How do I settle a dispute with a lawyer?
Verified 21 November 2023 - Legal and Administrative Information Directorate (Prime Minister)
You are in conflict with your lawyer and wondering how to defend your interests? It should be noted that the steps to be taken vary according to the subject of the dispute with the lawyer: amount of remuneration, return of documents from the file, breach of ethical rules or professional misconduct.
The amounts charged to you by your lawyer are composed of various elements:
- Fees: remuneration for the work of the lawyer
- Disbursements and costs: advances made by the lawyer to pay expenses that are not included in his fees (photocopying expenses, correspondence expenses), or expenses that are incumbent on you personally (payment of taxes)
- Costs : sums that are charged to you by the court when you lose the trial
If you wish dispute one of the billed compensation elements by your lawyer, you must first talk to him to try to find a amicable solution.
If the discussions fail, you can then wear the fee and disbursement dispute in front of ombudsman for the consumption of the legal profession or before the bastler of the Bar Association to which your lawyer is registered.
To dispute the amount of costs charged by your lawyer, you must make a request for verification to the audit secretary of the court which has heard the case.
Refer to the Consumer Ombudsman
You can enter the mediator if your lawyer did not accept your claim or if your request is unanswered within a period of 2 months.
The role of the consumer ombudsman of the legal profession is to help you, in a neutral and impartial manner, to find a amicable agreement with the lawyer.
You can enter the Ombudsman online, by e-mail or by mail.
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Online
You can enter the mediator via the on-line service next:
Refer to the Ombudsman for the Consumption of the Legal Profession
By email
mediateur-conso@mediateur-consommation-avocat.fr
By mail
Ombudsman for the Consumption of the Legal Profession
180 Boulevard Haussmann
75008 Paris
You must send the supporting documents which enable the Ombudsman to study the case.
Once you have made a referral, the mediator first checks whether you meet the conditions required for him to carry out his task.
He then informs your lawyer that he is seized of the dispute and asks your common membership mediation.
If you and your lawyer agree, the mediator will accompany you in the search for a solution.
If you find an agreement, the mediator prepares a document that materializes it.
If you and your lawyer sign that document, that ends the litigation.
If the Ombudsman considers that conditions are not met for him to intervene, or if your lawyer refuse to take part in the mediation process, the mediator finds that it is impossible to settle the dispute.
The same is true if you or your lawyer refuse to approve the agreement proposed.
In this case, you can submit the dispute to the president of the Bar to which your lawyer is registered.
Seize the president of the Bar Association
If you challenge the fees and disbursements invoiced by your lawyer, you must enter the bastler of the Bar Association to which your lawyer is attached through the procedure for charging fees.
The request must be made by registered letter with notice of receipt or by delivery against a receipt.
Who shall I contact
Treatment of the complaint by the president
The president of the bar must deliver you a acknowledgement as soon as possible and inform you that he will take his decision in the 4 months.
To deal with your complaint, the president of the bar will ask your lawyer to forward his observations in relation to your claim.
It may entrust this task to a rapporteur whom it appoints within the Council of the Order.
The president may decide to shrink the amount of fees and disbursements charged by your lawyer or hold.
The president of the bar has to see you notify decision within 15 days, as well as to your lawyer, by registered letter with request for notice of receipt.
The letter of notification shall include the means of appeal and time limits in which they must be exercised.
Appeal against the decision of the President of the Bar
Like your lawyer, you have the right to make a appeal against the president's decision.
The appeal must be lodged before the 1er President of the Court of Appeal, in the 1-month period which follows the notification of the decision of the president of the bar.
The appeal shall be made by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.
Who shall I contact
Please note
if the president of the bar does not make a decision within 4 months following receipt of your claim, you can also enter the 1er President of the Court of Appeal. You must act within the 1-month period that follows the expiration of the 4-month period.
Possibility of immediate execution of the decision of the president
The president of the bar may decide of his own accord to order provisional execution of its decision, on behalf of fees up to €1,500.
This means that the decision is enforced immediately, even if you or your lawyer appeal.
The president of the bar may also order of his own accord provisional execution of its decision, on behalf of fees in excess €1,500, if you and your lawyer agree on this amount.
But the president of the bar cannot order of itself the provisional enforcement of its decision, for the the proportion of the fees which exceeds €1,500 and who is disputed by you or your lawyer.
If the application for provisional enforcement in respect of the portion of the fees that exceeds €1,500 and which is contested, is made by you or your lawyerThe president of the bar may order the measure, if he considers it appropriate necessary and compatible with the nature of the case.
FYI
the immediate execution of the President's decision cannot apply not to profit and loss fee.
Refer to the Verifying Secretary
For challenge the amount of costs charged by your lawyer, you need to make a request for verification to the audit secretary of the court that heard the case.
