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Hi everyone. Can someone tell me exactly what degrees you need to become a lawyer in france? I also want to know what do you apply for first? Can you apply for an LLM , or do you need to do another course first? I searched for a few schools, Panthéon-Sorbonne for example. But it seemed to me that you need to do a course before you can apply there? i didn't quite understand.
If you just finished highschool, what is the next step you take? And what requirements are there?

Appreciate all your answers, thanks!

Hello Norwegianguy,

If I understand correctly, you're wondering what's the path to take to become a lawyer in France, starting with just a high school diploma?

If that's the case, the first step is to make sure that your Norwegian high school diploma is recognized "as is" in France, so that you can register in a university (there may be some prior administrative process, I'm not an expert on the matter, but the university should be able to answer you on this).

Then, in order to become a lawyer, you'll need to obtain a bachelor's degree in law (3 years), and at least a 1st year of Master degree (called "Master 1"). A LL.M is only available for student who already have a bachelor's degree.

From this point, there are two differents paths :

-if you want to become a lawyer employed in a company you'll most likely have to complete your Master degree with a "Master 2" (the 5th year of legal studies) (FYI there's a lot of competition to enter the best "Master 2"), then do a few internships, and look for a job (FYI the job market in that field is quite competitive, but you should still be able to get a decent job if you've got a good and coherent resume) ;

-if you want to become a barrister/solicitor and work in a law firm, you'll need to pass the bar exam (you can apply for it once you've completed your first year of Master degree, i.e. after 4 years of studying law), with courses delivered by an "Institut d'Etudes Judiciaires" that will prepare you for the exam. If you pass the exam, you'll have to go through 18 months of bar school and internships. Also, you'll most likely need to complete your master degree, and maybe also add one year of LL.M/Business school diploma (the job market is very competitive too for solicitors).

I hope that I was clear enough, and not off topic. Feel free to ask me any precisions if needed.

LaForceMajeure

PS : On a totally unrelated note, i love Norwegian black metal, your country is awesome!! Ostenfor sol, og vestenfor maane ... Dit kommer du sent eller aldriiii ... Tiiiil verdens ende baerer deeeet!!! \m/

Also, I remember having a russian girl in my class back in university. She didn't speak French when she came here so she first enrolled in a one-year intensive program in Paris to learn the language, before starting the bachelor's degree in my university.

So if you don't speak French, or only have basic notions of it, I think that it would be a necessary step for you too, in order to understand the lectures, draft the assignments, and pass your first year.

Thanks a lot ! Bortenfor sol og vestenfor måne

I'm mainly looking to study EU-law and study in english, so i'm able to work in Norway too, if i want to. So are there some universities that offer bachelor courses, and other's that offer LLM? And does the university's reputation matter when you are applying for an LLM? Or is it just the degrees that you got / diploma?
In norway, the highschool grades matter everything when you apply for universities. They don't give interviews, or care about any other tests that you may have. From what i'v figured out, for english based law courses in France, you have to apply with a TOEFL test. (English language skill test). Do you know how much the highschool grades matter in France compared to other things?

Not every university offers a LLM program, only the biggest ones do (Paris 1 Sorbonne, Paris 2 Assas, etc... and you can keep in mind that Queen Mary University of London also offers a LLM in premises that they have in Paris).

Also I think that the university of Nanterre offers a bachelor's degree that is more international than the standard bachelor's in law, with the study of french, and common law (here's the link, I only found it in the french language : http://www.u-paris10.fr/formation/licen ... 81032.kjsp ).

For entering an university the grades in high school don't really matter (with the exception of Paris Dauphine), there are no interviews (maybe a written test sometimes for specific bechelors) and the selection is only made latter on, according to your grades once you've entered the university. As i told you in my first post, there's a lot of selection for the Master 2, and that's where you can benefit from having a bachelor's degree and a Master 1 in a "renowned" university + a few internships during the summer holidays.

Ok, i hope i don't get stuck with a bachelor just because the university happens to not be "renowned" enough..
What is the best way to apply? Is it by personaly contacting the university, or is it through a bigger searching process?

You shoudn't be too worried about that, being in a renowned university is a plus, but you can do without it, especially with good marks, good internships, being a foreign student can also help! (with internships in some big oil companies (*cough* Total S.A. *cough*) who would appreciate to have an intern that speaks norwegian for instance, *wink* *wink*)

For the applications, here's the link, since Norway is part of the Européan economic area (E.E.E. in French) :

http://www.enseignementsup-recherche.go ... ion-Suisse

From what i understood, you'll have to use "admissions post bac" (i think the deadline is September 9 for this year) :

http://www.admission-postbac.fr/

I've just realized that I'm doing a lot of research for you, where should i send the invoice? :P (unfortunately, my hourly rate is quite high, but it compensates for having endured 6 years of studying law in France! ;D)

Thanks a lot. You helped me clearing up so many things.

And congratz on completing 6 years of law in france. With that motivation of helping people that you have, i'm sure you'll be just fine ! When i make deals between Statoil and Total S.A, check your inbox on this forum.

I'm glad to have helped you a little!

Good luck with your new adventure