Cornet Vincent Ségurel Prize 2025: Interview with the Winner!

How did you first hear about the Cornet Vincent Ségurel Prize, and what motivated you to take part in the competition?

During my first year of the Master’s program, I attended the Cornet Vincent Ségurel Prize, in which the second-year students took part.

It’s a competition that has been organized in partnership with the Cornet Vincent Ségurel law firm for four years now.
The competition gives students the opportunity to develop a crucial skill for any future legal professional: communication.

By taking part in this contest, we practice explaining complex legal concepts in a clear and concise way to non-specialists — it’s excellent preparation for real-world practice.

In what way did this public speaking competition align with your aspirations and the goals of your academic program?

Communication plays a key role in the legal profession.
As legal professionals, we often have to interact with operational staff who may not have a legal background and are not looking for overly dense or complex explanations that they might not fully grasp.

What they need is a response that is quick, clear, and actionable, so they can make informed decisions without delay.

In that sense, the competition offered as part of our program clearly meets the expectations placed on a good legal professional.

What was the topic of your presentation for the Cornet Vincent Ségurel Prize, and how did you approach it in your speech?

I chose to explore the theme of franchising — but not in the way people usually know or expect.
In my speech, I opted for a lively and visual approach, illustrating the franchisor–franchisee relationship as a kind of two-person dance: the franchisee follows the rhythm, but must also be able to invent their own steps.

And to truly engage the audience, nothing works better than storytelling to convey complex legal concepts.

A big thank you to the lawyers at Cornet Vincent Ségurel for guiding us throughout the preparation. Their advice was invaluable in helping us feel more confident when speaking.

Did you develop any specific techniques or personal methods to prepare for your oral presentation?

Yes, I followed a three-step method:

First, an in-depth legal analysis to gain complete mastery of my topic.
Then, I carefully crafted my speech, paying close attention to clarity, rhythm, and transitions.
And finally, I practiced intensively in front of friends and family, taking their feedback into account to work on my weaknesses.

I also focused a lot on posture, breathing, and intonation to give more power to my arguments.

And I’ll let you in on a little secret — even my car rides in the days before the event turned into rehearsal time. I’m pretty sure some drivers thought I was completely mad, haha!

How did you handle the nerves before speaking in front of the jury? Do you have any specific strategies for managing stage fright?

When I was little, I wasn’t really comfortable speaking in front of an audience or being the center of attention (dance performances, piano exams at the conservatory…). So, I was quite nervous about this competition: the jury, the strict timing, potential technical issues, the audience, and so on.
But what really helped me was the fact that I had done many oral presentations during my Master’s program.

This competition truly helped me grow by overcoming my fear and stage fright when speaking in public.

I developed several strategies:

• Taking a deep breath before stepping on stage,
• Managing stress by making eye contact with the audience,
• Staying calm,
• Remaining natural without overdoing it.

But to conquer stage fright, it’s important to remember that you chose your topic, you know it inside and out, and you’re speaking from the heart — so everything will be fine!

What do you take away from this experience, beyond the victory? What personal and professional benefits have you gained from it?

On a personal level, participating in the Cornet Vincent Ségurel Prize helped me gain much more confidence in myself. I also realized that I could speak in public about a complex topic and make it accessible.

Professionally, this recognition reinforced my belief that communication is a key strength for a legal professional. It encourages me to keep developing this skill, which I consider fundamental for any jurist.
I believe this experience has brought us a lot, both personally and professionally.

How does this victory fit into your career path? How do you envision the next steps in your professional journey?

This victory is a symbolic milestone that gives me confidence for what lies ahead. It reminds me that I can step out of my comfort zone, dare to try different formats, and turn that into a strength. Who knows, maybe I’ll even participate in other public speaking competitions in the future!

For the next steps in my career, I plan to continue in the legal field as an in-house counsel. I aspire to deepen my knowledge in business law.

Once again, congratulations to Annaëlle El Machkour for winning this competition!