1. What is the current legal landscape for Litigation in your jurisdiction?

The French litigation landscape is characterised by the internationalisation of disputes and the growing complexity of litigation. Over the past decade, Paris has significantly strengthened its position as a leading forum for the resolution of international commercial disputes, notably through the development of the international chambers of the Paris Commercial Court and the Paris Court of Appeal. These specialised courts, combined with the quality of the French judiciary and the use of English in international proceedings, have enhanced Paris’s attractiveness as a venue for cross-border disputes, particularly in the post-Brexit environment.

At the same time, disputes have become more sophisticated and multidimensional. Businesses increasingly face matters involving civil, criminal and regulatory proceedings, often raising significant reputational concerns. Issues relating to data protection, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, electronic evidence and the protection of trade secrets have also become central features of many commercial disputes.

Despite a sustained level of litigation, parties are turning to alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, including mediation and arbitration. French courts themselves actively encourage parties to explore amicable solutions where appropriate. This reflects a broader shift towards more efficient, pragmatic and business-oriented methods of dispute resolution.

 2. What three essential pieces of advice would you give to clients involved in Litigation matters?

First, it is essential to implement an effective evidentiary and procedural strategy at an early stage of the dispute. French law offers a wide range of procedural tools that can significantly strengthen a party’s position. These include pre-trial investigative measures under Article 145 of the French Code of Civil Procedure, interim relief proceedings, ex parte applications and conservatory measures. When used strategically, such mechanisms can provide a significant tactical advantage in preserving evidence, securing assets and preparing a case effectively.

Second, foreign parties should bear in mind certain specific features of French judicial practice. Beyond purely legal considerations, French commercial judges pay close attention to the factual circumstances of a case, the conduct of the parties and principles such as good faith and contractual loyalty. They are generally attentive to the practical and economic realities of business disputes, making a credible and commercially coherent narrative an important component of any successful litigation strategy.

Third, parties should consider enforcement issues from the outset and remain open to settlement opportunities throughout the proceedings. A favourable judgment is of limited value if it cannot be effectively enforced against the opposing party’s assets. Also, a negociated resolution may, in some cases, provide faster and more predictable outcomes while reducing the uncertainty associated with.

3. What are the greatest threats and opportunities in Litigation law in the next 12 months?

Businesses face an increasingly complex cross-border environment. Geopolitical tensions, sanctions regimes and supply chain disruptions are increasing the risk of contractual defaults while simultaneously making the enforcement of judgments and the recovery of assets more difficult.

As businesses face pressure on margins and financing conditions remain challenging, post-M&A disputes involving warranty claims, earn-out mechanisms, purchase price adjustments and allegations of inaccurate financial disclosures are likely to increase. In the private equity sector, transactions completed at historically high valuations are increasingly giving rise to disagreements between buyers and sellers regarding the performance of acquired businesses and the assumptions underpinning the original deal.

This complex environment may also result in more bankruptcies, insolvency proceedings and related disputes.

Finally, the growing use of AI is also generating new litigation risks, particularly in relation to the reliability of the AI-generated outputs, data ownership and governance, confidentiality and cybersecurity.

4. How do you ensure high client satisfaction levels are maintained by your practice?

Maintaining high levels of client satisfaction is a core priority or our litigation practice. Our firm is entirely committed to providing the best legal service to each client every step of the way and has built a culture of excellence over the years.

Our extensive experience in complex commercial litigation and industry knowledge enables us to understand our client’s business environment and strategic objectives.

Through an in-depth approach of each case, our practice is focused on providing tailored litigation strategies that not only address the legal issues at stake but also support the client’s long-term goals.

Our approach of litigation is entirely client-focused, seeking pragmatic and effective solutions for them whether through seeking judicial response or alternative dispute resolution.

Our team is also committed to building long-term relationships with our clients, based on trust. We are therefore fully invested in our clients’ matters, remain available when urgent issues arise and adapt our working methods to our client’s specific requirements, internal processes and constraints.

Ultimately, our client-focused approach combines legal excellence, industry knowledge, strategic thinking and proactive communication to deliver effective and pragmatic solutions, whether through litigation, arbitration or negotiated resolution.

5.  What technological advancement are reshaping Litigation law and how clients benefit from them?

Technological developments are transforming litigation practice. AI is now being used to assist lawyers with document review, legal research and the analysis of large volumes of data, enabling faster identification of relevant information and more effective assessment of litigation risks.

At the same time, the digitalisation of proceedings continues through the development of e-discovery tools, digital evidence management platforms and videoconference

These developments are contributing to better management of disputes and facilitating access to evidence and court proceedings.

For clients, these advances result in greater responsiveness, more efficient case management and improved cost control. They also enable lawyers to analyse large volumes of information in a shorter period, leading to faster and better-informed strategic decisions.

However, these opportunities also come with new challenges. Cybersecurity, data protection and

remain key concerns. Likewise, the use of AI requires careful oversight to mitigate the risks of errors, bias and inaccurate outputs. Human oversight therefore remains essential to ensure the reliability of analyses and the integrity of the litigation process.