Lawyer in France

In France, the lawyer is an auxiliary of justice. Following fusion with other related professions, in 1971 and 1990, the occupation of lawyer gathers today the preceding occupations of lawyer, of Avoué, Agréé and legal council.

The lawyer has in particular as a function to defend the rights of justiciable in front of the judges, by assisting and representing his customers. He has also as a task to deliver opinions or consultations, to write contracts, acts or transactions under private signature. The lawyer is also known for his Plaidoirie S.

At the time of his oath-taking, the lawyer commits himself with exerting his functions with dignity, conscience, independence, probity and humanity. It belongs to an professional organization, the Order of lawyers. Each Order depends on the bar of a Court of Bankruptcy. The function of lawyers is to consult, write legal documents, and especially to represent and assist their customers in front of the jurisdictions.

In front of the magistrates' court, the court of arbitration, the court of the social security cases, the equal court of the rural beams like front the repressive jurisdictions, the representation by a lawyer is not obligatory. In the businesses of the competence of these jurisdictions, the authority before the Court of Appeal does not require either to resort to its services.

Before the Court of appeal, the representation of the parts is ensured by members of the legal profession known as “lawyers the Council of State and the Court of appeal”, also said “lawyers to the Councils”, which belong to an organization independent of that of their fellow-members and have a privilege of representation in front of these two jurisdictions.

Access to the profession

Formation

The access to the profession supposes the success with an examination of entry in a Regional center of professional training of the lawyers. This examination occurs after obtaining a first year from Master from right (4 years of higher learning in one of many the Faculty of Law). In practice the near total of the pupils lawyers is titular of Master at least 2. Within I.E.J, it is in addition exempted a preparation with this examination being held over one year. The inscription with the I.E.J is now obligatory.

Currently and following a reform operated in 2004 and coming into effect with the re-entry 2005, the studies in this “ school ” lawyers last 18 months, against one year, organized before around lesson and of training courses as a law firm and at other legal or legal professionals (it acts 18 months " pleins" , which corresponds to more than two years if one reasons in term of academic year which is equal to approximately eight month). At the conclusion of this formation, the pupil lawyer must successfully pass the examination of exit for obtaining the Training certificate to the occupation of lawyer (WRAPPED). He then lends oath before the Court of Appeal and is registered with the Barreau.

It is thus about a long formation which is obtained in general in Bac + 7 or 8. It is also possible to integrate the occupation of lawyer via footbridges after having followed certain legal or legal occupations (lawyer of company in particular, after 8 years of exercise), or after having carried on an activity of lawyer during 8 years with the service of an trade-union organization.

Exercise of the occupation of lawyer in collaboration

The exercise of professional collaboration in lawyers was already envisaged by a law of 1971, while many of other professions had to await a general law on the subject in 2005. One distinguishes now liberal collaboration from collaboration " salariée" , the latter being only one installation of the employment relationship of the right common to specificities of the occupation of lawyer. Any contract of liberal collaboration must be concluded in writing. This contract must respect the principles governing the occupation of lawyer, of which in particular: right to formation and to acquisition of specialization, Professional secrecy and independence, clause of conscience (possibility for lawyer of not treating businesses which its conscience rejects), possibility of personal customers without financial counterpart. This contract must specify, under penalty of nullity, its duration, the remuneration of lawyer (the national Rules of procedure of the occupation of lawyer envisages minimal wages for the first two years), the conditions of exercise and the conditions and methods of the rupture of the contract. This contract is transmitted in the 15 days to the Conseil of the Order which, within one month, can order the setting in conformity of the contract. Article 14.2 of the Rules of procedure national interdict in particular clauses:

of renunciation by advance of the obligatory clauses
of limitation of the later freedom of establishment
of limitation of the professional obligations in jurisdictional Assistance or Commission of office
of share in the expenses of its own customers during the first five years
bearing reached with the independence of the lawyer oath.

