In the third year of a law degree or in the first year of a master’s, the question eventually arises: should you prepare the CRFPA entrance exam to become an avocat, or aim straight for a position as an in-house lawyer (juriste d’entreprise)? Both jobs involve law, and the people who do them often work together. But they do not experience law in the same way, and the choice has practical consequences for your studies, your internships and your CV.
This article is for the student who is hesitating, not for the lawyer considering a career change. It compares the relationship with the client, training, status and pace, then the bridges in both directions, from the point of view of those who recruit on each side.
Two jobs, two relationships with the client
The deepest difference has nothing to do with the degree or the salary: it lies in the client’s place.
An avocat has clients. They are independent (even as an associate or employee of a firm, they remain subject to professional ethics that guarantee their independence), they advise or defend several clients, sometimes very different ones, and they are bound by professional secrecy. Their work is often one-off: a deal, a dispute, an opinion. They see many matters, but they do not live inside the company behind them.
An in-house lawyer has an employer. They are an employee of a company whose businesses, products, teams and strategy they know. Their “client” is internal: senior management, sales, purchasing, human resources. They handle a continuous flow of questions, from a supplier contract to an acquisition project, and they select and manage outside counsel when a matter exceeds their resources or requires representation in court.
The Onisep in-house lawyer job profile 🔗 describes this operational dimension well. Recruiters often sum it up like this: a partner looks for a technician capable of flawless work on a specialised issue; a general counsel looks for a lawyer who understands the business and says “yes, provided that…” rather than “no”.
Training: is the CRFPA necessary?
To become an avocat, yes
The Conseil national des barreaux sets out the standard path on its page on conditions of access to the profession 🔗: a master 2 in law (since 1 January 2025), success in the CRFPA entrance exam, eighteen months of training at a law school for lawyers, then the CAPA. This path therefore takes at least two years more than the master’s, entrance exam included, save for exceptions provided by the rules.
To become an in-house lawyer, no
The in-house lawyer’s job is not regulated: no particular exam or degree is required by law. In practice, companies recruit holders of a master 2 in law, often in a field related to their business, and strongly value work-study. Some in-house lawyers hold the CAPA, because they started in a law firm or because they wanted to keep that option open.
The CAPA as insurance
This is a real issue for a student who is hesitating. Passing the CRFPA entrance exam and then going to law school does not oblige you to practise in a firm. Many trainee lawyers do their individual educational project (PPI) in a legal department, then choose the corporate world. Conversely, giving up the CRFPA closes the door to the bar for a long time, since the bridge reserved for in-house lawyers requires several years of experience (see below). The cost of the insurance is the two extra years.
Pace, status and career progression
| | Associate in a law firm | In-house lawyer | |---|---|---| | Status | freelance associate (most often) or employee of a firm | employee of the company, generally with executive status | | Pay | fee retrocession or salary, minimums set by the bar or the collective agreement | salary under the company’s collective agreement, possible bonus | | Pace | variable, with peaks linked to deals and procedural deadlines | generally more regular, with peaks linked to company projects | | Typical progression | senior associate, counsel, partner, setting up a practice | senior in-house lawyer, head of legal, general counsel | | Practice areas | often targeted, at least in business law firms | often broad, especially in small teams |
Two nuances are worth stating. First, freelance associate status is not employment: the associate invoices the firm, pays their own contributions and can build a personal client base. The article freelance associate or salaried lawyer explains these differences in detail. Second, pace depends greatly on the structure: an in-house lawyer at a listed group in the middle of an acquisition may have busier weeks than a lawyer at a medium-sized firm.
Moving from one to the other later
From avocat to in-house lawyer
This is the most travelled bridge. Companies readily recruit avocats with two to six years of experience, trained in the rigour of law firms. To join a company as an employee, the avocat must in principle leave the bar roll, by resigning or by requesting omission, since employment by a non-lawyer employer is incompatible with practising the profession.
From in-house lawyer to avocat
It is possible, but longer. Article 98 of the decree of 27 November 1991 exempts from training and the CAPA in-house lawyers who can show at least eight years of practice in a legal department, subject to an ethics exam. Our article on the article 98 bridge describes the conditions and the file to submit. Without these eight years, you have to go back through the CRFPA entrance exam and law school.
What this means for your decision
If you are genuinely hesitating, the CRFPA route keeps both doors open for longer. If you are sure you want to work in a company, a work-study master’s will give you a real head start on the market, and two years of experience when you graduate.
Steering your internships according to your choice
Your internships will express your choice better than any cover letter.
If you are aiming for the bar, favour internships in law firms, in the practice area that attracts you, and some court experience for procedure. At law school, the PPI can be done in a company: an elegant way to test the other job without giving up the first. The article choosing your PPI and law firm placement develops this strategy.
If you are aiming for a company, work-study is the strongest lever. Failing that, long internships in legal departments, in a sector consistent with your master’s, and if possible some law firm experience to understand how the advisers you will later manage actually work.
If you are hesitating, one internship on each side before your M2 will give you the answer more surely than any article. The guide which master 2 in law to choose helps you link this choice with the choice of degree.
The CV, read differently on each side
The same background is presented differently depending on the reader. For a law firm, highlight technical depth: research, memos, documents drafted. For a company, highlight operational understanding: contracts negotiated with suppliers, answers to business teams, cross-functional projects.
- Law firm version: “Drafting research memos in distribution law and draft submissions reviewed by a partner.”
- Company version: “Review of distribution agreements for the sales department and answers to sales teams’ questions on the general terms and conditions.”
The pre-filled in-house lawyer CV shows the company version, and the pre-filled trainee lawyer CV the law firm version. To adapt your CV to each application without starting from scratch, the AvocatCV builder keeps the layout and lets you work on the content; the resulting PDF is read correctly by the screening software that many large companies use.
Frequently asked questions
Can you be an in-house lawyer with the CAPA?
Yes. The CAPA does not oblige you to practise. A CAPA holder can work in a company as an in-house lawyer; they are then not practising as an avocat and cannot represent their employer in court as a registered avocat would.
Is an in-house lawyer bound by professional secrecy?
They are not bound by the avocat’s professional secrecy. They are, however, bound by their duty of loyalty, by confidentiality clauses and by trade secret rules.
Which job recruits more young graduates?
Both recruit, but through different channels: associate positions in firms after law school, and work-study or a first job in companies after the master’s. The choice depends more on your plans than on the volume of job offers.
Can you return to the bar after several years in a company?
Yes, through the article 98 bridge after eight years of practice in a legal department, or by re-registering if you were already an avocat and had been omitted from the roll.