How must foreign law firms be named to comply with Vietnamese regulations? Is the application for establishment required in Vietnamese?

How must foreign law firms be named to comply with Vietnamese regulations?

Pursuant to Article 26 of Decree 123/2013/ND-CP regulating the name of a foreign lawyer practice organization in Vietnam as follows:

1. Name of a branch of a foreign law-practicing organization in Vietnam shall include the phrase “Branch”, name of the foreign law-practicing organization and name of province or name of centrally-run city where the branch is located.

2. Name of a 100% foreign-owned law firm in Vietnam shall include the phrase “Limited liability law firm” and name of the foreign law-practicing organization.

3. Name of a joint venture law firm between foreign law-practicing organizations and Vietnamese law-practicing organizations shall be agreed through selection by parties, but it must include the phrase “Limited liability law firm”.

4. Name of a law partnership between foreign law-practicing organizations and Vietnamese law partnerships shall be agreed through section by parties, but it must include the phrase “law partnership”.

Thus, according to current regulations, a foreign law organization when operating in Vietnam when naming must include the phrase "Limited liability law company" (a company with 100% foreign capital).

Is the application for establishment required in Vietnamese?

In addition, Article 29 of this Decree stipulates the language of use and consular legalization as follows:

1. Application for setting up a branch, a foreign law firm; application for granting a law-practice certificate in Vietnam of a foreign lawyer must be made in Vietnamese. If enclosed papers of the application are in foreign languages, such papers must be translated into Vietnamese and their translated versions must be notarized or legalized in accordance with laws of Vietnam.

2. Papers granted, notarized or legalized by foreign organizations or agencies must be legalized by consular agencies in accordance with laws of Vietnam, except cases being exempt from consular legalization according to international treaties in which the Socialist republic of Vietnam is a contracting party.

According to this Article, to establish a foreign law firm in Vietnam, the attached documents must be made in Vietnamese or translated into Vietnamese, notarized, authenticated and must legalize the lawyer.

Best Regards!