Seconda, collective intelligence to elevate your legal expertise
A month with Seconda
Welcome to the Seconda newsletter!
As every month, we share our latest news and that of our Secondants, we open up the debate on a legal issue and we introduce you to a work, a place or a person, connected with the world of law, that has left a mark on us and that we recommend to you !
Enjoy the read and all your feedback is welcome!
What's new at Seconda?
The "Pink City" welcomed Seconda and Ronald Maman for the 4th stop of the Seconda Tour!
Toulouse, oh Toulouse… Occitan stage for the Seconda Tour!
A recipe that works
An evening with an Italian flair and an "illustrious" breakfast: those were the two highlights of this Toulouse stop of the Seconda Tour!
A format that is becoming a classic and that works: two settings in which to (re)discover services designed for lawyers, and to talk about day-to-day practice.
Over the course of the evenings, we touched on, among other things: the merging of specialisms, IFRAC, intellectual property consultations, AI, women's networks, CRIDON and the Ardèche (a non-exhaustive list).
As a bonus for this stop: a detour past the Place du Capitole, a bookshop with a telling name, a night-time stroll along the banks of the Garonne and, most importantly, the presence of Secondants who were able to speak directly with everyone there.
The bus is still warm, soon we'll.Another destination coming soon…
To be continued!
The client videos are online!
As we announced last month, this month we are proud to present: Seconda customer videos!
A lawyer setting up her own practice after 10 years in a major Anglo-Saxon firm, a partner at a niche health law firm, a lawyer who has been in practice for 54 years, and the co-founder of the firm Bold all agreed to take part in the client experience video.
A case note in Japanese criminal law, on legal opinion produced as evidence in court, a "toolkit" across several matters, or a specialist consultation on a point of insurance law: through these four portraits, you will discover their visions of the legal profession and the ways in which Seconda was able to be of use to them.
These videos will not only help lawyers gain a better understanding of how we work, but also help them explain Seconda to their own clients.
In addition to these longer videos available on our website, we will shortly be launching 4 short clips on social media!
Of course, you can share them with others and give us your feedback!
Seconda is on Instagram!
After LinkedIn, Seconda is now on Instagram!
No small feat, given that Néda and Fred-éric have managed to avoid this platform in their personal lives!
You will find all the useful information on how Seconda works, as well as our news and our usual columns (Secondant of the month, questions of the month), along with exclusive content created just for Instagram!
To follow us, search for cabinet_Seconda or click here .
Coming in April: a comeback in Marseille for the FNUJA committee and the launch… of a billboard campaign!
Antje Luke, our expert in German corporate law, German commercial law and private international law.
Secondant of the Month
This month, we're featuring Antje Luke
A doctor of Law and Rechtsanwältin (German-qualified lawyer) , Antje is a recognized expert in business law, on both sides of the Rhine.
And 2025 is getting off to a flying start: Antje is launching a new firm with a group of colleagues, called COLIBER LEGAL with some colleagues, with offices in Berlin, Paris and Warsaw.
Why "COLIBER"? First and foremost, it represents the solid alloy of cooperation (coopération) and freedom (liberté).
It is also a nod to the hummingbird (le colibri), an agile, creative and efficient little bird that can accomplish a great deal despite its small size.
Within this new structure, Antje will continue to offer her clients her preferred areas of expertise: international acquisitions, joint ventures, and complex cross-border contratcs.
Antje is also fully involved in professional associations; she is notably the president of DAV Frankreich / DAV France, the Association of German lawyers practicing in France. Her most recent engagement? Two weeks ago, Antje gave a presentation there on the theme "Succeeding with direct investments in Germany: legal and cultural perspectives", as part of the Oudinot Network .
Since her doctoral thesis on guarantees and infrastructure financing in a competitive context, Antje has cultivated her comparative approach more than ever, feeding her reflection and critical thinking across both systems, whether on the respective advantages and disadvantages of the SAS (société par actions simplifiée) and the GmbH, the opportunity of adopting the German model of judicial review, the specificity of French juges consulaires (lay commercial judges), or the employee participation in company governance championed by German law.
There is, however, one area in which Antje does not hesitate: lyric singing. She will much more readily take her seat for Wagner or Strauss than for Bizet.
Question of the month
What to think of the contribution for economic justice?