Since the new drafting of article 2061 of the Civil code, the contract can indicate the Bâtonnier as conciliator or referee. The clause of conciliation was made compulsory by article 14.2 of the national Rules of procedure. According to article 14.5, the barristers president hears the parts and returns his conciliation in the three months. Fault of agreement, the recourse to the arbitration is recommended.

The Work contract of lawyers was founded in right by article 7 of the law of 1971 as modified in 1990. According to article 14.2 of the national Rules of procedure, the contract must be written and just like specify its duration the methods of remuneration. The council of the Order supra exerts its control like on the contract of liberal collaboration. With the difference of the liberal collaborator, the paid collaborator cannot have of personal customers except for the missions of jurisdictional assistance and the commissions of office. A contract of liberal collaboration can be requalified in work contract if for example the liberal collaborator cannot devote any time to his personal customers. The employee is registered with the same bar as his owner (since this first cannot have its own customers), without its quality of paid being able to appear with the Tableau about the lawyers. The law of 1990 and one decree of 1991 specify that the work contract cannot comprise clauses restricting the later freedom of establishment. However, article 14.3 of the national Rules of procedure lays out: " in the two years following the rupture of the contract, the liberal or paid collaborator lawyer will have to warn the cabinet in which he exerted, before lending its contest to a customer of this one ". The litigations relating to the work contract are carried to the “arbitration” of the barristers president who must return his " sentence" in the four months (modification by the law of 2007; + four months if motivation or a month only if there is urgency). Possibility of a recourse in front of the Court of Appeal sitting in Room of the Council.

Access of the women to the profession

In 1900, Jeanne Chauvin became the first woman lawyer of France, in spite of a media outcry. There was in particular many Caricature S misogynists who painted with fear a world where the women would exert all the male trades in Corset and Porte-jarretelles and where men, reduced to their pants and undershirt, would be found with the preparation of food and the emmaillottage of the babies.

In 1976, Martine Luc-Thaler became the first woman lawyer with the Council of State and the Court of appeal.

Mrs. Dominique of Garanderie is to date the only elected woman Bâtonnier with the bar of Paris.

In 2002, according to the Ministry for Justice French, the women represent 46,4 % of the whole of lawyers, strong proportion if one considers the large majority of women at the Magistrat S, which cannot that to involve a relative fall of the proportion of women in the other legal professions. However, as in much of other professions, the access of the women to the management positions remains much more limited, with only 14,7 %.

Among the fifteen larger bars, it reaches a maximum in Versailles with 54 % (269 women for 498 lawyers), and a minimum in front of the bar of Nantes with 40,7 % (179 women for 440 lawyers).

The number of women is higher than that of the men in only twenty-seven bars. The proportion of women is independent of the size of the bars. Indeed, certain bars of small size count a majority of women; it is the case for example Tulle bar - Custom in which this proportion reaches a maximum: 73,1 % (19 women for 26 lawyers). Contrary, other bars count a very small proportion of women, such as in Briey where they represent only 16,7 % of lawyers.

The habit of the bar of France wants that, according to the proverb, there is not “ not sex under the dress ” and that consequently, in the name of the principle of equality, a woman is lawyer , never “ lawyer ”, when she pleads.

If the term of “lawyer” is of everyday usage out of the courts, one always uses the formula main (and not main , which would have an ambiguous direction) when one addresses to the lawyers.

Legal lawyers and solicitors, counsels, councils and lawyers of company

The occupation of lawyer such as it exists today results from the fusion of lawyers with the solicitors close to the Courts of Bankruptcy and the counsels close the bankruptcy courts (law nº71-1130 of December 31st, 1971) then the legal councils (law 90-1259 of December 31st, 1990).

For several years, the lawyers have discussed of a possible fusion of their profession with that related of the lawyers of company.

The profession of Avoué close the Courses of Call always exists in all independence of that of lawyer except for the Courses of Call sitting in DOM-TOM and the departments of the Alsace-Moselle (the Moselle, the Low-Rhine, Haut-Rhin) where there are no solicitors.

