This presentation, shown at CCBE standing comittee of January 24, 2014, addresses the main concerns of young lawyers and some of the answers provided by Liège's Bar.

1. The experience of a young lawyer from
the Liège’s Bar
Me Alexandre CASSART (Philippe & Partners)
A. CASSART | acassart@philippelaw.eu

2. Sources
The results of the survey conducted in 2013 by
Avocats.be and the University of Liège
(“Baromètre des avocats belges francophones et
germanophones”)
Answers from a range of questions asked to
other members of Liège’s Young Bar Association
My personal experience
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A. CASSART | acassart@philippelaw.eu

3. Main concerns
Money
Time
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Future
A. CASSART | acassart@philippelaw.eu

4. Main Concerns : Money
Internship and collaboration are often paid less
than most other legal jobs (and than most other
jobs)
Income from Legal Aid – a major source of
revenue for lawyers under 35 - are decreasing
steadily.
Very hard to cope with planning of payment from
Legal Aid (ex-post, more than a year after the end
of the service)
Tough competition
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A. CASSART | acassart@philippelaw.eu

5. Main Concerns : Time
Young (but not only them) lawyers want better
balance between private and professional life
62,5% of lawyers would work less if they could.
Especially young mother (but not only them)
However, young lawyer are not lazy
Lawyers under 35 take 3,6 weeks of holiday in a year (4,4 for
lawyers over 50)
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A. CASSART | acassart@philippelaw.eu

6. Main Concerns : Time
Legislative Inflation
Hard to stay up to date
Clients are more and more demanding,
especially on availability and responsiveness
Need to be constantly connected
Clients are increasingly well informed (or believe
to be) through Internet
Need to provide a service with higher added value, thus to spend
more time in learning, training and specializing
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A. CASSART | acassart@philippelaw.eu

7. Main concerns : Future
Tough Competition
Between lawyers but also between lawyers and others legal
services’ providers
Limited possibilities of partnership
Especially for woman
Out of 44 partners in the four largest firms in Liège, only 10 are
women
? Lack of entrepreneurship / lack of business skill ?
« Did hunter-gatherers become farmers ? »
Evolution of the profession
From an independant well-born bourgeois to a highly specialized
business firm
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A. CASSART | acassart@philippelaw.eu

8. Answers of Liège’s Bar
For years, Liège’s Bar strives to tackle these
issues
New (2013) traineeship contract - Increased minimum rates for trainees
Collectivization of several insurances
Assistance provided to lawyers struggling (especially younger’s one but
not only)
Organization and monitoring of ongoing formation - Formation in
“marketing” and communication
Activities to strengthen the social fabric between lawyers and
confraternity
Continuous reflection on the future of the profession: the conference
“Tomorrow’s lawyer”
Online Consultation
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A. CASSART | acassart@philippelaw.eu

9. Example
In june 2013, a working party of Liège’s Bar
issued a new traineeship contract
Before : the trainee had to work at least 75 hours per month for a
fixed amount of EUR 882 gross (May 2013)
The more you work, the less you earn
Now : the trainee has to work at least 75 hours per month for a
minimum hourly rate of EUR 16 (EUR 1.200 gross min.)
The more you work, the more you earn
The main motivation of the working group was
lawyer’s dignity
F.Y.I : Belgian poverty treshold is set at EUR 1.000 net per month
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A. CASSART | acassart@philippelaw.eu

10. Example
Liège’s Bar implemented an Online Consultation
plug in
Free
Available on the Bar’s website (directory) and on
lawyer’s personal website
Directory presents attorney without distinguishing
between young and experienced ones
A good way to collectivize access to all lawyer
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A. CASSART | acassart@philippelaw.eu

11. Example
Liège’s Bar pays particular attention to
communication and « marketing »
The Bar organizes different conferences strongly oriented
towards businessess and entrusts (young) lawyers with the
presentation
The Bar is really active on social networks and regularly puts in
the light lawyers who practice in a specific area
The Bar organizes various formations to teach lawyers how to
communicate better, how to use social networks and even how to
create their own web site.
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A. CASSART | acassart@philippelaw.eu

12. WWW.TOMORROWSLAWYER.BE/
February 20 and 21, 2014
Palais des congrès
Liège
Also on Streaming & VOD
An international panel of high level academics
and connoisseurs of the profession
Organised by young lawyers to the attention of
all lawyers
SHARE AND/OR JOIN
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A. CASSART | acassart@philippelaw.eu

13. Thank you for your attention
Twitter: @acassart
A. CASSART | acassart@philippelaw.eu