ABOUT

Julie Gordon

Former Notaire, Advisor on French Property, Family & Succession Law

Julie Gordon helps English speakers deal with the French legal system — whether they are settling in France, investing here, or managing personal and business affairs that cross borders.

She trained as a notaire, the French public officer responsible for property transfers, marriage contracts and successions. Selected for the notarial route at the end of her second year of law studies, she completed six further years of study and two years combining academic work with supervised practice before qualifying.

She practised in established notarial offices in Nice and Monaco, where French property and family law made up the bulk of the work and where cross-border estates and matrimonial property regimes were a constant feature.

Several years in London followed, during which she bought property there herself. Dealing with an unfamiliar legal system as a client rather than a practitioner is an instructive experience, and it shapes how she works with clients today.

On returning to France she specialised in international taxation at the University of Nice, publishing several papers in the field.

In 2016, following the reform that opened the creation of new notarial offices in designated parts of France, she was appointed by the Ministry of Justice to establish her own office in Fréjus. She built the practice over years before selling it.

She no longer holds notarial office and works today as an independent adviser.

That is deliberate. Clients can come to her at the point where a purchase, a marriage contract or a succession can still be structured — before instructions are given and before the shape of the transaction is fixed — and think the options through without time pressure. Where a deed is required, she works alongside the notaire who will draw it up.

Julie is married to an Englishman, which gives her a daily view of what French administration looks like from the outside. She is also a qualified English teacher, working with French students preparing for the Sciences Po entrance examinations.