Guozun Cathay Associates Poland Office completed its establishment registration and officially commenced operations in October 2023 in the central business district of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. It serves as the firm’s core service institution for its European market presence and for supporting Chinese enterprises expanding into Central and Eastern Europe. Its service team comprises lawyers qualified to practise Chinese law, Polish law and EU law, with core members each boasting over 10 years of experience in two-way cross-border legal services between China and Poland. The team is proficient in both Chinese and Polish, has in-depth mastery of local Polish judicial practice, EU regulatory systems and commercial rules, and maintains local service resources covering the entire Central and Eastern European region. It is able to provide multi-jurisdictional legal services compliant with Polish and EU professional practice standards.
This document sets out the official benchmark fee schedule of Guozun Cathay Associates Poland Office for 2026. All quoted prices exclude standard Polish value-added tax (VAT), which applies at the current 2026 rate of 23%. Payments may be settled freely in three currencies: euro (EUR), renminbi (CNY) and US dollar (USD). All services are delivered in strict compliance with the professional practice rules of the Polish Bar Association, the EU Legal Services Directive and relevant regulatory requirements.
I. Compliant Fee Models of Guozun Cathay Associates Poland Office
In line with Polish and EU legal service regulatory requirements, and adapted to the cross-border service practices of Chinese enterprises, five standardised compliant fee models have been established, as set out below:
1.Fixed Fee Arrangement:
Applicable to basic legal matters with standardised service processes and workloads that can be accurately determined in advance. The total service fee within the scope agreed in the contract is locked in at the time of engagement, with no hidden add-ons or extra charges beyond the contractual scope. This model primarily covers standardised service scenarios such as the establishment of Polish commercial entities, basic compliance filings, and the drafting of standard legal documents.
2.Hourly Rate System:
Applicable to non-standardised services such as major cross-border investment projects, complex commercial dispute cases, customised compliance system establishment, and special regulatory response matters. Fees are calculated based on the actual effective working hours of the lawyers, with detailed, traceable and verifiable time sheets issued on a monthly basis.
3.Percentage of Subject Matter Value Fee:
Applicable to property-related matters such as cross-border mergers and acquisitions, high-value asset transactions and commercial claims. Fees are charged on a tiered basis according to the subject matter value of the case or project, in line with prevailing industry practice for high-end commercial legal services in the EU and Poland.
4.Contingency Fee Arrangement:
Within the scope permitted by the professional practice rules of the Polish Bar Association, this model applies only to cases such as debt collection, commercial recovery and tort claims. Fees are conditional on the achievement of the agreed representation objectives for the case, with the maximum fee ratio not exceeding 30% of the actual amount recovered, in compliance with the upper regulatory limit for professional practice fees in Poland.
5.Annual Legal Counsel Retainer Arrangement:
Provides comprehensive annual legal support for enterprises, with a fixed annual service fee. Clients are assigned a dedicated team proficient in Chinese, English and Polish, with a 48-hour priority response mechanism in place. Coverage includes full-process compliance management and risk prevention and control for the daily operations of enterprises in Poland.
II. Hourly Rate Standards for Lawyers at Guozun Cathay Associates Poland Office
All practising lawyers providing services through Guozun Cathay Associates Poland Office hold valid practising certificates issued by the Polish Bar Association. The core team possesses multi-jurisdictional service capabilities covering Chinese law, Polish law and EU law. Senior partners hold practising qualifications in multiple EU jurisdictions and specialise in core areas such as cross-border investment, EU compliance and international commercial dispute resolution, under a tiered and transparent pricing system.
A. 2026 Official Benchmark Hourly Rates
The official benchmark hourly rate range for 2026 is EUR 180 to EUR 580 per hour, covering all service levels:
1.Junior practising lawyers: EUR 180 – EUR 240 per hour
2.Mid-level specialist lawyers: EUR 250 – EUR 360 per hour
3.Senior partners: EUR 380 – EUR 580 per hour
Cross-border experts from the Beijing headquarters are subject to corresponding tiered rates. The final applicable rate will be determined through comprehensive consideration of case/project complexity, professional fit, service urgency and team configuration.
B. Additional Billing Rules
1.A 25%–50% travel and fieldwork allowance applies for work performed outside the EU.
2.A 50% expedited service fee, calculated on the published standard rate, is charged for matters commenced on a 48-hour urgent basis, or for work carried out on statutory holidays or outside standard working hours.
3.Rates are increased by 20% for cases requiring multi-jurisdictional coordination across the EU and Central and Eastern Europe.
4.Rates are increased by 15% for dedicated multilingual court hearing services.
