Frequently Asked Questions

You can reach us through the contact form on this website, by e-mail at [email protected] or by telephone at our Bujumbura office. After a short conflict-of-interest check, we schedule an initial consultation — in person, by video conference or by phone — usually within five working days. This first exchange allows us to understand your matter, assess its urgency and outline the possible courses of action.

Our fees are agreed in advance and set out in a written engagement letter. Depending on the nature of the matter, we work on an hourly-rate basis, a fixed fee for clearly defined assignments, or a retainer for ongoing advisory work. For certain disputes, a partial success-fee component may be discussed within the limits allowed by the applicable bar rules. You will never face an invoice that was not announced.

The firm works in French and English on a daily basis; both languages can be used for meetings, correspondence and legal drafting. Several members of the team also work in Kirundi and Swahili, which is a genuine asset for negotiations and proceedings in East Africa. Certified translations can be arranged through our network when a court or authority requires them.

From our offices in Bujumbura and Paris, we advise on transactions and disputes across East and West Africa. We regularly handle matters governed by OHADA uniform law — corporate, commercial, security interests and arbitration under the CCJA rules — and coordinate with a vetted network of local correspondents in the jurisdictions where we do not practise directly, so that you keep a single point of contact.

Everything you share with us is protected by legal professional privilege and the duty of confidentiality that binds every lawyer of the firm. Files are stored on secured systems with restricted access, our teams are bound by strict internal confidentiality policies, and conflict-of-interest checks are run before any new engagement. Where required, we also sign specific non-disclosure agreements with your counterparties or advisers.

Every enquiry receives an acknowledgement within one working day and a substantive answer — or a proposed meeting — within five working days. For urgent matters such as injunctions, seizures or transaction deadlines, tell us upfront: an on-call partner assesses genuine emergencies the same day, including outside office hours when circumstances justify it.