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Business Law & SSE
in Lyon Plexus Avocats Law Firm

I advise on and provide legal structuring for projects that help contribute to a fairer, more inclusive, and more resilient world.

Elsa Lourdeau

Plexus Avocats is a law firm in Lyon specializing in business law, the social and solidarity economy (SSE), and conflict management.

Founded by Elsa Lourdeau, a lawyer since 2011, admitted to the Paris Bar and subsequently the Lyon Bar, the firm advises business leaders of mission-driven companies, SSE organizations (associations, SCICs, SCOPs, foundations, endowment funds) and impact project leaders in the structuring, securing, and developing their activities.

A law firm for business leaders who have chosen to do business differently

Plexus Avocats was founded on a conviction: the law is a tool, not an obstacle. Too often viewed as an administrative burden, legal advice – in the right hands – becomes a strategic tool for building strong organizations, healthy contractual relationships, and sustainable business models.

The firm caters to business leaders and project founders who choose to do things differently and deserve legal advice that matches their ambitions. Mission-driven businesses, ‘sociétés à mission’ (benefit corporations), cooperatives, associations, foundations, and endowment funds: Plexus Avocats understands your specific circumstances, constraints, and challenges.

This combination of expertise is rare in Lyon. Most business law firms are not familiar with the specifics of SSE. Most SSE lawyers do not cover corporate law in a broad sense. Plexus Avocats brings the two together, relying on a strong experience in amicable conflict management. Three complementary areas of expertise, a single point of contact.

Are you …

A Mission-Driven Business

A company with société à mission status (benefit corporation - purpose driven corporation), a company with a formalized CSR approach, a B Corp-certified organization, or simply a business committed to acting with rigor: your legal needs are concrete and specific. Structuring your partnerships, drafting coherent shareholders' agreements incorporating your values, including a “raison d'être” (purpose) in your articles of association, securing a sale or raising funds while preserving your mission, these are issues that Plexus Avocats knows from the inside.
Plexus Avocats for businesses

An Impact-Driven Project Leader

You are building something new: a hybrid model combining the commercial sector and SSE, an innovative locally rooted organization, or a project with social or environmental impact. Choosing the right legal structure from the outset (SCICs, SCOPs, purpose corporation, 1901 law association, endowment fund) determines your ability to raise funds, involve your stakeholders, and ensure the long-term sustainability of your project. Plexus Avocats steps in from the structuring stage to securing your bases.
Plexus Avocats for project leaders

An Organization in the Social and Solidarity Economy

Associations, cooperatives (SCICs, SCOPs, cooperatives governed by the 1947 law), foundations, endowment funds, social and solidarity economy (SSE) companies, businesses: SSE organizations are subject to specific legal and tax frameworks, demanding participatory governance, and limited-profit requirements that impose stringent statutory compliance obligations. Plexus Avocats supports these organizations in their creation, transformation operations, development and restructuring.
Plexus Avocats for SSE

Let’s take the time to discuss your project and your legal needs.

Contact Us

Business Law, Value, and Transmission

Business law is the foundation of the firm's business. Commercial contracts, company formation, shareholders’ agreements, capital increases, transfers of shares or ownership interests, restructurings: Plexus Avocats provides legal security for your transactions at every stage of your organization’s development. For mission-driven businesses and companies with ‘sociétés à mission’ (purpose corporation) status, this expertise extends to specific legal matters: incorporating a ‘raison d'être’ (purpose) into the articles of association (Article 1835 of the French Civil Code), transitioning to purpose corporation status (PACTE Law, Article L.210-10 of the French Commercial Code), obtaining ESUS accreditation, structuring hybrid models combining the commercial and non-profit sectors, and drafting cooperation agreements. Plexus Avocats also handles cases with an international dimension.
Business Law and Impact

Social and Solidarity Economy: Hands-on Expertise

In France, the SSE accounts for more than 10% of GDP and 14% of private-sector employment (source: SSE France, 2024). Yet organizations in the Social and Solidarity Economy often struggle to find legal advice that genuinely understands their specific needs. Associations governed by the 1901 law association and associations recognized as being of public interest, cooperative society of collective interest (CSCIs), worker cooperatives (WCs), cooperatives governed by the 1947 Law, endowment funds, and corporate foundations: each legal status entails distinct governance rules, tax obligations, and regulatory requirements. Plexus Avocats advises these organizations at every stage (from formation, amendments to their articles of association, ESUS accreditation, charitable giving and sponsorship tax matters, governance disputes, and dissolution).
SSE

Resolving a Conflict Differently, Mediation, and Friendly Resolution

Judicial litigation is not always the most appropriate way to resolve a commercial or organizational dispute. Long, costly, and often damaging to relationships, going to court should be considered a last resort, rather than as an automatic response. Elsa Lourdeau, trained in mediation at the The Center for International Mediators and Arbitrators (CIMA) in 2022, offers a different approach: commercial mediation, assisted negotiation, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures. These alternative dispute resolution methods help preserve professional relationships, reduce time and costs, and lead to lasting solutions developed by the parties themselves. Since the Decree of July 18, 2025, certain court proceedings require the parties to have first attempted an amicable resolution. The firm also advises business leaders proactively: conflict prevention, drafting robust contractual clauses, and structuring governance to minimize potential sources of disagreement.
Dispute Resolution
Contact Plexus Avocats
Elsa Lourdeau avocate Plexus Avocats Lyon

Plexus Avocats

Elsa Lourdeau, lawyer since 2011.

