Lawyer - Commercial law

Commercial law is the cornerstone of business life, influencing every aspect of the activities of companies, craftsmen and retailers. Finding your way around this sometimes dense and constantly changing regulatory environment, particularly under the impetus of European and international law, is essential if you are to secure your operations, anticipate difficulties and effectively protect your interests. A good understanding of the legal issues is fundamental.

Our law firm, which is a member of the Marseilles Bar, puts its recognised expertise in commercial and business law at your service to provide you with the legal advice you need and to defend your interests. Each lawyer in our team will work closely with you at every stage of your company's development: from its incorporation (often a matter of company law) through to its eventual transfer or acquisition, including growth phases, but also in managing commercial disputes or more delicate periods.

Protecting and structuring your business

The survival and development of any business depends on sound legal foundations and appropriate protection of its assets. We can help you with these fundamental aspects of commercial business law.

Choosing the right structure and completing the formalities

• Problems you may encounter You are starting your own business and are wondering about the most appropriate legal form: sole proprietorship, commercial company (SARL, SAS, SA, etc.), governed by company law, or perhaps an EIRL if your business is agricultural? Do you find the formalities involved in setting up, changing or closing down a business complex, particularly with the move to a single electronic window? The choice of where to domicile your business - whether at your own home, at a domiciliation centre, or in dedicated premises - also raises practical and legal questions. The regulations stipulate that certain steps must be followed.

• Our support Business law: our law firm guides you in choosing the legal structure best suited to your project and your objectives. Each lawyer will assist you with all your business formalities (registration, amendments to the articles of association, deregistration), and will work with you to analyse your business address options and find the most appropriate solution. If you are a foreign entrepreneur wishing to set up in France, we can advise you on the specific procedures involved, in particular obtaining the residence permit required to practise your profession. Our role is to facilitate every operation.

Securing your intangible and tangible assets

• Problems you may encounter How can you effectively protect your brand (under intellectual property law), your product design or your domain name against the risks of counterfeiting or parasitic acts? How can you add value to these intangible assets, for example through assignment or licence agreements? From an accounting and financial point of view, you are looking to correctly assess and manage the value of your company's assets, whether these are your goodwill (a central element of many businesses), your fixed assets, your stocks or even your digital assets. Failure to protect them can have serious consequences.

• Our support Intellectual property: we work with you to develop a protection strategy for your intellectual property rights: trademarks, designs and domain names. This includes filing procedures as well as monitoring to prevent any infringement. We can assist you in drafting contracts for the assignment or licensing of these rights. Our firm also advises you on the valuation and accounting management of your various assets, including the specific features relating to business or craft assets, digital assets, or more specific items such as greenhouse gas emission quotas or sports transfer indemnities.

Managing your commercial relations and defending your interests

Well-defined commercial relationships and the ability to react in the event of conflict or commercial disputes are crucial to the stability of your business.

Drafting and negotiating your key contracts

• Problems you may encounter The drafting of contracts such as clear and legally sound general terms and conditions of sale (GTCs) is a major challenge when it comes to regulating the delivery of goods or the provision of services. If you deal with large-scale distribution, the negotiation of annual agreements (governed by distribution law) can prove difficult. Your business may also involve negotiating specific clauses in various commercial contracts: commercial leases, distribution contracts, franchise agreements, integration contracts in the agricultural sector, transport contracts, or even various insurance policies, the terms and purpose of which you will need to master.

• Our support Commercial leases: our law firm offers you its expertise in drafting, negotiating and analysing all your contractual and commercial documents. This includes, of course, commercial leases, where every clause can have a major impact on rent or termination conditions, and franchise agreements. We also help you set up invoicing and payment monitoring processes (including the recovery of unpaid receivables) to secure your cash flow and ensure compliance with regulations. Every commercial lawyer on our team will be able to guide you.

Dealing with unfair and anti-competitive practices

• Problems you may encounter Is your company being denigrated by a competitor? Have you noticed slavish imitation of your products or acts of parasitism (covered by competition law) that are damaging your business? Is a business partner causing you harm through restrictive practices (significant imbalance, sudden termination of established commercial relations without sufficient notice)? This type of conflict requires an appropriate legal response.

