Instructions for Application for Admission to the Swedish Bar Association

INSTRUCTIONS FOR APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION TO THE SWEDISH BAR ASSOCIATION

1. GENERAL

1.1 The Charter

Rules governing admission of members are to be found in section3 of the Charter of the Swedish Bar Association, the latest amendments of which entered into force on 1 January 2011.

Section 3

A person may be admitted as a member of the Bar Association only if that person:

1. is domiciled in Sweden or another state within the European Union or the European Economic Area or Switzerland;

2. has passed all proficiency exams prescribed for competency to a judge's office;

3. has practised law in a satisfactory way for at least three years after passing the above-mentioned proficiency examinations, during which time he or she has devoted himself or herself to professionally assist the general public in legal matters, either as an employee of a member of the Swedish Bar Association or as a self-employed person;

4. at the time the application is considered professionally assists the public in the manner set forth in item3;

5. has attained a pass grade in the examination following the special training course arranged by the Bar Association;

6. has become known for his integrity; and

7. is otherwise considered suitable to carry on the profession of Advokat.

The Board of the Bar Association may, in consideration of special circumstances, grant exemption from items 1, 3, 4 and 5 of the first paragraph. The same applies as to item 2 of the first paragraph concerning a person who is a licensed lawyer in another state in accordance with regulations there in effect. However, exemption from the three-year requirement under item3 may not be granted for more than one year.Additional exemptions may be granted only in extraordinary cases.

A person who has undergone a course of training that is required to become a lawyer in another state within the European Union, the European Economic Area or in Switzerland and who has undergone a test in Sweden showing that he has sufficient knowledge of the Swedish legal system will be deemed to fulfil the requirements of items 2, 3 and 5 of the first paragraph. The same applies to a person registered under section 4a who has subsequently actually and continuously practised law in Sweden for a period of at least three years, provided either that the practice has primarily involved Swedish law or, if the practice has not primarily involved Swedish law, that the registered person has in some other manner acquired sufficient proficiency and experience to be admitted as a member of the Bar Association.

A person licensed as a lawyer in Denmark, Finland, Iceland or Norway in accordance with regulations there in effect and who has subsequently served as an assistant lawyer at a law firm (advokatbyrå) in Sweden in a satisfactory manner for at least three years will be deemed to fulfil the requirements of items 2–7 of the first paragraph.

A person who has been declared bankrupt or for whom a trustee has been appointed under chapter 11, section 7 of the Swedish Parental Code may not be admitted as a member. Nor may a person who is prohibited from carrying out counselling activities under section 3 of the Prohibition against Supply of Legal or Financial Services in Certain Cases Act (1985:354) be admitted as a member.

A judge or other official at a court of law, a public prosecutor, or a senior enforcement officer may not be admitted as a member.

A person employed in the service of the state or a municipality in a position other than those mentioned in the preceding paragraph, or by a private person other than a member of the Bar Association, may not be admitted as a member, unless the Board grants exemption. This provision does not apply to employees of a member of an organisation of lawyers within the European Union, European Economic Area or Switzerland.

1.2 New Rules from 1 January 2002

Following a Board decision of 12–13 September 2001, the Bar Association has adopted new rules governing exemption from the “three-year requirement” and the calculation of time in the profession that may be counted upon application for admission. The new rules, which apply from 1 January 2002, are presented below under the respective headings.

2. PRACTICE OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION

When calculating time, a month is regarded as 30days. Do not include the day of the Board meeting in the qualification period.

During the three years you have practised law you must have devoted yourself to professionally assist the general public, either as an assistant to an Advokat at a law firm or as a self-employed person.

2.1 Assistant lawyer

If you have served as an assistant to a lawyer you should state the name of the employer and the period of service. You should ask your employer and any previous employers for a certificate containing the following information:

(a)information as to period of employment (the duration of any breaks for military service, pregnancy or an extended period of illness should be indicated);

(b)information as to whether the employment was full or part time; part time should be specified;

(c)information as to the extent to which you have been fully occupied during the period of employment;

(d)an account of the type of cases you worked on during the period of employment;

(e)a declaration that the activities were carried out under appropriate supervision (name of the person who carried out the supervision);

(f)a declaration that you possess satisfactory knowledge of lawyers’ ethics and professional conduct,

(g)a statement concerning your integrity and suitability in other respects, and

(h)additional documentation supporting the extent of your professional activities if your average monthly salary during the years in which qualification time has accrued is less than the starting salary for court clerks at the time the application is made.

Note:Absence during a period of employment for reasons other than illness and parental leave should always be specified. Details should be given of any absence due to illness or parental leave lasting for a total of one month or more.

