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When negotiation has failed, the trial remains. We prepare it with the same rigour as the advice that preceded it.
A case is rarely won at the hearing. It is won in the building of the file, the choice of court, the drafting of the pleadings and the control of the timetable. What was not kept, dated or put in writing at the time of the events cannot be reconstructed.
We appear before the commercial and civil courts of Bayonne and Pau, and on appeal, and say at the first meeting what is defensible and what is not.
An interim payment, eviction, an order to stop a manifestly unlawful disturbance, an investigative measure before any trial: interim proceedings obtain in a few weeks what the merits would take two years to decide.
The writ, case management, pleadings, disclosure of documents, oral argument: the quality of the written pleadings decides the outcome, more than what is said at the hearing.
Construction, accounts, valuation: the expert’s report almost always shapes the final decision. Our role is to attend every meeting and to challenge the preliminary findings to good effect, not only the final report.
An order for payment, an interim payment application, accelerated proceedings on the merits: we choose the quickest route in the light of the debtor’s solvency, which is checked before any costs are incurred.
Attachment of debts, protective attachment, seizure and sale, judicial mortgage: obtaining a judgment is of no use if the asset has disappeared in the meantime. Protective measures are often taken before judgment.
Mandatory time limits, the requirement to raise all grounds at once, provisional enforcement: an appeal is not prepared as a second chance but as proceedings in their own right, whose formal rules are particularly severe.
Contractual or court-ordered mediation, conciliation, collaborative procedure: these routes reach an outcome faster, cost less and preserve the relationship. We propose them whenever the other side is acting in good faith.
Claims against a professional, actions against an insurer, construction disputes: we assess the chain of liability before issuing proceedings, so that neither a defendant nor a policy is left out.
The right moment
A document kept and dated at the time of the events is worth more than any speech in court. Reconstructed three years later, it convinces no one.
The subject is the same. It is when it is dealt with that makes the cost.
How we work
You set out the situation, we say frankly whether we are the right people and what the work would involve. No commitment at this stage.
It describes what is done, what is not, the basis on which fees are calculated and the timetable. Nothing starts without your written agreement.
One lawyer holds your file; each question is dealt with by whichever of us handles it every day. You have only one person to call.
Formalities, filings, deadlines: the firm takes over and keeps you informed until the file is closed.
Frequently asked questions
Interim proceedings are decided in a few weeks. Proceedings on the merits before the commercial court take twelve to eighteen months on average, longer before the civil court, and an expert report often adds a year. An appeal means another twelve to twenty-four months.
For certain disputes, an attempt at amicable settlement is a compulsory first step, failing which the claim is inadmissible. Beyond the obligation, mediation succeeds in a majority of commercial cases and costs a fraction of a trial.
In part. The court may order the losing party to pay a sum towards irrecoverable costs, but it rarely covers the fees in full. That has to be built into the economic calculation before proceedings are started.
Apply for a protective measure — a protective attachment or a provisional judicial mortgage — with the court’s authorisation, before any judgment has even been obtained. It is often the only way to make sure the judgment to come will have something to bite on.
Between traders, yes, if it is very clearly specified in the parties’ undertaking. It cannot, however, be relied on against a consumer. Its presence in general terms that have been accepted can move the dispute to the other end of the country, which weighs heavily in the decision whether to sue.
First-instance decisions are in principle provisionally enforceable as of right, an appeal no longer suspending enforcement save in exceptions. It is therefore possible to enforce without waiting for the outcome of the appeal, at the risk of having to give back what was recovered if the decision is overturned.
Often, yes — provided the settlement is drafted precisely: reciprocal concessions, the subject of the dispute, the scope of the waiver. An imprecise settlement leaves claims alive and revives the very dispute it purported to extinguish.
Practice areas involved
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