This publication is the result of my experience, it is in no way endowed with an absolute value. We are all different, it’s up to you to adapt my advice to your situation.

Hoping that this note will be useful to you, here are the different stages of the “CRFPA marathon”:

First step – the famous question “when to try it?” »

In theory, the texts allow holders of a Master 1 in law to take the entrance exam to the school of lawyers provided they are registered for an IEJ.

This has several advantages:

This is the quickest route to becoming a lawyer;

This does not deprive of the possibility of doing a Master 2 within the framework of the PPI at the law school (first six-month internship).

However, this success at the end of the Master 1 is complicated:

You have to be sure you have the “legal maturity”: be concrete about the methodology, feel ready to compete with Master 2s, which is objectively doable (Master 2s are as unprepared as you for the summary note and very often, they have to dive back into subjects that they have not practiced for longer than you)…;

The Master 1 ends at the beginning of June, which leaves little time for revisions (even if subjects studied within the framework of the Master 1 can be chosen at the CRFPA);

As time is reduced, you will not be able to practice enough. However, practice is essential to pass this “exam” (note that the entrance exam to the CRFPA is actually a competition disguised as an exam. If you have to have 10 on paper, the success rate is almost identical each year in your YEI).

For the anecdote, I have a friend who had it directly after Master 1. Knowing that she had already skipped two classes, she became one of the youngest lawyers in France, at only 22 years old

Attempting the CRFPA entrance exam after the Master 2 is already more reasonable:

Legal maturity is greater;

We believe more in his chances than at the end of the Master 1.

However, in reality, you will not be able to start your revisions until late, which was my case.

You will have to write a thesis if you are doing a Master 2 research. The defense can take place until mid-July.

Several strategies can be adopted:

Revise the entrance exam to the CRFPA during the year of your Master 2 at the risk of mortgaging the latter (it can be rewarding to finish your studies with a mention). If one is everywhere, one can be nowhere at the same time;

Revise and practice “only” two months. That’s what I tried to do.

Unfortunately, I failed during this first attempt:

The mass of revisions was too great. I decided to do without a “complete” apprenticeship, by betting everything on the methodology and the exercises;

I could not train in good conditions, not being sufficiently aware of the news and the program;

In these conditions, I did not feel ready before starting the races.

Disappointment was there, but this failure was predictable. You have to bounce back.