Master Deborah Reeb, a committed defense

Young lawyer registered with the Paris Bar since 2024, Déborah Reeb embodies a generation of criminal lawyers for whom defense is both a profession, a duty, and a commitment. Trained in Strasbourg and influenced by key figures in the legal profession, she gradually builds a demanding practice deeply rooted in the rule of law and human dignity.

A path of excellence, a constructed vocation

Déborah Reeb completed her university studies at the Robert Schuman University of Strasbourg. She obtained a Master’s degree in Criminal Law and Criminology, followed by a Master 2 in Applied Criminal Law, graduating top of her class with honors. She expressed, “Scholastically, I have always been a very good student; unlike many, I have been fortunate to feel at home in school, at the university, and ultimately in the courts,” she said.

She proudly identifies with her Strasbourg upbringing, recognizing the symbolic significance of Robert Schuman, a lawyer, resistance fighter, Minister of Justice, and one of the founding fathers of European construction. Her choice allowed her to follow a different path from many Parisian lawyers. “It is a wealth for me to have lived outside the capital,” she explains, believing that this experience has given her “a more complete, more compassionate perspective on others.”

In Strasbourg, she discovered the European Court of Human Rights, where she attended hearings, drafted draft judgments, and encountered a legal aspect that has become indispensable to the national defense practice. She furthered her training at the Court of Cassation, the supreme judicial body in the French legal order, where she learned the appellate process in criminal matters. This dual training now gives her a rare mastery of technical litigation and avenues of appeal.

Before taking the oath in 2024, she also trained in several prestigious criminal defense firms, representing victims of police violence, activists, and parents facing accusations of “shaken babies.”

Today, she works as a collaborator and independently within her own firm, assisting numerous individuals and expanding her practice.

Criminal law as a necessity

Déborah Reeb describes the profession of a lawyer as a demanding role, both personally and professionally. She admits to having doubts at the beginning of her career, but eventually realized that being a criminal lawyer was her true calling.

Her choice was guided by the need to find a profession that holds meaning for her and society, the desire to help and understand others, a sense of contradiction, and indignation against injustice. She believes being a lawyer is both a chance and a duty to support individuals, whether victims or accused, in the most challenging moments of their lives.

She acknowledges the influence of prominent legal figures, having spent more time reading the biographies of great lawyers than her textbooks. She cites Henri Leclerc, Gisèle Halimi, and Robert Badinter as some of her inspirations.

The guiding philosophy of Henri Leclerc, “The one being judged is a human. They are just like everyone else. No matter the crime they have committed. They must be defended,” resonates throughout her practice.

In her view, even behind serious crimes or criminal records, there are no monsters, no one beyond redemption. Defense, to her, involves investigating the causes of criminal actions and humanizing the individuals involved.

[Context: Déborah Reeb’s dedication to a thorough process of defense shows her commitment to protecting the rights and dignity of individuals within the legal system.]

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