• Our support Our role is to defend your interests pugnaciously, whether the liability is contractual or in tort. Our role is to defend your interests with pugnacity, whether the liability is contractual or tortious. Our priority is to seek an amicable resolution to the dispute whenever possible.

Managing disputes and controls

• Problems you may encounter You have a commercial dispute with a supplier, customer or partner. Which court should you take the matter to: the Commercial Court or another jurisdiction? How do you prepare for or deal with legal proceedings? Your company is the subject of an investigation by the French Competition Authority, or a labour law or tax law inspection. You are considering arbitration or mediation to resolve a commercial dispute, including those with an international legal dimension (e.g. within the European Union).

• Our support We represent you before the commercial and civil courts. Our law firm also assists you with investigations and proceedings before the French Competition Authority (including leniency proceedings, settlements, commitments) or other supervisory authorities. For your cross-border commercial disputes, we can advise you on the advisability of arbitration and represent you in this context, taking into account the rules of European law. 

Anticipating and overcoming your company's difficulties

Even a well-run business can go through difficult times. Anticipation and an appropriate response are essential, and the advice of a lawyer can prove decisive.

Preventing and dealing with financial difficulties

• Problems you may encounter Your company is experiencing cash flow problems, a drop in activity or increasing debt. How can you identify the warning signs and what preventive measures can you take (ad hoc mandate, conciliation) before the situation becomes critical and a creditor demands payment? If the company has ceased or is about to cease payments, what are your obligations and what steps should you take under the French Commercial Code?

• Our support We can help you diagnose your company's difficulties at an early stage and put in place the preventive measures required by law. If the situation so requires, your lawyer will assist you in declaring the cessation of payments and determining the most appropriate collective procedure (safeguard, receivership) to best protect your company's interests. This is a delicate phase and requires expert assistance.

Navigating insolvency proceedings

• Problems you may encounter a collective procedure is opened. What happens during the observation period? What will happen to your current commercial contracts (suppliers, customers, commercial lease with your landlord or as a tenant)? How will the company's liabilities (all debts) be dealt with? What are the possible outcomes: a safeguard plan, a recovery plan, a sale of the business, or a compulsory liquidation? Every aspect of the French Commercial Code must be respected.

• Our support insolvency proceedings: our firm provides comprehensive assistance at all stages of insolvency proceedings. This includes managing the observation period, verifying liabilities, negotiating and drawing up continuation or disposal plans. 

Specific sectors of activity

General commercial law is often supplemented by regulations specific to certain sectors. Our firm also has the expertise and skills to assist you if your business falls within the scope of :

• the craft industry (business assets, registration in the register of trades, qualifications).

• agriculture (integration contracts, agricultural companies, rural leases).

• hotels (specific leases, classification, hotelier liability).

• river and maritime navigation (legal status of ships, maritime and river mortgages, insurance).

• road transport (conditions of access to the profession, transport contracts).

• itinerant trade and fairground activities (business cards, public right of occupation permits).

• property law relating to commercial premises.

• consumer law for relations with private individuals.

Why should you choose our firm for your commercial law needs?

Our team of lawyers, whose practice is dedicated to commercial and business law, combines in-depth knowledge of the legal texts (Commercial Code, Civil Code, European law, etc.) and their application by the courts with a realistic understanding of the imperatives and challenges that businesses face on a daily basis. Whether your business is an SME or a larger structure, whether you are a craftsman, shopkeeper or manager, we take your specific needs into account.

We adopt a personalised approach for each client, giving priority to listening, responsiveness and the search for solutions that are not only legally sound, but also pragmatic and tailored to your specific context. Whether it's anticipating risks by structuring your projects, negotiating balanced agreements (for example, a clause in a commercial contract), or firmly defending your interests in the event of commercial disputes or difficulties (such as recovering unpaid bills or wrongful termination), our firm is your trusted legal partner.