As of 1 January, the tribunaux des activités économiques (commercial activity courts) have, on an experimental basis, replaced 12 tribunaux de commerce (commercial courts). The experiment has a further component: the contribution for economic justice (contribution pour la justice économique, CJE).
Created by a law of 20 November 2023, this contribution was found to be consistent with the Constitution by the Conseil Constitutionnel, but legal challenges are expected against the decree of 30 December 2024 setting out the levy's practical arrangements.
Why a CJE?
The CJE has its origins in the work of the États généraux de la justice (Justice Task Force), and more specifically in a report produced in April 2022 by the working group on economic and social justice.
The report justifies the principle on two main grounds.
First, comparative law: France is one of the European countries where the financing of justice through taxation, rather than user fees, plays the most significant role. The report cites the example of Germany, where a stamp duty, varying according to the amount in dispute, must be paid at the beginning of proceedings by the party initiating the action.
Next, the drawbacks of too systematic an application of the principle of free access to justice. The report identifies effects that it describes as "perverse":
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insufficient accountability of the parties and their counsel, who would be "encouraged to exhaust all availagble remedies";
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a lack of incentive towards alternative dispute resolution;
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the costs that "unmeritorious" claims impose on the judicial system and on the other parties.
These arguments are not without merit.
On the question of the "incentive" to exhaust all remedies: can a party really be reproached for exercising a right of appeal that the law expressly affords them?
On the lack of incentive towards ADR (alternative dispute resolution): one may question the approach of discouraging litigants from turning to a public service whose very purpose is to resolve disputes between private parties by applying the rule of law, as a means of encouraging recourse to those alternative methods.
Are abusive claims not already addressed by the mechanisms of the civil fine (amende civile) and fault-based liability? One might perhaps increase the level of the fine. But, in any event, is the judge not best placed to assess whether the claim before them is abusive?
Finally, why should we take our lead from legal systems that give a greater role to user funding? Is not the tax-funded model of justice more consistent with the principle of equality? To which some will reply that the CJE will be borne solely by companies with more than 250 employees.
Avo-plumes ! The debate is open.
Our Secondants in the news
Ine, a new business firm in Paris created by Florent Gassies.
Florent Gassies
After eight years spent in firms specializing in corporate law and then in private equity and M&A, Florent opens INÉ, his firm dedicated to business law.
With INÉ, for Intuition, Negotiation, Efficiency, Florent puts all his expertise at the service of entrepreneurs, investors and managers in order to advise and support them in structuring their business projects.
You can find all the information on its website: www.ine.law
Jean-Baptiste Barbièri breaks down a judgment of the Cour de cassation of 22 January 2025 in the Recueil Dalloz.
Jean-Baptiste Barbièri
Jean-Baptiste, an associate professor at the Toulouse-Capitole University Law School, comments on a recent ruling in which the Court of Cassation (Commercial Chamber, January 22, 2025, No. 22-10.526) significantly broadens the scope for appointing a provisional administrator in a company, including when requested by the settlor of a trust covering the company's shares. Jean-Baptiste clarifies that this appointment must always be made in the company's best interest and not solely in the personal interest of the applicant. This commentary is published in the 2025 Dalloz Collection (p. 516).
A film, an exhibition, a restaurant…
This month sees the launch of a new podcast:
“Promenons-nous dans le droit…” ("A walk through the law..."), created and hosted by Néda and Marie-Paule Melka, an attorney before the Conseil d'État and the Cour de cassation, and a colleague, friend and regular guest of the Seconda Tour!
The concept: a monthly conversation with a legal professional, whether professor, judge or lawyer, who is both passionate and fascinating, sharing their knowledge and reflections on a topic of their choosing. An hour-long walk designed to take the time to get to the heart of things. A programme conceived to be listened to like a conversation by the fireside.
The guest on the first episode is Jean-Denis Combrexelle .
The theme: normative inflation (l'inflation normative), the subject at the heart of his work "Les normes à l'assaut de la démocratie" ("Norms Storming Democracy"), published in September 2024.
How does normative inflation manifest itself? What are its causes? What remedies might be considered? Jean-Denis Combrexelle brings the analysis and insights of someone who has seen things from the inside.
Jean-Denis Combrexelle guest on the first episode on normative inflation, the subject at the heart of his work "Les normes à l'assaut de la démocratie".
Thank you for reading.
That's all you need to know for this month, see you next month!
And to make sure you don't miss anything, remember to subscribe, for those who haven't already!
See you very soon!
Fred-Eric and Neda