Procedures for registration of law-practicing organizations in Vietnam

Procedures for registration of law-practicing organizations in Vietnam (Internet image)

1. Operation registration dossiers of law-practicing organizations in Vietnam

Law-practicing organizations shall send operation registration dossiers to the provincial/municipal Justice Services. Such a dossier comprises:

- A written request for operation registration, made according to a set form; An application for operation registration of a law-practicing organization must contain the following main details:

+ Its name;

+ Addresses of its head-office, branches and transaction offices;

+ Its professional practice domains;

+ Full names, addresses, serial numbers of law practice certificates of the lawyer who is the chief of the lawyer's office or the director of the law firm and other founding members;

+ Serial number of the operation registration paper, place of operation registration and date of grant of the operation registration paper.

- A draft charter of the law firm;

- Copies of the law practice certificate and lawyer's card of the lawyer who sets up the lawyer's office, sets up or joins in setting up the law firm.

- Papers evidencing the headquarters of the law-practicing organization.

(Clause 2, Article 35 of the Law on Lawyers 2006)

2. Locations of registration of law-practicing organizations in Vietnam

A law-practicing organization shall register its operations at the provincial/municipal Justice Service of the locality where exists the bar association of which the chief of the lawyer's office or the director of the law firm is a member.

A law firm jointly set up by lawyers of different bar associations shall register its operations at the provincial/municipal Justice Service of the locality where the firm is based.

(Clause 1, Article 35 of the Law on Lawyers 2006)

3. Procedures for registration of law-practicing organizations in Vietnam

- A law-practicing organizations shall send operation registration dossiers to the provincial/municipal Justice Services.

- Within 10 working days after receiving a complete dossier, the provincial/municipal Justice Service shall grant an operation registration paper to the law-practicing organization; in case of refusal, it shall give written notice, clearly stating the reasons therefor and the person who is not granted that paper may lodge a complaint in accordance with law.

- A law-practicing organization may start operation on the date it is granted the operation registration paper.

- Within 7 working days after being granted the operation registration paper, the chief of the lawyer's office or the director of the law firm shall give a written notice together with a copy of the operation registration paper to the bar association of which he/she is a member.

(Article 35 of the Law on Lawyers 2006)

4. Certificate of operation registrations of law-practicing organizations in Vietnam

The Certificate of operation registration of a law-practicing organization comprises the following main contents:

- Name and address of the headquarters;

- Scope of professional practice;

- Surname, name, number and issuing date of the lawyer card of the representative-at-law;

- Surname, name and permanent address of members being lawyers;

(Article 9 of Decree 123/2013/ND-CP)

5. Changes in contents of operation registration of law-practicing organizations in Vietnam

- In case of a change in its name, address of its head-office, branch, transaction office, practice domains, membership, at-law representative or other contents in the operation registration dossier, within 10 working days after deciding on such change, a law-practicing organization shall make registration with the provincial/municipal Justice Service where it has registered its operations.

In case of changes in the contents of its operation registration paper, the law-practicing organization shall be re-granted that paper.

Within 10 working days after making changes or receiving the re-granted operation registration paper, the law-practicing organization shall notify the bar association of the changes in writing.

- When its operation registration paper is lost, torn, burnt or otherwise destroyed, a law-practicing organization shall be re-granted that paper.

(Article 36 of the Law on Lawyers 2006)

Diem My

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