Elsa Lourdeau was admitted to the Paris Bar in 2011 and has over fifteen years of experience in business law and Social and Solidarity Economy law. Holding a Master II in Private International Law from Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne and an LL.M. in International Business Law from King’s College London, and having trained in mediation at CIMA (2022), she has built her expertise at the intersection of fields that few lawyers navigate simultaneously.

She is a member of the Lyon Bar Association’s SSE Committee and the Associations and Foundations Committee of the ACE (Association des avocats conseils d’entreprises). These institutional roles enable her to stay up to date with legislative and regulatory developments that affect her clients.

Plexus Avocats works within a network of specialist lawyers, brought in as needed for each matter. Coordination and client relationships always remain under Elsa Lourdeau’s supervision.

Discover the Plexus Avocats Ecosystem

Our values

At Plexus Avocats, legal excellence and commitment are not opposing forces—they reinforce each other. Plexus Avocats puts the law to work for what matters: building strong projects, lasting organizations, and empowering business leaders moving forward with confidence.

Balance. Humanity. Commitment.

Our Values and Commitments
robe d'avocat Plexus Avocats Lyon

Are you a business leader of a mission-driven company, an SSE project founder, or leading an organization undergoing change?

Let’s take the time to get to know each other.

Contact Us

Ils nous font confiance

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a business lawyer and an SSE lawyer?

A business lawyer advises companies on their day-to-day legal matters: contracts, company formation, transfers, and shareholders’ agreements. A lawyer specializing in SSE also has a thorough understanding of the specific legal frameworks governing associations, cooperatives, foundations, and endowment funds, as well as their specific tax rules (public interest, profit-making, disinterested management, charitable giving and sponsorship rules, ESUS accreditation, etc.).

Plexus Avocats covers both areas of expertise and adds a further specialization in dispute resolution.

Several legal structures can be used to establish an impact-driven project: ‘sociétés à mission’ (purpose corporation) (SAS or SARL), CSCIs (Cooperative Society of Collective Interest), WCs (Worker Cooperatives), 1901 law association, endowment fund or foundation.

The right choice depends on the business model, the desired governance structure, funding needs, and the stakeholders involved. Plexus Avocats advises clients on this foundational choice from the earliest stages of the project.

Mediation is a voluntary and confidential process in which a neutral third party, the mediator, helps the parties find their own solution to their dispute. It is well suited to disputes between shareholders, contractual disputes, breakdowns in commercial partnerships, and governance tensions.

Since the Decree of July 18, 2025, certain court proceedings require a prior attempt at amicable resolution.

Yes. Elsa Lourdeau advises CSCIs and WCs at every stage: formation, drafting of articles of association, structuring participatory governance, share capital, ESUS accreditation where applicable, amendments to the articles of association, and internal disputes.

She is a member of the ACE’s SSE Committee, reflecting her recognized expertise in these types of organizations.

The first meeting, either in person in Lyon or remotely, is an opportunity to listen and understand your situation and the issues you are facing. This is not an immediate legal consultation, but an opportunity to understand your situation and determine how Plexus Avocats can assist you, followed by a written proposal outlining the scope of support.

The terms of the engagement (scope of work, fees, and timelines) are agreed upon following this initial conversation.

Yes. The firm is based in Lyon (1 Quai Jules Courmont, 69002) but works with clients throughout France, particularly in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Remote consultations are available.

The purpose corporation is a legal status created by the PACTE Law (2019), available to commercial companies, including SASs and SARLs. It allows a company to include a ‘raison d’être’ (purpose) and social and environmental objectives in its articles of association. It requires the appointment of a mission committee and verification of compliance with the company’s commitments by an independent third-party organization (ITO). The transition to a ‘société à mission’ (purpose corporation) status requires precise amendments to the articles of association and the implementation of an appropriate governance structure.

Plexus Avocats advises clients throughout the entire process.

The ’Solidarity Enterprise of Social Utility’ (SESU) accreditation is granted by the DREETS to organizations that meet criteria relating to social utility, reducing inequalities, and limiting pay disparities. It provides access to solidarity-based financing (solidarity employee savings schemes, SRI funds) and certain tax benefits for investors. Obtaining or renewing the accreditation requires compliant articles of association and the preparation of a detailed application.

Plexus Avocats advises organizations throughout the entire process.

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