5.Rates are increased by 10%–25% for special compliance matters relating to EU financial regulation, export control and economic sanctions response.
III. Specific Fee Standards for Core Practice Areas
This schedule focuses on the core main business lines of the Guozun Poland office, aligned with the compliance requirements of Polish commercial courts and relevant EU regulatory authorities, and adapted to the local Polish and EU legal systems. The specific benchmark fee ranges are as follows:
A. Full-Process Legal Services for Cross-Border Investment and Mergers & Acquisitions: EUR 1,200 – EUR 78,000
1.Full-process agency services for Chinese enterprises undertaking greenfield investment in Poland, and the establishment of wholly owned subsidiaries, representative offices and regional headquarters, including FDI access compliance screening and full-process KRS (National Court Register) registration services with Polish commercial courts.
2.Application for Polish industry operation licences, business qualification filings, and the design and implementation of compliance structures for foreign shareholding.
3.Legal due diligence for two-way China-Poland investment, investment route planning, and supporting legal services for the full process of ODI outbound investment filing.
4.Full-process services for equity/asset mergers and acquisitions and investment and financing transactions, including drafting and revision of transaction documents, legal support for commercial negotiations, and full-process closing management.
5.Special legal services for enterprise equity restructuring, qualification changes, ongoing compliance maintenance of entities, and deregistration, liquidation and investment exit of cross-border enterprises.
B. Enterprise Compliance and EU Regulatory Response Legal Services: EUR 4,000 – EUR 65,000
1.Establishment of enterprise internal control compliance systems adapted to both Polish and EU regulatory frameworks, including full-dimensional compliance building for anti-corruption, anti-commercial bribery, export control and economic sanctions response.
2.EU GDPR data compliance overhauls, enterprise data governance, cross-border data flow compliance reviews and system implementation.
3.EU antitrust and anti-unfair competition compliance, and special compliance audits and risk investigations in areas such as local Polish taxation, environmental protection and labour employment.
4.Full-process representation in compliance defence and remedies for administrative penalties, and response to inspections by Polish government departments and EU regulators and replies to regulatory enquiries.
5.Cross-border enterprise compliance training, implementation of multi-jurisdictional compliance standards, and formulation and drilling of enterprise compliance risk emergency plans.
C. Full-Scenario Legal Services for Commercial Dispute Resolution: EUR 1,600 – EUR 480,000
1.Mediation of Sino-Polish commercial contract disputes and cross-border investment disputes, and full-process representation in civil and commercial litigation at first instance, second instance and retrial before all levels of courts in Poland.
2.Full-process representation in commercial arbitration cases before mainstream arbitration institutions in Poland and the EU, including arbitration applications, hearings, and cross-border recognition and enforcement of awards.
3.Cross-border recognition and enforcement of civil and commercial judgments and arbitration awards issued by Chinese, Polish and other European courts, and special services for cross-border property preservation.
4.Full-process agency services for cross-border debt collection, arrears recovery and local Polish enforcement procedures.
5.Handling of specialised disputes such as shareholder rights disputes, intellectual property infringement disputes and labour disputes, and cross-border criminal compliance reviews and supporting legal services.
Special note: For major cross-border economic crimes, transnational financial violations and serious criminal cases, there is no fixed upper limit on fees. A bespoke quotation will be prepared based on case difficulty, scale of cross-border collaboration, and evidence-gathering and case-handling costs.
D. Full-Chain Legal Services for Intellectual Property: EUR 300 – EUR 32,000
1.Cross-border layout planning for Chinese brands in respect of trademarks, patents, copyright and trade secrets in Poland and the EU, and full-process agency for registration applications, renewals and modifications.
2.Intellectual property infringement investigations, cross-border evidence collection, and full-process rights enforcement agency via administrative complaints and civil litigation in Poland and the EU.
3.Handling of cross-border brand counterfeiting and domain name disputes, and implementation of trade secret protection and non-compete compliance systems.
4.Drafting, negotiation and implementation of transaction documents relating to intellectual property licensing, assignment and investment and financing.
5.Establishment of intellectual property risk control systems for technology enterprises expanding overseas, and special services for responding to EU intellectual property customs protection.
E. Special Legal Services for Taxation and Labour & Human Resources: EUR 260 – EUR 24,000
1.Full-process services for local Polish tax compliance planning, optimisation of cross-border investment tax compliance structures, transfer pricing compliance, tax filing agency services and tax inspection response.
2.Special legal services relating to EU customs duty and VAT compliance, and application of the Sino-Polish bilateral tax treaty.
