Practices

Business law, from boardroom advice to the courtroom

We cover the full range of commercial law issues a business faces: building its trading relationships, keeping them on the right side of competition law, and resolving disputes when they arise.

Both advisory and contentious, before the courts and before regulators.

Economic law

Competition law

A competition authority investigation, a deal that needs clearance, an agreement that may not survive scrutiny. We handle cartel and abuse of dominance cases, merger control, dawn raids, compliance programmes and State aid.

Distribution and networks

Setting up a network, growing it or getting out of it. Franchising, dealerships, selective distribution, commercial agency and online sales: we act for suppliers and distributors alike, from drafting the contracts to litigating them.

Restrictive trading practices and commercial negotiations

Abrupt termination of an established business relationship, significant imbalance, advantages with nothing in return, disputed terms of sale, annual negotiations up against the deadline. A distinct area of litigation, with its own specialist courts and its own time limits.

Consumer law and regulatory compliance

A consumer protection inspection, a clause flagged as unfair, a green claim under challenge, a disclosure duty not properly met. We get contracts and marketing materials compliant upfront, and defend clients before the enforcement authorities when questions are asked.

Contracts and corporate

Commercial contracts and litigation

Negotiating a contract that will stand up, or enforcing one that did not. We draft commercial and partnership agreements and represent clients before the commercial courts on performance, breach and termination.

Commercial leases

A notice to serve or to challenge, a rent review beyond the statutory cap, compensation for non-renewal to negotiate, a store portfolio to restructure. We act for landlords and tenants alike, at every stage of the lease.

Corporate law

The life of a company and the disputes it brings: shareholders’ agreements, governance, capital transactions, directors’ liability and shareholder disputes.

Banking and finance law

Financing, security, lender liability claims and challenges to guarantees. We act for businesses and for the banks and investors who fund them.

Dispute resolution

Evidence, urgent and protective measures

Securing the evidence before the case begins, and acting fast when time matters. The firm obtains, enforces or challenges pre-action evidence orders under Article 145 of the French Code of Civil Procedure, summary proceedings and protective measures.

Debt recovery

Getting paid while it still makes commercial sense. Payment orders, summary proceedings for interim payment, protective measures, enforcement and cross-border recovery.

Alternative dispute resolution

Not every dispute belongs in court. Mediation, conciliation, collaborative procedure, settlement: when the business relationship needs to survive or confidentiality comes first, a negotiated outcome is often the better one.

Arbitration

Confidentiality, a say in who decides the case, and an award enforceable in more than 160 countries. We act from drafting the arbitration clause through to enforcing the award, in domestic, international and OHADA arbitration.

Legal questions rarely fit neatly into one box. A commercial lease dispute sits within a distribution network; ending a business relationship can raise a competition issue; a shareholder dispute is sometimes best settled through mediation.

That is the advantage of a mid-sized firm: we handle the matter as a whole, rather than splitting it between several advisers.

Business law, from boardroom advice to the courtroom

Take a closer look