Seconda, collective intelligence to elevate your legal expertise
A month with Seconda
Welcome to the Seconda newsletter!
As every month, we present our latest news as well as that of our Seconds, we open the debate on a legal issue and we also present a work, a place or a person, related to the world of law, that has marked us and that we recommend!
Enjoy your reading and all your feedback is welcome!
What's new at Seconda?
We had our picture taken!
An email, a proposed meeting, and here we are in a cafe with a journalist to talk about what we love most: Seconda!
After 30 months in existence, this interview gave us the opportunity to reiterate our philosophy, explain how we operate, and describe our ambitions for the future.
We thank the Lettre des Juristes d' Affaires for this opportunity to highlight the uniqueness of our law firm model, which is based above all on collective intelligence and horizontal work, as well as our desire to scientifically support our colleagues in the development of their firm.
And every article needs a photograph to illustrate it. And at Seconda, as you know, we're more into drawing.
So, much against our will, we had to participate in the photo shoot. But thanks to the photographer's talent, the moment was rather pleasant, and we're sharing one of his achievements with you below: a lovely photo of us, relaxed and smiling!
We are eager to hear your opinion (especially on the article, but we also welcome your feedback on the photo).
On the road again!
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The Seconda Tour train has resumed its journey to Bordeaux to meet up with our colleagues over breakfast.
A truly special moment, thanks to the quality of these exchanges!
But, for once, caught up in the discussions, we forgot to immortalize the moment... So you will only have the Bordeaux opera, Fred-éric with his suitcase and Krzysztof's (Neda's partner) guilty pleasure: the canelés from La Toque Cuivrée !
A very special thank you to Oriane D'Hinnin Arruyer for contributing to the success of this moment!
Coming soon : the return of the café-chouquettes, a new stage of the Seconda Tour and other surprises!
Yann is one of our competition law specialists.
Secondant of the Month
This month, we present Yann Heyraud !
Yann is the quintessential researcher-practitioner: capable of juggling between pamphlets on distribution law, advice and high-stakes litigation.
On the publishing front , as part of a project on restrictive trade practices, Yann is finalizing a Lexbase booklet dedicated to the abrupt termination of established business relationships, which he is co-authoring with Adeline Thobie (Lecturer at Sciences Po). He will then update the booklet on commercial agents that he also wrote for Lexbase (the first edition of which was published in 2023). Yann also collaborates with Nadège Jullian (#teamSeconda) on some professional fact sheets for Lamy.
In the field , Yann spoke at the Entreprendre dans l'Ouest/Franchise Event 2025 trade show to present the legal framework for franchising. Earlier this year, he participated in the symposium "Local Investment in Sports" (organized by the French Public Finance Society, the proceedings of which were published by LexisNexis): " With Adeline Thobie, we were asked a simple question: how can corporate law and contract law structure sports investment? It's fascinating! "
And as a lawyer?
Yann continues his consulting activities in various cases but always focused on the business side of companies.
In the courtroom, Yann is experimenting with the new article L. 444-1 A of the Commercial Code in a case involving a sudden termination of a contract and international issues: " This article lies at the border between restrictive trade practices and private international law. For the moment, there is very limited experience with this text; there is room for experimentation and development! "
That's perfect: PRC and DIP are right at the heart of his field of expertise.
Question of the month
The principle "inherent to the constitutional identity of France":
What is its definition and what is its purpose?
What are we talking about?
The Constitutional Council declares itself incompetent to control
The constitutionality of legislative provisions that merely implement European directives and regulations. One exception: cases where the provisions implementing the directive or regulation infringe upon a " rule or principle inherent to the constitutional identity of France ."
The concept was put forward in 2006, but not defined, even though the issue at stake is none other than the very principle of constitutional review.
In 2021, a substantive criterion was stated: a principle " not finding equivalent protection in European Union law " is inherent to the constitutional identity of France.
The idea is understandable: the concern to avoid friction between the domestic legal order and that of the EU, and the observation that in the event of equivalent protection in EU law, respect for the law in question is already ensured by a judge other than the constitutional judge.
The idea is understandable: the concern to avoid friction between the domestic legal order and that of the EU, and the observation that in the event of equivalent protection in EU law, respect for the law in question is already ensured by a judge other than the constitutional judge.
One example of application to date: in 2021, the Constitutional Council declared the prohibition of delegating general administrative policing powers inherent in the exercise of public force to private individuals to be a principle inherent in French constitutional identity.
