In August 2024, GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES established its Iceland office in the core business district of Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland. As a key branch of the firm’s strategic layout in the Nordic and North Atlantic economic circles, the office operates under the framework of the China-Iceland Free Trade Agreement, and aligns its services with Iceland’s domestic judicial system and the regulatory norms of the European Economic Area (EEA). The service team holds Icelandic lawyer practising licences and local court appearance qualifications, with core lawyers each boasting over 10 years of professional experience. We provide multilingual services in Chinese, Icelandic and English, and cater to core demands including Chinese capital outbound investment, local business operations in Iceland, and cross-border commercial cooperation, delivering localised, multi-chain and cross-legal-system compliance legal services for enterprises.
This document sets out the official benchmark fee schedule of GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Iceland Office for the 2026 fiscal year. All quoted prices exclude Icelandic local value-added tax (VAT). Settlement is available in three currencies: Icelandic Króna (ISK), Renminbi (CNY) and Euro (EUR). The fee schedule complies with the professional practice guidelines of the Icelandic Bar Association.
I. Compliant Fee Service Models
In accordance with the Icelandic Legal Practice Regulations and industry fee supervision requirements, combined with the characteristics of cross-border enterprise services, five standardised billing methods are established with transparent charges and no hidden fees:
A.Fixed Package Fee
Applicable to standardised non-litigation services such as company establishment, qualification filing, and standard document review. The total price is stipulated in the contract, with no additional charges during the service period.
B.Hourly Billing
Applicable to services such as cross-border M&A due diligence, complex dispute resolution, and customised compliance consulting. Fees are calculated based on the actual effective working hours of lawyers, with itemised monthly statements issued.
C.Tiered Fee by Subject Matter Value
For property-related legal services such as asset transactions, large commercial claims, and investment and financing projects, fees are charged in tiers according to the amount of the subject matter involved, in line with Nordic commercial service conventions.
D.Contingency Fee (Win/Recovery Basis)
Restricted to debt recovery and tort claim cases. Fees are charged on the premise of case closure and fund recovery, with the charging ratio not exceeding 25% of the actual recovered amount.
E.Annual Legal Advisory Fee
Provides enterprises with year-round regular legal support on a fixed annual fee basis, with a dedicated team responding within 48 hours. It covers scenarios such as daily compliance, risk warning, and document review.
II. Benchmark Hourly Billing Rates for Lawyers
Lawyers practising at this office are priced differentially based on their practice level and area of expertise. All personnel hold local Icelandic practising qualifications, and cross-border experts hold Chinese lawyer practising certificates, to meet dual-legal-system service demands.
2026 hourly billing range: ISK 15,000 – ISK 65,000 per hour, covering all levels including junior lawyers, specialist lawyers, senior partners, and cross-border compliance experts. The final unit rate is comprehensively determined based on case difficulty, service urgency, and team configuration.
Supplementary Billing Rules
1.A 25%–50% fieldwork cost surcharge applies for cross-border case handling outside Iceland.
2.A 50% expedited fee applies for services delivered on statutory holidays or under 48-hour urgent instructions.
3.A 20% rate uplift applies to cases involving multi-jurisdictional coordination within the EU.
4.A 15% uplift applies to specialised multilingual court hearing services.
5.A 10%–20% uplift applies to specialised services in sectors such as energy and fisheries.
III. Detailed Fee Schedule for Core Practice Areas
Combined with the characteristics of Iceland’s fisheries, clean energy, high-end manufacturing, cultural tourism and sci-tech industries, the standardised fee ranges for core China-Iceland cross-border business scenarios are formulated as follows:
A. Two-Way Cross-Border Investment Legal Services (China-Iceland): ISK 150,000 – ISK 4,200,000
1.Greenfield investment, equity and asset M&A, and project development agency for Chinese entities investing in Iceland, including foreign investment compliance screening and filing approval.
2.Policy adaptation under the China-Iceland Free Trade Agreement, tariff compliance, and services related to cross-border capital and foreign exchange compliance.
3.Post-investment operation compliance management for enterprises, design and implementation support for investment exit plans.
4.Legal support for Icelandic enterprises and individuals investing in China and expanding their market presence.
5.Legal services supporting cross-border investment and financing tax planning, transaction risk prevention and control, and cross-border guarantees.
B. Legal Services for Local Icelandic Commercial Entities: ISK 95,000 – ISK 2,900,000
1.Agency services for the establishment, alteration, deregistration and liquidation of local Icelandic companies, branches and representative offices.
2.Annual legal advisory services for enterprises, including corporate governance optimisation, internal control establishment, legal consulting and compliance training.
3.Drafting, review, revision and negotiation support for legal documents such as commercial contracts, articles of association and shareholder agreements.
4.Equity structure design, equity incentive plan formulation, and supporting commercial services for enterprise investment and financing.
5.Non-litigation resolution and pre-mediation services for disputes such as shareholder rights disputes and commercial contract disputes.
C. Cross-Border Dispute Resolution and Crisis Response Legal Services: ISK 250,000 – ISK 5,800,000
1.Representation in civil, commercial and administrative litigation before courts at all levels in Iceland, and judicial procedure liaison services for the European Economic Area.
2.Agency services for international commercial arbitration and mediation, case handling and award enforcement at mainstream arbitration institutions.
3.Agency services for cross-border recognition and enforcement of court judgments and arbitration awards within the scope of China-Iceland bilateral judicial assistance.
