After a few years as an associate, many lawyers consider setting up on their own: opening their own practice, choosing their matters, setting their fees, building their client base. The project is exciting, but it requires settling very practical questions before you even give notice: which structure, which premises, which formalities and, above all, which clients in the first month.
This article goes through the steps of setting up: the signs that it is time, choosing a practice structure, formalities with the bar and the pension and social security bodies, options for registered addresses and shared resources, building a client base within the rules of professional ethics, then the value of keeping your CV up to date, just in case.
The signs that it is time to set up
There is no ideal level of seniority. A few signals nevertheless indicate that the project is ready.
A personal client base that already exists. This is the best indicator. A freelance associate can develop personal clients during the arrangement; if they already account for a significant share of your work and income, setting up is less risky. The article building a personal client base as a freelance associate explains what the national internal rules allow.
Full autonomy on matters. You handle the client relationship, strategy, hearings and billing on your own.
A network of referrers. Colleagues, accountants, notaries, former clients, professional associations: those who will send you matters.
A financial cushion. The first months are rarely profitable. Plan for enough to cover your costs and personal expenses until billing gets going.
A clear plan. An area of law, a type of client, a territory. “Setting up” is not a plan; “assisting individuals and small businesses in employment law in the Rennes area” is one.
Choosing your practice structure
The law of 31 December 1971 and its implementing texts provide several ways of practising. The most common for setting up are:
| Practice structure | What it involves | |---|---| | Sole practice | the simplest; the lawyer practises in their own name, with business and personal assets separated under the rules for sole traders | | Single-member professional practice company (SELARL or SELAS) | a company in which the lawyer is the only shareholder; different tax and social security treatment, heavier formalities | | Association, including the AARPI | several lawyers practise together without forming a capital company; individual professional liability | | Professional civil partnership (SCP) | the historical structure for joint practice, less used for setting up alone |
The choice depends on your expected income, personal situation, partnership plans and tax position. Get advice from an accountant familiar with the liberal professions, and ask your bar about the formalities for each structure.
Formalities with the bar and the pension bodies
The bar
You remain on the roll of your bar; what changes is your mode of practice and your professional address. Under article 15 of the national internal rules 🔗, a lawyer is entered on the roll of the bar where their main office is located, which must correspond to actual practice, in material conditions consistent with custom and with respect for professional secrecy. Declare to the bar:
- your new mode of practice and, where applicable, the articles of your structure;
- your professional address and email address;
- any agreements (registered address, shared premises);
- your communication media (website, domain name), which the RIN requires you to report to the bar.
Handling client funds
Funds received on behalf of clients go through your bar’s lawyers’ settlement fund (CARPA). Open your CARPA sub-account before handling your first matter involving funds.
Insurance
Check your professional liability cover: most bars take out collective insurance, but its limits and cover may not be enough for certain activities. Also think about income protection, premises insurance and legal expenses cover.
Pension and social security bodies
In private practice, you are affiliated to the Caisse nationale des barreaux français (CNBF) 🔗 for pension and disability-death cover, and you fall under the self-employed scheme for health insurance. If you were already a freelance associate, little changes; if you were salaried, there are more formalities. Also find out about bar dues and the contribution to the Conseil national des barreaux.
Billing and accounts
Open a business bank account, choose practice management software (time recording, billing, fee agreements) and organise your bookkeeping. A written fee agreement is compulsory with each client, subject to the exceptions provided for by law (urgency, legal aid).
Registered address, shared premises, pooled resources
Premises weigh heavily in the budget of a new practice. Several solutions exist.
A registered address (domiciliation). The RIN allows the bar council to authorise a lawyer, on a temporary basis, to use as their address premises provided by the bar or the office of another lawyer at the same bar. A written agreement, approved by the bar, sets out how the premises are made available and how mail is passed on.
Subletting or sharing premises. Several lawyers share offices, a meeting room and a reception. Each remains independent; professional secrecy must be organised carefully, since the RIN extends secrecy to lawyers with whom resources are pooled.
A resource-sharing company (SCM). It allows several lawyers, each practising on their own account, to share expenses (rent, secretarial support, subscriptions, equipment).
Working from home, where the bar’s internal rules allow it, provided clients can be received in conditions consistent with custom and secrecy.
The choice depends on your clients: private clients often expect an easily accessible office; business clients can also be met on their premises or remotely.
Building a client base within the rules of ethics
Leaving with your personal clients
Your personal clients go with you. The clients of the firm you are leaving, however, remain the firm’s: the principles of loyalty and courtesy prohibit soliciting them. If one of them chooses to entrust you with a matter, the rules on succession between lawyers apply. The article leaving your firm: the notice period recalls the rules for leaving, and the article the freelance associate contract the clauses to reread.
Communicating
Article 10 of the RIN allows advertising and personalised solicitation, subject to conditions: sincere information, respect for the essential principles, no approaches in person or by telephone, and the words “specialist” and “specialised” reserved for certificate holders. You may mention up to three main areas of practice. A sober website, an up-to-date online professional profile and a listing in the profession’s directories are often the first tools. The article a lawyer’s LinkedIn profile explains what you can write there.
Developing your network
Duty rosters, legal aid, free advice sessions, talks for associations, publications, relationships with accountants and notaries in your area: a sole practitioner’s client base is built over time.
Keeping a CV up to date to return to a firm
Setting up is not a one-way ticket. Some lawyers later join a firm as a partner, with their clients; others return to an associate position or move in-house. In every case, an up-to-date CV is useful.
Present your period of sole practice as a full experience:
- Before: “Self-employed lawyer since 2023.”
- After: “Lawyer in sole practice, Rennes bar: creation and management of the practice, private and small-business clients in employment and family law, around fifty matters a year, hearings before the employment tribunal and the family judge.”
Running a practice (billing, debt collection, communication, client relations) is a skill that firms value in a future partner. The article CV for a general practice lawyer helps you present a varied practice without looking scattered. The pre-filled CVs of a family lawyer and of a personal injury lawyer show autonomous practitioners’ profiles. To keep yours up to date without spending your set-up weekends on it, the AvocatCV builder handles the layout and produces a PDF readable by law firms’ screening tools, for the day an opportunity arises.
Frequently asked questions
Can you set up straight after the CAPA?
Yes, nothing prevents it. It is, however, harder without experience of handling a matter from start to finish or a client base. Most lawyers set up after a few years as associates.
Do you need to form a company to set up?
No. Sole practice is the simplest and most common form at the start. A company can be formed later, when income or a partnership plan justifies it.
Can you set up while remaining a part-time associate?
Yes, the RIN provides for part-time freelance associate arrangements, which let you develop your own practice while keeping a retrocession. It is a cautious transition towards setting up.
Can the bar refuse a registered address arrangement?
A registered address arrangement requires authorisation from the bar council and a written agreement approved by it. Find out about your bar’s conditions before signing anything.