Established in June 2024 in the central business district of Athens, the Greece Office of GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES is a key branch under the Firm’s legal service network covering Southern Europe and the European Union. It delivers integrated legal services across both Chinese and Greek jurisdictions, supporting Chinese-funded enterprises entering the Greek and EU markets, as well as European businesses accessing the Chinese market.
The service team comprises lawyers with dual practising qualifications in China and Greece and EU compliance specialists. Core team members bring over 10 years of experience in China-Europe cross-border legal services, with in-depth knowledge of Chinese law, Greek law and relevant EU regulations. Bilingual legal services are available across practice areas including investment and M&A, infrastructure and shipping, commercial disputes and compliance management, providing end-to-end professional support.
This document sets out the standardised fee reference for GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Greece Office for the 2026 financial year. All quoted prices exclude local Greek value-added tax (VAT). Settlement is accepted in three currencies: euro (EUR), Chinese yuan (CNY) and US dollar (USD). All service fees strictly comply with the practice rules of the Greek Bar Association and relevant EU regulatory requirements for legal services.
1. Compliant Fee Structures of GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Greece Office
In line with Greek judicial regulatory requirements and the service needs of cross-border enterprises, five standardised billing methods are adopted with transparent, itemised fees and no hidden charges:
(a)Fixed package fee: Applicable to standardised legal matters such as enterprise entity establishment, compliance filing and standard document processing. The total service price is confirmed upon contract signing, with no additional charges during the service term.
(b)Hourly service fee: Applicable to customised services including cross-border projects, complex dispute cases and special compliance consulting. Fees are calculated based on the actual working hours of assigned lawyers, with itemised monthly timesheets provided for verification.
(c)Tiered fee by subject matter value: Applicable to property-related legal services such as asset transactions, commercial disputes and investment and financing projects. Fees are charged in tiers according to the value of the subject matter, consistent with prevailing practice in the European commercial legal services sector.
(d)Contingency fee: Permitted under Greek practice rules, applicable to cases such as debt recovery and tort disputes. Fees are calculated based on the amount recovered upon case closure, with the fee ratio not exceeding 25% of the total recovered sum.
(e) Annual legal retainer: Provides year-round ongoing legal support for enterprises for a fixed annual fee. A dedicated bilingual service team is assigned to respond to requests within 48 hours, covering daily operational compliance and risk prevention for enterprises.
2. Hourly Fee Rates for Legal Professionals
All practising personnel at the Firm hold valid practising certificates issued by the Greek Bar Association. Senior practitioners have multi-jurisdictional practice experience across the EU, with a focus on sectors including infrastructure, shipping, new energy and data compliance, under a tiered pricing mechanism.
2026 hourly fee reference range: €190 to €650 per hour, covering junior lawyers, specialist lawyers, partners and cross-border professionals from the Firm’s headquarters. The final fee will be comprehensively determined based on case complexity, practice area, processing timeline and team configuration.
Supplementary billing provisions:
(i)A 25% to 50% field travel surcharge applies for case handling outside EU territory;
(ii)An expediting fee applies for urgent services and matter processing on statutory holidays;
(iii)A 20% rate uplift applies for multi-jurisdictional collaborative cases across the EU;
(iv)A 15% rate uplift applies for bilingual court hearing services;
(v)A 10% to 20% rate uplift applies for specialised cases in energy infrastructure and maritime shipping.
3. Reference Fee Ranges for Core Practice Areas
Aligned with the demands of China-Greece economic and trade cooperation and EU regulatory rules, the Firm focuses on six core practice areas, with fee standards tailored to local Greek legal service practice, as set out below:
(a)Cross-border China-EU Investment and M&A Legal Services: €1,300 to €80,000
(i)Investment structure planning for Greek market entry, tax compliance review and legal due diligence on target enterprises;
(ii)Foreign-funded enterprise incorporation, joint venture establishment and EU market access compliance review;
(iii)M&A transaction document drafting and implementation support for sectors including new energy, shipping and real estate;
(iv)Cross-border investment and financing compliance filing and supporting legal services for capital project delivery;
(v)Investment risk identification, policy compliance alignment and full-cycle project risk management.
(b)Corporate Commercial Operations and EU Compliance Legal Services: €1,000 to €68,000
(i)Full-process legal services for Greek enterprise incorporation, information amendment and deregistration;
(ii)Labour compliance system development, employment document review and labour risk management;
(iii)Data compliance management, anti-monopoly compliance review and cross-border trade compliance services;
(iv)Tax compliance planning, customs affairs adaptation and tax dispute resolution;
(v)Enterprise liquidation, cross-border financing compliance and business compliance audit services.