In these departments, the lawyers proceed to the whole of the acts and must choose to postulate either in front of the Court of Bankruptcy, or before the Court of Appeal.

Lawyers with the Council of State and the Court of appeal

In front of these two jurisdictions, except in certain matters, the justiciable ones must be represented by members of the legal profession, the lawyers with the Council of State and the Court of appeal. Those are called “ lawyers with the Councils ”, in opposition to qualified lawyers in front of the jurisdictions of first authority and the Courses of call, called “ lawyers to the Court ”.

The lawyers with the Councils are members of the legal profession, named by the Minister for Justice. They have in particular as a function to present the recourse in front of these two supreme French jurisdictions.

The lawyers in front of the Council of State and near the Court of appeal can refuse their ministry with the people who come to find them but because of the monopoly of which they lay out, the President of the Order can indicate one of office of them (for more precision, to see Council of State, Sect., Magerand April 22nd, 2005).

One counts sixty loads in France in which there can be to the maximum of three lawyers to the Councils.

According to Elisabeth Baraduc, former president about lawyers with the councils, the profession is not favorable to an increase in its manpower, even to face an addition of dispute, because of a correlation between the growth of the number of lawyers and that of the number of recourse. ( Which trades for which justice? , information paper of the Senate, 2001-2002).

The lawyers with the Councils in spite of their monopoly have the freedom of the fees.

Representative authorities

The National council of the Bars is the authority charged to represent the profession near the public authorities. This council is composed members elected by their pars.

The Order of lawyers of the Bar of Paris, which gathers approximately 40 % of French lawyers, is often consulted on the relative questions with the occupation of lawyer.

There exist several trade unions like the National confederation of Lawyers (CNA), the Trade union of Lawyers of France (SAF), the Union of Young Lawyers (UJA) or the Association of the Counsels of Companies (ACE).

Statistics

At January 1st 2005, the number of lawyers in France rose with: 43977 of which: 7123 training lawyers divided on 181 bars (of which 40 % are gathered in the only Bar of Paris) against: 42609 in 2004: 39454 in 2002, approximately: 36000 in 2000 and: 25000 in 1980. One counts 70,8 lawyers for: 100000 inhabitants.

The annual average revenue is of: 62605 € (in € current) at the national level, the annual median income is of: 39755 €. One counts very strong disparities in the incomes of lawyers between Paris/out of Paris, and lawyers specialized/not specialized (8 % of lawyers declare incomes null or overdrawn whereas in 2002, the highest annual income observed is of 4,648 million euros). In addition, it is important to stress that more and more young people try to specialize in revenue duty and/or right of the businesses because these two specialities are much remunerative, in particular thanks to the establishment uninterrupted of Anglo-Saxon law firm in France, and more particularly in Paris.

For detailed statistics one can consult the site of the National council of the Bars, who presents the figures put on line to the beginning of the year 2005. Less recent figures are available on the official site of the ministry for Justice

Future of the profession

The report/ratio of parliamentary information Which trades for which justice? of Christian Cointat underlines the difficulties encountered by lawyers.

The monopoly of lawyers is sometimes called in question taking into consideration European rule. The draft Directive Bolkestein in particular gave this debate on the front of the scene.

Periodically, the professionals of the right in France discuss bringing together appropriateness with the occupation of lawyer of company or councils in industrial property.

Research in the field of the alternative and friendly modes of resolution of disagreements (arbitration, Mediation), in particular encouraged by the European Community, to face the increase in the small litigations, to the clogging of the courts, in particular out of civil matter, led the orders of lawyers to try to invest completely the activity of Médiateur. In each bar of France, centers of mediation were quickly created. They are however confronted with the incredulity of the magistrates who see in lawyer a professional of the party taken. These centers of mediation were however gathered within a federation, directly animated by lawyers. In parallel, of the mediators not lawyers gather within a professional room.

Random links: