Participatory procedure: agreements and lawyers’ deeds, practical workshops at the EFB (2023-2025)

At the EFB, the Paris bar school (École de formation professionnelle des barreaux), I lead the practical workshops on the lawyer-assisted participatory procedure (procédure participative): on May 3 and 5, 2023, then on November 14, 2025, after the reform of pretrial proceedings by agreement. The goal is to know how to run a participatory procedure, on the merits or for pretrial preparation, and to draft the agreement and the lawyers’ deeds that follow. Here are the key takeaways, and the presentation materials.

A lawyers’ contract that serves the agreement

Under the participatory procedure agreement, the parties to a dispute “undertake to work together in good faith toward the amicable resolution of their dispute or the preparation of their case for trial”; it is concluded for a fixed term (art. 2062, Civil Code). Signed before any court filing, it aims first at an agreement on the merits and, failing that, at an agreement on pretrial preparation. Signed once a case is pending, the participatory procedure for pretrial preparation (procédure participative de mise en état) primarily organizes how the case is prepared; settling the merits becomes a secondary goal.

Before committing, the lawyer checks the conditions: good faith and fair exchange of documents, each party assisted by its own lawyer, rights the parties are free to dispose of, legal capacity and free and informed consent. Divorce and legal separation follow their own rules (arts. 2066 and 2067, Civil Code). Quiz questions test these reflexes: can an agreement be signed in divorce proceedings? for a vulnerable adult?

Drafting the agreement: four required terms and a timetable

On pain of nullity, the agreement is in writing and states its term, the subject of the dispute, the documents and information needed and how they will be exchanged, and, where applicable, the deeds countersigned by the lawyers that the parties agree to draw up (art. 2063, Civil Code). The law does not require a lawyer-countersigned deed, but it is recommended. In practice, everything is prepared with the client and opposing counsel: points of disagreement, first documents and deadlines, the term, a possible expert.

The agreement has procedural effects: while it is in force, no court may be asked to decide the dispute, except where a party fails to perform it or for urgent provisional or protective measures (art. 2065, Civil Code); the limitation period is suspended and starts running again at the end of the term for at least six months (art. 2238, Civil Code). Appeal deadlines and foreclosure periods, however, are not suspended. The negotiations remain confidential, but meeting minutes, written submissions and exchanged documents are not.

Lawyers’ deeds and the joint expert

The agreement comes with deeds countersigned by the lawyers: listing the facts and documents the parties agree on, limiting the debate to certain points of law, agreeing on how submissions are exchanged, appointing a conciliator, a mediator or an expert, recording the parties’ statements or witness testimony. The expert is chosen jointly, the assignment is defined together, and the expert can only be dismissed by unanimous consent. The report has the same value as an opinion given in a court-ordered investigative measure (Article 131-8 of the Code of Civil Procedure; previously Decree No. 2021-1322 of October 11, 2021).

If the parties agree, the agreement is recorded in a lawyers’ deed, then approved by the court or declared enforceable by the court clerk. If they do not, the procedure was not wasted: the case is ready for trial and the judge can rule faster.

What changed for the November 2025 session

The November 14, 2025 session covered Decree No. 2025-660 of July 18, 2025, which did not exist at the time of the 2023 sessions. Pretrial preparation by agreement (instruction conventionnelle) becomes the rule and court-led preparation the exception (art. 127, Code of Civil Procedure). A new route appears, simplified pretrial preparation by agreement (instruction conventionnelle simplifiée, arts. 129-1 to 129-3): less formal than the participatory procedure for pretrial preparation, it is signed between lawyers without the parties’ direct signature, and the judge is informed through matching submissions or a copy of the agreement. The same decree recodifies amicable dispute resolution methods in Book V of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Sessions

• May 3 and 5, 2023: “The participatory procedure agreement,” initial training workshops at the EFB.
• November 14, 2025: “Participatory procedure: agreements and lawyers’ deeds,” workshops at the EFB (fall 2025), including simplified pretrial preparation by agreement.
• I had already presented the participatory procedure and collaborative practice in April 2022, including at the EFB: see “Participatory procedure and collaborative practice: April and May 2022.”

Key takeaways

1. 1Two purposesAn agreement on the merits before any filing, or the pretrial preparation of a case already before the court.
2. 2One document, four required termsTerm, subject of the dispute, documents and how they are exchanged, intended lawyers’ deeds: on pain of nullity.
3. 3Limitation period suspendedIt resumes at the end of the term for at least six months; appeal deadlines and foreclosure periods are not suspended.
4. 4One shared expertChosen jointly and dismissed only by mutual consent, the expert’s report is worth a court-ordered expert report.
5. 5Since 2025, one more optionThe participatory procedure for pretrial preparation or the lighter simplified procedure, depending on the complexity of the case.

Training excerpts

General information. This account of a talk reflects only my personal opinion and is not legal advice. The cases mentioned are fictional, or inspired by real cases, modified and anonymized.