The Board adopted guidelines on temporary staffing using assistant lawyers on 1March 2001 and on 9December 2004. An assistant lawyer may take into account such work in clients’ businesses as is specified in the guidelines by six months maximum. Such work may be taken into account within the scope of the three years’ work that he or she should do either as an employee of a member of the Swedish Bar Association or as a self-employed person. If an exemption is in question, however, that work may not be taken into account for fulfilling the “two-year requirement”, that is those minimum two years which the applicant has to complete as employee of a member or as a self-employed person in such case.

2.2 Self-employment

Under the Charter you must have practised law in a satisfactory way for at least three years by devoting yourselfto professionally assist the general public. The activities must have been carried on full time. In the case of part-time work this must correspond to a total of three full years. The activities must also be of a professional nature at the time of admission. The primary basis for assessing the scope of the activities is the turnover of your business. If other persons than yourself are or have been employed in your business, this shall be specified. The assessment of the scope of the activities will be the account of the turnover pertaining to yourself.

The following applies to qualification time accrued after 1 January 2002.

In order for your practice to be regarded as having been run professionally on a full-time basis, you must be able to show that your turnover per calendar year is equivalent to at least 1,000 hours multiplied by the stated hourly rate in effect for legal aid excluding VAT. If the turnover does not reach this amount, qualification time is a quarter, a half or three quarters of a year, depending on the turnover. Thus, if the turnover in a given year is 60% of 1,000 hours times the hourly rate, half a year of professional activities may be counted. If the turnover is less than a quarter of the specified level, there is no accrual of qualification time at all.

Turnover requirement excluding VAT:

2002: SEK929, 0002003: SEK965, 0002004: SEK1,000,000

2005: SEK1,008,0002006: SEK1,029,000

The former rules apply to qualification time accrued before 1 January 2002.

In order for the business to be regarded as having been run professionally on a full-time basis you must be able to show an income for the years of the qualification period equivalent to at least 1,000 chargeable hours at two thirds of the stated hourly rate in effect for legal aid.

Turnover requirements excluding value added tax:

1990: SEK416,0001991: SEK440,0001992: SEK474,000

1993: SEK480,0001994: SEK491,0001995: SEK504,000

1996: SEK522,0001997: SEK530,0001998: SEK549,000

1999: SEK555, 0002000: SEK567,0002001: SEK592,000

If the turnover in one year does not reach the amount in this formula you can take into account the time equivalent to actual turnover in relation to turnover according to the formula, converted into months and days.

3. PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION

From 1 January 2004, a proficiency examination is compulsory for admission to the Bar Association. All applicants having fulfilled the qualification time requirement at a time later than 31December 2005 must have passed the proficiency examination. The examination certificate must be enclosed with the application. If you do not have an examination certificate at the time of application, you should send it in later. The proficiency examination is preceded by a training course comprising three two-day course sessions, spread over three semesters. The examination takes place in the fourth semester.

4. MORE DETAILS CONCERNING EXEMPTION:

The Board may grant exemption from items1, 3, 4 and 5 of the first paragraph (of section3) of the Charter in consideration of special circumstances. The same applies to item2 of the first paragraph regarding a person who is qualified as a lawyer in another state under the regulations applicable there. Those seeking exemption must set out the reasons in an appendix enclosed with the application documents.

The possibility of being granted exemption from the provisions of the fourth item, i.e. “the three-year requirement”, is probably of greatest interest. Reference to a testimonial from a period of employment that may be regarded as an exchange of services may suffice as a reason for exemption from the three-year requirement.

The following guidelines have been established in practice:

1. Exemption may be granted from the requirement that the applicant have devoted himself to professionally assist the general public for at least three years, either as an assistant lawyer at a law firm or as a self-employed person.

1.1 Exemption is granted for a maximum of one year.Additional exemptions may be granted only in extraordinary cases.

1.2 Exemption requires that the applicant have experience of other practical, skilled legal work.

1.3 The applicant is entitled to credit for one third of the time actually worked gaining professional experience.

5. REFEREES FOR ASSESSION YOUR SUITABILITY FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION

For the Bar Association to assess your suitability it is necessary that you provide information about all the lawyers (Swedish and foreign), courts and other authorities you have had contact with in your professional activities. Omitting to specify a lawyer or other person whom you know may give a critical statement is itself a negative factor when the Board is considering suitability.

If you are applying for re-admission, you must refer to any previous applications and information must be provided about the professional contacts you have had in the interim.

If you refer to a court before which you have appeared only temporarily you must state the name of the judge concerned and the case number.