3.Customisation of multilingual employment documents compliant with Polish employment law, and compliance review and revision of employment contracts, employee handbooks and internal rules and regulations.
4.Full-process agency for the application, renewal and modification of work and residence permits for foreign employees of Chinese enterprises, and compliance planning for employment quotas.
5.Compliance design of employee dismissal and economic redundancy plans, and full-process agency for labour dispute mediation and litigation.
6.Annual enterprise employment compliance audits, and special services for executive employment and equity incentive compliance design.
F. Customised Legal Services for Key Industries: EUR 5,500 – EUR 82,000
1.New energy sector: Full-process legal services covering investment and construction, compliant operation, project M&A and dispute resolution for the photovoltaic, wind power, energy storage and new energy vehicle industrial chains.
2.Manufacturing and trade sectors: Legal services for compliant operation, cross-border transactions and supply chain risk prevention and control for high-end equipment manufacturing, cross-border e-commerce, agricultural and food trade, international logistics and services supporting the China-Europe Railway Express.
3.Infrastructure and finance sectors: Legal services for project compliance, transaction structure design and risk prevention and control for infrastructure construction, cross-border investment and financing, and banking and insurance business.
4.Special legal services for market access, compliant operation and intellectual property protection in key industries including biomedicine, digital economy, and culture and media.
G. Personal Cross-Border Planning and Family & Commercial Legal Services: EUR 800 – EUR 4,800
1.Full-process compliance agency for applications for business visas, long-term residence visas and investment-based residence status.
2.Compliance review of real property purchase and lease transactions for foreign nationals in Poland, and legal risk prevention and control for asset allocation.
3.Legal consultation and dispute representation for cross-border family disputes, estate succession and property division.
4.Personal commercial compliance consultation, and legal risk screening and compliance advice for cross-border asset allocation.
IV. Core Factors Affecting Legal Fees
1.Complexity of multi-jurisdictional compliance: For cases or projects involving the coordinated application of Chinese law, Polish law and EU law, cross-border evidence collection, and collaboration between entities of multiple jurisdictions, fees will be increased based on actual difficulty.
2.Industry professional barriers: Fees for highly specialised areas such as EU financial regulation, cross-border investment, export control and intellectual property are higher than those for basic civil and commercial legal services.
3.Case handling difficulty: For matters such as major litigation and arbitration, difficult cross-border enforcement and special EU regulatory response, fees will be dynamically adjusted according to handling difficulty and case handling duration.
4.Service urgency: For expedited commencement of work, or work performed outside working hours or on statutory holidays, an expedited service fee will be charged in accordance with published standards.
5.Cooperation procurement model: Compared with single procurement of individual services, the overall service cost for packaged annual legal counsel cooperation can be reduced by 15%–25%.
6.Service team configuration: Fees will be adjusted accordingly for joint case handling by multi-jurisdictional experts, cross-border collaboration with the Beijing headquarters, and dedicated multilingual team services.
7.Case performance risk: The fee ratio for contingency fee services is directly linked to the difficulty of achieving entrusted objectives, the recovery cycle and service costs.
V. Additional Third-Party Fees to Be Budgeted
The following fees are separate from legal service fees and are reimbursed at actual cost in accordance with official Polish standards or actual expenditure. Our firm charges no agency premium for these items:
1.Government fees: Statutory fees charged by Polish official authorities, including commercial entity registration fees, visa application fees, court litigation fees, arbitration fees, intellectual property official fees and licence filing fees.
2.Notarisation and authentication fees: Fees related to local Polish notarisation, Hague apostille and Sino-Polish consular authentication, settled on a factual basis in accordance with official standards.
3.Professional translation fees: Multilingual translation of legal documents and simultaneous interpretation for court hearings, settled per item or per word in line with Polish translation industry standards.
4.Expert service fees: Fees for judicial appraisal, industry expert consultation and third-party due diligence services, settled at actual expenditure.
5.Field travel expenses: Transportation, accommodation and fieldwork allowances incurred for case handling within and outside Poland, reimbursed against valid vouchers.
6.Financial handling fees: Bank-related fees arising from cross-border transfers and currency exchange shall be borne by the entrusting party.
7.Other third-party fees: Fees for professional services such as auditing, valuation and compliance testing, settled according to actual entrusted expenditure.
VI. Important Notice
The fee schedule contained in this document constitutes the official benchmark reference price for 2026 and does not constitute any form of service offer or invitation to instruct. The final fee for all legal services shall be governed by the written engagement contract signed by both parties, based on the specific needs of the entrusting party, the actual circumstances of the case, the scope of services and the complexity of the project.