Circular 17: Regulations on the provision of legal services by lawyers in Vietnam

Circular 17: Regulations on the provision of legal services by lawyers in Vietnam​ (Illustration)

According to Article 5 of Circular 17/2011/TT-BTP on the implementation of legal services by lawyers in Vietnam:

1. Lawyers execute legal services according to legal service contracts or legal service agreement forms, except in cases where lawyers participate in proceedings at the request of the proceeding agencies and lawyers practice independently under contracts for agencies and organizations.

2. For cases with a remuneration of 200,000 VND (two hundred thousand VND) or more, the law practice organization or the independently practicing lawyer must sign a written legal service contract. The legal service contract includes the contents stipulated in Clause 2, Article 26 of the Law on Lawyers. Upon liquidation of the legal service contract, the law practice organization or the independently practicing lawyer must issue an invoice to the client in accordance with the provisions of Article 15 of Decree 51/2010/ND-CP governing the issuance of sales invoices and provision of services and other financial and accounting regulations.

3. For cases with a remuneration below 200,000 VND (two hundred thousand VND), the law practice organization or the independently practicing lawyer shall prepare a legal service agreement form with the client according to the sample stipulated in Clause 22, Article 36 of this Circular and issue an invoice in accordance with the provisions of Article 16 of Decree 51/2010/ND-CP governing the issuance of sales invoices and provision of services and other financial and accounting regulations.

More details can be found in Circular 17/2011/TT-BTP, effective from December 1, 2011.

Thuy Tram

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