Conversely, in a decision of June 27, 2025, in refusing to rule on a QPC concerning Article L. 572-3 of the Code of Entry and Residence of Foreigners and the Right of Asylum, the Constitutional Council, after considering that the challenged provisions only drew the consequences of the Dublin III Regulation, held that the constitutional right of asylum was also protected by EU law so that it did not constitute a rule or principle inherent in the constitutional identity of France.
We are questioning, at the very least, the relevance of the formula.
Is it not ideologically problematic to state that a right is not " inherent to French constitutional identity " solely because it is also protected by EU law?
The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights guarantees, for example, the right to liberty, the prohibition of slavery, and equality before the law.
Can we truly consider that these are not principles " inherent " to the constitutional identity of France? And fundamentally, what exactly is meant by "equivalent" protection?
Is it sufficient for the principle of the law in question to be recognized at the European level, or must it be recognized in the exact same
terms?
Some authors explain, for example, that constitutional asylum was built as a corrective to the shortcomings of international protection, so that today constitutional asylum is not a duplicate of conventional asylum recognized at the European level.
Avo-plumes! The debate is open.
Share your opinion online
Our Secondants in the news
Aurore Sauviat
Aurore appeared alongside Salomé Saqué and Virginie Mathivet in a Konbini format Let's talk about deepfakes. As a reminder, a deepfake is an image, video or voice generated by AI to give the illusion of reality.
Aurore alerts us to this phenomenon which is a real scourge since 96% of online deepfakes are pornographic, of which 99% of this content targets women (sources: Deeptrace, 2019).
In this video, you will understand:
- What is a deepfake and how is it created?
- Who is most affected by this?
- What to do when you are the target?
- What legal and societal issues does this raise?
The video is available here.
Karim El-Chazli
We are very pleased to share the announcement of Karim El Chazli's admission to the IAFL as an associate fellow (Egypt) from July 2025.
The International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) brings together lawyers from around the world recognized for their excellence in international family law.
Founded in 1986, it promotes the exchange of knowledge, cross-border cooperation and the improvement of family law practice worldwide.
Its network now includes more than 1,000 Fellows in 127 legal systems.
Karim recently attended the "Introduction to European Family Law Conference" which took place in Hamburg on October 23 and 24, 2025.
Nadège Jullian
Nadège spoke at the 20th edition of the Notarial Heritage Days which took place at the University Paris Dauphine – PSL on October 16 and 17.
Nadège notably participated in a round table on "the death of the partner", alongside Céline Schwartz, a notary in Toulouse.
On the same topic, Nadège had published, in the September edition of Gestion de Fortune, a study coordinated with Frédéric Douet on the legal and tax consequences of the death of a partner in a civil society.
Finally, Nadège is co-organizing, with Emma Durand and Mélanie Jaoul, the 17th Notary-University Meetings, which will be held on November 7th in Montpellier, on the theme:
"The Notary as advisor to the committed entrepreneur."
A symposium that examines the role of the notary in supporting the committed entrepreneur, particularly in philanthropic initiatives or those integrating an environmental, social, ethical and responsible dimension into their projects.
A film, an exhibition, a restaurant…
Alongside criminal justice, restorative justice opens a new door around dialogue where those who often feel forgotten finally find themselves at the center of their story.
In the vein of the excellent " I Will Always See Your Faces ", Reparation allows us to follow, over a year, a restorative justice system put in place around domestic violence.
Here, there are no actors or scripts, but real people – victims and perpetrators – who talk to each other, listen to each other, confront each other, and sometimes, recognize each other.
After the lost looks, the raw words, the heavy silences, the damaged stories, the disturbing questions, the system offered by restorative justice gives way to the unthinkable: what if the two parties had more in common than their resentments?
Anger following a trial where one did not feel heard, isolation in the face of the incomprehension of others, the repercussions of the tragedy on those around them and the long road to reparation are all subjects that create the bond.
And suddenly, something flows: a word, a glance, a book offered, a piece of advice given. We reach out to each other. We wipe away a tear. We laugh. We talk, and that's already a lot.
What's at stake here is the possibility of a connection, however fragile. An attempt at healing, not through legal means, but through humanity. For those willing to listen, it's deeply moving. And necessary.
The documentary is available on the France Télévisions platform until November 4th.
Thank you for reading.
That's all you need to know for this month, see you next month!
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See you very soon!
Fred-Eric and Neda
