Bar Admission Reform: What You Need to Know!

The Law of November 20, 2023, on the orientation and programming of the Ministry of Justice for 2023-2027 now requires a Master’s degree (Master 2) to access the legal profession, including through exceptional access routes.

However, an essential particularity concerns salaried legal professionals:

👉 According to Article 98, 6° of Decree No. 91-1197 of November 27, 1991, regulating the legal profession, the Master 2 must have been obtained before completing eight years of professional practice.

In practical terms:

📅 If you were a salaried legal professional (working in a law firm, association, legal partnership, solicitor’s office, or as a lawyer before the Conseil d'État and the Cour de Cassation) with a Master 1 degree and eight years of experience, you had until December 31, 2024, to submit your application for admission to the bar.

As of January 1, 2025, the new requirements are:

• Obtain a Master's degree (Master 2)

• Then accumulate eight additional years of professional practice