Traineeship
Only individuals who meet all the requirements for practicing law can participate in the traineeship admission exam.
Judges or prosecutors with at least 10 years of work experience are exempted from taking that exam and from internship. The exemption is valid only if they have applied for the Bar exam within 6 months from resigning from their position of a judge or prosecutor.
The traineeship admission exam is generally organized twice a year:
- spring session: March-May
- autumn session: September-November
The traineeship admission exam consists of a multiple-choice test with 400 questions, out of the 1000 questions published on the website of Union of Advocates. Each question has three answer options, of which only one is correct. To pass the exam, the candidate must answer correctly at least 350 out of 400 questions. In 2021-2023, the promotion rate of the traineeship admission exam has been approximately 65%.
To participate at the traineeship admission exam, the following documents are submitted.
A person who has passed the traineeship admission exam must complete a traineeship. The traineeship lasts at least 12 and maximum 24 months. In exceptional situations, the duration of the traineeship can be extended by the Council of the Union.
The traineeship is tutored by an advocate with at least 5 years of professional experience, who has sufficient space to accommodate the trainee and an impeccable reputation. The trainee is responsible for choosing their tutor. In case of difficulties in finding one, they shall contact the Union. The contract with the tutor is registered at the Union. The tutor can be changed only with the approval from the Council of the Union.
For the registration of the contract regarding the traineeship, the following documents are submitted.
For the registration of the contract regarding the traineeship under the conditions of Article 19 paragraph (6) of the Law on advocacy, the following documents are submitted.
After 12 months of traineeship, the trainee can participate at the Bar admission exam. If 24 months have passed since the completion of the traineeship, the person can participate in the Bar admission exam only after repeating a 6-month traineeship.
The trainee is entitled to:
- provide legal assistance and represent clients in civil and contravention proceedings, with the exception of representation before the cassation court
- assist the tutor in criminal proceedings
- provide legal assistance to the victim, civil party and civil liable party in criminal proceedings
The trainee is obliged to:
- attend during the traineeship the initial training courses of at least 80 hours
- keep advocate-client confidentiality obligation
- provide legal assistance only based on contracts validated by the tutor
The training of trainees is conducted at the Advocates’ Training Center.