A French Lawyer's LinkedIn Profile: What Professional Conduct Rules Allow

For many lawyers, LinkedIn has become the first page a recruiter, partner or prospective client looks at. Yet in France it cannot be read like a corporate executive's profile. Everything you publish there, from the headline to the summary and recommendations, counts as lawyer communication within the meaning of Article 10 of the Règlement intérieur national (RIN, the national code of conduct for French lawyers), and must therefore respect the essential principles of the profession.

This framework does not prevent you from being visible. It does, however, require a rigour that many profiles lack: "expert" headlines, named clients, prospecting messages sent without the required information. This article sets out the applicable rules, then shows how to build a profile consistent with your CV.

The applicable framework

The texts

Three sources govern a French lawyer's communication on social media:

• Decree No. 2014-1251 of 28 October 2014 on lawyers' means of communication. It amended the 2005 decree on professional conduct rules to allow advertising and personalised solicitation, provided they give truthful information and respect the essential principles of the profession. These rules now appear in Article 15 of Decree No. 2023-552 of 30 June 2023 establishing the code of conduct for lawyers.
• Article 10 of the RIN, which sets out definitions, mandatory and prohibited statements, and internet-specific rules. It expressly states that a lawyer taking part in a blog or online social network must respect the essential principles of the profession.
• Bar positions, in particular the Paris Bar's 2020 professional conduct guide on digital communication, which applies these rules to social media. Other Bars may take their own view: if in doubt, contact your Bar's professional conduct committee.

Advertising or personalised solicitation?

Article 10.1 of the RIN distinguishes two concepts:

• Personal advertising: any form of communication intended to promote the lawyer's services. Your profile and posts fall into this category.
• Personalised solicitation: any form of direct or indirect communication, going beyond mere information, intended to promote a lawyer's services to a specific individual or legal entity. A private message offering your services to a company director falls into this category.

The distinction has practical consequences, discussed below.

What your profile must include

Article 10.2 of the RIN requires lawyers, in any communication and whatever the medium, to state their status and to make it possible to identify, locate and contact them, and to know their Bar, their practice structure and, where applicable, the network they belong to.

On LinkedIn, this simply means:

• your real name and the title "Avocat";
• your Bar;
• your firm or practice structure, in the experience section;
• a professional contact method.

Avocat, Bordeaux Bar – [Firm name]

The headline: what is allowed

The headline is the most-read part of the profile and the most prone to mistakes.

The vocabulary of specialisation

Article 10.2 of the RIN reserves the words "spécialiste", "spécialisé", "spécialité" and "spécialisation" to holders of a validly obtained specialisation certificate that has not been withdrawn, whatever the medium. Our article on the CNB specialisation certificate explains how to obtain it.

Main practice areas

Without a certificate, you may state your main practice areas, up to three, provided they reflect an actual and regular practice (Article 10.2 of the RIN). The same article requires a lawyer who communicates about their specialisations or main practice areas, whatever the medium, to send the wording to the Bar council without delay.

"Expert" and "expertise"

The Paris Bar guide tolerates the word "expertise" under the conditions applying to main practice areas, but considers that the word "expert" is likely to confuse the public.

Before and after

Before: Specialised lawyer | Expert in employment, litigation, GDPR, real estate, white-collar crime | I defend your interests

This headline stacks the problems: specialisation vocabulary without a certificate, the word "expert", five areas, promotional tagline.

After: Avocat, Lille Bar | Employment law, industrial relations, employment litigation

After, with a certificate: Avocat, Lille Bar | Specialist in employment law (CNB certificate)

The summary ("About" section)

The summary must give truthful information about the nature of the services offered. It can describe your practice, your clients by type, how you work and your publications. It must not contain comparative or disparaging statements, or misleading advertising (Article 10.2 of the RIN).

Avocat at the Nantes Bar, I advise and litigate for employers, mainly industrial SMEs and non-profits in the health and social care sector: restructurings, collective bargaining, employment tribunal litigation. I write regularly on developments in collective bargaining.

To avoid:

The best employment lawyer in the region, cases always won.

This line combines a comparative statement with an unverifiable promise of results.

