This is one of the essential differences between a freelance associate (collaborateur libéral) and a salaried lawyer: the former has the right to develop their own clients alongside the firm’s matters. On paper, the rule is simple. In practice, the real room left for personal clients varies enormously from one firm to another, between the associate who sees their clients in a meeting room on Friday afternoons and the one who never has time to open a file in their own name.
This article describes what the national internal rules guarantee to freelance associates, the limits to respect (time, resources, conflicts of interest), how to find your first clients in line with professional ethics, then how to raise the subject when you are hired and how to make the most of this client base in a partnership application.
What the RIN guarantees to freelance associates
Article 14 of the national internal rules (RIN) 🔗 sets out several guarantees, which are ethical in nature and override the contract.
The right itself. Article 14.2.2.1 provides that “the freelance associate may build and develop a personal client base”. The contract must guarantee this possibility “without financial consideration”, under article 14.3.1.
Resources. The firm must make available to the associate, under normal conditions of use, the material resources needed for the arrangement and for developing their personal client base: office, telephone, IT tools, access to legal databases, secretarial support where applicable.
Free of charge early in your career. During their first five years of professional practice, a freelance associate cannot be asked for any financial contribution towards the cost of handling their personal clients. A contrary clause is prohibited.
Time. Article 14.2.4 requires the material organisation of work to take account of “the time and actual resources needed to handle the personal client base”.
Legal aid. The freelance associate keeps the fees paid to them for legal aid work carried out for their personal clients or on appointment by the bâtonnier (article 14.5.1.2).
These guarantees are not mere principles. Case law considers that a contract presented as a freelance associate arrangement, in which the associate in reality has no possibility of developing a personal client base, may be requalified as an employment contract. This is the dividing line with salaried status: a salaried associate cannot have personal clients while performing their contract (article 14.2.2.2). The article freelance associate or salaried lawyer explains this difference.
Time, resources, conflicts of interest: the limits
The right to a personal client base is exercised within a framework. Three limits come up.
Time
A freelance associate devotes most of their activity to the firm, in return for their retrocession. Personal clients are developed in the remaining time, which the firm must genuinely leave them. The RIN sets no quota: it is a balance to be found, and if possible formalised in the contract or at the annual meeting provided for by article 14.3.3. A part-time contract, provided for by article 14.3.2, makes it possible to reserve periods explicitly for personal clients.
Conflicts of interest
The associate “may not assist or represent a party whose interests are contrary to those of a client of the firm with which they work”. Before accepting a personal matter, check with the firm that there is no conflict, following the internal procedure. The general rules on conflicts of interest in article 4 of the RIN also apply.
Loyalty and courtesy
Developing your own clients does not allow you to divert the firm’s clients. A client of the firm who approaches you directly for a new matter should be referred to the partner, unless the partner agrees otherwise. The principles of loyalty and courtesy, which are among the essential principles of the profession, govern these situations.
Finding your first clients in line with professional ethics
A young associate’s first personal clients rarely come from a communication campaign. They come from networks, duty rosters and reputation.
The most common sources
- Personal and university networks: former classmates who have become managers or in-house lawyers, family, friends of friends. This is often the first source, and it requires vigilance about independence and conflicts of interest.
- Duty rosters and free legal advice sessions organised by the bar, town halls or justice and law centres, which give access to members of the public.
- Legal aid and court appointments, which open access to matters and to clients who sometimes come back.
- Colleagues, who pass on matters they cannot handle (conflict, area of law, size).
- Teaching, publications and talks, which build a reputation in an area of law.
Communicating without breaking the rules
Article 10 of the RIN governs lawyers’ communication:
- advertising and personalised solicitation are permitted if they provide sincere information and respect the essential principles of the profession;
- personalised solicitation excludes any approach in person or by telephone, as well as text messages sent to a mobile phone;
- the words “specialist” and “specialised” are reserved for holders of a specialisation certificate;
- all advertising must be sent to the bar council without delay.
A well-built online professional profile is often an associate’s first visibility tool. The article a lawyer’s LinkedIn profile explains what you can write there.
Organising your personal clients
Open your personal files in your own name, with your own fee agreements, and keep separate accounts. Use the firm’s resources under the agreed conditions, and keep the partner regularly informed, without going into details covered by secrecy.
Raising the subject when you are hired
Personal clients are a legitimate subject in an associate interview, provided you raise it at the right time and in the right way.
Timing. Preferably at the end of the process, once the firm has shown interest, or when discussing the contract.
Wording. Ask open questions: “How do the firm’s associates develop their personal clients?”, “What resources are made available?”, “How are conflicts checked?”. The answers will tell you a lot about the firm’s culture.
The contract. Check that the contract restates the RIN guarantees, and that the material conditions (office, meeting room, secretarial support, tools) are described. The article the freelance associate contract lists the clauses to examine.
On the CV, personal clients are mentioned mainly in the profile line, as a reality or as a wish: “seeking an associate position allowing the development of a personal client base in family law”. The pre-filled family lawyer CV gives an example.
Personal clients and a partnership application
When the time comes to apply for partnership, in your own firm or elsewhere, your personal clients change status: they become a central argument.
A firm that makes an associate a partner wants to know whether they will be able to bring in and retain clients. An existing personal client base is the best proof. It is presented through:
- its nature: types of clients (individuals, companies, institutions), sectors, areas of law;
- its volume: number of files opened per year, order of magnitude of revenue, with no detail that would identify a client;
- its duration: recurring clients, length of relationships;
- its complementarity with the firm’s clients.
On the CV, one line is often enough: “Development of a personal client base of small businesses and individuals in employment law, around twenty matters a year.” The details are presented in a separate memo given to the partners. The article becoming a partner in a law firm describes what firms examine in such an application.
If you are rather thinking of leaving with your clients to set up on your own, the article on the associate’s notice period recalls the rules for leaving. The pre-filled personal injury lawyer CV shows a profile seeking an associate position with partnership prospects. For your own, the AvocatCV builder takes care of presentation and produces a PDF readable by screening software: you keep your energy for the partnership memo.
Frequently asked questions
Can the firm prohibit personal clients?
No, not in a freelance associate contract: the RIN guarantees this right and the contract must provide for it. A contract that prohibited it, or a way of working that made it impossible in practice, would expose the firm to requalification as an employment contract.
Can you use the firm’s letterhead for your personal files?
This is to be agreed with the firm. The most prudent practice is to handle personal files in your own name, with your own fee agreements, to avoid any confusion for the client.
Can the firm ask for a contribution to costs?
Not during the associate’s first five years of professional practice, according to the RIN. After that, a contribution may be agreed, provided it is set out in writing and reasonable.
What happens to your personal clients if you leave the firm?
They follow the associate. The firm’s clients, however, remain the firm’s, and the rules of loyalty prohibit soliciting them.