‘The first legal profession’ of New France in jeopardy or revival?: history and futures of the Québec notariat

Abstract

This paper examines the historical development of French Canada's civil law tradition of a dual system of notaires and avocats within the legal profession. The two streams of practice are differentiated in terms of their professional structure, jurisdictions, education and professional training, and character of legal work. The two have also repeatedly jostled for professional control over law creation, governance, and legal markets. Notaires, originally Québec's ‘first legal profession’ and with noble standing as ‘Defenders of the Code Civil’, were largely displaced from the legal profession's helm of power and influence during the 1990s, an era described as la période noire in the history of the Québec notariat. This study explores structural and cultural dynamics of contested borders between these professional groups and the impact on the careers of legal practitioners. At the core of this analysis are personal biographies in the struggle for solidarity and resistance against the decline of a noble profession. The paper concludes with a discussion of the impressive reversal of fortunes taking place for le notariat in recent years.