GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES officially launched its Norway office in the central business district of Oslo, capital of the Kingdom of Norway, in November 2023. As a key service node of the firm’s global legal service network across the Nordic region, the office focuses on addressing full-scenario legal needs of Chinese enterprises investing in Norway, two-way Sino-Norwegian economic and trade exchanges, and individual cross-border matters.
Operating under a globally integrated management model, the core practice team all hold valid practising certificates issued by the Norwegian Bar Association, with an average of over 10 years of hands-on experience in Nordic commercial legal services. The team possesses in-depth familiarity with the legal systems, regulatory rules and local business practices of Norway and the European Economic Area (EEA), and delivers seamless multilingual services in Chinese, Norwegian and English, providing full-cycle professional legal services aligned with local Norwegian regulatory requirements.
This document sets out the official benchmark fee schedule for GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Norway Office for 2026. All quoted prices exclude the standard value-added tax applicable in Norway (MVA, current statutory rate: 25%). Settlement is available in multiple freely convertible currencies including Norwegian Krone (NOK), Euro (EUR), Renminbi (CNY) and US Dollar (USD). All fee rules strictly comply with the relevant provisions of the Norwegian Attorneys Act and the Norwegian Bar Association’s Rules of Good Practice.
1. Compliant Fee Models of GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Norway Office
The Firm strictly adheres to the professional practice norms and fee guidelines of the Norwegian legal profession, and has established five standardised fee models taking into account the cross-border service habits of Chinese enterprises. All models comply with Norwegian judicial regulatory requirements and general EU commercial service standards:
(a)Fixed fee model
Applicable to basic legal services with standardised processes and accurately predictable workloads. The total fee and scope of services are explicitly agreed upon at the time of engagement, with no additional charges within the agreed service scope. This model covers standardised matters such as corporate commercial registration, basic compliance filing, and standard document processing.
(b)Hourly rate model
The prevailing billing model in the Norwegian commercial legal services market, applicable to non-standardised services such as major cross-border projects, complex dispute cases and customised compliance consulting. Fees are charged based on the effective working hours of legal professionals, with monthly time sheets detailing corresponding service contents, fully verifiable and traceable throughout the process.
(c)Subject matter proportional fee model
Applicable to property-related matters such as cross-border mergers and acquisitions, asset transactions and large-scale commercial claims. Fees are charged on a tiered proportional basis according to the subject matter value of the case/project. The specific proportion is comprehensively determined based on the scale of the subject matter and complexity of the matter, consistent with industry practice for high-end Nordic commercial legal services.
(d)Contingency fee model
Applicable only within the scope permitted by Norwegian legal practice regulations. The scope of services is limited to debt collection, commercial recovery and tort claim cases. Fees are charged conditional on actual payment recovery / an effective winning judgment in the case. The fee ratio strictly follows the relevant regulations of the Norwegian Bar Association and shall not exceed the statutory upper limit.
(e)Perennial legal counsel retainer model
Provides annual comprehensive legal support for enterprises, with a fixed annual service fee. Clients are assigned a dedicated multilingual service team with a 48-hour priority response channel, covering basic legal services such as daily operation compliance consulting and risk prevention and control throughout the enterprise’s operation.
2. Hourly Rate Standards for Legal Professionals at GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Norway Office
All practising lawyers at GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Norway Office hold valid practising certificates issued by the Norwegian Bar Association. The core team is proficient in the application of both Norwegian and EU dual-jurisdiction laws and is capable of seamless multilingual services. Senior partners hold multi-jurisdictional practice qualifications across the EU, with deep expertise in core areas including cross-border investment, energy and natural resources, maritime and shipping, and compliance regulation. A tiered pricing system is implemented.
2026 standard hourly rate range: NOK 1,800 – NOK 5,800 per hour, covering all levels including junior practising lawyers, mid-level specialist lawyers, senior partners, and cross-border experts from the Beijing headquarters. The final applicable rate will be comprehensively determined based on case complexity, professional matching degree, project urgency and team configuration, and shall be subject to the written engagement contract.
Additional billing provisions:
(a)A 25%–50% travel and fieldwork allowance shall apply for work performed outside Norway;
(b)A 50% expedited service fee shall apply for 48-hour urgent response and work performed on public holidays;
(c)Rates shall be subject to a 20% uplift for EU cross-border multi-jurisdiction collaborative cases;
(d)Rates shall be subject to a 15% uplift for dedicated multilingual hearing services;
(e)Rates shall be subject to a 10%–20% uplift for specialist cases involving energy regulation and data compliance.