The audit secretary is a director of court registry services, or even a clerk.
You must provide the competent court with the supporting documents which show the amounts of the costs charged by your lawyer and which you dispute.
After checking of the conformity amounts invoiced to statutory rates, the auditor secretary will provide you with a certificate of verification.
You must notify this document to your lawyer.
If the amounts shown on the certificate of verification are non-compliant to those you have been charged by your lawyer, you can bring the complaint before the president of the tribunal.
You have the right to change the lawyer at any time of the procedure.
If you want to change your lawyer, you will still have to pay the lawyer that you leave the fees already due.
The lawyer has theobligation of you return your folder.
In the event of a dispute over the return of documents, you must contact the President of the Bar by registered letter with request for notice of receipt or by delivery against receipt.
The competent president is the president of the bar where the lawyer concerned is registered.
Who shall I contact
Examination of the complaint by the President
The president of the bar must deliver you a acknowledgement as soon as possible and inform you that he will make his decision within 4 months.
To review your claim, the president will ask your lawyer to send him his observations in relation to your claim.
It may entrust this task to a rapporteur whom it appoints within the Council of the Order.
After examining all the elements of the file, the president of the bar must take his decision in the 4 months the receipt of your complaint.
The president of the bar has to see you notify its decision within 15 days, as well as to your lawyer, by registered letter with request for notice of receipt.
The letter of notification shall include the means of appeal and time limits in which they are to be exercised.
Appeal against the decision of the President of the Bar
Like your lawyer, you have the right to make a appeal against the decision of the president of the bar.
The appeal must be lodged before the 1er President of the Court of Appeal, in the 1-month period which follows the notification of the decision.
The appeal shall be made by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.
Who shall I contact
Please note
if the president of the bar does not make a decision within 4 months following receipt of your claim, you can also enter the 1er president of the court of appeal in the 1-month period that follows the expiration of the 4-month period.
Your lawyer may not comply with some of the professional rules who are necessary to all those who practice the avocado trade.
Example :
Difficulties in telephone contact, failure to reply to correspondence, repeated refusal of appointments, absences and delays at the hearing, non-transmission of correspondence addressed to you, relations of interest with the opposing party
If you face these kinds of difficulties with your lawyer, you can enter the bastler of the order to which the lawyer belongs.
The lawyer who doesn't respect some of the professional rules who are necessary to the profession shall be subject to a disciplinary penalty.
Procedure for seizing the president
You must send the request by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt or deliver it on site against a receipt.
Who shall I contact
You must include the following in the claim:
- Your first and last name (or business' name)
- Your home (or business' seat)
- Your nationality
- Your date and place of birth
- Lawyer's name and forename
- Lawyer's address
- Facts on which the complaint is based
- Documents necessary for the examination of the dispute
- Date of application and signature
Acknowledgement of receipt and first examination
The president of the bar must first send you a acknowledgement as soon as possible.
Then he has to make a first rapid examination of the claim to determine whether it appears to him abusive or manifestly unfounded or not.
If the president of the bar believes your claim is abusive or manifestly unfounded, he must inform quickly that it will be not examined.
When the president considers that your request is not abusive or manifestly unfounded, he inform your lawyer of the reception of a complaint concerning him and asks him to present it to him its observations.
Conciliation
If the President considers that the the nature of the claim allows it, it shall organize in 3 months upon receipt of your request a conciliation between you and your lawyer, in the presence of at least one other lawyer.
Conciliation shall take place in accordance with the procedures laid down by the president, under his authority or under the authority of a lawyer who is a member or former member of the order's council, or an honorary lawyer whom he delegates.
If an agreement is reached between you and your lawyer, it shall be recorded in a report.
The minutes must be signed by you, your lawyer and the president or his conciliation officer.
A copy of the minutes shall be given to each of the signatories.
If no agreement is reached between you and your lawyer, the president or his delegate shall note the absence of conciliation in a written document.
The findings and statements collected during the conciliation shall not be used in the remainder of the procedure or in any other procedure.
Decision of the President
In the absence of conciliation, the President shall examine the propriety of your request and takes a decision.
It may decide to dismiss your request or from him follow up.
He must be you inform of his decision, and your lawyer.
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The president of the bar decides to reject your request
If the president decides to dismiss your request, he must give you looser as soon as possible, specifying the motives for which he has made his decision.
They should inform you that you have the opportunity to seize of the dispute on 1er attorney general of the court of appeal or the disciplinary court lawyers. There is a disciplinary jurisdiction for lawyers within the jurisdiction of each court of appeal.
Who shall I contact
The disciplinary court of lawyers must be seised by request.
The query must contain the following:
- Lawyer's name and forename
- Lawyer's home
- Supporting documents
- Your complaint to the president
The President of the Disciplinary Court must first consider whether your request is manifestly unfounded or not.
