The Gazette 1973

of avoués or others. In fact, having been consulted in

a litigious matter the avocat in Paris or larger cities,

chose or recommended an avoué (in smaller provincial

towns this was less the case). The direct connection of

the avocat with the lay client became an even greater

potential advantage with the advent of industrialisation

and a great upsurge in the country's economic life to-

wards the end of the 19th century, since non-conten-

tious business increased, the avoués became reduced to

the role of mere proceduralists. Eventually, there opened

therefore a wide field of remunerative activity for the

avocat. But he trea

ured his independence from the

client and wished to remain the pure legal adviser, the

orator, secluded in his chambers and not wishing to

§toop into the humdrum legal problems of industry,

trade and finance, or family matters. The Bar main-

tained a strict code of professional conduct, based on

this restricted concept of the lawyer's role and it was

not permitted for an avocat to attend outside chambers,

to accept directorships or salaried posts in company

legal departments. Avocats' chambers in most cases

were run with a minimum of clerical staff and facilities,

more or less like those of English barristers. All these

factors led to an absence of close contacts and relation-

ship with day-to-day problems of the clientele and

with the economic world, for which the young avocat

was, anyway, not trained. A university degree in law

followed by short practice in chambers, qualified for

call to the Bar; it was not until the 1940s—under the

Vichy rule—that a higher diploma was introduced, a

certificate of "profe

sional capacity", to be obtained

before call. At the same time, courses enabling students

to understand some practical aspects of their future

activities, in addition to their academic and pro-

fessional training, were introduced.

The conseil juridique

The complex needs of modern life and business

demanded training and a practical education, adapted

to these, to the needs of the whole fabric of a modern

country. Had the avocat satisfied these needs he could

have become the lawyer, with a general and lucrative

practice. But his lack of contact with life and business

left a gap which was filled by all sorts of willing candi-

dates, opportunists, men of business experience, retired

civil servants, even gendarmes, agents or, lately, men

with an academic degree in law but no other legal

training, who came to be called

conseil juridique

or,

colloquially,

hommes d'affaires.

Anyone, without any

knowledge of or training in law whatsoever, could so

practise and many self-appointed advisers with the most

varied backgrounds came through this wide-open door,

to dispense "legal" advice and perform services some-

times with common sense but often without competence.

No professional regulations nor association policed the

activities of these conseils juridiques; they could canvass

and advertise for clients and serve them according to

their own self-set standards and rates. Visitors to French

cities will recall having seen large name plates or signs

at door entrances or affixed to buildings in prominent

positions advertising the con

eil juridique operating on

the premises and often his special aptitudes. Readers

may have observed their advertisements in the French

press. Large such offices, often incorporated with limited

liability mushroomed and appropriated highly profit-

able legal work either from the qualified lawyers or

self-generated in the absence of qualified practioners.

They were consulted even on complex legal and tax

matters by people who either could not go to an

avocat, or did not know that this was the right thing

to do, since the conseils juridiques became ingrained in

the community's life.

Companies, in the absence of a qualified, practical

legal profession with appropriate standards, were com-

pelled to set up their own legal departments, manned

by salaried university trained staff—not by avocats. The

French Bar, promoted this tendency by forbidding the

acceptance of any salaried legal appointment by avocats

and disbarred offenders.

The pre sure for reform

Thus, by default, . much lucrative non-contentious

work went to notaries and much of it came to rest,

for the same reason, with the conseils juridiques. In

the end, public and professional opinion began to press

for reform of an archaic profession. For reasons beyond

the scope of this article, notaries were not to be in-

cluded in the reform, nor were the avocats to the

"Conseil d'Etat" (the supreme administrative court,

having jurisdiction in public, administrative and fiscal

law), and before the "Cour de Cassation", the highest

court of appeal—a class by themselves, small in num-

bers.

The reform

During the debate of the reform, it was intended to

bring the

conseils juridiques

also i nto the new re-

formed, fused legal profession, but the difficulties

appeared to be insuperable. To appreciate these, it is

sufficient to realise the great number of conseils juridi-

ques practising (estimates only are available; they range

from 5,000 to 15,000), the great diversity of their train-

ing and education—if any—the extremes in their stand-

ing and the necessity to respect acquired rights. The

avoués,

on the other hand, could be more easily assimil-

ated to the Bar and also more easily compensated in

respect of their acquired rights. No "major" reform was

therefore attempted and the small reform, introduced

by the law of 31 December 1971, created with effect

from 16 September 1972 a new profession, conferring

the title

avocat

all who practised the new, fused

profession.

Included in it, within the existing Bar

associations and with the right to practise the

whole

litigious and non-litigious professional activities (except

those reserved for notaries and the higher ranking

barristers) mentioned, were

avocats. avoués

and

agrees,

who, as will be recalled, practised before the special

commercial courts. Avoues attached to

appeal courts

are, for the time being, to continue without being

fused. The avoués, brought into the new profession

and who, by their inclusion, have lost valuable property

rights, their monopoly "charge", are being indemnified

from a levy, collected from litigants. Compensation is

distributed through a fund specially set-up.

Conseils juridiques now restricted

But what happens to the

conseil juridique

in the

reform? Henceforth, they must be registered on a Roll

kept by the Procureur de la Republique, who is to

exercise some disciplinary powers over them.

Conseils

juridiques

having practised for at least 5 years are

admitted to the Roll without legal training or educa-

tion, merely on account of having so practised. Those

with only 3 years practice qualify for admission if they

have a prescribed, minimal legal degree. Conseils

juridiques having less than 3 years practice require a

degree of law (bachelor's or doctorate), or an equiva-

lent foreign diploma as a condition to be allowed to

practise.

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