For the legal profession in Vietnam to develop to its full potential

As a practical legal practitioner who has witnessed the development of the Vietnamese legal profession over the past 15 years, it is possible to make a subjective assessment that the legal profession in Vietnam has not yet developed commensurate with its potential. And what is the reason for this slow development, especially the development in depth and number of lawyers and professional law firms? Indeed, this question leaves the writer with a lot of thought.

The award ceremony was organized by the Vietnam Bar Federation. Source: Tuoi tre

The legal profession goes hand in hand with the development of the country

It is still understood that the legal profession is not an independent field, but the legal profession is an activity associated with the pulse and breath of the economy and society. In Vietnam, after nearly 40 years of Doi Moi since 1986, the economy has transformed itself from backward agriculture to an industrialized country, and gradually modernized. Accordingly, the legal system has also been gradually improved and developed to meet the needs of social management and economic development. As a matter of course, the Vietnamese lawyer team also began to form from there with a few hundred lawyers from the beginning, and now it has reached tens of thousands of lawyers, spread across the provinces and cities of the country[1].

Although we know, it is impossible to require our country's legal profession to achieve the same value and professionalism as the US, UK or Singapore. The reason lies in the difference in the level of development. In the United States, the legal system is based on a history of hundreds of years of development, and a world-leading economy. American lawyers are usually well-trained, with an average income of several hundred thousand US dollars per year to a million dollars per year, and a strict supervision system from the American Bar Association (ABA). Similarly, in the UK, the legal profession is associated with a long-standing tradition, with consulting lawyers or litigation lawyers operating in a transparent and fair legal environment, properly recognizing the value of each person. Singapore, despite being a young country, has built a complete legal system thanks to a strategy of strong investment in education and technology, turning the island nation into an Asian financial hub.

In contrast, Vietnam is still in the process of modernization with the work of bringing more than 100 million people into a new, richer and more developed era. Although, the economy in the past 20 years has witnessed remarkable development since Vietnam entered the WTO world economic "playground", but that time is not enough for Vietnam to become the real dragon of Asia. Therefore, the Vietnamese legal profession, although there have been developments in the number of lawyers and practicing organizations in the past 20 years, in terms of quality, both the quality of lawyers and the quality of services, there are indeed many things worth discussing.

Vietnamese lawyers need to think bigger and farther

The economy develops unevenly, the market does not have a proper awareness of legal services, the team of lawyers is still thin, not deeply trained, and lawyers practice small, odd and unprofessional. Those are probably the inherent weaknesses of the legal profession in Vietnam over the years. But this does not mean that the Vietnamese legal profession is allowed to "stomp on the spot". Lawyers need to have a strong sense of personal branding, going to a law firm and beyond a professional legal practice community, taking quality and prestige as the benchmark.

The year 2025 will witness unprecedented fluctuations in Vietnam's state system and laws. A national reform is taking place along with another great revolution of the contemporary world, the technological revolution. Both of these factors have a stronger impact than ever on the legal profession in Vietnam. There is a long-time lawyer in the profession who jokes that "2025 is the year of lawyers". Because everyone understands that in the unprecedented fluctuations of Vietnam over the past 40 years. When the State system, agencies from the central to the local, from the Courts to relevant agencies have changed radically towards a lean and efficient apparatus as desired by the Party and the State, at this time the role of lawyers and law practice organizations is really important. Lawyers and law practice organizations will be a place to provide reliable legal information and solutions to clients and citizens.

This change, of course, brings opportunities, but along with it are great challenges that Vietnamese lawyers face. If you don't keep your faith, learning and innovation are continuous. Generations of lawyers are not only backward from their peers outside the borders, but also behind themselves.

To do this, perhaps the legal profession in Vietnam needs a real "Resolution" and "push" from the support of the State with clear strategies and policies so that the Vietnamese legal profession not only has solid developments in the country but also thinks beyond international markets like the way Japanese law firms,  South Korea and China are doing it in the UK, US and European markets.

Source: The Saigon Times

Practical actions to develop the legal profession

Firstly, awareness and right action

In order to be able to take the right actions to help lawyers and their practicing organizations become professional and trustworthy in the eyes of clients and the public, lawyers need to have the most correct perceptions of the profession and mission that they are carrying out. When there is the right awareness, lawyers can take appropriate actions to change and support the community in a better way. Such as being prioritized for professional development, service quality, building modern and effective models of legal activities so that lawyers and law firms have enough space to develop and compete with the world.

Secondly, awareness of the changes of the country and the times to have appropriate adaptations

The country is undergoing important transformations, and this is an opportunity for lawyers and lawyers' practice organizations to strongly promote their activities to serve this change. At the same time, these changes require law practitioners to take drastic action and transform to adapt and effectively take advantage of this opportunity.

In addition, the continuous development of technology and AI requires lawyers and law practice organizations to learn, exploit and seize this opportunity to innovate and break through. Otherwise, the risk of falling behind and being left behind will be more obvious than ever.

Third, take strong action to develop the legal profession

Right now, in the midst of unpredictable changes, the Vietnamese legal community needs young people who dare to think, dare to do, dare to boldly break through the borders and reach out to the region and the world. The young generation of lawyers needs to be brave, passionate about their profession and dedicate more with appropriate strategies and actions to make themselves and the legal profession in Vietnam more professional and reliable in the eyes of domestic and foreign clients. At the same time, creating solid foundations for the Vietnamese legal profession to reach out strongly to the world in the coming time. This is probably the country's "order" in the new era that lawyers need to understand and take necessary action.

The legal profession in Vietnam is facing very important "turns", those turns originate from the "innovation" of the country in the era of reaching out and the "turn" of artificial intelligence technologies that are rapidly changing the operation of the world and people. This forces Vietnamese lawyers to be proactive and adapt quickly to the times. Otherwise, perhaps these "turns" will bring many Vietnamese lawyers into a stalemate.

Lawyer Nguyen Van Phuc

HM&P Law Firm