The training of would-be lawyers in Vietnam: the current system, recent developments and potential transformation

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper discusses how would-be lawyers are trained in Vietnam and analyses some recent developments and potential transformation. Under the current Vietnamese system, law graduates have to go through the professional training delivered by the Judicial Academy – a national legal professional school, and 12 months practising as a probationary lawyer in a law firm, before sitting the Bar Examination. Those successfully passing the Bar Examination are licensed by the Minister of Justice to practise law. However, Vietnamese legal education is a relatively new and theoretical-based system with various challenges that have limited the quality of law graduates. This, in turn, has adversely affected the training of would-be lawyers in Vietnam. The limitations in professional training delivered by the Judicial Academy have also contributed to this problem. Nevertheless, recent developments in Vietnam have promised some positive transformations and innovation towards a better lawyer training system in the future. These include the adoption of clinical methodology in legal education; the establishment of the Vietnam Law School Network; and the introduction of a Joint Training Programme for would-be lawyers, judges and public prosecutors.