Professional guarantees
The field of intervention
The free choice of lawyer is a fundamental principle, and the aim here is not to advise you to choose one lawyer over another, but to provide you with the main points that can help you make an informed choice.
Lawyers are not only involved in litigation, but also in a wide range of areas of law and situations encountered in everyday life, whether civil, commercial, social or professional, making them the preferred legal partner of individuals and businesses alike.
They may also work in partnership with other legal professionals such as notaries or bailiffs, or accountants.
Professional competence
The profession of lawyer is a regulated profession organised into orders and subject to strict professional and ethical rules, governed mainly by the law of 31 December 1971, the decree of 27 November 1991 and the decree of 12 July 2005, as amended.
All lawyers, as soon as they enter the profession, take an oath and belong to an association, which guarantees compliance with these obligations.
High-level initial training
To practise law and be admitted to the Bar, lawyers must have completed a high level of initial legal training (minimum of four years at university, culminating in a Master's degree in law), obtain a Certificat d'Aptitude à la Profession d'Avocat (CAPA), which guarantees competence in all areas of law and rigorous professional practice, and finally apply for admission to the Bar Council.
Mandatory further training
In addition, lawyers may have their specific skills recognised in one or more legal disciplines in which they have particular expertise, in the form of specialisations that require them to obtain a certificate of specialisation.
A lawyer's code of ethics
To enter the profession, lawyers must take an oath "I swear that, as a lawyer, I will perform my duties with dignity, conscience, independence, probity and humanity". and undertakes to respect a certain number of legal and ethical rules in its practice and its professional and extra-professional relationships.
The oath forms the basis of the professional code of ethics and sets out the essential principles of the profession.
The principle of independence guarantees citizens and companies that the advice they receive will never be guided by personal interest or outside pressure.
The principle of loyalty means that a lawyer cannot advise or defend two parties whose interests are likely to conflict (conflict of interest rule).
The latter also undertakes to communicate its exhibits and submissions to its opponents, which guarantees all parties to the proceedings an adversarial debate, a fair trial and negotiations on an equal footing.
The principle of confidentiality covers verbal or written communications between lawyers and between the lawyer and the client, as well as information that may come to the lawyer's knowledge in the course of exchanges with the opposing party.
This rule also applies in the context of negotiations and in the context of testimony, and it also applies to information of which he may have had knowledge in another case.
Professional secrecy prohibits lawyers from disclosing to third parties any confidences or secrets they have received from their clients. It is general, absolute and unlimited in time, and applies to all legal matters and all areas of practice (advice, defence, etc.).
It must also be respected by all its professional partners (staff, employees, external contributors, etc.).
As well as being a deontological obligation, compliance with professional secrecy is a legal obligation, the breach of which is a criminal offence. Lawyers also have a duty to provide information, advice and diligence, and must in particular inform their clients of the chances of success of their case, the possible avenues of appeal, the progress and development of the case and the foreseeable amount of their fees.
Failure to comply with these ethical and professional obligations may result in criminal liability.
Business areas and specialisations
There is a traditional distinction between so-called "generalist" lawyers and "specialist" lawyers. However, lawyers have many and extremely varied tasks, which often leads them to have one or more areas of specialisation.
GENERAL PRACTITIONERS
They do not specialise in any particular area of law and practise in all areas.
However, after a few years of practice, most lawyers hone their skills and, without holding a certificate of specialisation, all end up having one (or more) preferred area(s) of practice.
SPECIALIST LAWYERS
The latter, on the other hand, take an examination to have their skills recognised in one or more legal disciplines in the form of specialisations.
The use of a specialisation endorsement is subject to obtaining a specialisation certificate under the conditions set out in articles 86 to 92 of Decree no. 91-1197 of 27 November 1991 organising the legal profession.
The list of specialisations is defined by the Order of 8 June 1993.
To obtain a specialisation certificate, lawyers must have practised for at least four years in the area in which they wish to specialise and pass a knowledge test.
A lawyer may mention several specialisations. In practice, the number of mentions is limited to two, but may exceptionally be increased to three.
Specialist lawyers are also required to undergo more continuous training in their speciality, since a quarter of their compulsory continuous training must be devoted to this.
There are currently 15 specialisations:
Lastly, this competence is guaranteed over time by a compulsory continuous training obligation throughout the lawyer's professional life.
- Personal law (family, minors, personal injury, insurance, inheritance, property, over-indebtedness, etc.)
- Criminal law (general, business, press, etc.)
- Property law (residential and commercial leases, co-ownership, construction, town planning, expropriation, etc.)
- Rural law (rural leases, agricultural businesses and cooperatives, food products)
- Environmental law
- Public law (electoral law, local authorities, civil service, public procurement, town planning, planning permission, construction, etc.)
- Intellectual property law (patents, trademarks, designs and models, literary and artistic property, IT and telecommunications, etc.)
- Commercial law (banking, finance and stock exchange, insolvency proceedings and companies in difficulty, goodwill, transport, advertising, etc.)
- Company law (commercial and professional, mergers and acquisitions, associations and foundations, etc.)
- Tax law (personal and business tax, international tax, VAT, property tax, etc.)
- Employment law (labour, social security, social protection, etc.)
- Economic law (professional regulations, competition, consumer affairs, distribution, etc.)
- Enforcement law (forced execution, precautionary measures, etc.)
- Community law (European and Community public law, litigation before the European courts, competition, etc.)
- International relations law (international litigation and contracts, etc.)
The rules on handling funds that your lawyer must comply with
ll funds received by a lawyer from his client or an adversary, in his capacity as an agent or as an accessory to a professional, judicial or legal act on behalf of his clients, do not belong to him and must be deposited in a special bank account, regulated and managed by the Caisses de Règlement Pécuniaire des Avocats (CARPA) (Lawyers' Pecuniary Settlement Funds).
This is both a legal obligation and an essential guarantee for customers.
The handling of funds deposited in the Carpa account is also subject to strict controls relating to security, transparency and the origin of the funds, particularly in terms of preventing money laundering.
Your lawyer's professional liability
Lawyers are covered by compulsory professional liability insurance, which is an important guarantee for clients.
Professional indemnity insurance (RCP) covers any faults that the lawyer may commit and cause damage or loss of opportunity to his client or a third party (e.g. a deadline has been exceeded for taking action).
Compulsory insurance is also taken out for funds entrusted to the lawyer and deposited in Carpa accounts.
The rights and duties of your lawyer
Lawyers also benefit from a number of rights that ensure that they can fully defend your interests.
The lawyer has an absolute right of access to your file:
- To ensure that you are fully defended, a lawyer has an absolute right to access any file concerning you that gives rise to legal, criminal, administrative or disciplinary proceedings.
- This right of access to the case file guarantees you a fair trial, full respect for the rights of the defence and the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The lawyer is free to refuse a case:
- You are free to choose your lawyer. However, the lawyer you choose is free to refuse to take on your case or to relinquish responsibility for it.
- This guarantees the quality of your relationship, which must be based on mutual trust and transparency, without which your lawyer will not be able to defend your interests properly.
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