Abandoning natural science studies, Laval eventually turned to law and became in 1909 a "lawyer of the poor people", closed to syndicalists of the CGT.
The years before the First World War were characterised by labour unrest, and Laval defended strikers, trade unionists, and left-wing agitators against government attempts to prosecute them.
At a trade union conference, Laval said:
I am a comrade among comrades, a worker among workers.
I am not one of those lawyers who are mindful of their bourgeois origin even when attempting to deny it.
I am not one of those high-brow attorneys who engage in academic controversies and pose as intellectuals.
I am proud to be what I am.
A lawyer in the service of manual laborers who are my comrades, a worker like them, I am their brother.
Comrades, I am a manual lawyer.

The first case that led him to fame was the acquittal of Gustave Manhès, a revolutionary trade unionist charged with possession of explosives and anarchist manuals.
Laval married Jeanne Claussat in 1909, the daughter of Socialist politician Dr Joseph Claussat.
Their only child, a daughter named Josée, was born in 1911.
Josée married René de Chambrun, whose uncle, Nicholas Longworth III, married Alice Roosevelt, daughter of United States President Theodore Roosevelt.
Although Laval's wife came from a political family, she never participated in politics.
Laval was generally considered to be devoted to his family.

In 1911, he ran for parliament in the Neuilly-Boulogne electoral district, and caused the victory of Conservative candidate Édouard Nortier by continuing to stand in the second round face to Radical candidate Alexandre Percin.
Abandoning natural science studies, Laval eventually turned to law and became in 1909 a "lawyer of the poor people", closed to syndicalists of the CGT. The years before the First World War were characterised by labour unrest, and Laval defended strikers, trade unionists, and left-wing agitators against government attempts to prosecute them. At a trade union conference, Laval said:
I am a comrade among comrades, a worker among workers. I am not one of those lawyers who are mindful of their bourgeois origin even when attempting to deny it. I am not one of those high-brow attorneys who engage in academic controversies and pose as intellectuals. I am proud to be what I am. A lawyer in the service of manual laborers who are my comrades, a worker like them, I am their brother. Comrades, I am a manual lawyer.
The first case that led him to fame was the acquittal of Gustave Manhès, a revolutionary trade unionist charged with possession of explosives and anarchist manuals. Laval married Jeanne Claussat in 1909, the daughter of Socialist politician Dr Joseph Claussat. Their only child, a daughter named Josée, was born in 1911. Josée married René de Chambrun, whose uncle, Nicholas Longworth III, married Alice Roosevelt, daughter of United States President Theodore Roosevelt. Although Laval's wife came from a political family, she never participated in politics. Laval was generally considered to be devoted to his family.
In 1911, he ran for parliament in the Neuilly-Boulogne electoral district, and caused the victory of Conservative candidate Édouard Nortier by continuing to stand in the second round face to Radical candidate Alexandre Percin.
Pierre Laval