Olivier Cousi

Cousi was born into a family who had lived in Eure-et-Loire and was the son of lawyer Pierre Cousi.^[2] He received a baccalauréat from the Lycée Carnot in 1976, graduated from the French Press Institute in 1980, and earned a law degree from Sciences Po in 1983. He also earned a Master of Advanced Studies under the regulation of the French independent administrative authority [fr] from Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University in 1983.^[3] He became a licensed lawyer in 1985 and joined the international law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel.^[4]

Cousi served as secretary of the Conférence des avocats du barreau de Paris in 1988 under the leadership of Philippe Lafarge.^[1] He became President of the Alliance des Avocats pour les Droits de l’Homme in July 2015.^[5] After being defeated in the 2016 ordinal elections,^[6] he was elected 221st Bâtonnier of the Paris Bar Association [fr] in 2018.^[7] He took office on 1 January 2020 alongside his Vice-Bâtonnier, Nathalie Roret [fr].^[8] During his campaign, he publicly sought to "restore a political role" to the Paris Bar.^[9]

Cousi died following a long illness on 2 March 2022, at the age of 62.^[10]