Bar in Switzerland

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lawyer , attorney , lawyer , advocate or intercessor ( French Avocat , Italian Avvocato , Romansh Advocat ) is in Switzerland , the professional title for lawyers with bar exam, that is for lawyers who are authorized to exercise the legal profession.

Stand designation

In the cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft , cantonal law allows the official title or professional title of advocate or advocate . In the cantons of Aargau , Bern and Solothurn the term is advocate , in the latter also advocate .

Legal law

The legal basis for the legal profession in Switzerland is the Federal Act of 23 June 2000 on the Free Movement of Lawyers (Lawyers Act, BGFA) and the cantonal lawyers' laws. The BGFA was introduced as part of the bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the EU . On the one hand, it regulates the conditions for practicing foreign lawyers in Switzerland and, on the other hand, guarantees the freedom of movement of lawyers within Switzerland.

The practice of the legal profession in Switzerland is linked to numerous requirements. In particular, a cantonal license to practice law must be obtained. According to the BGFA, this requires a degree in law, an internship of at least one year in Switzerland and a theoretical and practical skill test. In addition, professional liability insurance is required to work as a lawyer . Depending on the activity and the entry into the respective cantonal's Bar Register or cantonal prosecutor list required. Entry in the attorney's register is mandatory for work in the legal monopoly.

The requirements of the BGFA are implemented differently by the various cantonal laws. For example, there are different requirements for legal internships: In the canton of Zurich, for example, twelve months net must be practiced, i.e. 13 to 14 months with the usual vacation. in other cantons, employment is measured gross , i.e. with vacation time. The bar exams are also different; For example, the bar exam in the Canton of Zurich consists of a ten-hour written exam and an oral exam lasting several hours.

Specialist attorney

The Swiss Bar Association (SAV) has been awarding specialist lawyers' titles in various areas of law since 2006 . Today in Switzerland there are specialist lawyers for the areas of labor law , construction and real estate law , inheritance law , family law, liability and insurance law and criminal law . One of the requirements for admission to training is at least five years of professional experience in the relevant field of law.

The first course for the specialist lawyer family law took place in 2007/2008. The specialist training lasted a year. The material was taught in several modules.

Law firms

Many Swiss lawyers work alone or form a community of expenses ( partnership ) with a few other lawyers . According to the Federal Supreme Court, lawyers may combine to form a corporation such as an AG or GmbH in order to practice their profession . However, their independence must be ensured. The proportion of lawyers employed in such corporations is increasing (2003: 0%, 2012: 14%, 2019: 31%).

Since the beginning of the 1990s (as in other countries) there has been a development towards larger and specialized law firms, especially in the area of commercial law . Well-known larger law firms are for example (leading law firms in bold):

With the exception of Baker & McKenzie , no major foreign law firm has been able to harass the leading Swiss law firms. However, certain foreign law firms such as the German Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek or the Dutch Loyens & Loeff have offices in Zurich. In addition, various foreign law firms specializing in arbitration are represented at the Geneva and Lausanne lawyers . B. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld , King & Spalding or Sidley Austin .

A few Swiss law firms have branches abroad, e.g. B. Schellenberg Wittmer (Singapore), Prager Dreifuss (Brussels), Python (Brussels and Doha), Froriep (London and Madrid) and LALIVE (London).

Supervision of lawyers

The SonntagsZeitung wrote in April 2013 in the wake of offshore leaks :

«The supervision of lawyers in Switzerland is lax. They are not subject to money laundering regulations when setting up and managing offshore companies, only when managing funds themselves. In other countries the regulations are stricter. The Swiss lawyers are therefore valued in the offshore business. "

She quoted Beat von Rechenberg, President of the Swiss Bar Association between 2011 and 2013, as saying:

“There is a considerable risk for lawyers who have systematically set up tax-reducing offshore structures for foreigners, and a paradigm shift is currently taking place similar to that of the bankers. Managing untaxed money is no longer a business model. "

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ § 10 Advokaturgesetz
  2. ↑ §§ 10, 10a Lawyers Act
  3. ↑ § 17 EG BGFA
  4. ↑ Art. 1, 44, 45 https://www.belex.sites.be.ch/frontend/versions/1052
  5. ↑ § 17 AnwG
  6. ↑ Federal Act of 23 June 2000 on the Free Movement of Lawyers (Lawyers Act, BGFA) in the Systematic Collection of Federal Law (SR)
  7. ↑ In the canton of Zurich, for example, the Lawyers Act (AnwG) of November 17, 2003 (PDF; 63 kB)
  8. ↑ Information on the specialist lawyer title on the website of the Swiss Bar Association (SAV)
  9. ↑ BGer 2C_237 / 2011, judgment of September 7, 2012 .
  10. ^ Heiko Bergmann, Lucca Nietlispach: Central results of the SAV study practice costs . In: Anwaltsrevue - the practice magazine of the Swiss Bar Association . No. 6/7/2019 , ISSN  1422-5778 , p. 293 ff . ( sav-fsa.ch [PDF]).
  11. ↑ Zoé Baches: Swiss lawyers are bursting with self-confidence | NZZ . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . December 12, 2017, ISSN  0376-6829 ( nzz.ch [accessed July 7, 2018]).
  12. ↑ NZZ, February 27, 2014, A lot of work thanks to the tax dispute
  13. ↑ Blick, April 28, 2013, [1]
  14. ↑ HEUKING KÜHN LÜER WOJTEK: Commercial law firm Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek | Lawyers and tax consultants in Zurich. July 31, 2015, accessed April 13, 2020 .
  15. ↑ Zurich office | Loyens & Loeff. Accessed April 13, 2020 (English).
  16. ^ Geneva. Accessed April 13, 2020 (English).
  17. ^ Geneva. Accessed April 13, 2020 (English).
  18. ^ Geneva. Accessed April 13, 2020 (English).
  19. ^ Schellenberg Wittmer | Contact. Accessed April 13, 2020 (English).
  20. ↑ Contact. Accessed April 13, 2020 (German).
  21. ↑ Contact - Our offices. Accessed April 13, 2020 (English).
  22. ↑ FRORIEP: FRORIEP | Locations. Retrieved April 13, 2020 .
  23. ^ International Law Firm - Contact Us. In: LALIVE. Retrieved April 13, 2020 .
  24. ↑ The Escape of Money to Paradise
  25. ↑ www.sav-fsa.ch ( Memento from December 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  26. ^ Obituaries of Beat von Rechenberg | trauer.nzz.ch. Accessed April 13, 2020 (German).