The Belgian legal profession will be modernised with a focus on increasing transparency but above all making the profession more attractive, especially for young lawyers.
Federal Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne highlighted the problem of many trainee lawyers dropping out during the trainee period. This is explained by the high-stress combination of professional training and the three-year internship, as well as a lack of coherent wages for trainee lawyers. As a result, trainees often quit before becoming full-fledged lawyers and potential trainees are put off.
"The legal profession is losing too much talent. It must remain attractive to young lawyers," he said. For years, voices have called to modernise the legal profession, which has remained unchanged for decades. While attempts to do so have been made on several occasions, little was achieved."
However, the Justice Ministry has now decided with the Bar Associations on concrete solutions to modernise the profession. The Council of Ministers approved a draft law to this end on Friday.
Employee status
The main focus of the draft law is making the profession more attractive. To this end, one of the key reforms is the introduction of the lawyer-employee status. Currently, a person in Flanders can only become a lawyer under self-employed status.
It will soon be possible for people in all regions to practise the profession of lawyer as a clerk under the status of lawyer-employee. This status will also apply to trainee lawyers. The option of practising the profession as a self-employed person, of course, remains.
The internship system will also be modified: professional training as a lawyer – not to be confused with law studies – will be organised prior to the traineeship and no longer at the same time. The professional training will likely last six months and the internship itself will be shortened to 2.5 years instead of the current three years.
Trainee lawyers will also be able to carry out the traineeship as a lawyer-employee and will no longer be required to have self-employed status. The possibility of finding a coherent system for the payment of trainee lawyers will also be examined.
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Finally, the draft law aims for a more objective disciplinary law. In recent years, several cases have surfaced in which some lawyers did not comply with rules, laws and deontological codes.
Now, a complaint will be followed by a disciplinary investigation by an independent investigator. "The complainant will also be better involved in the investigation process. And disciplinary fines will be introduced, on top of the existing sanctions such as suspension or expulsion," Van Quickenborne explained.
