Pensions: the lawyer movement, revealing the malaise of a profession

Text by: Aurore Lartigue Follow

French lawyers began their sixth week of strike on Monday. An unprecedented movement in the community, which seems to reflect a deep unease in black dresses.

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Well-attended demonstrations, trials dismissed by hundreds, media actions such as this haka by lawyers from Seine-Saint-Denis or dresses thrown to the ground ... "New". This is the term used by Christiane Féral-Schuhl, the president of the National Council of Bars (CNB), to describe the strike which has now lasted for more than five weeks and which is followed by the 164 bars of France. In 33 years of career, Stéphane Maugendre, lawyer at the bar of Bobigny, had never seen a movement " so long, so intense and so general ".

In question ? The pension reform which plans to bring lawyers into the universal scheme, with consequences, according to the CNB , the doubling of contributions from 14 to 28% for those who earn less than 40,000 euros per year, and lower pensions . This project is " the slap in the face ", according to Christiane Féral-Schuhl, after successive justice reforms that have left lawyers feeling they have not been listened to.

"This strike has brought to light a whole category of lawyers we never talk about"

" This strike brought to light a whole category of lawyers that we never talk about," confirms Christiane Féral-Schuhl. Usually, we think of the three-piece suit, the super chic tailor in beautiful cabinets, or the big criminal case. And for once, suddenly, we talked about the criminal hotlines, legal aid, proximity law, access to justice ... "

Precariousness, disparities, discrimination ... These are not the words that come to mind first when you think of the profession of lawyer, this vigilante draped in the prestige of his dress. However, they often come back into the mouths of these legal professionals not really used to pounding the pavement to defend themselves. In a way, this movement seems to have acted as the revealer of the deep malaise of a profession.

"Disenchantment"

Marion Couffignal, president of the Union of young lawyers (UJA) of Paris and nine years of bar behind her, speaks of a " climate of disenchantment ". " There is clearly a gap between reality and what we fantasize about during studies, " she says.

However, the dress is still envious. In 25 years, the workforce has more than doubled to exceed 68,000 lawyers registered with the bar in 2019, more than 40% practicing in Paris. Growth that goes hand in hand with big disparities. Individual firms, which represent 50% of structures, generate only 7% of revenues, while the largest firms concentrate 41% of revenues and represent only 3% of lawyers, reported the daily Les Echos .

Lawyers demonstrate against the pension reform project on February 3, 2020, in Paris. CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT / AFP CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT / AFP

After seven years of collaboration in large international business firms, Justine * plans to change lanes. For her, “ the discomfort is global. The only lawyers who are not bad, I think, are the unshakeable partners of big firms who are earning fortunes and on whom the reform has no impact. What to create frustrations.

Precarious status

The median income of 43,000 euros, advanced by the National Bar Council , hides large disparities. Even if she considers that she benefits from comfortable income, the lawyer does not hide her " disillusionment ", in particular as regards her "liberal" status. “ At the end of my studies, I thought that I was going to be both intellectually interesting and independent. However, when I arrived in collaboration, I had no independence, there was a link of subordination with my cabinet and I had all the disadvantages of the liberal profession: a lot of paperwork and accounting to ensure, and no freedom, you have to arrive early and leave late, otherwise it is frowned upon, and the billing objectives are such that they do not allow me to have personal customers. Not to mention that this status offers no protection. " I can be thanked overnight, and there is no unemployment for the self-employed, " she recalls.

A “ feeling of insecurity ” that Marion Couffignal also describes. In the event of a life hazard, illness or even maternity, “ we don't have a parachute; we have to be insured by taking out private insurance ”.

Among the reasons for the discomfort, some lawyers do not hesitate to also denounce a system promoting social reproduction with homogeneous profiles often from the same Parisian facs and the same backgrounds. As well as the discriminations which do not spare the environment. Despite the rampant feminization of the profession (56.4% of lawyers were women in 2019), the inequalities remain glaring, according to Justine *. “ Women are certainly well represented in the teams, but as simple collaborators; the partners remain predominantly male, ”she laments.

When some people give up the dress

Faced with these difficult conditions and what looks like a "glass ceiling", some give up. In a report entitled " The future of the legal profession " and submitted to the Minister of Justice Jean-Jacques Urvoas in 2017, lawyer Kami Haeri noted that 30% of lawyers who took the oath in 1996 were no longer in activity in 2016. With important differences there too: women are more numerous and quicker to drop the dress.

Sandrine *, a specialist in intellectual property, has taken the plunge. Not long ago, she became a corporate lawyer. “ I aspired to have a balance between my professional life and my personal life, and it is not possible with this profession, especially for women. She had given herself five years before changing lanes. And it was finally after eight years spent " head in the handlebars " that she decided. Not without having " cracked ". Constant pressure, minimum presence required 13 hours a day, incentive to work on weekends and on vacation .... " In my last office, two employees were burned out, " she says.

For his part, Moad Nefati remembers his surprise by consulting the online trombinoscope of certain large firms in the Parisian place to which he wanted to send his CV as a young lawyer. " Sometimes it's still the Middle Ages, he denounces : not a black man, not a North African ? It's amazing how little diversity there is in a city like Paris. "

A vision of the profession to defend

This former secretary of the Bar Conference opened his cabinet after three years of working as a collaborator. The 33-year-old lawyer feels privileged. The prestigious eloquence competition gave a big boost to his career. However, after four years of not counting his hours, his situation remains fragile. Once VAT has been removed from its fees, the 50% of various charges (contribution to Urssaf, to the Order, retirement, providence, mutual insurance, etc.) and structure costs - foremost of which is the rent a Paris office - he still has a “ reasonable ” income, but far from the image of a wealthy lawyer.

Ultimately, he fears that he will no longer be able to exercise his profession in accordance with his oath and that he will no longer be able to insure business " that does not bring in money ". By precariousing a part of the already fragile profession, explain these lawyers, it is access to justice that risks degrading. And the most vulnerable litigants who will suffer. Those who benefit from legal aid, for example. Paid around 200 euros for a sometimes complex case, which may require moving to prison, then to court, etc., this assistance allows the most modest litigants to have access to a lawyer.

“ In Seine-Saint-Denis, 30% of lawyers earn less than 20,000 euros net per year. If their pension contribution doubles and they still have to leave 3,000 euros more, imagine the standard of living they will have ! explains Stéphane Maugendre. But it is precisely these firms that provide legal aid, he explains. It is therefore impossible for them to pass on this increase to their customers. " So either it will jeopardize these small firms, according to him. Either, they will no longer fulfill their mission. Except that in Seine-Saint-Denis, he recalls, 70% of litigants are eligible for the AJ. "What to fear then the emergence of" judicial deserts As there are already "medical deserts".

It is therefore also a certain idea of ​​justice that these lawyers defend. " Our watchword : unity and firmness, " warns the president of the Union of Young Lawyers of Paris.

* Names have been changed

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