Expertise
Business Law
Our expertise covers all aspects of commercial companies’ operations. We offer our clients tailored support from the very start of their business operations: Pre-incorporation procedures—incorporation, registration, and ongoing legal support—business development and day-to-day operations (organizing board meetings and ordinary or extraordinary general meetings, approving financial statements, appointing or removing officers, and increasing or reducing capital)—restructuring and privatization transactions.
Business and Corporate Law
Our expertise covers all aspects of the operations of commercial companies:
- Preparatory steps prior to incorporation;
- Incorporation, registration, and legal compliance;
- Company development and day-to-day operations (organizing board meetings and ordinary or extraordinary general meetings, approving financial statements, appointing or removing officers, and increasing or reducing capital);
- Restructuring and privatization transactions.
White-Collar and Business Criminal Law
HBE AVOCATS also advises and represents clients across the full spectrum of white-collar and business criminal law, in both advisory and contentious matters:
- Protecting the interests of companies and/or their executives, whether in defence proceedings or as civil claimants, including the implementation of delegations of authority and responsibility, crisis management, preparation of executives for interviews, questioning or testimony, and communication strategies;
- Corporate criminal law: theft, breach of trust, fraud, CEO fraud, malicious or false accusations, forgery and related offences;
- Financial criminal law: misuse of corporate assets, misappropriation of public funds, accounting offences and related financial misconduct;
- Employment-related criminal law: undeclared work, obstruction offences, harassment, health and safety violations, involuntary manslaughter and bodily injury;
- Corruption and related offences: active and passive bribery, trading in influence, favouritism and illicitly acquired assets.
Banking and Finance
Our expertise includes:
- Advising clients on debt restructuring and the financing of distressed companies, both prior to the commencement of insolvency proceedings and during ongoing proceedings, including advice on renegotiation plans and the restructuring of bank or bond financing;
- Advising all parties involved in bilateral and syndicated financing transactions, including banks and institutional investors acting as agents, arrangers or lenders, as well as public entities, governments and African States in connection with infrastructure and transport projects;
- Assisting all parties involved in the process of negotiating and drafting all financing documentation (mandates, term sheets, loan agreements, security documents, subordination agreements, etc.);
- Acquisition finance, including advising lenders, investment funds and mezzanine lenders;
- Asset financing: in the telecommunications, information technology, cultural industries (publishing, media, audiovisual), energy, maritime, and aerospace sectors;
- Real estate finance, representing French and international banks in the financing of residential and commercial real estate, including hotels and office properties; Banking liability, in both contractual and tort-related matters;
- Banking liability, in both contract and tort.
- Suretyship and guarantee litigation.
Corporate - Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions
HBE Avocats advises clients on:
- Corporate transactions: company incorporations, share capital increases and reductions, issuance of complex securities, mergers, demergers and related corporate reorganisations. Drafting and negotiation of shareholders’ agreements and representations and warranties;
- M&A transactions: LBOs, company acquisitions, equity investments, drafting of offers, acquisition due diligence, structuring of negotiations, and drafting of agreements designed to ensure the liquidity of shareholdings, representations and warranties, and management agreements. Assistance with post-acquisition restructurings;
- Asset disposals and transfers: partial asset contributions, transfers of business undertakings and business assets;
- Litigation: disputes relating to representations and warranties, as well as shareholder disputes;
Insolvency Proceedings and Companies in Financial Distress
Our firm has proven expertise in restructuring and bankruptcy proceedings. HBE Avocats:
- Assists creditors of distressed companies throughout the debt-claim filing process, from the declaration of their claims through to recovery and payment;
- Advises economic operators affected by a company in financial distress - including debtors, creditors, shareholders, executives and financial institutions - in the management and implementation of insolvency and restructuring proceedings, including alert procedures, safeguard proceedings, judicial reorganisation and judicial liquidation;
- Advises both on preventive restructuring measures—including mandat ad hoc and conciliation proceedings—and on more extensive restructuring or insolvency procedures, such as safeguard proceedings, judicial reorganisation and judicial liquidation;
- Assists court-appointed insolvency practitioners in connection with procedural difficulties and liability-related matters; Advises prospective purchasers of assets belonging to companies subject to insolvency proceedings.
- Assists court-appointed insolvency practitioners in connection with procedural difficulties and liability-related matters; \
- Advises prospective purchasers of assets belonging to companies subject to insolvency proceedings.
Our firm is therefore able to implement a range of procedures depending on the nature and severity of the difficulties faced by the company:
- Preventive proceedings: our lawyers advise clients on the implementation of preventive measures, including mandat ad hoc and conciliation proceedings, in order to address financial and operational difficulties at an early stage;
- Safeguard proceedings: where a company is experiencing serious economic and financial difficulties, safeguard proceedings may be implemented to restructure its liabilities while allowing the business to continue operating.
- Advises both on preventive restructuring measures—including mandat ad hoc and conciliation proceedings—and on more extensive restructuring or insolvency procedures, such as safeguard proceedings, judicial reorganisation and judicial liquidation;
- Assists court-appointed insolvency practitioners in connection with procedural difficulties and liability-related matters; Advises prospective purchasers of assets belonging to companies subject to insolvency proceedings.
Where, however, a company has reached a state of cessation of payments and is no longer able to meet its due and payable liabilities with its available assets, our firm can advise on the most appropriate course of action:
- Judicial reorganisation proceedings: a company may be placed into judicial reorganisation where its difficulties appear capable of being overcome and the continuation of its business remains possible;
- Judicial liquidation proceedings: where recovery is no longer possible, judicial liquidation may result in the winding-up of the company, with its assets realised to satisfy liabilities to the extent possible.
Domestic and International Debt Collection
HBE Avocats handles international debt collection, taking into account:
- The specific commercial and legal characteristics of each country;
- The applicable legislation and practices in determining the most appropriate procedure.
Commercial Contracts
HBE Avocats assists its clients—including businesses, traders and operators in the distribution sector—in the day-to-day management of their commercial relationships with partners in France and internationally, with a view to ensuring legal certainty while taking into account their business objectives:
- Development of commercial policies, preparation of commercial documentation and implementation of the legal instruments required to support clients’ business activities;
- Structuring and management of commercial relationships;
- Negotiation and drafting of business contracts, including general terms and conditions of sale, general terms and conditions of purchase, partnership agreements, distribution agreements, franchise agreements, confidentiality agreements, letters of intent and payment terms;
- Negotiation, drafting and review of international contracts and international partnership agreements, including:
- Protecting clients’ interests while taking into account the different applicable legal systems;
- Advising on the precautions to be taken when drafting international contracts, including jurisdiction clauses, governing law provisions and dispute resolution clauses;
- Commercial leases, including negotiation, execution, rent review upon renewal and eviction matters;
- Acquisition and disposal of businesses and business assets;
- Management of commercial disputes, including:
- Assessment of the company’s legal, economic and commercial environment and determination of its rights and obligations;
- Evaluation of litigation risks and dispute prevention;
- Support and assistance in connection with technical expert proceedings;
- Representation in court proceedings and commercial litigation.