practitioners of the law
Note from The Achievement of France
in Part One of Reflections On The Revolution In France

These were very numerous in France (Montaigne said they almost constituted a Fourth Estate — as we to-day say about journalists), owing to the varied systems of common law that prevailed in different districts. But they were not in a majority in the 'État'; out of 652 members the lawyers numbered 272. There were 162 magistrates of lower grades; the " distinguished magistrates " were represented in the Estate of the Nobility: and it was the lawyers who best knew the condition and need of the people. A Breton advocate, Le Chapeher, was President of the Tiers État.