Expertise
English-speaking commercial lawyer in Paris
Contracts, distribution, recovery, litigation & insolvency · across France
Maître Léa Scemama
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An invoice that never arrives, terms and conditions never updated, a competitor poaching your team, a distributor you need to part with: these files are won on evidence and on timing. Maître Léa Scemama assists businesses in Paris both in securing their operations and in resolving their disputes.
From the contract to the courtroom, the firm offers a comprehensive approach: preventing disputes through solid contracts, recovering unpaid invoices, defending your rights before the commercial courts and standing by you through difficult times.
Our areas of expertise
01
Commercial Contracts
The contract is a company's everyday working tool, and yet the one most often neglected. A good contract is not the one that reassures at signing, but the one that protects you on the day of the dispute.
The firm drafts, negotiates and audits your terms of sale, terms of use, service contracts, partnerships and confidentiality agreements, with particular attention to the sensitive clauses: liability, intellectual property, termination.
02
Distribution & Franchise
Building a network means entrusting your brand and know-how to independent partners. An unbalanced contract or a poorly prepared termination can turn a partner into an adversary.
Franchise and pre-contractual disclosure, dealership, commercial agency, abrupt termination of established commercial relations, non-competition clauses: the firm structures your networks and defends your distribution disputes.
03
Debt Recovery
An unpaid invoice is cash confiscated, and time works against the creditor. The sooner you act, the better your chances of being paid.
A lawyer's formal notice, payment order, interim payment, proceedings on the merits and then seizures: the firm chooses the fastest route for each case and sees it through to actual enforcement.
04
Commercial Litigation
A commercial dispute is prepared well before the hearing: in the choice of the right legal basis, the building of evidence and the mastery of the procedural timetable. A poorly brought claim can fail on a point of procedure.
Contractual disputes, interim and urgent measures, judicial expert assessment, remedies and enforcement: the firm represents you before the Commercial Court and, for amicable and insolvency proceedings in Paris, before the Economic Activities Court, as claimant or defendant.
05
Business Insolvency
Too many directors wait until the last moment to react. Yet between the first payment delay and the cessation of payments, there is a decisive window during which almost everything remains possible.
Confidential ad hoc mandate and conciliation, safeguard, judicial recovery, protection of the director and their assets: the firm deploys the right tools at the right time to save what can be saved.
06
Unfair Competition & Liability
Competition is free, but it has limits. A competitor who disparages you, imitates your products, poaches your teams or exploits your investments commits a fault that causes you recoverable loss.
Unfair competition, free-riding, poaching and diversion of customers, trade secrets, civil liability: the firm secures the evidence, stops the disturbance and obtains compensation.
07
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is now strictly regulated by the Act of 9 June 2023: mandatory disclosure of advertising and commercial collaborations, tighter rules for sensitive sectors, joint liability of the advertiser, the agency and the influencer. Breaching these rules exposes you to heavy penalties.
The firm secures your campaigns: drafting and auditing influence and agency contracts, compliance of posts (disclosures, prohibited products), managing disputes between brands, agencies and content creators, and defence in the event of a DGCCRF investigation or an action for misleading advertising.
08
Online Reputation & Disparagement
A false review, a fake customer or an online disparagement campaign can destroy in a few days a reputation built over years. The law distinguishes legitimate criticism, protected by freedom of expression, from wrongful disparagement and manifestly unlawful content.
The firm acts fast: reports by a court enforcement officer, takedown and de-indexing requests to the platforms, interim proceedings to stop the disturbance, actions for disparagement, defamation or unfair competition, and the award of damages.
How much does a commercial lawyer in Paris cost?
These are our fee ranges, service by service. Our hourly rate is €300 excluding VAT.
| Service | Fee type | Indicative range (excl. VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial contracts, GTC | Fixed fee | €500 to €2,500 |
| Distribution, franchise | Fixed fee | €1,500 to €5,000 |
| Debt recovery, order for payment | Fixed fee | from €500 |
| Commercial litigation | Fixed fee / hourly | from €2,000 |
| Business insolvency | Fixed fee / hourly | from €3,000 |
| Liability, unfair competition | Fixed fee / hourly | from €2,500 |
| Influencer marketing | Fixed fee | €800 to €2,500 |
| Online reputation, disparagement | Fixed fee / hourly | from €1,500 |
Good to know. Indicative, non-contractual ranges for information only. Final fees are set on a case-by-case basis in the fee agreement, according to the complexity, the stakes and the estimated time. A free quote is provided before any engagement. See all our fees.
Why consult a commercial lawyer?
Commercial relations involve significant financial interests within a technical legal framework. Instructing a lawyer allows you to secure your contracts upstream, prevent difficulties from turning into long and costly proceedings, and defend your interests effectively.
Maître Léa Scemama, a member of the Paris Bar, analyses your situation and proposes a tailored strategy, from preventive advice to representation in court.
Get in touchThe order for payment procedure is set out step by step in a long-form guide on our blog: Order for payment for an unpaid invoice. To choose between an order for payment, an interim payment order, a protective attachment and proceedings on the merits, a second guide compares the routes to recovery: How to recover an unpaid invoice in France. For orders issued since 1 September 2026, the deadline to serve an order for payment has been cut from six months to three: order for payment, three months to serve. The abrupt termination of an established commercial relationship, including with an independent contractor, has its own guide: Abrupt termination and freelancers: the notice owed and how compensation is calculated.
Written by Maître Léa Scemama, admitted to the Paris Bar, Miraï Avocats. This page states the law applicable at its update date. It is general in nature and does not constitute advice tailored to a particular situation.