implementation of internal corporate compliance systems
5.Routine review of commercial contracts, and end-to-end risk auditing of business operations
D. Immigration and Private Wealth Management Legal Services: USD 750 – USD 39,000
1.End-to-end compliance agency services for investment residence and permanent residency applications
2.Cross-border wealth planning for high-net-worth individuals, and compliance structuring for family trusts and asset allocation
3.Global tax planning, and implementation support for preferential tax policies under the China-Georgia bilateral framework
4.Legal advisory and dispute resolution for cross-border family matters and inheritance
5.Compliance screening of individual cross-border assets, and bespoke wealth succession planning
E. Tax and Finance Compliance Legal Services: USD 2,700 – USD 45,000
1.Georgian domestic tax planning, and compliance agency for routine corporate tax filings
2.Preparation of transfer pricing compliance documentation, and establishment of cross-border tax management systems
3.Defence against tax audits, and full-process representation in tax dispute litigation and arbitration
4.China-Georgia bilateral tax coordination services, and targeted remediation of corporate fiscal and tax risks
5.Cross-border investment tax optimisation, and implementation of compliant tax strategies
F. Real Estate and Infrastructure Construction Legal Services: USD 4,800 – USD 68,000
1.Land title verification and full-cycle compliance legal services for real estate transactions
2.Real estate development compliance oversight, and construction project tendering and contract drafting & negotiation
3.Dedicated services for EPC/PPP projects, and full-lifecycle risk management for infrastructure projects
4.Construction payment recovery, resolution of project quality disputes, and compliance support for infrastructure projects
5.Commercial real estate development filing, and compliance audit services for engineering projects
G. Dispute Resolution and Crisis Response Legal Services: USD 1,400 – USD 390,000
1.Representation in Georgian domestic court proceedings, and dedicated services for domestic and international commercial arbitration
2.Case management for international arbitration matters, and commercial mediation & diversified dispute resolution
3.Recognition and enforcement of cross-border judgments and arbitral awards, and dedicated legal services for asset preservation
4.Corporate compliance investigations, and legal handling and response to operational emergencies
5.Resolution of commercial infringement and contract disputes, and cross-border compulsory enforcement of contractual claims
H. Specialised Niche Legal Services: USD 220 – USD 29,000
1.Labour and employment compliance: contract drafting, labour dispute resolution, and trade union compliance advisory
2.Data security compliance: personal information protection and cross-border data flow compliance services
3.Financial legal services: legal support for cross-border financing, banking compliance and financial leasing
4.Shipping and logistics compliance: full-chain contract review and dedicated resolution of logistics disputes
5.Industry-tailored compliance audits and bespoke legal risk solutions for enterprises
Supplementary Note: There is no fixed fee cap for complex cross-border compliance matters, sophisticated financial cases and specialist criminal compliance services. Quotations will be customised based on case complexity, scale of cross-border collaboration and operational costs.
IV. Key Drivers of Fee Variation
1.Cross-border complexity: Fees increase in line with complexity for matters involving multi-jurisdictional legal application, cross-border evidence gathering and collaboration between parties in multiple countries.
2.Practice area differentiation: Fees for specialist areas such as infrastructure, finance and cross-border investment are higher than for general commercial services.
3.Procedural difficulty: Fees are dynamically adjusted for high-stakes litigation, complex enforcement matters and regulatory response assignments.
4.Service urgency: Expedited instructions and work on public holidays attract an expedited service premium in accordance with standard rates.
5.Engagement model: Annual packaged retainer arrangements deliver a 15%–25% reduction in overall costs compared to ad-hoc single instructions.
6.Team composition: Fees are adjusted accordingly for matters requiring multi-specialist collaboration and joint support from the firm’s Chinese headquarters.
7.Matter complexity for success-based arrangements: For success-based fee engagements, the applicable percentage is linked to matter difficulty and service duration.
V. Third-Party Disbursements
The following items do not form part of legal service fees and are reimbursed at cost, in line with official Georgian rates or actual expenditure. The firm charges no markup on these items:
1.Government levies: company incorporation fees, visa fees, court fees, arbitration fees, official intellectual property fees and related charges
2.Notarisation and authentication: official fees for local notarisation, Apostille certification, China-Georgia consular legalisation and related services
3.Translation services: professional translation fees for bilingual legal documents, simultaneous interpretation for court hearings and related services
4.Specialist services: fees for forensic appraisal, third-party due diligence, industry expert consultancy and related services
5.Travel expenses: transportation, accommodation and field allowances for case-related travel, reimbursed against valid receipts
6.Financial charges: bank fees incurred from cross-border transfers and currency conversion
7.Other disbursements: service fees from third-party providers including auditors, valuers and compliance testing firms
VI. Important Notice
This fee schedule constitutes an industry reference guideline for the 2026 calendar year and does not constitute a binding offer of services. The final fee for all legal engagements shall be determined by the client’s actual requirements, the specific facts of the matter, the scope of services and the degree of complexity, and shall be set out in full in a written retainer agreement signed by both parties.