He must then check whether the request is with particulars allowing the assessment of its propriety. This review is done outside of the hearing.
If the President of the Disciplinary Court considers the application admissible, the procedure shall continue and trial hearing will take place.
At the end of the proceedings, the disciplinary court may impose one of the following penalties on your lawyer:
- Warning
- Blame
- Temporary ban on exercise of up to 3 years
- Removal from the roster of lawyers
Additional penalties may be added to these main penalties.
Please note
in case ofurgency, or for the purpose of to protect the public, the Council of the Bar may temporarily suspend of his duties and for a period of 6 months renewable once a lawyer who is the subject of a criminal or disciplinary proceeding, at the request of the Attorney General or President of the Bar.
If the President of the Disciplinary Court considers that the application is inadmissible, he's discard by a reasoned order.
In this case, the disciplinary procedure stops, unless you make a appeal against that decision before the court of appeal.
The appeal must be lodged within a period of 15 days from notification of the decision, by registered letter with request for notice of receipt addressed to the registry of the court of appeal, or by delivery against receipt to the registry director.
Who shall I contact
You must be assisted by a lawyer for this procedure.
The president gives a favorable answer to your request
If the president gives a favorable answer to your request, it can open a ethics survey in respect of your lawyer or prosecute him directly before the disciplinary court.
The President of the Bar opens an ethics investigation
When the president decides to open an ethical inquiry into the of the lawyer, he may appoint one or more delegates from among the members or former members of the council of the order to whom he requests to make a relationship on the file.
In the light of the evidence gathered during the ethics investigation, the president decides whether or not to open a disciplinary proceedings to the lawyer.
He must inform you of his decision, as well as the Attorney General.
The President opens disciplinary proceedings
The president may decide to enter directly the disciplinary court lawyers, without ordering an ethics investigation.
In this case, the president must also send a request disciplinary jurisdiction.
At the end of the proceedings, the disciplinary court may impose one of the following penalties on your lawyer:
- Warning
- Blame
- Temporary ban on exercise of up to 3 years
- Removal from the roster of lawyers
Please note
in case ofurgency, or for the purpose of to protect the public, the Council of the Bar may temporarily suspend of its functions and for a period of 6 months renewable once the lawyer who is the subject of an investigation criminal or disciplinary proceedings, at the request of the Attorney General or President of the Bar.
The decision of the disciplinary court may be challenged in court by the lawyer which has been the subject of the attorney general and by the bastler of the bar to which the lawyer belongs.
The action must be brought before the court of appeal, within the time limit of1 month from notification of the decision.
If an appeal is lodged against the decision of the disciplinary court, you may in turn bring the matter before the Court of Appeal via a cross-appeal.
You must make your incidental appeal in a 15-day period from notification the main action.
The cross-appeal must be brought before the Court of Appeal.
You don't need a lawyer to do the cross-appeal.
The President of the Bar refuses to initiate disciplinary proceedings
If the president decides to not to initiate disciplinary proceedings with respect to your lawyer, you can enter you yourself disciplinary court of the dispute.
There is a disciplinary jurisdiction for lawyers within the jurisdiction of each court of appeal.
Who shall I contact
The disciplinary court of lawyers must be seised by request.
The query must contain the following:
- Name of the court to which the application is addressed
- Subject of the request
- Identification of the applicant natural person (surname and forename, occupation, domicile, nationality, date and place of birth)
- Identification of the applicant legal person (form, name, registered office, legally representative body)
- Identification of the respondent lawyer (name, first name, office address)
- Supporting documents
- Copy of the complaint addressed to the president
- Date and signature
Sometimes, the mistakes or mistakes of the lawyer can harm you.
Example :
Late submission of findings, unjustified absence from the hearing, misappropriation of funds granted to you by insurance, etc.
In these cases, you can seek compensation from the courts, not from the president of the bar.
You must file your application in the court of law where the lawyer's office is located.
You can have another lawyer assist you in this process. If your damage is greater than €10,000However, you must be assisted by a lawyer before the court.
Who shall I contact
You must prove that the lawyer committed a fault and that the fault caused you harm.
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
Telephone administrative information - Allo Public Service
The informants who answer you are from the Department of Justice.
Cost: free service
Service available at the following times:
- Monday: 8.30am to 5.30pm
- Tuesday: 8:30 to 12:15
- Wednesday: 8:30 to 12:15
- Thursday: 8.30am to 5.30pm
- Friday: 1 p.m. to 4:15 p.m
- Lundi : de 08h30 à 17h30
- Mardi : de 08h30 à 12h15
- Mercredi : de 08h30 à 12h15
- Jeudi : de 08h30 à 17h30
- Vendredi : de 13h00 à 16h15
Organization of the legal profession
Fee disputes: Articles 174 to 179
FAQ
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