THE HONORARY British consul in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Gerard Barron, has been elected vice-president of the Pas-de-Calais bar, representing more than 100 local lawyers.

In what is believed to be a first for a British lawyer in France, Mr Barron was elected by his peers for a two-year term as vice-bâtonnier.

The court district, which runs along the Pas-de-Calais coast down to the border with the Somme, includes a central court, three smaller tribunaux d’instance, two employment tribunals (conseil de prud'hommes), a commercial court and a social security tribunal.

“As far as I am aware, I am the first British-born avocat and the first practising solicitor to be elected as either bâtonnier or vice-bâtonnier of a French bar,” Mr Barron said.

The bâtonnier and vice-bâtonnier oversee the bar council and deal with any disputes that arise between a lawyer and a client, or between two lawyers.