Commercial Law
Protecting your business with sound contracts, registered trade marks and decisive recovery of what you are owed.
Legal Support for Commercial Transactions
Commercial law governs the everyday reality of running a business: what you agree with your suppliers and customers, how you get paid, how your brand is protected and what happens when a counterparty does not perform.
Our firm advises traders, wholesalers, service providers and business-to-business companies on the legal issues that arise in the production, sale and distribution of goods and services. The framework is set by the Greek commercial legislation and the applicable EU directives, but the questions our clients bring us are commercial ones, and we answer them in commercial terms.
We draft, review and negotiate a wide range of commercial agreements — supply, sale, services and works contracts, commercial agency and franchise agreements, leasing and factoring arrangements — and we prepare the terms and conditions, consumer-law disclosures and privacy documentation that online retailers need in order to trade lawfully.
We also protect the intangible assets that often carry most of a business’s value, handling national, EU and international trade mark registrations and taking action against imitation, passing off and other unfair competition.
In commercial disputes we act quickly and decisively. We recover overdue commercial debts through payment orders, attachments and enforcement; we handle claims on dishonoured cheques and bills of exchange; and we act in disputes over breach of contract, commercial agents’ compensation on termination, commercial leases and product liability.
Why Choose Our Firm
Commercial clients rarely want a legal essay. They want a clear answer, quickly, and a view on whether a step is worth taking.
Our strength is commercial judgement: translating a legal problem into the two or three options that actually matter to the business, with a realistic assessment of cost, timing and prospects. Whether the question is a supply agreement under negotiation or the urgent freezing of a defaulting debtor’s assets, we act promptly and with a single objective — protecting your financial position.
Our Approach
Our approach has two halves: sound contracts, and decisive enforcement.
On the preventive side, we draft agreements that leave no room for interpretation, building in the protections that matter when things go wrong: retention of title until payment in full, liquidated damages for delay, clear termination grounds, limitation of liability and an agreed forum for disputes.
On the enforcement side, we begin by assessing the other party’s solvency, because a judgment against an empty company is of no use to anyone. Where there is scope for a commercial settlement we pursue it, since a negotiated outcome is usually faster and cheaper than litigation. Where there is not, we move quickly to interim measures and attachment, so that assets are secured before they can be put beyond reach.
Core areas of expertise
Commercial Contracts & Agreements
Drafting and negotiation of sale, supply, services and works contracts, together with commercial agency and franchise agreements.
Sales & Distribution
Legal structuring of distribution networks, logistics and carriage-of-goods contracts, and advice on producer and product liability.
Payment & Credit Terms
Securing credit through factoring arrangements, bank guarantees, retention-of-title clauses and other payment protections.
Commercial Disputes & Litigation
Representation in disputes arising from breach of contract, unfair competition, commercial leases and disagreements between business partners.
Regulatory Compliance
Advice on consumer protection law, the rules applying to e-commerce and distance selling, and compliance with competition law.
Debt Recovery
Rapid enforcement of unpaid invoices and cheques through payment orders, attachments and execution against the debtor's assets.
Frequently asked questions
What should a commercial contract always include?
A sound commercial contract defines the subject matter, the delivery terms and timescales, the price and the payment mechanism with complete clarity. Ambiguity in any of these is where most disputes begin.
Equally important are the clauses that only matter when something goes wrong: liquidated damages for late performance, retention of title until the price is paid in full, clear grounds for termination, limitation of liability, and an express choice of the courts or tribunal that will hear any dispute.
How do you deal with late payers and payment disputes?
Speed matters. We usually begin with a formal extrajudicial notice calling for payment. If that produces nothing and the debt is evidenced in writing — invoices, delivery notes, cheques — we apply for a payment order.
This is a fast documentary procedure with no hearing, which produces an immediately enforceable title. From there we can attach bank accounts or other assets of the debtor, which in practice is what brings most defaulting counterparties to the table.
How does commercial litigation work in Greece?
Commercial claims are heard by the Court of First Instance, in single- or multi-member composition depending on the amount at stake. The procedure is now largely a written one: the claim is filed and served, and the parties then lodge their pleadings and sworn witness statements within strict deadlines, generally around 100 to 130 days from filing.
The hearing itself is largely formal and judgment follows some months later. Because of that timeline, we often seek interim measures in parallel where a client needs protection before the case is decided.
Can you help us recover bad debts?
Yes, including the management of a whole portfolio of outstanding receivables.
Before incurring court costs we carry out a solvency search, checking the land registry and cadastre for assets worth pursuing. Where assets are identified, we proceed with a payment order and then secure the debt — by registering a mortgage prenotation, or by conservatory or executory attachment in the hands of third parties such as the debtor’s banks — applying steady pressure until the debt is paid.