4.Legal services related to cross-border commercial debt collection, non-performing asset disposal, and security interest realisation.
5.Regulatory investigation response, administrative penalty reconsideration, and emergency response services for corporate emergencies.
D. Specialised Legal Services for Pillar Industries in Iceland: ISK 320,000 – ISK 7,200,000
1.Fisheries and marine economy: services related to fishing licence processing, aquaculture compliance, and cross-border trade in seafood.
2.Renewable energy: geothermal and hydropower development, green technology cooperation, carbon trading compliance, and new energy project services.
3.Energy-intensive industries: industrial investment compliance, industrial project development, and cross-border trade compliance services for products.
4.Cultural tourism services: hotel project investment, cross-border format cooperation, and compliance services for travel agency establishment.
5.Science, innovation and digital economy: cross-border investment and financing, technology transfer, cross-border data compliance, and sci-tech project services.
E. Full-Dimension Compliance and Risk Management Legal Services: ISK 180,000 – ISK 4,600,000
1.Establishment of corporate compliance systems, compliance audits, risk screening and prevention and control system construction.
2.Compliance services regarding anti-corruption, anti-commercial bribery, anti-monopoly, export control and economic sanctions.
3.Adaptation to GDPR and Icelandic data regulations, cross-border data transmission, and personal information protection services.
4.Guidance and risk disposal services for Icelandic industry regulation, environmental compliance and work safety compliance.
5.Corporate compliance training, formulation of risk emergency plans, and regular compliance inspection services.
F. Cross-Border Intellectual Property Protection Legal Services: ISK 105,000 – ISK 3,800,000
1.Registration, filing, renewal and right maintenance services for trademarks, patents and copyrights.
2.Global IP layout planning and cross-border brand protection system establishment services.
3.IP infringement investigation, administrative complaint and judicial rights protection agency services.
4.Risk prevention and control and agreement review services for technology import and export, and IP licensing and transfer.
5.IP compliance and counterfeit brand disposal and rights protection services for cross-border e-commerce platforms.
G. Cross-Border Personnel Mobility and Family & Wealth Legal Services: ISK 85,000 – ISK 3,200,000
1.Agency services for Icelandic business visas, work permits, residence permits and investment immigration applications.
2.Design services for corporate cross-border personnel posting and foreign employee management compliance systems.
3.Legal services related to cross-border marriage, foreign-related inheritance and property planning.
4.Family wealth management, family trust establishment and cross-border asset allocation services for high-net-worth clients.
5.Cross-border family dispute mediation and litigation, and supporting services for cross-border tax compliance.
H. Real Estate and Infrastructure Project Legal Services: ISK 220,000 – ISK 5,200,000
1.Acquisition, leasing, mortgage services and title due diligence for commercial/industrial/cultural tourism real estate in Iceland.
2.Compliance services for engineering construction tendering, drafting and negotiation of engineering contracts, and engineering dispute resolution.
3.Compliance legal services for infrastructure and energy projects.
4.Land use right acquisition, real estate development compliance, and project supervision compliance services.
5.Real estate transaction risk prevention and control, property right dispute resolution, and compliance filing services.
Special Note: For cross-border financial compliance, major criminal compliance, and complex cross-border cases, there is no fixed upper fee limit. Customised quotation schemes will be provided based on the difficulty of evidence collection and the scope of collaboration.
IV. Core Factors Affecting Service Pricing
1.Jurisdictional complexity: Fees will be increased according to the difficulty of cases involving dual Chinese and Icelandic legal systems, overlapping EU rules, and cross-border evidence collection.
2.Professional threshold: Fees for fields such as clean energy, fisheries regulation and data compliance are higher than basic general civil and commercial services.
3.Case difficulty: Dynamic pricing is implemented for litigation and arbitration, cross-border enforcement, and regulatory response services.
4.Time limit requirements: Expedited fee standards apply for urgent case initiation and case handling on holidays, and price negotiation is not permitted.
5.Cooperation model: The overall cost of annual legal advisory package services can be 15%–25% lower than that of single entrustment.
6.Team configuration: Pricing matches the service level for cases handled jointly by multiple experts and with cross-border collaboration from the headquarters.
7.Performance risk: The fee ratio for contingency fee cases is linked to the difficulty of case handling and the recovery cycle.
V. Third-Party Collected and Disbursed Fees
The following fees are not included in legal service fees. They are reimbursed at actual cost in accordance with official Icelandic standards or actual expenditure, and the firm does not charge agency handling fees:
1.Administrative fees: Company registration fees, visa application fees, court litigation fees, arbitration fees, and official intellectual property fees.
2.Notarisation and authentication fees: Fees related to local Icelandic notarisation, Hague apostille, and Sino-foreign consular authentication.
3.Translation services: Fees for multilingual written translation of legal documents and professional simultaneous interpretation for court hearings.
4.Professional outsourcing: Fees for judicial appraisal, third-party due diligence, and industry expert consulting.
5.Travel costs: Transport, accommodation and fieldwork allowances for cross-border case handling, settled on a reimbursable basis with supporting documentation.
6.Financial fees: Bank service charges incurred from cross-border transfers and currency exchange.
7.Other fees: Expenses supporting audit, asset evaluation and compliance testing services.
VI. Important Notice
The fee schedule set out in this document is the official reference benchmark for the 2026 fiscal year and does not constitute an offer of legal services. The final fee amount for all legal services shall be subject to the written entrustment contract signed by both parties, and shall be comprehensively determined based on client needs, case circumstances and service scope.