For fellow counsel and foreign law firms

Local counsel before the Strasbourg Judicial Court

French civil procedure requires representation by a lawyer admitted within the territorial district of the court, a rule known as postulation. If your case is pending before the Strasbourg Judicial Court and your bar lies outside the district, you need local counsel. The procedure runs through me; the case remains yours.

As a member of the Strasbourg Bar, I act as local counsel before the Strasbourg Judicial Court (tribunal judiciaire de Strasbourg).

For proceedings before another court of the district, intervention is assessed case by case. One exchange settles the question.

Postulation fees

€200

Single RPVA filing

€200–700

Fixed fee per instance

€700

Complete engagement — 18 months

Procedural representation

Scope of the engagement.

Filing the notice of representation and all procedural acts via RPVAServing submissions and exhibits within the applicable deadlinesMonitoring the pre-trial calendar (mise en état) and the judge's directionsForwarding every court notice, order and decision to you immediately, unfilteredFlagging each deadline early enough for you to act

Strategy, drafting and oral argument remain in your hands.

Beyond postulation alone.

Hearing attendance.

Pre-trial, incident or closing hearings: representation in person, with a report the same day. Priced in advance per hearing: €100 excl. VAT for a pre-trial or holding hearing; €200 excl. VAT for a hearing at oral argument.

Standing in at oral argument.

You draft; I argue on your submissions and your instructions, or I appear at the hearing so you avoid the travel. A report follows the hearing.

Local-law support.

The Livre foncier land register, the commercial chamber with lay business judges, local-law enforcement against real property: a verification point before an act, or continuing support throughout the proceedings.

What matters when you instruct local counsel.

Speed of first response,
certainty on fees,
reliability over time.

Speed.

The conflict check runs the same day; confirmation of the engagement reaches you within one business day.

Certainty.

Fee confirmed in writing before the notice of representation is filed; additional services priced separately.

Reliability.

Deadlines are double-checked, the court file stays current on RPVA, and you deal with one person from filing to closing.

Your client remains your client

Postulation rests on trust between counsel. No direct contact with your client without your express agreement. All communication passes through you. When the matter closes, the file returns to you in full.

Frequently asked questions

How quickly is the notice of representation filed?

Once the conflict check is clear and the fee agreed, filing follows through RPVA within the procedural deadline, same day where urgency is flagged.

Does the fixed fee cover hearing attendance?

The fixed fee covers procedural acts and pre-trial monitoring. Attendance at hearings in person is a separate service, priced in advance per hearing: €100 excl. VAT for a pre-trial or holding hearing; €200 excl. VAT for a hearing at oral argument.

Do you act before courts other than the Strasbourg Judicial Court?

The postulation engagement centres on the Strasbourg Judicial Court. For another court of the Colmar district, intervention is assessed case by case. Ask; the answer comes quickly.

Instructing me

To run the conflict check and confirm the fee, please send:

The writ, application or decision concerned
The full identity of the parties
Your deadline and your RPVA details (or email, for foreign counsel)

Send a case file by email