3. Specific Fee Benchmarks for Core Practice Areas
This fee benchmark focuses on the core practice areas of GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES Norway Office, and is aligned with the requirements of Norwegian regulatory authorities and the EU legal framework. Details are as follows:
3.1 Cross-Border Investment and M&A Legal Services: NOK 12,000 – NOK 78,000
(a)Full-process legal services for Chinese enterprises’ greenfield investment, equity/asset mergers and acquisitions, and joint venture cooperation in Norway
(b)Cross-border transaction structure design, legal due diligence, drafting and negotiation of transaction documents, and government approval and registration implementation services
(c)Specialised services for post-investment compliance management and cross-border operational risk prevention and control
(d)Full-chain legal support for Norwegian and Nordic enterprises investing in China, industrial chain layout and market expansion
(e)Specialised services for corporate equity restructuring, qualification variation, ongoing compliance maintenance of corporate entities, and deregistration and liquidation of cross-border enterprises
3.2 Energy and Natural Resources Legal Services: NOK 15,000 – NOK 92,000
(a)Traditional oil and gas sector: Compliance review, transaction support and dispute resolution in relation to oil and gas exploration and development, upstream and downstream industrial chain layout, oil and gas project investment and financing, and oilfield engineering construction
(b)New energy sector: Full-process services for the development, concession right application, engineering construction, project financing, and M&A and restructuring of renewable energy projects including offshore wind power, green hydrogen, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and biomass energy
(c)Full-chain services for licence application, compliance regulation and dispute resolution in relation to mineral resource development and natural resource utilisation
(d)Specialised services for cross-border compliance review of energy projects, regulatory policy alignment and preferential policy application and implementation
3.3 Maritime and Shipping Legal Services: NOK 10,000 – NOK 65,000
(a)Specialised services for ship construction and financing, ship sale and charter, and charterparty drafting and negotiation
(b)Legal services in relation to marine insurance, maritime emergency response, and offshore engineering equipment R&D and construction
(c)Full-process dispute resolution services including shipping enterprise compliance operation, maritime litigation, arbitration and mediation
(d)Specialised legal services for maritime cross-border debt collection, guarantee compliance review, and cross-border enforcement
3.4 Corporate Compliance and Regulatory Legal Services: NOK 8,000 – NOK 62,000
(a)Legal services in relation to the establishment of local Norwegian market entities, commercial registration, and optimisation of corporate governance structure
(b)Full-process labour and employment compliance: employee hiring, remuneration system design, trade union negotiation, dismissal protection, and labour dispute resolution
(c)Data compliance and cybersecurity services: Compliance system establishment, risk assessment, and violation response aligned with the EU GDPR and local Norwegian data protection legislation
(d)Specialised compliance services covering export control and economic sanctions, anti-corruption and anti-commercial bribery, environmental compliance, tax compliance and planning, and public procurement and competition law compliance
(e)Services for corporate compliance management system establishment, compliance training, administrative penalty response, and regulatory communication and coordination
3.5 Commercial Dispute Resolution Legal Services: NOK 9,000 – NOK 480,000
(a)Full-process representation services for litigation in local Norwegian courts and civil and commercial arbitration before institutions such as the Oslo Chamber of Commerce Arbitration Institute
(b)Mediation of bilateral Sino-Norwegian cross-border commercial disputes, judicial cooperation, and recognition and enforcement of cross-border judgments and arbitral awards
(c)Handling of all types of commercial cases including corporate disputes, contract disputes, intellectual property disputes, labour disputes, and energy project disputes
(d)Supporting services for internal compliance investigations, emergency response to contingencies, and brand reputation protection
Special Note: For major cross-border economic crimes, transnational financial violations and serious criminal cases, there is no fixed upper fee limit. Quotations will be customised based on case complexity, scale of cross-border collaboration, evidence collection costs and case handling cycle. No outcome guarantee is provided.
