Family and Private Wealth Lawyer CV in France: What to Show
Family law is a field where legal technique and personal qualities are assessed together. A partner hiring an associate in this area wonders whether you can prepare a hearing before the family court judge (juge aux affaires familiales), quantify a compensatory allowance (prestation compensatoire), work with a notary on the division of matrimonial property, and at the same time receive a client at a moment of great vulnerability. Your CV must make both dimensions visible without ever revealing anything about the private lives of the people you have assisted.
What partners look for in family lawyers
Balancing litigation and out-of-court resolution
Practice has changed considerably with the growth of amicable procedures. Since 1 January 2017, Law No. 2016-1547 of 18 November 2016 has allowed divorce by mutual consent through a private agreement countersigned by lawyers, without going before a judge. The participatory procedure agreement (convention de procédure participative), provided for in Articles 2062 et seq. of the French Civil Code, is also used in separations.
A partner therefore wants to know whether you are comfortable on both sides: proceedings before the family court judge and negotiating agreements. If you have trained in collaborative law or mediation, say so precisely, with the provider and the year.
The private wealth side
"Family and private wealth" practices also handle matrimonial property regimes, estates, gifts and sometimes the protection of vulnerable adults. If you have worked on complex property divisions, inheritance disputes or lasting powers of attorney (mandats de protection future), these elements set your profile apart from a CV focused on divorce alone.
The international dimension
Family matters often have a cross-border element: spouses of different nationalities, residence abroad, wrongful removal of a child. Command of the applicable EU regulations and a foreign language you genuinely use are assets. Write what you have actually handled rather than listing legal instruments.
Professional approach
Without resorting to adjectives ("empathetic", "good listener"), your CV can show your ability to support individual clients: first meetings held on your own, preparing a client for a hearing, working with other professionals (notaries, mediators, accountants valuing a business).
Certified specialisations
The list of specialisations published by the French Minister of Justice includes "family, persons and private wealth law" and "children's law". According to the CNB 🔗, obtaining one requires at least four years of practice and an interview before a panel, and a lawyer may use no more than two specialisations. For the full process, see our article on the CNB specialisation.
Recommended structure
- Header: name, bar and year of swearing-in, contact details, title line ("Avocat – family and private wealth law, litigation and amicable resolution").
- Professional experience: by firm, with typical matters grouped by type (divorce and separation, parental authority, private wealth, international).
- Education: master's degree (private law, family law, estate law, notarial law), CAPA, additional training (collaborative law, mediation, participatory procedure).
- Skills: languages, research tools, software used to calculate maintenance or property divisions if you use it.
- Commitments: legal aid duty rotas, involvement in an open bar committee, teaching.
To save time on layout, build your CV in the editor and focus on describing your matters.
Describing your matters without breaching professional secrecy
A French lawyer's professional secrecy, set out in Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971 and detailed in Article 2 of the National Internal Rules (Règlement intérieur national, RIN), covers among other things client names (Article 2.2 of the RIN). In family law, vigilance must be absolute: the information involved concerns private life, children and sometimes health.
Three practical rules
- Nothing identifying: no name, no distinctive profession, no small town, no public profile ("head of a well-known local company" is enough to identify someone).
- No intimate details: the reasons for a separation, allegations made or a child's situation do not belong on a CV, even anonymised.
- The legal framework, not the story: describe the procedure, the legal issue and your role.
What you can write
- the type of proceedings: contested divorce, divorce by mutual consent, parental authority application, inheritance dispute;
- the nature of the difficulty: valuing business assets, contested shared residence, cross-border element;
- your role and autonomy;
- a volume of matters, which shows experience without revealing anything.
Before and after examples
The examples below describe fictional profiles; figures illustrate form, not reality.
Contested divorce
Before: "Handled divorce proceedings."
After: "Handled around thirty contested divorce cases before the family court judge: drafted pleadings, prepared case management and interim measures hearings, pleaded independently."
Amicable resolution
Before: "Drafted divorce agreements."
After: "Drafted and negotiated lawyer-countersigned mutual consent divorce agreements, several involving the division of real estate assets, working with the notary responsible for registering the agreement."
Private wealth
Before: "Estate matters."
After: "Assisted forced heirs in court-ordered estate division disputes (restoration of lifetime gifts, claims for reduction); reviewed draft settlement statements and prepared submissions to the court-appointed notary."
International
Before: "International matters."
After: "Handled separations with a cross-border element (spouses resident in two EU Member States): determined jurisdiction and applicable law, corresponded in English with foreign counsel."
Parental authority
Before: "Child-related litigation."
After: "Applications on the exercise of parental authority, children's residence and child maintenance; prepared clients for social inquiries ordered by the judge."
The "after" versions give the reader three pieces of information: the procedure, the legal difficulty and your level of responsibility.
Common mistakes
Telling the story of cases. A CV mentioning "a particularly acrimonious divorce involving violence" discloses intimate matters. Even without names, this kind of wording worries a partner about your discretion.
Replacing facts with qualities. "Highly empathetic, good listener" tells the reader nothing. A line stating that you hold first client meetings on your own says more.
Leaving out amicable procedures. A purely litigation-focused CV may look dated to a firm that has built a collaborative law or participatory procedure practice.
Underplaying the wealth side. Many associates handle property divisions and matrimonial regime issues without highlighting them. Yet it is a sought-after skill.
Presenting unfinished training as completed. Collaborative law training in progress should be described as such.
Blurring legal aid work and personal clients. If you have handled legal aid cases, say so plainly: it is often a school of court work and volume. Just make sure you do not imply they were firm matters if they belonged to your personal practice.
Tailoring the CV to the firm
For a private wealth firm serving clients with significant assets, lead with property divisions, estates, coordination with notaries and wealth advisers, and international work.
For a family litigation practice, emphasise hearing volume, independent advocacy and handling urgent matters (protection orders, interim measures).
For a firm practising collaborative law, your training and negotiation experience should appear at the top of your first role.
Finally, keep your CV consistent with your online presence: partners often check a candidate's LinkedIn profile. Our article on the lawyer's LinkedIn profile covers the communication rules to follow. If you are early in your career, also read our guide to the CV for a first associate position.
Frequently asked questions
Can I say I have worked on high-profile cases?
No. Referring to a high-profile case, even without names, often makes it possible to identify the people involved. Professional secrecy covers client names (Article 2.2 of the RIN), and media coverage does not release you from it.
Should I mention legal aid work?
Yes, if it made up a significant share of your practice. It shows court experience and the ability to manage many files. Present it factually, stating the types of proceedings handled.
Is mediation training useful on a lawyer's CV?
It is for a firm developing amicable resolution. Give the exact course title, provider and year, without presenting yourself as a mediator if you do not practise as one.
How do I showcase an estates practice?
Separate advisory work (preparing gifts, succession planning) from litigation (court-ordered division, claims for reduction). Mention your work with notaries, who are central to these matters.
Conclusion
A convincing family lawyer CV shows two strengths: command of procedure, both contentious and amicable, and the ability to support individual clients with discretion. Describe the procedure, the difficulty and your role, never people's stories. To structure this document quickly, open the CV editor and start from a sober layout suited to law firms.