When you list the Members of the Bar Association with whom you have had contact, you should also give the names of parties and specify the period during which you have had contact with the Member in question. This is so that the Member can easily identify you. If for some reason you do not wish to identify the parties, you should take other steps to remind the Member who you are. For example, you can contact the Member yourself and tell him that the Bar Association will be contacting him to ask for his views in relation to your application for membership. If you are not giving the names of the parties in your application you should state why on the form.

6. FINANCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES ETC.

Information concerning declared income must be provided for the three years immediately preceding the year of application.

Specify your assets and liabilities. If you own real property, a lease or a site leasehold right (tomträtt) you must state the taxable value and estimated market value.

Note that information must always be provided as to whether surety or guarantee commitments exist. Surety or guarantees should be specified and details given about the principal debtor and the size of the surety or guarantee amount.

7. APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Applications are to be submitted to the Swedish Bar Association, Box27321, SE-10254Stockholm, Sweden. Clearly state your name, your address and your telephone number.

In view of the time taken for applications to be processed, your application should be submitted approximately three (3)months before the intended date of a decision by the Board of the Bar Association. The office of the Bar Association can provide the dates of Board meetings.

If you wish to apply for re-admission to the Bar Association or make a renewed application, you should fill in a new application form and enclose current certificates etc. However, reference must always be made to previous applications.

Your application documents will be submitted for comment to the local department of the Bar Association where you practise. The department will solicit the views of lawyers, courts and other professional contacts you have referred to. Enquiries are always made to the courts of appeal and district courts in the area where you practise, as well as the Legal Aid Authority.

If any reservations are expressed, you will be given the opportunity to respond before the department board finally deals with your application.

If you carry on your own business, the department secretary or a member of the department board will normally visit your office and write a report on the visit. If it is deemed necessary for you to give information orally, the department board may invite you to attend the meeting at which your application is to be dealt with.

Once the department board has dealt with your application, the application documents and minutes will be sent to the Bar Association office and the local department will inform you of its decision. If the department board has recommended that your application be rejected and/or the investigation has revealed significant reservations about your suitability, the local department will inform you of this and you will be given the opportunity to submit a statement before the decision of the main Board.

Application forms and instructions are available at the Swedish Bar Association’s website

8. PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA

In accordance with the Personal Data Act (1998:204) you are hereby informed that personal data about you will be processed in the case register of the Swedish Bar Association. The Swedish Bar Association (Reg. No. 262000-0675, Box 27321, SE-102 54 Stockholm, Sweden) is responsible for ensuring that the personal data is processed correctly. The purpose of processing the data is to consider your application for registration under chapter 8, section 2a of the Swedish Code of Judicial Procedure. You are entitled to receive a copy of your personal data kept on record once a year. You are also entitled to request that incorrect information be rectified. Applications for information and rectification must be made in writing.

Checklist

Compulsory attachments (all applicants) – not older than three months

Certificate of domicile

Certificate from a District or City Court/Committee of Chief Guardians showing that no trustee has been appointed for you under Chapter11, section7 of the Code on Parents and Children

Certificate from the Enforcement Service showing that you have no tax arrears

Certificate of non-bankruptcy

Bachelor of Laws Degree certificate

Testimonials from all employment since graduation. The testimonials from positions covering the three-year practising requirement shall comply with the guidelines given in section2.1 of these instructions. If no employment has been held continuously since graduation, give the reason/details of other occupation(s).

Bar Examination certificate or Certificate from the preparatory course in “Ethics and Professional Techniques of the Legal Profession” (the latter applies to participants who completed that course after 1January 2000)

If applicable: An account for your activities between two employments or in the time between your Bachelor of Laws Degree and your first employment

List of referees

In addition:

Applicants carrying on their own business:

Registration certificate

Auditor’s certificate – for all years – showing that the accounts have been kept in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The auditor’s certificate for the preceding year must also include information as to whether the accounts comply with the Accounting Regulations of the Bar Association

Copies of the accounts for all years the applicant has conducted his own business.

Information on any employed lawyers in your business, and, in case there are lawyers employed, specification of the turnover in the business pertaining to you

Applicants seeking re-admission:

Certificates/testimonials from all employers since leaving the Bar Association stating length of employment

Certificate from a law firm stating that you will be taking up employment there not later than the date on which the application is to be decided, or, in the case of self-employment, a registration certificate for the applicant’s own firm

Information as to when and why you left the Bar Association

An account of your activities during the interim period

Before sending the application to the Bar Association’s office, check:

that all information is included in your certificate(s) from law firms

thatyou were reported to the Bar Association during your entire period of employment at a law firm and that all fees were paid

that you have signed the application form