Choosing Your PPI Placement at French Law School: Options, Timing and the Link to Your Future Firm
The projet pédagogique individuel (PPI, individual educational project) is the part of French initial lawyer training where trainees have the most freedom. It is also where choices are most often made by default: a placement found late, through contacts, with no link to a career plan. Yet the PPI takes up six months of an eighteen-month programme, and it fits alongside the law firm placement that often decides a first associate position.
This article is about choosing your PPI: what the rules allow, the options actually open to you, the timing to anticipate, and how to connect this choice to the associate position you are aiming for. Writing a CV to secure these placements is a separate subject, covered in other articles.
What the rules say
Three training periods
Training at a regional lawyer training centre (CRFPA) is organised into three periods, set by Articles 57 and 58 of Decree No. 91-1197 of 27 November 1991:
- six months of core training at the school;
- a period devoted to the individual educational project;
- a six-month placement with a lawyer.
Article 58-1 specifies that the three periods run continuously and that their order is set by the CRFPA's board. It also allows the centre to authorise, at the trainee's request, a work-study format, depending on its capacity. Depending on your school, the PPI will not always fall at the same point in the programme.
PPI rules
Article 58 of the decree, in the version applicable to trainees starting their training on or after 1 January 2025, provides that:
- the PPI lasts six months, and may exceptionally be extended to eight months;
- the project is proposed by the trainee and developed with the CRFPA, which approves it;
- it may consist of a placement or a course of study;
- the placement cannot take place in a law firm in France.
This last point often surprises people. The PPI is not a first law firm placement: its purpose is precisely to expose trainees to environments other than a law firm, which is reserved for the placement with a lawyer.
Decree No. 2023-1125 of 1 December 2023 also clarified the arrangements for the PPI and the placement, notably through a three-party agreement between the trainee, the host organisation and the CRFPA, and provided for unified internal rules for all CRFPAs from 1 September 2025. Practical details (approval file, deadlines, placement report, assessment) are set by these rules and by each school's guides: read them as soon as you start.
If you started your training before 1 January 2025, earlier rules may apply to your intake. Check with your school.
The options
The rule is simple: anything other than a law firm in France can be considered, subject to your school's approval. Here are the main types of project.
Courts
A placement with a first-instance court, a court of appeal, an administrative court or a commercial court lets you see proceedings from the other side: hearing preparation, deliberation, drafting judgments. For a future litigator, criminal lawyer or public law practitioner, the benefit is direct: you learn what a judge expects from written submissions, and what irritates them.
In-house legal departments
An in-house placement shows you the client from the inside: how an in-house lawyer selects, briefs and assesses outside counsel, operational pressure, budget trade-offs. For a future corporate lawyer or employer-side employment lawyer, it is a real asset in understanding clients.
Public administrations and authorities
Ministries, local authorities, independent administrative authorities, legal departments of public bodies: these placements fit well with a plan in public law, competition law, environmental law or data protection.
Law firms abroad
The prohibition applies to law firms in France. A placement with a firm abroad can therefore be considered, subject to approval. It is a natural option for a plan involving an international firm, arbitration or EU law. For a foreign office of a firm that also has a French office, have the project approved by your school before committing.
International organisations, associations and NGOs
European institutions, international organisations, access-to-justice associations, human rights organisations: these projects suit an interest in fundamental rights, immigration law or international law.
Other legal professions and players
Notaries' offices, commissaires de justice (bailiffs), insolvency administrators and liquidators, legal publishers, legal tech companies: these open specific perspectives, for example in real estate law, insolvency or legal publishing.
A course of study instead of a placement
Article 58 allows the PPI to consist of a course of study. Some trainees use it for a university programme in France or abroad, such as an LL.M. Duration, timing and approval conditions for this type of project vary between schools and universities: it needs to be prepared well in advance.
