PICOTIN AVOCATS

What PICOTIN AVOCATS does

PICOTIN AVOCATS is a French generalist law firm organized as a SELARL (Société d'Exercice Libéral à Responsabilité Limitée), founded in 1981 in Bordeaux and currently led by Avocates Associées Maleine Picotin-Gueye and Ophélie Rodrigues following Daniel Picotin's retirement in January 2021. The firm maintains four offices — Bordeaux (headquarters, 96 rue du Tondu), Paris (5th arrondissement), Saint-Ciers-sur-Gironde, and Biganos (Bassin d'Arcachon) — and serves private individual clients across two French regions, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Île-de-France.

The practice spans six core areas: family, persons and estate law (divorce, custody, filiation, adoption, protected adults); criminal defense (garde à vue through assize court representation); sectarian derivations and mental manipulation law (dérives sectaires et emprise mentale), including representation of direct and indirect victims of cults and deviant therapies; minors law; personal injury (bodily injury, medical malpractice, assault, traffic accidents); and private international law. The cult/sect derivative practice is the firm's distinguishing specialty, built through long-running, high-profile cases (Thierry Tilly / Reclus de Monflanquin, Robert Le Dinh/Tang, Christian Ruhaut) and reinforced by international conference participation (ICSA Montreal 2021 and Louisville 2023) and recurring national press (BFMTV, France 2, France 3, Sud Ouest, New York Times). The firm also delivers a DU (Diplôme Universitaire) program and modular courses on sectarian derivations.

The business model is traditional professional-services billing on a regulated hourly basis. Disclosed rates are €280 HT/hour (€336 TTC) for general matters and €330 HT/hour (€396 TTC) for cult/sect cases, governed by French Loi du 31 décembre 1991 and related décrets, with access to a CNB consumer mediator. Customers are exclusively individuals and families; there are no enterprise or institutional clients. Distribution relies on direct office appointments, supplemented by an online scheduling integration ('Meet laW'), an active social media presence (LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok), earned media, and partnerships (notably with FB AVOCAT – Mobilité internationale from June 2025 and with LICRA Bordeaux for the 'Revue des Libertés Fondamentales'). The firm has no proprietary technology platform, no AI/ML capabilities, and operates as an independent partnership with no external investment or parent entity.

Name

PICOTIN AVOCATS

Legal name

SELARL PICOTIN AVOCATS

Website

https://picotinavocats.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PICOTIN AVOCATS is a French SELARL law firm headquartered in Bordeaux, operating four offices across Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Paris. It provides family law, criminal defense, personal injury, and specialized cult/sect victim representation services to individual clients, with hourly rates publicly disclosed.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Services

NAICS

Legal Services (5411), Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK)

Keywords

• Family law services
• Criminal defense representation
• Cult victim legal defense
• Personal injury compensation
• Private international law

Headquarters

HQ city

Bordeaux

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Legal Consultation and Representation Services: Professional legal services billed on an hourly rate basis for family law, criminal defense, and cult/sect victim representation cases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

PICOTIN AVOCATS is a Bordeaux-based French law firm providing legal representation and consultation to individuals across family law (divorce, custody, filiation, adoption), criminal defense, personal injury, minors' law, private international law, and the firm's signature niche of defending victims of cults, sects, mental manipulation, coercive control, and deviant therapies. Services are delivered through scheduled consultations at four office locations and billed on regulated hourly rates. The firm also offers educational courses, including a DU (Diplôme Universitaire) on sectarian derivations law.

