Fees: models, not mysteries
We publish how we charge, not numbers: every matter is quoted individually, in writing, before work starts. What follows is the menu of engagement models — from a first call to a standing France Desk — and the factors that drive pricing, so that the first conversation about money is an informed one.
First call
A short call to qualify the matter: what it is, whether we are the right firm, what the next step would cost. No charge, no obligation.
Feasibility note
A written read on a defined question — typically IEF exposure or deal feasibility: whether the matter is workable, the path, the risks, the realistic timetable. Fixed fee, from a stated amount agreed at the first call.
France entry memo
A structured map of the legal side of an entry: corporate, tax, employment, real estate and regulatory in one document with a sequenced plan. Fixed fee, scoped in writing.
Mandate
Full conduct of a transaction, dispute or filing. Fixed, capped, hourly or blended — proposed against the matter's actual shape, with phase budgets for disputes.
Outside counsel retainer
Standing availability for a defined scope: contracts, corporate housekeeping, first-line questions. Monthly basis, from a stated amount, reviewed at agreed intervals.
France Desk
A single point of entry for all French legal questions of a foreign group, coordinating whatever specialists each question needs. Structured individually.
What drives the quote
Four things, openly weighed: the complexity of the legal question; the amounts and risk at stake; the urgency, including work outside business hours; and the volume of documents and counterparties involved. Cross-border elements — treaties, foreign counsel coordination, multilingual documentation — are priced as what they are, not hidden in a rate.
What we do not do: open-ended hourly billing without a budget, surprise invoices, or fees contingent purely on outcome, which French professional rules restrict.
FAQ
Why are there no amounts on this page?
Because honest amounts depend on the matter, and French professional rules expect fee information to be sincere rather than promotional. Publishing a number that fits no real case helps nobody. What we commit to instead: a written quote before work starts, fixed or capped wherever the matter's shape allows it, and no invoice that has not been announced. The first call — without charge — usually ends with a concrete figure for the next step.
Can fees be fixed rather than hourly?
In most matters, yes. Feasibility notes, entry memos, structuring deliverables and standard transactions are quoted as fixed fees; disputes run on phase budgets that function as caps. Hourly billing survives where scope genuinely cannot be defined in advance — and even then it comes with a budget and a duty to warn before it is reached. The model is agreed in the engagement letter, in writing, before any work begins.
Is the first call really free?
Yes — it is a qualification step, not a consultation. Its purpose is to establish what your matter is, whether this firm is the right one for it, and what the next concrete step would cost. If we are not the right firm, we say so on that call. Legal analysis, in writing, starts with the first paid deliverable — typically a feasibility note at a fixed fee announced before you commit.
General information, current as of 18 June 2026. Not legal advice. Subject to applicable law.