Today, a dynamic legal team goes hand in hand with a dynamic business. While businessmen make deals happen, lawyers see those deals through from beginning to end.   Whether it's carrying out due diligence work, protecting patents, trademarks or copyrights, litigating or resolving disputes, drafting contracts, or counseling on taxation issues, the lawyer's role in a business is multi-faceted.

This section is intended to provide you with some basic notions about running your business in France and developing your legal strategy so as to maximize the growth of your business.

For more details click on the links for downloadable and printable PDFs. You may also wish to look at our publications section where you can find recent legal updates, articles and conference résumés produced by members of our team.

Introduction - Incorporations - Intellectual property - Tax - Employment Regulations - New Technologies

INCORPORATIONS

Incorporation takes many different forms depending on th size and start up capital of the business. Businesses (sociétés) must take great care when choosing a form of incorporation as fines may be incurred if terms of incorportion are broken. Click on the links below for a more detailed PDF of the basic types of incorporation in France, yet keep in mind that many other forms of incorporation exist.

SA : Société anonyme, start up capital = 37 000E

SARL : Société à responsibilité limité, start up capital = 7 500 E

SAS : Société à actions simplifiés, start up capital = 37000 E

SASU : Société à actions simplifiés unipersonnel, start up capital = 37 000 E

Introduction - Incorporations - Intellectual property - Tax - Employment regulations - New technologies

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Intellectual and industrial property regulations, being territorial in nature, differ in scope and classification. The application process needs to be handled by a specialist lawyer who drafts the description of the asset and an application for a patent or copyright. New technologies branch across many areas of intellectual property law and thus require the meticulous attention of an expert with sound knowledge of the advances in this domain.

For more information, click on the buttons below.

• Intellectual Property Rights
• Patents
• Trademarks
• New Technologies
  

Introduction - Incorporations - Intellectual Property - Tax - Employment Regulations - New Technologies

EMPLOYMENT REGULATIONS

Employment is largely governed by employment contracts that often favour the employee over the employer. Lawyers are responsible for the drafting of such contracts and for protecting the interests of employees or employers in case of layoffs or unfair dismissals.

Click here for a more detailed PDF of employment regulations .

For more specific advice concerning employment issues in France, please contact Thibault Du Manoir

Introduction - Incorporations - Intellectual property - Tax - Employment Regulations - New technologies