On January 24, 2014, I had the opportunity to speak about challenges faced by young lawyers in the course of their profession during the standing committee of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe. My speech also addressed initiatives taken by the Liège Bar to promote the adaptation of its members to the realities of today’s world.

1. The experience of a young lawyer from the Liège’s Bar 1
Mr. President,
Dear Colleagues ,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I thank Mr. President BULGARELLI for his kind invitation, relayed by Mr. President HENRY. I have then
the pleasure to speak in front of you about the perspectives of a young lawyer from Liège’s Bar on
the challenges facing the profession and the solutions implemented by the Bar.
My presentation is based on three sources:
• The results of the survey conducted in 2013 by Avocats.be and the University of Liège (“Baromètre
des avocats belges francophones et germanophones”2
)
• Answers from a range of questions asked to other members of Liège’s Young Bar Association
• My personal experience .
It follows from the foregoing that the key concerns of young lawyers are money, time and future.
Nothing new under the sun.
First concern : Money.
While talking about money could be considered as trivial, we must keep in mind that a young lawyer
legitimately wants to emancipate himself as soon as possible after his studies. However, traineeship
and early years as an associate are often paid much less than most other jobs available to a holder of
a university degree. Legal traineeship is even less paid than most any other jobs.
When a young lawyer wants to set up his own firm, he usually can only count, at first , on the income
from legal aid. However, legal aid is in crisis and fees paid to the lawyers are, if not declining, at least
no longer adapted to the cost of living .
Further than the amount, the circumstances of fee’s payment are difficult to support for young
lawyer working alone, out of an existing structure. Indeed, fees from legal aid are paid ex-post , more
than a year after the end of the case. A solution must be found in order to live and assume the
expenses borne by freelancers.
1
Alexandre Cassart, Finance Officer of Liège’s Young Bar Association, Lawyer in Liège and Charleroi’s Bars,
Philippe & Partners. Twitter : @acassart
2
Avocats.be, ULG, « Baromètre des avocats belges francophones et germanophones », 2013, available at :
http://gallery.mailchimp.com/d552fd66716b81b8fb8f922cc/files/Barom_tre_des_avocats_2013_final_051120
13.pdf

2. Second concern : Time.
More specifically, “time” means balance between private and professional life. Maybe are they
demanding, but young lawyers do not want anymore a life completely dedicated to work and they
want to achieve both an exciting career and a fulfilling family life. This wish of balance is obviously
shared by young mothers - in a context of increasing feminization of the profession - but not only.
However, this search for balance is constantly put under pressure by different factors.
Firstly, the legislative and regulatory inflation - particularly in Belgium who knows multiple levels of
government and legislators - makes it very difficult to update knowledge, even for specialists in a
particular field.
Secondly, clients are increasingly demanding in terms of responsiveness and availability of counsel.
This is probably related to the growing use of information technology and hyper connectivity.
Thirdly, the asymmetry of information traditionally existing between the client and the lawyer is
diminishing or even disappearing in some topics, thanks to the abundant legal information available
on the internet. Clients are - or think they are - better informed. To justify its existence, lawyers must
therefore provide a greater added value, which requires a very substantial investment in learning,
training and specializing.
Fourthly, the hourly rate is much lower in Belgium than in its neighboring countries , forcing the
Belgian lawyers to work more than their foreign counterparts .
Third concern : Future.
Young lawyers understand very quickly that they move in a world of fierce competition. Between
lawyers on one hand, colleagues are, above all, competitors who do not do anything to make things
any easier, and other legal service providers on the other hand. These competitors are not bound by
any code of ethics, any tradition or a certain "image of the profession". They often have significant
resources in terms of capital and marketing powers and have no qualms about intruding in areas
traditionally reserved to lawyers.
Youth do no longer dream about partnership. Especially women since, despite the feminization of
the profession, partners are still mostly men3
. Because of demographic changes, lawyers are living
longer, working longer and are less likely to raise young people in positions in which this young
people could jeopardize their businesses.
Partners I interviewed before preparing this presentation put rather forward a certain lack of
managerial skills - that themselves have acquired over their practice but which are now immediately
needed to exercise - or a lack of entrepreneurship among young people. It’s a fact that law school
doesn't put enough emphasis on business’s skills, whose mastery is now essential. However, I do not
think that youth can be accused of a lack of entrepreneurship. Lawyer’s profession is still, in essence,
independent. Thus, this choice of career demonstrates, an enterprising and dynamic attitude.
3
Out of 44 partners in the four biggest law firm in Liège, only 10 are women.

3. It seems to me that much of the concern regarding future prospects are linked to the tensions
generated by the collision of two points of view about the legal profession.
The traditional model on the first hand, in which a lawyer is a well-born bourgeois with a personal
fortune, which allows him to be independent, to work pro bono and for who money is some vulgar
thing which should not be discussed. The major part of our ethical framework is based on this
traditional conception of the profession and this is still the image in public’s mind. The future model,
on the other hand, in which lawyer is a provider of highly specialized legal services, organized as a
business.
For years, Liège’s Bar strives to tackle these issues :
• In 2013, a working group of Liège’s Bar has written a new traineeship contract, then made
mandatory. The main improvement in this new contract covers trainees’ fees. Previously , trainees
were required to work at least 75 hours per month for a flat fee of 882 EUR gross4
. The new contract
provides trainees with an hourly rate of 16 EUR gross (ie € 1,200 gross minimum) which allows the
trainees who wants to work more, to earn more .
It is interesting to note that the main motivation of the working group was simply the dignity of the
profession.
• Liège’s Bar has also developed, and made freely available to all its members, an online consultation
module5
. Firstly , it brings the profession into the 21st Century and, secondly , it provides an access
to clients for young lawyers. Indeed, this module is accessible via the Bar’s directory, which is
classified by preferential activities or specialization, without distinction between young and
experienced lawyers.
• Communication and marketing are at the heart of the strategy of the Bar of Liège. The Bar makes
extensive use of the resources offered by information technology and is very active on social
networks. It also regularly uses these tools to put in light lawyers who work in a particular field.
Every year, the Bar organizes seminars and workshops on these topics and offers training to lawyers
who wish to better communicate, to master social networks and to create their own website .
Finally, on the occasion of conferences organized to the attention of companies, which conferences
are held in the premises of these companies, the Bar relies on young lawyers and offers them the
opportunity to make presentations in front of potential clients.
• On 20 and 21 February 2014, several young lawyers from Liège will organize a conference to think
about the future of the profession, entitled "Tomorrow's lawyer". During these two days, an
international panel of academics and high-level representatives of Bar from different countries will
expose, their vision of the future6
.
4
Under Belgian poverty treshold.
5
http://consultation.barreaudeliege.be
6
Texts from this conference are available here :
http://editionslarcier.larciergroup.com/titres/131822_1/tomorrow-s-lawyer.html

4. Here are some examples of actions taken by Liège’s Bar to anchor itself in the present and get ready
at best for the future.
Thank you for your attention.
Alexandre CASSART