avoué

In France and Belgium, an '''' () was formerly a jurist and a ministerial officer charged with performing the preparation () of cases in front of courts. Their functions were roughly equivalent to that of solicitors in common law systems, but only in the context of litigation. The office was abolished in Belgium in 1970 and in France in 2012.

Traditionally in France, there existed a distinction between the oral pleading of a case, which was the function of the avocat, and the preparation of a case, which was considered a ministerial function. were charged with the latter. Their tasks included the drafting of the statement of claim and of other documents, the distribution of the judgment, and other matters of procedure.