The Gazette 1982

g a z e t t e

a p r il 1982

The Training of Advocates in the Netherlands by B. Th. Moerkoert, Editor of "Advocatenblad" Journal of Law Society of Netherlands

which evidences the completion of the Apprenticeship is handed down by the local District Council of the Bar Association. That is, unless the Council is of the opinion that the apprentice is not yet to be considered capable of practising by himself. At the end of the apprenticeship period, information on the apprentices abilities is solicited by the Council from the mentor and the apprentice himself, among others. Should there be reason to do so, the apprenticeship period may be extended. This occurs only rarely, however. During the apprenticeship, the apprentice works under the supervision and the responsibility of the mentor. This does not mean, however, that the apprentice does not from the beginning take cases independently and also act independently towards clients. Of course this does require the necessary self-discipline and an understanding of one's own as yet limited skills. That is why the mentor sees to it that the activities required are attuned to the apprentice's lack of experience. In the beginning, the apprentice carries out partial tasks in the mentor's cases. He prepares drafts, letters and briefs, attends meetings together with the mentor, carries out literature and jurisprudence research, etc., etc. Apart from these activities for the mentor, however, the apprentice immediately begins to build up his own practice as well, a practice which in the beginning consists mainly of the so-called Poor Persons' Procedures (Legal Aid), mainly concerning cases in the fields of family law, Rent Acts, labour law and criminal law. From the very beginning, the apprentice may also be nominated an official receiver in bankruptcies. The varied practice is of particular importance as the apprentice — during the apprenticeship — should get acquainted with as many areas of the law as possible. In most cases, the mentor's practice is specialised one way or another and thus too restricted for "general- purpose" training. In actual practice, the consequence normally is that the training and accompaniment by the mentor are restricted to general abilities which an advocate should possess in order to practise adequately, and a technical training in the specific professional skills of the mentor. For training in general practice, the apprentice will often resort to an older apprentice or employee of the law firm. Indeed in many cases the mentor may not be sufficiently informed about the latest developments in those fields of law which he does not count among his professional skills anymore. In due course the apprentice — depending on his progress — will start to treat independent cases on request by his mentor or other partners. Also, in due time he will make a choice — depending on his own preferences and the wishes of the law firm — regarding those areas in the general law practice most suitable to him. Thus, at the end of the 63

The Netherlands has about 14 million inhabitants of whom almost 4000 are registered as advocates. Of those 4000, presently about 1200 (approx. 300 women and 900 men) have been practising for less than three years. Within the Netherlands Bar Association (Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten) these young advocates are called "apprentices". As far as clients and the Courts are concerned, from the day of taking the oath at the very start of their apprenticeship they act as completely qualified advocates. At the end of the 3-year practical training period they are deemed capable of exercising the legal practice independently. In order to be eligible for the Bar it is sufficient to have a university degree in Dutch law. The course requires 4 to 5 years of study and does not (yet) include a separate curriculum for advocates. One has to attend a number of obligatory classes, however, such as civil law, constitu- tional and administrative law, commercial law and criminal law. After the theoretical university course one could — at least before 1955 — immediately set up shop as an independent advocate. To be refused registration as an advocate was and is highly exceptional. In those days experience was indeed acquired "in actual practice", with all its inherent problems (for advocate and his practice); particularly in those circumstances where the new advocate had failed to obtain a place with an already existing law firm. In 1955 such problems, and a rather marked increase in the number of advocates, resulted in the so-called Apprenticeship Resolution being passed by the Bar. Its purpose is to guarantee an adequate training and accompaniment of the advocate. Under the Apprenticeship Resolution every senior advocate is required, as far as it is within his/her power, to co-operate in the training of the (young) advocates. The new advocate — the apprentice — is required to practice under the supervision of a mentor and — as a general rule — is also required to be employed in the mentor's law firm. An advocate may act as a mentor only if he/she has practised for at least 7 years. The requirement for the apprentice to be employed at the mentor's law firm cannot be met in all cases. The capacity of the existing law firms, the number of (motivated) mentors available, and the increasing number of apprentices, have all contributed to the emergence of more and more so-called "outside mentorships". This means that the requirement to be employed in the mentor's law firm is waived. From the very beginning the apprentice sets up shop on his own and maintains contact with the mentor by telephone and regular progress talks. It is clear that this method of training should definitely not be encouraged and that is why this option of exemption is being restricted as much as possible. At the end of the apprenticeship, an official certificate