To become a lawyer, one must first graduate from law school, complete a one-year legal traineeship and finally register with the bar association. The traineeship consists of two phases — six months at courts and six months under a practicing attorney.
In our country, hiring a lawyer is generally not mandatory; however, in matters that require professional knowledge and experience, being represented by an attorney prevents serious loss of rights. Representation by counsel is recommended for certain proceedings before the Court of Cassation and the Council of State.
Lawyers are generally divided into in-house lawyers and independent practitioners. In-house lawyers are salaried employees of public or private institutions and only handle matters of their organization. Independent practitioners may take any case from their own offices. There are also associate lawyers working under another attorney.
Lawyers work either at their affiliated institution or in their own private offices. Although they often appear at courthouses for hearings, on-site inspections and enforcement proceedings, they have no official workspace at the courthouse — their presence is solely case-related.
The prosecutor and the lawyer have equal rights at trial. The judge is an impartial decision-maker with no hierarchical relationship to either party. All three professions require a law degree.
In-house lawyers handle only their institution's cases, while independent practitioners may theoretically take any case. However, today most lawyers prefer to specialize in particular areas.
Under the Attorneys Act, lawyers are not obliged to accept every case offered to them. In some situations they must refuse — for example, if they have previously provided legal assistance to the opposing party.