Independent legal advice at 50 and over: what you are allowed to offer

Why legal experience is not the same as authorisation

After twenty or thirty years in a legal department, a bank, an insurer or a public body, going independent seems a natural step. Yet in France, giving paid legal consultations to third parties and drafting legal documents for them is a regulated activity. Real expertise does not replace the conditions laid down by law.

The rule protects clients, who are entitled to reliable advice from someone who is insured and bound by confidentiality. It applies equally to a former in-house lawyer and to a former manager who became a specialist in a particular field. Before any commercial move, you should therefore ask yourself precisely what you want to sell.

What is regulated and what is less so

Without claiming to settle every case, several families of services can be distinguished.

• Legal consultation and drafting documents for others: a regulated activity which, in principle, belongs to lawyers and a few other regulated professions, with exceptions under strict conditions.
• Training, teaching and explaining the law to a general audience: running a session on a legal subject, writing general information sheets or speaking at a conference is a different matter, as long as the content does not turn into individual advice.
• Support functions: document monitoring, case-law research, reviewing internal procedures, organising files for a firm or a company.
• Non-legal consulting: organisation, operational compliance, project management and relationship mediation, which draw on experience without giving legal opinions.

The boundary can be subtle. A written opinion given to a client about their particular situation is often a sign of a consultation.

Checking your position before you start

The sensible approach is to set out your project in writing and have it examined. A lawyer, a professional body or an organisation in the sector can tell you whether the services you have in mind are permitted, under what conditions of qualification or experience, and with what insurance and guarantee.

The points to check:

1. the level of qualification required for the activity you have in mind;
2. any obligation to hold professional liability insurance;
3. which clients you may serve (companies, individuals, associations);
4. how to present your offer without suggesting a title you do not hold;
5. data protection and professional secrecy.

These checks cost a little time but prevent penalties and disputes.

Skills you can genuinely put forward

Even without freedom to give legal consultations, your experience remains an asset. You can highlight:

• rigorous writing and the ability to clarify a complex text;
• knowledge of business processes: contracts, purchasing, compliance, dealings with insurers;
• teaching ability, useful for training teams or senior managers;
• managing deadlines and priorities under constraints;
• discretion, a central quality in every role close to the law.

Employers sometimes look for experienced profiles for interim assignments, cover or specific projects, including part time.

Possible statuses and how income works

Depending on the project, several arrangements can be considered: part-time or fixed-term employment, an assignment through an umbrella (portage salarial) arrangement, a professional practice or micro-enterprise for unregulated services, or working with an organisation that already holds the necessary authorisation. Each has its own rules on contributions, liability and invoicing.

Income varies enormously with the nature of the assignment, the clientele, your network and your costs. No level of pay can be announced, and the first years often include a slow start-up period. For a retiree, whether the pension can be combined with an activity, and any limits, must be confirmed with the pension fund.

Practical routes around legal experience

Several options let you stay active in the legal world without crossing the line into regulated practice:

• an employed post in a legal department, a local authority, an association or a firm, part time if needed;
• document or administrative assignments for a firm or a company;
• training in companies or training bodies, within the rules governing teaching;
• volunteer access-to-justice work, such as conciliation or helping at association advice sessions, whose conditions are checked with the court or organisation concerned;
• mediation, which follows its own framework and training.

Each of these routes has its own conditions, which should be confirmed before you commit.

Example of a careful change of direction

Illustrative example. A former head of legal at a retail company leaves her post at 62. She would like to advise small firms on their contracts. Before setting up, she presents her project to a lawyer she knows and to an organisation of jurists.

She learns that some of her ideas need an authorisation she does not have. She therefore keeps two directions: training sessions on preventing contract disputes for small-business managers, and part-time assignments at a firm organising files and monitoring developments. Her offer is worded so that there is no ambiguity about what she does and does not do.

Mistakes to avoid in your marketing

The risks often come from the way you communicate: using a job title that suggests you are a lawyer, promising a result, displaying a price for a consultation that is not permitted, or having a client sign a document drafted without a clear legal framework. Statements on a website, a social network or a business card are as binding as the work itself.

Other frequent errors: neglecting insurance, forgetting the duty of confidentiality, failing to anticipate conflicts of interest and accepting an assignment beyond your competence. When doubt remains, sending the client to a lawyer is a professional attitude, not an admission of weakness.