Clients: what you cannot write

Professional secrecy covers client identity. The Paris Bar guide draws clear consequences:

• a lawyer may not allow clients to be identified, directly or indirectly, even with their consent; the only exception concerns tenders, with the consent of the clients concerned;
• client names cannot be listed as such on a social network;
• clients are not bound by secrecy and may name or recommend their lawyer, but lawyers are advised not to relay such reviews for publicity purposes.

In practice, on LinkedIn:

• no client list in your summary or experience;
• no posts such as "Delighted to have advised [company] on its acquisition";
• no promotional sharing of a recommendation written by a client.

To discuss your matters, the guide accepts linking to a press article or interview. For court decisions, it sets cumulative conditions: prior consent of the client, anonymisation recommended, and an indication of whether the decision is final or under appeal.

Before: Advised [retail brand] on restructuring its franchise network.

After: Advised a DIY retail network on restructuring its franchise agreements.

Private messages and personalised solicitation

A LinkedIn message offering your services to a specific person is personalised solicitation. The Paris Bar guide specifies that the particular features of social networks do not exempt lawyers from the applicable conditions.

Article 10.3 of the RIN provides that personalised solicitation:

• takes the form of a message, excluding any in-person or telephone approach;
• excludes text messages sent to a mobile phone;
• specifies how the cost of the service will be determined, which will be covered by a fee agreement;
• may not be delegated to a third party to get around these prohibitions.

Article 15 of the decree of 30 June 2023 refers to post and email. Before prospecting through a social network's messaging system, check your Bar's position.

A simple exchange with a fellow lawyer, an answer to a question or contact with a recruiter is not solicitation within the meaning of these texts.

Posts

Unlike a website, the opening of which must be reported to the Bar council (Article 10.5 of the RIN), social media posts are not subject to prior approval, according to the Paris Bar guide. They remain subject to the essential principles: dignity, integrity, tact, collegiality and moderation.

A few pointers:

• commenting on a reform or a published decision is professional information;
• criticising a named fellow lawyer or court exposes you to a breach of collegiality or moderation;
• promoting a commercial company unrelated to your practice should be avoided, given the rules on incompatible activities.

Consistency with your CV

A partner who receives your application will look at your profile. Discrepancies are noticed immediately.

1. Same dates, same titles. If your CV says "Independent associate – Commercial litigation (2021-2025)", LinkedIn should not display "Senior Associate" for the same period.
2. Same specialisation vocabulary. If your CV follows the main practice areas terminology, so should your LinkedIn headline.
3. Same description of clients, by type and without names.
4. Same level of detail on education: CAPA, master's, certificate.

Our article on the CV for changing firms covers updating titles and dates, and the associate interview looks at the questions a partner asks after viewing your profile.

Discretion during a job search

If you are looking for a new position without telling your firm, avoid publicly activating job-seeking signals. Update your profile gradually rather than the day before your interviews.

Conclusion

A French lawyer's LinkedIn profile is professional communication subject to Article 10 of the RIN. An accurate headline (Bar, no more than three practice areas, no "specialist" without a certificate), a truthful summary, no client identification, and prospecting messages that comply with the rules on personalised solicitation: applied properly, this framework makes the profile more credible. It must also faithfully reflect your CV.

To align the two, create or update your CV in the editor, or start from the pre-filled litigation lawyer CV.

Frequently asked questions

Can a French lawyer call themselves a "specialist" on LinkedIn?

Only if they hold a specialisation certificate issued by the CNB, validly obtained and not withdrawn. Article 10.2 of the RIN reserves this vocabulary to certificate holders, whatever the medium. Without a certificate, refer to main practice areas, up to three.

Can a lawyer name clients on LinkedIn?

No. Professional secrecy covers client identity. The Paris Bar guide states that a lawyer may not allow clients to be identified, even with their consent, except in tenders. Describe your clients by sector and type of matter.

Can a lawyer prospect through LinkedIn private messages?

A message offering your services to a specific person is personalised solicitation. It must comply with Article 10.3 of the RIN, including specifying how fees are determined. As the decree of 30 June 2023 refers to post and email, check your Bar's position before using a social network's messaging system.

Does a LinkedIn profile have to be declared to the Bar?

According to the Paris Bar guide, social media posts are not subject to prior approval. However, Article 10.2 of the RIN provides that communication about your specialisations or main practice areas, whatever the medium, must be sent to the Bar council without delay.