3.6 Intellectual Property and Technological Innovation Legal Services: NOK 3,000 – NOK 32,000
(a)Full-process services for the application, registration, protection, licensing and assignment of patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets
(b)Technology import and export compliance control, R&D cooperation agreement drafting, and specialised services for sci-tech enterprise investment and financing and equity incentive schemes
(c)Handling of intellectual property infringement disputes and ownership dispute cases
(d)Specialised legal support for sci-tech sectors including digital technology, deep-sea technology, biomedicine and clean technology
3.7 ESG and Sustainable Development Legal Services: NOK 6,000 – NOK 45,000
(a)Corporate ESG management system establishment and ESG information disclosure compliance services, aligned with the EU CSRD Directive and local Norwegian regulatory requirements
(b)Legal compliance relating to carbon neutrality and sustainable development, and supply chain ESG risk management
(c)Specialised services for climate-related litigation response and green finance compliance
(d)Full-process legal support for corporate environmental compliance and sustainable development project implementation
3.8 Daily Corporate Commercial and Perennial Legal Counsel Services: NOK 5,000 – NOK 85,000 per annum
(a)Perennial legal counsel services for enterprises, including drafting and review of daily commercial contracts and legal support for commercial cooperation negotiations
(b)Customisation of shareholder agreements and articles of association, and specialised guidance on the compliant operation of shareholders’ meetings and the board of directors
(c)Legal services in relation to corporate restructuring and reorganisation, bankruptcy and rehabilitation
(d)Specialised services for annual corporate compliance audits, internal control system optimisation, and commercial risk early warning
3.9 Individual Cross-Border Planning and Family & Commercial Legal Services: NOK 1,500 – NOK 48,000
(a)Cross-border wealth planning and succession, and cross-border asset allocation compliance services for high-net-worth individuals
(b)Residence status application, cross-border tax compliance, and foreign-related marriage and succession legal matters
(c)Legal services relating to individual cross-border investment and protection of local labour rights and interests in Norway
(d)Compliance review of real estate purchase and lease for foreign nationals in Norway, and legal risk control for asset transactions
4. Core Factors Affecting Legal Service Fees
(a)Complexity of cross-border compliance: For cases involving dual Norwegian and EU jurisdiction application, cross-border evidence collection, and multi-party cross-border collaboration, fees shall be uplifted in accordance with the difficulty of the matter.
(b)Industry professional barriers: Fees for specialised fields such as energy and natural resources, maritime and shipping, cross-border investment, and data compliance are higher than those for basic civil and commercial legal services.
(c)Case handling difficulty: Fees for major litigation and arbitration, complex cross-border enforcement, and special regulatory response matters shall be dynamically adjusted based on actual circumstances.
(d)Service urgency: Expedited service fees shall be charged in accordance with the published standards for expedited engagement and work performed on public holidays.
(e)Engagement procurement model: Compared with single-service procurement, the overall service cost of packaged annual legal counsel engagement can be reduced by 15%–25%.
(f)Service team configuration: Fees shall be adjusted accordingly for multi-expert joint case handling, headquarters cross-border collaboration, and dedicated multilingual team services.
(g)Case performance risk: The fee ratio for contingency fee engagements is directly linked to the probability of case success, difficulty of payment recovery and service cycle, and strictly complies with the relevant practice regulations of the Norwegian Bar Association.
5. Description of Third-Party Pass-Through Fees
The following fees are separate from legal service fees and shall be reimbursed at actual cost in accordance with official Norwegian standards or actual disbursements of third-party institutions. The Firm does not charge any agency markup:
(a)Government fees: Statutory fees charged by Norwegian authorities, including commercial registration fees, visa application fees, court filing fees, arbitration fees, intellectual property official fees, and licence registration fees.
(b)Notarisation and authentication fees: Fees for local Norwegian notarisation, Hague Apostille, and Sino-Norwegian consular authentication, settled in accordance with official and notary institution rates.
(c)Professional translation fees: Multilingual translation of legal documents and simultaneous interpretation for hearings, settled per assignment / per word in accordance with Norwegian translation industry standards.
(d)Expert service fees: Fees for judicial appraisal, industry expert consultation, and third-party due diligence providers, settled based on actual disbursement.
(e)Field travel expenses: Transportation, accommodation and fieldwork allowances for domestic and overseas case handling, reimbursed against valid vouchers.
(f)Financial handling fees: Bank charges incurred from cross-border transfers and currency exchange shall be borne by the client.
(g)Other third-party fees: Fees for professional service providers such as auditors, evaluators and compliance testing institutions, settled based on actual entrusted disbursement.
6. Important Notice
The fee schedule set out in this document constitutes the official benchmark reference price for 2026 and does not constitute any form of offer of services or invitation to engage. The final fee amount for all legal services shall be determined by the written engagement contract signed by both parties, based on the client’s specific requirements, actual case circumstances, scope of services and project complexity.