You do not need to come to France. Ever.
This is the question we are asked more than any other by creditors in London, New York, Toronto or Amsterdam: "Do I have to fly over to sign something?" The answer is no — and not merely as a matter of firm policy. French procedural law is built in a way that makes your physical presence unnecessary from the first day to the final payment.
The reason sits in one short provision. Article 416 of the French Code of Civil Procedure requires anyone representing a party in court to prove they hold a mandate to do so — and then states plainly that an attorney is exempt from providing that proof. A French avocat carries what is called a mandat ad litem: the authority to act in litigation is presumed by law. No notarised power of attorney, no apostilled authorisation, no consular formality is needed for your lawyer to file, plead and enforce on your behalf.
Creditors used to common-law jurisdictions often expect to execute a formal power of attorney before litigation can start. In France that step simply does not exist for court representation. What you will sign is a fee agreement with the firm — a commercial contract between you and your lawyer, not a document the court ever sees.
The one document you do sign: the fee agreement
French law requires a written fee agreement (convention d'honoraires) between attorney and client before billable work begins — article 10 de la loi n° 71-1130 du 31 décembre 1971, which the law of 6 August 2015 amended to make the written agreement compulsory in nearly all cases. It is not a court filing and it grants no procedural power; it is the contract that defines the commercial relationship. It sets out the scope of work, the pricing model (flat fee, hourly, or a success-fee supplement), the out-of-pocket costs you may be asked to advance, and the terms on which either side can end the engagement. You can read how we structure ours on our fees page.
It can be signed electronically from anywhere in the world. French law puts an electronic signature on the same footing as a handwritten one where a reliable identification process links the signature to the document (article 1367 du Code civil) — the standard e-signature platforms used in international business satisfy this.
What the firm needs from you, and when
Instructing a French lawyer from abroad is, in practice, an exchange of documents by email. The sequence is short:
to D+3
The document set that moves a B2B file forward is deliberately small — scans are fine, originals are almost never required at this stage:
- The signed contract or purchase order
- All unpaid invoices
- Proof of delivery or completion — signed acceptance, deliverables, confirmation emails
- Any correspondence where the debtor acknowledged the debt, promised payment, or offered an excuse
- The debtor's exact corporate name — the firm pulls the SIRET / RCS registry records itself
Documents in English are generally usable as-is at the outset; whether any of them need certified translation later depends on the procedure chosen, and is handled as part of case management.
How the case runs once you have handed it over
French litigation is overwhelmingly written and dematerialised. Attorneys file and exchange submissions through the Bar's secure electronic network (RPVA / e-Barreau); hearings before a commercial court are short and argued by your attorney, with no witness examination in a standard debt case. Enforcement is carried out by a commissaire de justice instructed by the firm.
Concretely, that leaves you with three things to do across the life of a file: approve the strategy, supply documents when asked, and decide whether to accept a settlement offer if one comes in. Everything else happens in French, in France, without you.
Your presence is never required, but your responsiveness sometimes is. Certain steps run on short statutory clocks — a pre-judgment asset freeze, for instance, must be followed by a merits action within one month of execution. When a deadline like that is running, a two-day delay in answering an email can cost more than any travel ever would.
Frequently asked questions
No. Article 416 of the Code of Civil Procedure exempts attorneys from proving their mandate, so no notarisation, apostille or consular legalisation is needed for your lawyer to represent you in a French court.
None of the three. Foreign creditors instruct French attorneys directly. Recovered funds are transferred to your own account, wherever it is held; invoices are issued in euros.
Yes, and it is common. Your usual counsel stays your point of reference on the underlying commercial relationship; the French firm handles what only a French Bar attorney can do. We work alongside in-house and external counsel regularly.
The firm operates on Paris time (CET/CEST). In practice this is an advantage for US-based creditors: work filed during the French day is waiting in your inbox when you start yours. Urgent matters are handled by email and phone without waiting for an overlap window.
No. A settlement agreement can be signed electronically like the fee agreement. Your attorney negotiates the terms, sends them for your approval, and you sign remotely.
Yes — hearings before French commercial courts are public and you are free to attend. It is simply never a requirement, and in a standard debt recovery case it changes nothing about the outcome.
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