Guozun Cathay Associates formally launched its South Sudan office in the central business district of Juba, capital of the Republic of South Sudan, in March 2025.
This document sets out the official benchmark fee standards issued by Guozun Cathay Associates South Sudan Office for the 2026 calendar year. All fees quoted herein are exclusive of statutory taxes and duties applicable under the laws of South Sudan. Payments may be settled freely in United States Dollars (USD), Renminbi (CNY) or South Sudanese Pounds (SSP).
1. Compliant Fee Models
The office strictly adheres to the Legal Profession Act of South Sudan and the practice rules and fee guidelines of the local Bar Association. Having regard to the customary requirements of Chinese-funded enterprises in respect of cross-border legal services, we have developed five standardised fee models, all fully compliant with South Sudan’s judicial and regulatory requirements and prevailing international standards for commercial legal services:
1.1 Fixed Fee Basis
Applicable to routine legal matters with standardised processes and precisely quantifiable workloads. The total fee for the full scope of services is locked in at the time of engagement, with no hidden charges or subsequent add-ons. Services cover the end-to-end process of standardised matters including incorporation of local commercial entities in South Sudan, basic compliance filings, and preparation and processing of standard legal documents.
1.2 Hourly Rate Basis
Applicable to non-standardised matters such as major cross-border investment projects, complex dispute resolution cases, and customised specialist compliance advisory services. Fees are calculated based on actual chargeable hours worked by legal practitioners. Detailed, traceable timesheets are provided on a monthly basis, with all service milestones verifiable and auditable throughout the process.
1.3 Ad Valorem Fee Basis
Applicable to property-related legal matters such as cross-border mergers and acquisitions, large-scale asset transactions and commercial claims. Fees are charged on a tiered structure calculated by reference to the value of the subject matter of the instruction, fully aligned with international best practice for premium commercial legal services and local practice rules in South Sudan.
1.4 Contingency Fee Basis
Permitted within the statutory framework of South Sudan’s legal practice regulations, and applicable exclusively to debt recovery, commercial recourse and tort claim cases. Fees are payable only upon a successful outcome of the case or actual recovery by the instructing party, with the maximum fee ratio not exceeding 30% of the amount actually recovered.
1.5 Annual Retainer Basis
Provides enterprises with comprehensive year-round legal support services, for which a fixed service fee is charged on an annual basis.
2. Hourly Rate Schedule for Legal Practitioners
All legal practitioners at Guozun Cathay Associates South Sudan Office hold valid practising certificates issued by the South Sudan legal regulatory authority. The core team possesses expertise in the applicable rules of both South Sudan domestic law and Chinese law, and is capable of delivering seamless bilingual services in Chinese and English. Senior partners hold practising qualifications across multiple East African jurisdictions, and have deep expertise in core sectors including energy and natural resource development, infrastructure and engineering construction, cross-border investment, and international commercial dispute resolution. A strict tiered pricing system is in place.
2.1 Official Hourly Rate Range for 2026
The official unified hourly rate range for 2026 is USD 180 – USD 580 per hour, covering all personnel levels: junior practitioners, intermediate specialist lawyers, senior partners, and cross-border experts from the Beijing Head Office. The final applicable rate shall be determined by reference to four core dimensions: complexity of the matter, professional suitability of the assigned lawyer, urgency of the project, and composition of the service team.
2.2 Additional Charging Provisions
(a) Cross-regional work performed outside South Sudan shall be subject to a travel and field allowance surcharge of 25% to 50%.
(b) Expedited services commenced within 48 hours, or work undertaken on public or statutory holidays, shall be subject to a 50% urgent service surcharge.
(c) Matters requiring cross-border, multi-jurisdictional collaboration across the East African region shall attract a 20% rate uplift.
(d) Dedicated bilingual (Chinese-English) court attendance and support services shall attract a 15% rate uplift.
(e) Specialist compliance mandates in respect of energy and natural resources or large-scale infrastructure engineering projects shall attract a rate uplift of 10% to 20%.
3. Specific Fee Scales for Core Practice Areas
3.1 Full-Cycle Legal Services for Energy and Natural Resources: USD 2,200 – USD 68,000
(a) Covering core pillar industries of South Sudan including oil and gas, mineral exploration and development, agriculture, forestry and water resources, and renewable energy, providing full-cycle compliance governance services from project initiation to delivery.
(b) Full-process negotiation, document drafting and compliance review of exploration and development cooperation, block interest allocation and production sharing agreements.
(c) Specialist legal services for the acquisition, transfer and full-scope protection of mining rights and natural resource development rights.
(d) Environmental compliance, ESG compliance framework establishment and full-process risk management services for resource development projects.
(e) Full-chain legal services related to investment and financing, mergers and acquisitions, and franchising in the energy and natural resources sector.
(f) Full-process rights protection services for non-litigious resolution of ownership disputes and contract disputes in relevant sectors.
3.2 Full-Process Legal Services for Infrastructure and Engineering Construction: USD 2,800 – USD 76,000
(a) Full-lifecycle legal support for infrastructure projects including highways, railways, airports, municipal works, water conservancy and power projects, and telecommunications facilities.
(b) Full-process compliance review of project tendering and bidding, scheme design and compliant implementation of investment and financing models such as PPP and BOT.
(c) Negotiation, drafting and comprehensive risk review of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts, including local adaptation of FIDIC contracts.
(d) Full-process project performance management, risk prevention for construction period and cost claims, engineering settlement and final acceptance.
(e) Full-process pre-litigation mediation and non-litigious rights protection services in respect of disputes relating to engineering quality and construction contracts.