Choosing according to your career plan
Start from the associate position you want
The right question is not "which placement is prestigious?" but "what will my profile lack when I apply for my first associate position?". Some suggested matches:
| Target practice | Relevant PPI | What the PPI brings | | --- | --- | --- | | Commercial litigation | Commercial court or court of appeal, in-house litigation team | How judges read submissions, client perspective | | Employment law | Employment court, HR or legal department of a group, labour inspectorate | Industrial relations practice, understanding employers | | Criminal law | Criminal court, sentence enforcement service, victim support association | Knowledge of the criminal justice chain | | Public law | Administrative court, local authority, administrative authority | Administrative drafting, public buyer logic | | IP / IT | Legal department of a tech company, industrial property office, data protection authority | Understanding of operational issues | | Real estate law | Notary's office, property developer, social housing landlord | Structuring transactions, drafting deeds | | International firm | Foreign law firm, European institution, LL.M. | Working language, international network |
These matches are indicative. A PPI outside your field is not a handicap if you can explain it; an unexplained inconsistency is more of a problem.
Two mistakes to avoid
- Choosing a PPI "for the CV" with no real interest. Recruiters ask what you learned. A vague answer about six months of placement stands out.
- Trying to get around the rule with a placement in an organisation that in practice operates like a law firm in France. School approval is required; a project refused late puts you in a difficult position.
Timing
Exact dates depend on each school: check your CRFPA's calendar at the start of the year. A few principles apply everywhere:
- Start searching early. Courts, European institutions and some in-house teams recruit interns well in advance, sometimes through formal procedures.
- Plan the PPI and the law firm placement together. Depending on the order your school sets, the two periods either follow each other or sit on either side of the school period. Identifying the firm for your placement at the same time as the PPI lets you build a coherent path and avoid searching for both in a rush.
- Allow time for approval. The project must be approved by the school: factor in time for reviewing the file and signing the agreement.
- Anticipate the practicalities of a PPI abroad: visa, housing, insurance, social security cover.
The link to your future associate position
The law firm placement remains the main gateway
The placement with a lawyer is often when a firm assesses a future associate. The PPI does not serve this purpose, since it cannot take place in a law firm in France. But it strengthens the profile that will help you secure a placement in your target firm, and then an associate position.
Turning the PPI into an argument
In interview, a well-chosen PPI can be told in three steps: why you chose it, what you did there, and how it changes the way you work as a lawyer.
Six months in the legal department of a retail group showed me how an in-house lawyer chooses outside counsel: responsiveness, short memos, a clear risk assessment. That is how I want to work in commercial litigation.
Our advice on the associate interview covers preparing for this type of question, and our article on the CV for a first associate position shows how to present the PPI and the law firm placement on one page.
If you are still weighing different ways of practising, our comparison of independent versus salaried associates can also guide your choice of firm for the placement.
Conclusion
The PPI lasts six months, exceptionally eight, and cannot take place in a law firm in France: it is designed to broaden your perspective. Choose it based on the associate position you are aiming for, plan it together with your law firm placement, and anticipate your school's calendar and approval deadlines. Well chosen, it becomes a concrete argument in interview.
When the time comes to apply, create your CV in the editor or start from a practice-specific template, such as the pre-filled public law lawyer CV.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the PPI last?
Under Article 58 of the decree of 27 November 1991, applicable to trainees who started training on or after 1 January 2025, the PPI lasts six months and may exceptionally be extended to eight months.
Can the PPI be done in a law firm?
Not in France: Article 58 of the decree states that the PPI placement cannot take place in a law firm in France. A firm abroad can be considered, subject to your school's approval. The placement in a French firm takes place during the placement with a lawyer.
Can the PPI be a university programme?
Yes, Article 58 provides that the project may consist of a placement or a course of study. Practical conditions, including timing and approval, are specific to each school.
Who approves the individual educational project?
The project is proposed by the trainee and developed with the CRFPA, which approves it. The decree of 1 December 2023 also provides for a three-party agreement between the trainee, the host organisation and the school.