Writing a French Lawyer’s CV in English for an International Firm

Applying to the Paris office of a US or UK firm, or to a French firm with a strong foreign client base, almost always means submitting a CV in English. It looks easy: translate the French document. In practice, this is exactly where a candidate unfamiliar with international conventions gives themselves away: a “Master 2” left unexplained, a “CAPA” nobody in London recognises, a clumsy description of bar admission, a photo and date of birth that do not belong on the page.

This article is not about the recruitment process at large business law firms. It focuses on the document itself: how to make a legal career built in France readable for an English-speaking partner or an international HR team.

Resume or CV: which document are we talking about?

Terminology varies by country, and confusion is common.

• In the United Kingdom and most of Europe, the document is a CV. Two pages are acceptable for an experienced profile.
• In the United States, the resume is the standard application document. It is short and results-oriented, and one page is the norm for junior profiles. In the US, a CV usually means a long academic document (publications, teaching).
• In the Paris offices of Anglo-American firms, both terms are used. What matters is not the label but following the convention of the office you are writing to.

A practical rule: if the job posting comes from a US office or asks for a resume, aim for one page and a very concise style. If it comes from a London office or a European firm, one to two pages are fine. Either way, an associate with less than five years’ experience rarely needs more than two pages.

What to remove from the French version

Several items that are common on a French CV are unusual, or even discouraged, in an Anglo-American context:

• the photo, which many US and UK recruiters prefer not to receive, to limit discrimination risk;
• date of birth, age and marital status;
• nationality, unless it determines your right to work (in that case, state your status instead: EU citizen, eligible to work in the UK, and so on);
• a generic “Interests” section. A specific, verifiable interest can stay, under the heading Interests.

Presenting French degrees without distorting them

This is the most delicate part. There is no official equivalence table between French law degrees and Anglo-American ones. Writing “LL.M.” for a French Master 2 is a mistake: an LL.M. is a specific degree, and a recruiter who checks will notice. The right approach is to describe the degree rather than convert it.

The Master’s degree

Before:

Master 2 Droit des affaires, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, mention Bien

After:

Master’s degree in Business Law (Master 2, second year of graduate studies), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne — graduated with honours (mention Bien)

Keep the university’s name in French: it is a proper noun, and international firms in Paris know the main law faculties. Add the original term in brackets (Master 2, mention Bien) so that a French reader at the firm immediately recognises it.

Honours and grades

The French 20-point grading scale does not convert into a US GPA, and any home-made conversion will look suspicious. Two honest options:

• translate the honours level (with honours, with high honours) and keep the French term in brackets;
• give your rank if it was officially published (ranked 3rd out of 45), which any system understands.

CRFPA, bar school and CAPA

These three acronyms mean nothing to a foreign reader. Explain them once, plainly:

French Bar Qualification (CAPA — Certificat d’aptitude à la profession d’avocat), École de formation professionnelle des barreaux de la cour d’appel de Paris (EFB), 2025

Bar entrance examination (CRFPA), passed 2023

There is no need to describe the bar school curriculum. However, the individual placement (PPI) and the final internship can appear under experience if they are relevant to the role. For how to choose those placements, see our article on choosing a PPI placement in a law firm.

Foreign degrees

An LL.M. earned abroad, an Erasmus semester or a Franco-British double degree are real assets in this kind of application. Put them first under Education if they are your most recent degree, and state the language of instruction when it is not obvious.

Describing your bar admission

An international recruiter wants a simple answer: are you qualified, and where? Avoid leaving “Avocat au barreau de Paris” untranslated, and equally avoid a translation that suggests a qualification you do not hold.

Recommended wording:

Admitted to the Paris Bar (Avocat à la Cour), 2025

Member of the Lyon Bar since 2022

If you are also qualified in another jurisdiction, be just as precise: name the US state where you were admitted (you are not admitted “in the United States” but in a state, such as New York), or the solicitor qualification in England and Wales, which now goes through the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) under the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Never present a qualification as obtained until it is. A pending qualification reads:

New York Bar Examination — sitting July 2026

For a bar school student, the correct wording is Trainee lawyer, pending admission to the Paris Bar or French Bar student (EFB), never Associate.

Translating titles and roles

Titles vary between firms, but some equivalents are in common use:

| Title in France | English wording | Note | |---|---|---| | Stagiaire / élève-avocat | Intern / Trainee lawyer | Trainee has a specific meaning in the UK (trainee solicitor); make the context clear | | Collaborateur | Associate | The usual term in international firms | | Collaborateur senior | Senior Associate | Only if the firm uses that title | | Counsel | Counsel | Same title; only claim it if it was formally conferred | | Associé | Partner | Specify Equity or Salaried only where relevant | | Juriste d’entreprise | In-house Counsel / Legal Counsel | Not the same status as a practising avocat |

Two points specific to France. First, a collaborateur libéral is not an employee: if the status matters to the reader, write Associate (independent practice agreement). Second, do not invent an intermediate title your firm did not use: reference checks are common in these firms.

