A word from the president

Dear colleagues,

Since the beginning of my term as President of the National Bar Council, I am committed to preserving and ensuring the unity of our profession. 

This unity is our most precious asset. It allows us to speak to public authorities with one voice and thus effectively defend the interests of our profession and respect for rights and freedoms in our respective countries. 

This unity is also reflected internationally: we are united by common values and a deep-seated desire to uphold the rule of the law.

Despite a challenging context, I am determined to maintain the openness of the French Bar, both to European and non-European colleagues, by maintaining an entrance examination for countries that allow reciprocity and by promoting the status of foreign legal consultant.

These shared values are also expressed through the solidarity to which the French Bar is committed. Whenever and wherever a member of our profession is threatened, prosecuted or imprisoned for simply doing their job, we take actions. 

In response to the systemic threats facing the legal profession in certain countries, I wanted to give concrete expression to our support by creating, in October 2024, the Maison des Avocats en Exil (“House of Lawyers in Exile”). 

It aims to provide material and logistical support to bar associations and organisations of lawyers who have sought refuge in France and wish to work towards establishing a network of lawyers who have found refuge in Europe or elsewhere in the world, while respecting fundamental rights, of course.

As you know, our world is undergoing major upheavals. Whether geopolitical, digital or ecological, the legal profession, by its very nature, is on the front line in addressing these challenges. 

Geopolitical challenges first : the questioning of international law and multilateralism is accompanied by global attacks on the rule of law. 

The French National Bar Council will keep working to raise awareness and alert people to these attacks and their consequences for our fundamental rights. 

It did so in 2022, when it initiated the European lawyers' declaration in support of the rule of law under the French Presidency of the European Union, signed by more than 40 bar associations and international organisations representing the profession.

We will continue to take a multilateral approach through the representation of the French Bar in international professional forum and through the G7 Lawyers, launched in 2019, which I will have the pleasure and honour of chairing in 2026.

Next, digital challenges  : artificial intelligence presents major opportunities for the profession, but it also requires us to address several challenges in terms of training, legal certainty and access to justice.

For this reason, we decided to create a cross-functional working group dedicated to this subject, to quickly deliver analyses of the situation and effective solutions.

Given the global nature of the effects of artificial intelligence and its implications, particularly on our profession and the preservation of the specificities of our legal systems, it is up to us to address these issues collectively, within our respective bar associations.

Finally, ecological challenges : the triple global crisis (climate, pollution, biodiversity collapse) poses multiple challenges to our justice systems and is one of the primary concerns of our fellow citizens. 

While the response to this crisis is clearly scientific and political in nature, it must necessarily be based on law and justice to be effective. 

The lack of effectiveness and complexity of environmental law are often criticised, as it relies on the goodwill of the actors involved, whose interests are often contradictory. Judges and lawyers become the guarantors of its application.

In this context, it has become essential for the legal profession and its representative bodies to take ownership of this cross-cutting issue and address it centrally rather than marginally.

For this reason, I also wanted to create a dedicated working group to support French lawyers in addressing the challenges posed by the ecological crisis to our justice systems and in understanding the new practices and emerging professions resulting from the regulations.

I know that we are also collectively mobilised on this issue. We need to create the necessary synergies among ourselves to engage with international diplomatic forums such as the COP and to speak out loud and clear on behalf of lawyers.

Last but no least, I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to the highlight of my last year in office: the National Lawyers' Convention. It will be held from 21 to 23 October 2026 in Toulouse on the theme of sustainable lawyers. An international programme will be designed to combine institutional events, cultural discoveries and moments of conviviality.

I look forward to seeing you all there.

Yours sincerely,

Julie COUTURIER 
President of the National Bar Council