In most sectors, education moves to the bottom of the CV after two or three years of experience, and hardly anyone looks beyond the degree title. In law, it is read for much longer. A partner still looks at the master’s, the institution and sometimes the grade of a fifth-year associate; a general counsel glances at an experienced candidate’s education to understand their orientation.
This section still has to be readable. This article sets out the conventions for order and titles, explains how long to keep grades, rankings and dissertations, how to present a university diploma (DU), a DJCE or an LL.M., and where to put the CRFPA, law school and the CAPA.
Why education is read for so long in law
Three reasons explain this particular attention.
The degree conditions access to the professions. Avocat, notary, judge: the regulated professions require a master’s in law and a specific training path. The recruiter checks that your path is complete and consistent.
Recruiters know the programmes. Partners and general counsel know where their associates come from. They recognise a business law master’s from a reputable faculty, a DJCE, a magistère, a dual degree with a business school, and they draw conclusions about the training received.
Law is a field of specialisms. A master’s in employment law, tax law or intellectual property says a lot about a candidate’s orientation, even after several years of practice.
This does not mean education should take up half the page. It must be precise and compact, and its place changes with experience.
Order, titles and institutions: the conventions
Reverse chronological order
The most recent qualification first, then the earlier ones. For an avocat, this generally means: law school and CAPA, then master 2, then possibly master 1 and bachelor’s. An LL.M. or DU taken after the master’s goes in at its date.
Where the section goes
- Student, trainee lawyer, associate up to two or three years: education first, before experience.
- Beyond that: experience can move ahead, but education stays at the top of the second half of the page, rarely at the very bottom. Many experienced lawyers even keep it at the top, reduced to two or three lines.
Exact titles
Write the official title of the degree, programme and track, then the institution. A faculty’s internal acronyms mean nothing to an outside reader.
- Before: “M2 DPA, Paris.”
- After: “Master 2 Business Law, company law and M&A track — University [full name].”
For universities that have changed their name or merged, use the name in force when you graduated, possibly followed by the current name in brackets if confusion is possible.
Dates
Give the academic year, or the month and year of start and end. A clear period lets the recruiter check the continuity between master’s, entrance exam and law school.
Grades, rankings and dissertation: when to keep them
The grade
A “bien” or “très bien” distinction remains useful as long as education is read, that is during the first years of practice in business law firms. A lower distinction does not need to be written: its absence will not be noticed.
Ranking
A rank in your year group (“top of the year”, “second in the master’s cohort”) is valuable for an internship and a first associate position. After a few years, it can go.
The dissertation
The topic of your master’s dissertation deserves a line if it is relevant to the job. A dissertation on non-compete clauses interests an employment or distribution law firm; an environmental law dissertation is of little interest to an M&A firm. A published or award-winning dissertation can be kept longer.
Courses
Cite two or three courses that match the duties of the job, not the whole curriculum. This is mainly useful for junior profiles.
| Profile | Grade | Ranking | Dissertation | Courses | |---|---|---|---|---| | Student, M1 or M2 internship | yes if good | yes | yes | yes, two or three | | Trainee lawyer | yes if good | yes | if relevant | one line | | Associate, one to four years | if very good | rarely | if relevant | no | | Senior associate | no | no | if published | no |
DU, DJCE, LL.M.: placing them without overloading
Additional qualifications are common in law. They count, provided they are presented soberly.
The university diploma
A DU taken during or after the master’s (co-ownership law, personal injury compensation, sports law, mediation) goes into the education section, at its date, on one line with a useful detail. If you took it as continuing education while practising, say so: it signals investment in your practice. The pre-filled personal injury lawyer CV gives an example.
The DJCE and magistères
A DJCE or a magistère is presented together with the master’s it is attached to, in a single entry: “Master 2 Business Law and DJCE — University [name]”. The specialised study certificates taken as part of the DJCE can be cited on one line. The article applying to the DJCE explains what this programme involves.
The LL.M.
An LL.M. taken abroad goes in at its date, with the university and, if relevant, the specialism. It says two things at once: additional legal training and a language level. There is no need to repeat this in detail in the languages section: “English (C2, LL.M.)” is enough.
Dual degrees
A dual degree in law and business school, or law and political science, is presented as a single entry if the two courses were integrated, as two entries otherwise.
CRFPA, law school and CAPA on the CV
This is where hesitation is most common.
The CRFPA entrance exam
It is not a degree but an entrance exam. It is mainly mentioned by a student who has just passed it, in the education section, on one line: “CRFPA entrance exam — passed, [year] session”. Once at law school, mentioning the school is enough.
Law school for lawyers
Give the name of the school (EFB, HEDAC, IXAD, EDA, EDAGO and the others) and the period. During training, state “CAPA in progress” and the expected date of the exam. Where you did your PPI and final placement can appear on the same line, or in the experience section if they are developed. The article French law school for lawyers in 18 months describes each of these periods.
The CAPA
Once obtained, the CAPA is mentioned on the school’s line: “EFB Paris — CAPA obtained”. The year of the oath, on the other hand, rather belongs in the header, with the bar: it is the first piece of information a partner looks for.
A complete example
Here is a trainee lawyer’s education section, then the same section two years later:
- Trainee lawyer: “Law school [name] — CAPA in progress (exam expected in [month and year]); PPI in the legal department of an industrial group”; “Master 2 Business Law — University [name], ‘bien’ distinction; dissertation on the abrupt termination of established commercial relationships”; “CRFPA entrance exam — passed”.
- Second-year associate: “Law school [name] — CAPA”; “Master 2 Business Law — University [name], ‘bien’ distinction”.
The pre-filled trainee lawyer CV presents this section as it reads on leaving law school, and the article CV for a first associate position shows how it then becomes tighter. The choice of PPI and final placement also influences what you will be able to write there.
For a clean education section, with aligned titles and legible dates, the AvocatCV builder offers education blocks that follow these conventions; the resulting PDF keeps the structure of the sections, which screening software reads better than a hand-formatted table.
Frequently asked questions
Should a lawyer’s CV keep the bachelor’s degree?
For a master’s student, yes, with the institutions and any exchange year. For an associate, the bachelor’s can disappear or fit on the master’s line.
Does the baccalauréat belong on a legal CV?
No, except possibly for a first undergraduate internship. From the master’s onwards, it no longer provides useful information.
How should a master’s obtained abroad be presented?
With its original title, the university, the country and, if necessary, a translation or equivalence in brackets. If an equivalence was recognised for access to the profession, mention it.
Should a failed CRFPA entrance exam be mentioned?
No. The CV presents what you obtained. If the question comes up in an interview, answer simply and talk about what you did between two sessions.