Studying Law in Spain (in Spanish)

[Unregistered]

Dear Lawbird Lawyer,

I am a law post-graduate from England. I have a LL.B degree and have completed the Legal Practice Course (diploma in legal practice which is our vocational training in England). But have not completed my training here.

I am interested in qualifying as a lawyer in Spain. I have read all the previous threads on this topic.

What is actually meant by 'homologating' a degree. Does this just mean that my qualifications which be checked in Spain to ensure that I do not need to take any more exams?

I understand that Spain has the continental system. So most of the work in Spain is carried out by Spanish lawyers. With the lawyers who come from a case law background acting as "high profile PRs". The exception to this rule being that those who have a background in International Law being able to practise as lawyers beside their Spanish counterparts. Are there foreign firms in Spain/ vacancies to enable the lawyers from a case law background to work as actual lawyers in Spain?

Am I right in understanding that in order for me to practice as a 'lawyer' of some description all I need to do is register with the Bar Association of the area in which I wish to work and preferably I should be fluent in Spanish? So that no more exams need to be taken at the current time? But in a few years time law graduates will be required to sit an exam in order to be registered with a Bar Association. Do you know when this new regulation will come into force?

Many thanks,

Dina

[Lawbird Lawyer]

Dear Dina,

Many questions.

First of all let me clarify that law firms in Spain are more than eager to hire lawyers from a case law background, that does not deter them. It falls on you to decide if you can actually practice law confidently in Spain or not and ultimately it will also fall on the market to decide your abilities as well following on your track record. No one will require you to take an exam to homologate your Law degree in Spain. As I wrote it's merely an administrative issue that takes a while spanning normally 2-3 years.

If after you've homologated your degree you feel confident that you can, for example, litigate in Spain and speak before Spanish judges and magistrates in lower and higher courts and draft 50 page long law suits quoting jurisprudence, by all means do it. There are no restrictions other than your own abilities.

The problem is that if you don't do it well you stand the chance of being sued for professional negligence which ultimately may lead you to being struck of the Bar Association.

It's not really an outside imposition of any sorts, it's quite simply that case law lawyers realise their limitations and would rather focus their energy tapping on market niches which are barred normally to Spanish lawyers for whatever reason i.e. language barrier. Normally case law lawyers work in tandem with their Spanish counterparts for this very reason as it's logical.

Bottom line, the only limitations that you will find to practice are your own. You can register freely at any Bar Association you wish and practice in any part of Spain. After a recent change in law, you are no longer required to join the regional Bar Association where you practice. i.e. you can join Madrid's now and practice in Málaga if you wish. Moreover, now you do not even have to communicate this change as opposed to very recently. Mastering Spanish is logically a plus as all laws and legal documents will be in Spanish or in one of Spain's other co-official languages. Having said that, many foreign lawyers make a tidy living in Spain and they are not bilingual.

Regarding taking an exam to obtain a practising certificate in Spain this will be approved within the next years to weed off unsuitable candidates. There is no definitive timeframe yet.

Homologating simply means they will check that you attained a valid law degree in your home country and they will now allow you to practice in Spain. No exams need to be taken, at least yet.

I wish you good look in your professional future.

Regards,

[Unregistered]

Dear Lawbird Lawyer,

Thank you very much for your reply. It was very helpful.

Regards,

Dina

[Unregistered]

I was just wondering from reading the posts above how long Spanish students spend studying and/or training before qualifying as a lawyer i.e. from the time they enter university until the time they are admitted as lawyers? I always find that interesting when mutual recognition questions are raised!

[Lawbird Lawyer]

That hinges on their syllabus.

Older syllabus required 5 years, newer ones require only 4 years. During those years you can opt to work as an intern during the long summer holidays to gain experience in a law firm. In addition many lawyers upon graduating join a Law Practice School which typically lasts one or two years.

In Spain we do not have an equivalent of the UK's mandatory internship. Although this is bound to change in the near future where exam taking will become compulsory to obtain a Practising Certificate so as to weed out unsuitable candidates.

[Unregistered]

thank you lawbird lawyer, very helpful on that last post

[Lawbird Lawyer]

You are welcome.

[Unregistered]

I have been reading the previous threads and am starting to get confused. I have a few queries and was wondering if someone could clarify:

I am an English qualified solicitor and have been practising for a number of years in the UK. I am now living in Barcelona and wish to practice here. I visited the law society in Barcelona and from what I can gather there are two routes available:

1- I can register with the law society and am able to practice without the need of 'homologating' my degree...but I would not be able to use the word 'abogada' behind my name - is this correct?

2 - I can work for a law firm in Barcelona and effectively qualify as a Spanish abogada, after a period of 3 years?

Is my understanding correct? I guess my query is how does a fully qualified solicitor qualify as a Spanish abogado/a?

Thanks

Dee

[Lawbird Lawyer]

Dear Dee,

If you are unable to use the word "Abogada" you simply cannot practice Law in Spain. That's like saying you can practice Law in the UK but you cannot do any work reserved to Solicitors and/or Barristers. In other words, you would be a paralegal of sorts.

You simply need to homologate your Law degree before the Ministry of Education as I have explained in detail in all the previous threads to the best of my knowledge.

In any case, I want to clarify that this law firm does NOT give legal advice on homologating Law degrees in Spain NOR are we specialised in this legal field.

Once you've homologated your Law degree before the Ministry of Education, you may then join any of Spain's Bar Associations to obtain a practising number and you will be able to address yourself as "Abogada" in equal footing to other Spanish colleagues.

The other point you mention on working for 3 years for a law firm and then you becoming a fully qualified "Abogada" I've never heard of this. It could be that the region of Catalonia has its own rules to qualify as a lawyer. You should look onto this matter to verify if it's the case.

All queries on convalidating a degree should be addressed to Spain's Ministry of Education which is the one homologating them:

http://www.educacion.es/educacion/un...n-titulos.html

Yours faithfully,

[Unregistered]

Thanks for the info.