In 1869 he became a counsel at the Court of Appeals in Ghent, and from 1876 on he was a prosecutor at the Military Court for Antwerp, Mons and Ghent.
He began working as a legal counselor at the Court of Appeals in Ghent in 1869, later assuming the position of prosecutor at the Military Court for the cities of Antwerp, Mons, and Ghent starting from 1876.