Writing experience the Anglo-American way

The difference in style is clear. A French lawyer’s CV often lists practice areas; an Anglo-American CV describes matters and a role. Each line starts with a past-tense action verb and states what you did, for whom (without naming the client if privilege applies) and with what outcome.

Before:

Contentieux commercial : rédaction de conclusions, recherches juridiques, suivi de dossiers

After:

Drafted pleadings in a commercial dispute over the termination of a long-standing distribution agreement (claim of EUR 4m) before the Paris Commercial Court

Conducted legal research on French and EU competition law issues for a cross-border cartel damages action

Coordinated with co-counsel in Germany and the Netherlands on parallel enforcement proceedings

A few useful rules:

• Professional secrecy applies to your CV too. Describe the type of client (a listed French industrial group, a US private equity fund) rather than naming it, unless the information is public and the firm agrees.
• Amounts and volumes show the scale of a matter. They must be accurate and non-confidential.
• French courts keep their original name where there is no equivalent: Paris Commercial Court (Tribunal des activités économiques de Paris), French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation), Conseil d’État (France’s highest administrative court).
• Procedural vocabulary does not always map exactly: conclusions become written submissions or pleadings, a référé is best described (summary proceedings), mise en état can be rendered as pre-trial case management.

For commercial litigation, our pre-filled litigation associate CV gives you a structure you can then adapt in English.

Sections specific to international firms

Languages

Avoid vague adjectives (“fluent”, “good level”). Give a Common European Framework level (C1, C2) or a recent recognised test score if you have one, and describe professional use:

English — full professional proficiency (C1); drafting and negotiating contracts in English daily

German — intermediate (B2)

Publications, speaking, pro bono

An article in a law journal, a conference talk or a structured pro bono commitment are read closely by international firms. Give the full, exact reference.

Skills

A short section can list databases and tools you actually use (Lexis 360, Dalloz, Doctrine, Westlaw, Practical Law) or a document review platform. Only list tools you genuinely know: the question may come up at interview.

Mistakes that cost an application

1. The lone “Master”. Without detail, the reader cannot tell whether it is the first or second year of a master’s programme.
2. Unchecked machine translation. Lawyer at the Court, Barrister of Paris or Advocate in the British sense are typical errors.
3. Mixed spelling. Choose British or American English depending on the firm and stick to it (specialised or specialized, honours or honors).
4. An English CV whose facts differ from the French one. Dates, titles and matters must be identical. Recruiters in Paris offices often read both.
5. Overstated language skills. Interviews are frequently held partly in English. Any gap shows immediately.
6. A contradictory LinkedIn profile. Align titles and dates; our article on the lawyer’s LinkedIn profile explains how.

A four-step method

1. Finalise the French version first: dates, titles, significant matters.
2. Pick the target format (one-page resume or two-page CV) based on the office.
3. Rewrite, do not translate: action verbs, role, scale of the matter, degrees described.
4. Have it proofread by an English-speaking colleague or someone who has worked in an international firm.

Once the document is ready, prepare the conversation that follows: our advice on preparing for an associate interview applies equally to an interview held in English.

Frequently asked questions

Should I send both the French and English CVs?

Only if the posting asks for it, or if the firm is French and hiring for an international team. At an Anglo-American office, the English version is usually enough. In every case, both versions must be strictly consistent.

Can I write “LL.M. equivalent” for a Master 2?

Better not. There is no official equivalence, and the phrase may read as an overstatement. Describe the degree (Master’s degree, second year of graduate studies) and let the reader judge.

How should a bar school student who has not yet been sworn in present themselves?

Use Trainee lawyer or French Bar student, name the school (EFB or another regional bar school) and the expected date of the CAPA. Use neither Associate nor Admitted.

Does an English CV have to fit on one page?

For a resume sent to a US office, that is the norm for a junior profile. For a London or European office, two pages are accepted once your experience justifies it. A dense, readable single page beats a second page filled with minor sections.

Conclusion

A good English-language CV does not try to hide a French legal education: it makes it understandable. Describe rather than convert, state your bar admission precisely, present matters rather than practice areas: these three habits are enough to set a serious application apart. You can start from the pre-filled litigation associate CV or a blank CV and build both versions in the editor.