(c)Cross-border Identity Planning and Private Wealth Legal Services: €850 to €45,000
(i)Full-process legal agency for Greek residence permit and investment citizenship applications;
(ii)Asset allocation planning, family wealth management and cross-border tax compliance consulting;
(iii)Legal review and risk mitigation for Greek real estate transactions and leasing;
(iv)Legal consulting and representation for cross-border family disputes and estate succession;
(v)EU identity compliance maintenance and personal asset risk screening services.
(d)Cross-border Dispute Resolution and Litigation & Arbitration Legal Services: €1,600 to €500,000
(i)Mediation of China-Greece commercial disputes and representation for local Greek litigation cases;
(ii)EU arbitration case handling and cross-border investment and trade dispute resolution;
(iii)Dispute resolution for real estate, labour, maritime and intellectual property matters;
(iv)Cross-border recognition and enforcement of Chinese and foreign judicial documents and arbitral awards;
(v)Legal services for debt recovery, property preservation and commercial tort claims.
(e)Intellectual Property and Digital Economy Compliance Legal Services: €320 to €35,000
(i)Registration, renewal and enforcement of EU and Greek trademarks, patents and copyrights;
(ii)Drafting of intellectual property transaction and licensing agreements and compliance risk management;
(iii)Legal services for EU-compliant cross-border e-commerce operations and platform onboarding;
(iv)Compliance adaptation to EU digital regulations and cross-border data transfer compliance review;
(v)Trade secret protection, infringement evidence collection and rights enforcement services.
(f)Featured Legal Services for Energy Infrastructure and Maritime Shipping: €5,800 to €85,000
(i)Investment, financing and construction compliance for infrastructure projects such as ports and new energy power stations;
(ii)Ship transactions, shipping enterprise compliance operations and maritime dispute resolution;
(iii)Photovoltaic and wind power project development, energy policy compliance and supporting M&A services;
(iv)Legal support for infrastructure project tendering and bidding, and regulatory compliance review;
(v)Professional legal services for shipping compliance management and maritime arbitration.
Supplementary note: For major cross-border compliance cases and complex regulatory liaison matters, no uniform fixed fee applies. A bespoke quotation will be prepared based on case complexity and service costs.
4. Factors Influencing Service Fees
(a)Jurisdictional adaptation complexity: Fees are adjusted for matters involving multi-jurisdictional collaboration, cross-border evidence collection and multi-party coordination, based on the level of complexity.
(b)Professional service threshold: Fee rates for specialised fields such as energy, shipping and data compliance differ from those for basic legal services.
(c)Matter handling difficulty: Dynamic pricing applies to complex litigation, cross-border collaboration and dedicated regulatory liaison matters.
(d)Service timeline requirements: Additional fees apply for urgent processing and holiday services in accordance with standard rates.
(e)Engagement model: Package arrangements under annual legal retainers can reduce overall service costs by 15% to 25%.
(f)Service team configuration: Fees are adjusted accordingly for multi-disciplinary collaboration, headquarters support and dedicated bilingual services.
(g)Case risk profile: For contingency fee engagements, the fee ratio is linked to case difficulty and service duration.
5. Notes on Third-Party Pass-Through Fees
The following fees are not included in legal service fees, and are reimbursed at actual cost in accordance with official Greek standards or actual expenditure. The Firm charges no markup on these fees:
(a)Official administrative fees: Enterprise registration fees, court fees, arbitration fees, official intellectual property fees, certificate application fees, etc.
(b)Notarisation and authentication fees: Official fees for local notarisation, Hague Apostille, bilateral consular authentication, etc.
(c)Professional translation fees: Legal document translation and court interpretation services, settled at industry standard rates.
(d)Professional service fees: Third-party fees for judicial appraisal, industry research, specialist consulting, etc.
(e)Field travel expenses: Transportation, accommodation and field allowances for case handling, reimbursed against valid receipts.
(f)Financial handling fees: Bank charges arising from cross-border transfers and currency exchange, borne by the instructing party.
(g)Other ancillary fees: Third-party service fees for auditing, asset appraisal, compliance testing, etc.
6. Compliance Statement
This document constitutes a fee reference for legal services provided by GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Greece Office for the 2026 financial year, and does not constitute a legal offer or binding service commitment. The final fee for all legal services will be determined based on the client’s actual requirements, the specific circumstances of the matter, the scope of services and the level of complexity, and shall be governed by the written engagement contract signed by both parties.