3.3 Integrated Legal Services for Cross-Border Investment and Mergers & Acquisitions: USD 1,200 – USD 52,000
(a) Cross-border investment structure design, tax compliance planning and comprehensive compliance risk assessment services.
(b) Full-process agency and compliance support for foreign investment market access, administrative approval and registration filings.
(c) Full-process legal services for the establishment, information amendment and deregistration of local market entities in South Sudan.
(d) Legal due diligence, scheme design and implementation in respect of joint ventures, equity transactions, mergers and acquisitions and restructuring.
(e) Compliance design and implementation services for corporate governance optimisation and investment exit mechanisms.
3.4 Legal Services for International Trade and Commercial Compliance: USD 900 – USD 38,000
(a) Drafting, compliance review and comprehensive risk prevention services for international trade contracts.
(b) Full-process management services for compliant application of international trade terms, customs and foreign exchange compliance.
(c) Compliance establishment and risk disposition services for cross-border settlement systems and supply chain risk control systems.
(d) Specialist legal services in response to import and export controls and trade barriers.
(e) Enterprise commercial compliance system establishment, compliance training and routine risk inspection services.
3.5 Full-Channel Dispute Resolution Legal Services: USD 1,800 – USD 480,000
(a) Full-process representation for civil, commercial and administrative litigation cases at all levels of courts in South Sudan.
(b) Full-process representation for international commercial arbitration and cross-border investment dispute resolution (including international mechanisms such as ICSID).
(c) Specialist support services for commercial mediation and alternative dispute resolution (ADR).
(d) Full-process handling and rights protection services for various civil and commercial disputes including commercial contracts, investment, engineering, intellectual property and labour disputes.
(e) Specialist legal services for cross-border recognition and enforcement of court judgments and arbitral awards.
Special Note: There is no fixed fee cap for major cross-border economic crime cases, transnational financial offences and serious criminal matters. Fees shall be customised on a case-by-case basis according to the complexity of the matter, scale of cross-border collaboration, and costs of evidence gathering and on-the-ground enforcement.
3.6 Annual Retainer and Operational Compliance Legal Services for Enterprises: USD 3,600 – USD 45,000 per annum
(a) Annual general counsel services for enterprises, including day-to-day legal consultation, contract compliance review and issuance of specialist compliance advice.
(b) Labour and human resources compliance management, including local employment regulations, expatriate employment, and compliant resolution of labour disputes.
(c) Full-process services for tax compliance planning, intellectual property protection, data compliance and information security management.
(d) Specialist services for the establishment of compliance systems relating to anti-monopoly, anti-unfair competition and anti-commercial bribery.
(e) Supporting legal services in respect of enterprise compliance audits, risk screening, insolvency liquidation and restructuring.
4. Core Factors Determining Legal Service Fees
4.1 Complexity of cross-jurisdictional service delivery: Matters involving the application of both South Sudan and Chinese law, cross-border evidence collection, or multi-party collaboration across jurisdictions shall be subject to a proportional fee uplift based on the level of difficulty.
4.2 Level of industry-specific expertise: Fees for highly specialised sectors such as energy and natural resource development, large-scale infrastructure engineering and cross-border investment and financing shall be higher than those for basic civil and commercial legal services.
4.3 Complexity of matter resolution: Fees for major litigation and arbitration cases, difficult cross-border enforcement matters, and regulatory special response items shall be dynamically adjusted according to the difficulty of resolution.
4.4 Urgency of service response: Expedited service commencement and work on holidays shall strictly be subject to the official expedited service surcharge, with no room for negotiation.
4.5 Cooperative service procurement model: The bundled annual retainer service model may reduce overall service costs by 15% to 25% compared with separate procurement of individual services.
4.6 Dedicated service team configuration: Fees shall be adjusted accordingly for matters handled by multi-disciplinary expert teams, with cross-border support from the Beijing Head Office, or supported by dedicated bilingual teams.
4.7 Level of case performance risk: The fee ratio for contingency fee engagements is directly linked to the probability of success, difficulty of recovery enforcement, and service duration.
5. Third-Party Costs to be Budgeted Separately
The following costs are separate from legal service fees and shall be reimbursed at actual cost in accordance with official South Sudan rates or actual disbursements. Our firm does not charge any agency premium or intermediary fee in respect of these items:
5.1 Official government fees: Including statutory fees charged by South Sudan authorities for incorporation of commercial entities, administrative approval and filing fees, court issue fees, arbitration institution fees, intellectual property application fees, and industry licence processing fees.
5.2 Notarisation and authentication fees: Including fees for local notarisation in South Sudan, Hague apostille services, and bilateral consular authentication between China and South Sudan, settled at official rates.
5.3 Professional translation fees: Including fees for Chinese-English translation of legal documents and court interpretation services, calculated per page / per word in accordance with international translation industry standards.
5.4 Expert service fees: Including fees charged by forensic appraisal institutions, industry expert consultants and third-party due diligence providers, settled at actual cost.
5.5 Field travel expenses: Including transportation, accommodation and field allowance expenses incurred for on-site work within and outside the country, reimbursed against valid receipts.
5.6 Financial transaction fees: Including bank charges incurred for cross-border transfers and currency conversion, borne directly by the instructing party.
5.7 Other third-party fees: Including fees charged by professional institutions such as audit, valuation and compliance testing bodies, settled at actual cost as instructed.
6. Important Notice
All fee standards set out in this document constitute benchmark reference prices officially published by Guozun Cathay Associates South Sudan Office for the 2026 financial year and do not constitute a legally binding offer of services. The final fee for legal services shall be as agreed in the formal written engagement contract signed by both parties, having regard to the specific requirements of the instructing party, actual circumstances of the matter, scope of service coverage and complexity of the project.