Entrepreneur goes along with certain key words, which are self-explanatory and reflect the diversity of the entrepreneurial journey: freedom, independence and adventure are at the heart of entrepreneurship. They go along with creation and anticipation. Last but not least, passion and motivation as well as resilience are essential to the daily commitment which entrepreneurship requires.
One should also not underestimate that entrepreneurship also comes with responsibility and sometimes loneliness. Beyond the legal terminology, there is ethics and moral responsibility (e.g. towards the employees of your company who rely on you, as well as in respect of ESG aspects). SMEs leaderships regularly share that they are sometimes alone to make decisions and that it is key for them to be in a position to share their business choices with trusted partners, on whom they can rely.

BCTG Avocats has developed for more than 50 years a unique model to serve SMEs and accompany and support them in all legal aspects of their business. Composed of c. 80 lawyers, BCTG Avocats is in a position to provide legal advice in all key areas of their needs. We have developed a transversal approach and have been bringing support to some of our clients for more than 30 years now, acting as partner with a common goal: bringing our clients to success. As an independent firm, we are ourselves entrepreneurs.
SMEs have often not yet reached the critical size to internalize certain support functions, and in particular in respect of legal support. The agenda of SMEs managers is tight and their primarily objective is to focus on growth of business. Also, the legal environment is evolving permanently with high complexity. Remaining cost efficient in a worldwide competitive environment is also a factor of concern and this is why we offer flexible and pragmatic fee schemes, valuing long term relationship and partnership.
Offering SMEs an external support on which they can rely and which they know will bring reliable and practical advice, agility and responsiveness with a foreseeable cost is key. It aims at bringing SMEs leaders the comfort their need to focus on their key objectives.

Companies benefit from our support at all stages of their operations and development: it can be at the time of setting up a business (e.g. creating a branch or a subsidiary, acquiring a business, appointing a supplier, distributor, licensee or agent, hiring employees), as part of the development of their operations (e.g. protecting IP rights or ensuring compliance with legal rules such as GDPR, raising funds, implementing mergers and acquisitions operations, negotiating contracts, putting in place collective agreements for employees) and more generally as part of the normal course of their business (e.g. information on legal developments, usual corporate operations such as approval of yearly accounts) and also when they face difficulties (e.g. disputes).

ELITE has developed a unique platform which aims at bringing together companies in Europe, to develop business together and to find the right advise and support from external advisers in all relevant fields (finance, legal, HR, IT, ESG, etc.) as well as giving companies access to capital markets. In a “one stop forum”, partners can immediately find the right partner, the first of whom being the ELITE team. I am not aware that any other similar platform exists.
In addition, the attention paid in the selection of the members, ensuring that they have the appropriate skills, knowledge and reliability, brings the necessary comfort to entrepreneurs whose time and resource are scarce and need to take swift decisions, in a reliable environment.
The relevance of this model cannot be more accurate than today: Europe is summoned to rely on itself and to face the challenges resulting from the new geopolitical worldwide landscape, notably from an economic standpoint. Contributing to bring strong and first-in-class European SMEs capable of competing on European and worldwide markets is certainly one of the responses to those challenges and this is exactly what the ELITE network brings forward.