OUR DIFFERENTIATION

Gotem is an independent and specialised law firm which goes beyond simply providing legal advice.
Our experts rely on profound experience to operate in mission mode throughout the contract and project life cycle with regard to legal and economic aspects from the pre-contractual phase until project completion.

Result and success driven approach to your projects

 

Expert in French, German and international contract law

Dynamic monitoring of projects adapted to their specific requirements

Trusted third party, close relations with operational personnel

Operational forward planning and responsiveness

Long-term experience in monitoring international industrial contracts and large-scale projects

Margin enhancement

MASTERED SERVICES THROUGHOUT 

THE PROJECT AND CONTRACT LIFE CYCLE

 

OUR SERVICES

Our support focuses on three main types of services.

 

We propose implementing an outsourced and customised legal function adapted to the size, complexity and specific stakes of the project to which you are committed.

 

Our teams perfectly integrate into your business to conduct the contractual monitoring of your project, throughout its duration or according to your needs, for non-recurring support.

 

We provide meticulous contract management in relation to all legal and economic matters to provide a framework for the optimal running of operations, both internally and with your partners and service providers:

 

– Definition of the best choice of contract
– Identification of the scope and relevant services
– Preparing and conducting all relevant negotiation stages
– Ensuring schedule compliance and notifications
– Develop tailor-made project monitoring
– Adapting the project based on additional scope
– Anticipation of potential disputes
– Develop strategies for dispute avoidance
– Drafting claims and applying penalties as required

 

Our work contributes to minimising risks, improving your margin and achieving the success of your projects. We use a network of qualified specialists for certain specific services: engineers, planning specialists, quantum experts and disruption experts.

Our experts work to anticipate or resolve disputes which may arise during the implementation of your project. By attentively monitoring contractual undertakings, they are fully equipped to:

 

– Assess the risks linked to the contract
– Anticipate disputes
– Resolve disputes
– Provide quality advice in the scope of mediation, adjudication or arbitration proceedings

SUCCESS STORIES

Our clients are leaders in their business sectors: energy, industry, services, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, construction, infrastructure and transport. They consider GOTEM a long-term trusted partner.

BACKGROUND & STAKES

SME in the construction industry, supplier for multinational companies across the globe, without internal legal department to manage sales contracts. How to improve management of contractual undertakings facing clients which are familiar with drafting extremely complex subcontracts?

ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY GOTEM

Assignment during which GOTEM implemented a contractual training and awareness program for operational teams and a specific contract policy concerning the risks related to the client’s specific area of business. This bespoke training program, which included a technical method for reviewing contracts, allowed GOTEM’s client to reach greater contractual autonomy, negotiating power and significantly improved clarity about its potential project risks.

RESULTS

Creation of an internal process for managing contracts which led to a significant improvement of the margins and decrease in the contractual risks incurred.

BACKGROUND & STAKES

Industrial intermediate sized company, supplier of components for the construction of nuclear power plants, with a long-term sales contract worth hundreds of millions of euros. A construction project was running late by two years resulting in a significant budget overspend, which triggered disputes and a compensation claim.

ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY GOTEM

Our specialists carried out a rigorous in-depth analysis concerning the reasons for the delay to determine each party’s responsibility. In a short period of time they drew up a delay and disruption claim document relating to an extension of the time and additional costs incurred by our client.

RESULTS

On the basis of the claimed adjustment of the schedules and payment timetable, the client agreed to pay the additional costs linked to the delays for which it was directly responsible and granted an extension of time which helped to significantly improve the cooperation and finalization of the project.

BACKGROUND & STAKES

Industrial intermediate sized enterprise, supplier for an international company active on the Australian market. Its client refused to make payment of a large part of the contract price on the grounds of delivery of faulty equipment and poor performance of the services. Moreover, it threatened to apply penalties putting at risk our client’s profitability for the entire year.

ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY GOTEM

We helped our client to develop an elaborate negotiation strategy. This involved highlighting the elements attributable to the end client in the dysfunctions recorded. Our experts developed the decisive arguments to counter the accusations relating to technical and legal aspects.

RESULTS

Successful negotiations between the parties which led to an agreement with the end client to reduce the penalties to the smallest share of the amount of the initial claim.

BACKGROUND & STAKES

International industrial group, major player in the construction of power plants. The construction project of a power plant had considerably fallen behind (by several years), which resulted in very high additional costs. Several complaints were filed and a conflictual environment took hold.

ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY GOTEM

GOTEM provided assistance during the negotiation process by proposing a new staggered work schedule specifying the work acceptance dates and an adjustment to the penalty payment schedules.

RESULTS

Implementation of a dispute adjudication board to provide a framework for the project and better anticipate complaints until the end of the project. This action resulted in significantly improving the operational environment for the resumption of the project threatened with arbitration proceedings.

GOTEM

jens.burkle@gotem.law

Tel: +33 (0)1 55 73 74 52

Mobile: +33 (0)6 79 16 72 65

91 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré F-75008 Paris