Access to the legal profession
After the entry into force of the Law 34/2006, of October 30, on access to the professions of Lawyer and Attorney of the Courts, the completion of the Master of Access to the Practice of Law is an indispensable requirement to practice as a lawyer in our country. As stated in the statement of motives of the norm itself, lawyer and attorney “are fundamental partners in the delivery of justice, and the quality of the service they provide directly in the effective judicial protection that our Constitution guarantees to the citizenry.”
This regulation affects all those who obtain their university degree in Law as of October 31, 2011. However, the law exempts from this regime those who have obtained the Degree or the Law Degree after October 31, 2011 , provided that they are registered as practicing or not practicing, within a maximum period of 2 years from the moment they are able to request the issuance of the university degree in Law.
Law 34/2006, of October 30, has been developed by Royal Decree 775/2011, of June 3, by which the Regulation is approved and in which various aspects dealt with in it are expanded and specified, such such as the general requirements for participation, the training courses enabled, the teaching staff, the external internships or the final evaluation.
In this way, the legislator wanted to strengthen the professional training of the figure of the lawyer demanding the overcoming of a complementary training to the university degree.
After an eminently theoretical period, the Master’s Degree in Advocacy provides for internships in law firms and companies with the aim of applying this theory to real situations that lawyers encounter every day. Finally, the passing of a final evaluation will grant the student the professional title of lawyer issued by the Ministry of Justice.
The examination of access to the Legal Profession
1. Description of the evaluationn
The professional aptitude assessment test will be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the corresponding Calling Order that will periodically publish the Ministry of Justice and will be unique and identical for all Spanish territory.
2. Program of subjects
The program that has to govern the evaluation is in the own Order of call published by the Ministry of Justice at least 3 months before the celebration of the same. In Annex II of the Order PRE / 1743/2016, of October 27, by which the test of evaluation of professional aptitude for the exercise of the profession of lawyer is summoned, we can find an indicative description of the matters and necessary competences for access to the profession of lawyer that will be the object of the evaluation.
3. Requirements
Those who meet the following requirements on the date of the exam may take the evaluation test:
- Be in possession of the Degree in Law, Graduate in Law or another university degree of equivalent Degree that meets the requirements established in Article 3 of the Regulation of Law 34/2006. Applicants with qualifications obtained abroad must be in possession of the credential that proves their approval or validation in their case.
- Have passed the comprehensive training courses of the set of skills necessary for the practice of the profession of lawyer, andthe period of supervised internship, accredited jointly by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Education Culture and Sport and registered in the Administrative Register of the Ministry of Justice established for this purpose.
- Be of legal age and not be disqualified from practicing as a lawyer.
4. Development of the evaluation
The evaluation will consist of an objective written test of theoretical-practical content with answers or multiple answers, whose content will be adjusted to the regulations in force at the date of publication of the respective call and will last for 4 hours.
Its content will be set by the Ministry of Justice and its purpose will be tomeasure the theoretical-practical knowledge of the participants about the exercise of the profession of lawyer as well as the knowledge of deontological and professional standards. It will be based on the orientation program of subjects that is established in the corresponding call.
The evaluation test will consist of:
- 50 questions about «Subjects common to the practice of the profession of lawyer».
- 25 questions about «Specific subjects» to choose between the following legal specialties: civil and commercial, criminal, administrative and contentious-administrative, and labor
- In addition, the questionnaire will include six booking questions for the section “Common subjects of the profession of lawyer” and two for each legal specialty of the section “Specific subjects”.
5. Results and qualification
The questionnaire will be assessed on a scale of 0 to 75 points, obtaining 1 point for each correct answer, discounting 0.33 points for each incorrect answer and not obtaining any points for the unanswered questions. The total score will be obtained by adding the scores obtained by the correct answers, deducting the incorrect ones.
Regarding the evaluation qualification, the final grade will be suitable or not apt.
The final grade will result from the weighted average between 70% of the grade obtained in the strong> evaluation and 30% of the mark obtained in the master strong> or training course specialized, not being necessary to obtain a minimum grade in the evaluation test to make the weighted average.
To obtain the qualification of apt it will be necessary to obtain a grade equal to or greater than 50% of the weighted average of both grades in base 10, that is, 5 points. The qualification of not suitable will not prevent participation in future calls.
Each applicant will receive his final evaluation grade individually and anonymously through the electronic headquarters of the Ministry of Justice.
Titling
The completion of the Master of Access to Law and the completion of the final evaluation will mean obtaining the professional title of lawyer issued by the Ministry of Justice strong>, being necessary for the performance of legal assistance in those processes judicial and extrajudicial in which current legislation imposes or empowers the intervention of a lawyer and, in any case, to provide legal counsel or legal advice using the name of lawyer. All of this without prejudice to compliance with any other requirements required by current regulations for the practice of law.
Likewise, obtaining the professional title of lawyer will be necessary for the membership in the corresponding professional associations of lawyers strong>.
Frequent questions
Calls
Access to Advocacy Exam 2018 h4>
The Ministry of Justice has published the CALL of the first professional assessment test for the legal profession of 2018 that, as planned, will take place on Saturday, March 3.
Access to Advocacy Exam 2017:
Plantilla de preguntas:
Access tests for the year 2016 (second call):
Access tests for the year 2016 (first call):
Webs of interest
- Ministry of Justice: www.mjusticia.gob.es
- Ministry of Education: www.educacion.gob.es
- General Council of the Legal Profession: www.cgae.es
- Bar Association of Madrid: www.icam.es
Normative texts
- Law 34/2006, of October 30, on access to the professions of Lawyer and Attorney of the Courts.
- Royal Decree 775/2011, of June 3, approving the Regulation of Law 34/2006, of October 30, on access to the professions of Lawyer and Attorney of the Courts.
- Law 5/2012, of July 6, on mediation in civil and commercial matters : Fourth final provision.
Latest news Access to the Legal Profession
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Examination Access to the Legal Profession 2018
The Ministry of Justice has published the CALL of the first evaluation test of the professional aptitude for the exercise of the law of 2018 that, according to the anticipated, will take place on Saturday, March 3.