Product overview

PICOTIN AVOCATS is a generalist law firm operating as a SELARL (Société d'Exercice Libéral à Responsabilité Limitée) based in Bordeaux, France. The firm offers a unified portfolio of legal services organized around several core practice areas: Family Law (Famille / Personne / Patrimoine), Criminal Law (Pénal), Sectarian Derivations and Mental Influence Law (Droit des Dérives Sectaires), Minors Law, Personal Injury (Dommage Corporel), Private International Law, and training courses. The practice areas interconnect through complementary expertise, with the firm particularly specializing in defending victims of sectarian derivations, cult influence, and mental manipulation. Additional services include recruitment assistance for young lawyers and court hearing preparation. The firm maintains multiple locations across Bordeaux, Paris, Blayais, and Biganos.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Famille / Personne / Patrimoine (Family Law Services) Comprehensive family law representation for individuals on divorce, filiation, adoption, custody, child support, protection of vulnerable adults, separation, and matrimonial regime liquidation.
• Pénal (Criminal Law Services) Criminal defense representation across preliminary investigation, instruction phase, alternative measures, and trial phase including police court, criminal court, and assize court.
• Droit des Dérives Sectaires et Emprise Mentale (Sectarian Derivations and Mental Influence Law) Specialized legal representation for direct and indirect victims of cults, sects, mental manipulation, coercive control, and deviant therapies.
• Victimes de dérives sectaires, d'emprise mentale et/ou de thérapies déviantes (Cult/Sect Victim Representation) Direct victim and indirect victim (family members) representation in cases of cults, sects, mental manipulation, and deviant therapies.
• Mineurs (Minors Law) Legal representation in matters involving minors, including child protection and youth-related legal proceedings.
• Dommage Corporel (Personal Injury) Personal injury compensation representation covering life accidents, medical malpractice, assaults, and traffic accidents.
• Droit International Privé (Private International Law) Cross-border legal representation and conflicts-of-laws advisory for private international law matters.
• Cours et Formations (Training Courses and DU Droit des Dérives Sectaires) Educational courses and modules on sectarian derivations law and criminal law, including a DU (Diplôme Universitaire) program on sectarian derivations law.

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• FB AVOCAT - Mobilité internationaleminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 June 2025Partnership for international mobility legal services, combining expertise of PICOTIN AVOCATS and FB AVOCAT. A new partnership brochure was released on 17 June 2025.
• LICRA B/G (Ligue Internationale Contre le Racisme et l'Antisémitisme)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the 'Revue des Libertés Fondamentales' publication with the Bordeaux Bar Association.
• Family Business ClubminorOthersMaleine Picotin-Gueye is a member of the Family Business Club, which awarded the cabinet the 'enfant et famille en Gironde' label.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Dentons: Global law firm with presence across Europe including France. Overlaps PICOTIN on family/private client and dispute resolution matters, but as part of a much broader full-service portfolio rather than as a niche specialty.
• Hogan Lovells: Global law firm with significant European family/private wealth and litigation practices. Comparable in serving sophisticated individual clients on cross-border personal matters, though operating as a general-purpose global firm.
• Gide Loyrette Nouel: Leading French-headquartered international law firm with broad corporate and litigation practices. Relevant as a major incumbent French legal services competitor, though its core offering is corporate/M&A rather than individual client work.
• Bredin Prat: Premier Parisian law firm with a strong litigation and white-collar defense practice. Comparable in criminal defense capability and elite French market positioning, though it serves corporate defendants as well as individuals.

Direct peers

• Mishcon de Reya: London-based firm recognized for high-end family law, private client, and dispute resolution. Directly comparable in the family/private client segment, with similar reliance on personal reputation of senior partners for inbound demand.
• Charles Russell Speechlys: UK firm with a flagship private client and family practice handling divorce, custody, and estates. Comparable in its specialist family-law orientation and partner-led service model.
• Withers: International law firm with a strong private client and family law practice serving high-net-worth individuals globally. Comparable to PICOTIN in its focus on family, estates, and personal matters, though Withers operates at materially greater scale and geographic reach.

Others

• UNADFI (Union Nationale des Associations de Défense des Familles et de l'Individu): French non-profit association supporting victims of cults and mental manipulation. Not a law firm but a key referral source and ecosystem partner for cult-victim cases, with overlapping mission and clientele.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PicotinAvocats
• YouTubetiktok.com/@picotin.avocats
• Facebookfacebook.com/Picotin-Avocats-403059176937699
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/picotin-avocats
• Instagraminstagram.com/picotin_avocats

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PICOTIN AVOCATS