The Danish Bar and Law Society and The Association of Danish Law Firms

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Historical background As a result of a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in January 2006 regarding a ban on exclusive rights provisions and the general wish of the Danish government to do away with exclusive agreements within the professions, a political request was made to look into and if necessary change the regulation and organisation of the legal profession in Denmark. As early as in 2004, the Danish Ministry of Justice appointed a “Lawyers Committee” charged with proposing solutions to this problem. The work of the committee was concluded in September 2006.

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The solution In 2007, the Danish Parliament unanimously passed an amendment to the Danish Administration of Justice Act, maintaining compulsory membership of the Danish Bar and Law Society. The reason for this was that compulsory membership was the precondition of the Danish Bar and Law Society being able to exercise disciplinary and supervisory functions. The Danish Bar and Law Society is not a private society but a society established by law, comprising all Danish lawyers licensed to practice law and which, pursuant to legislation, has been assigned powers which should not be assigned to a private organisation or a public authority. The reason that the Danish Bar and Law Society – and not a government agency – is assigned specific authority tasks is primarily to ensure the lawyers' independence of the government and other extraneous interests. At the same time, it was emphasised that the Danish Bar and Law Society must not pursue party-political interests or interests in terms of distribution nor attend to the profession’s political or commercial interests.

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Duties of the Danish Bar and Law Society The objectives for which the Danish Bar and Law Society is established are • to guard the independence and integrity of lawyers, • to ensure and enforce the discharge of the duties and obligations of lawyers • to maintain the professional skills of lawyers, and • to work for the benefit of the Danish legal community. The Danish Bar and Law Society is headed by the General Council, comprising 15 members, and the day-to-day management is undertaken by a secretariat of about 40 staff. Søren Jenstrup holds the position as Chairman of the General Council. As at 1 March 2010, Torben Jensen assumes the position as Secretary-General.

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The activities of the Danish Bar and Law Society Through its daily activities, the Danish Bar and Law Society ensures the independent, uniform and close supervision of the specific duties and obligations of lawyers, including in particular observance of the Code of Professional Ethics in order to ensure the civil rights of citizens. The Danish Bar and Law Society works for the benefit of society in general by participating in the drafting of legislation and the judicial policy debate. In 2009, the Danish Bar and Law Society prepared a comprehensive civil rights programme to be implemented in the course of the coming years. Given the compulsory membership requirement, the Danish Bar and Law Society comprises all 5,600 Danish lawyers, who all have the right to vote in the election of the Society's political leadership. The General Council, which is the board of the Danish Bar and Law Society, is in charge of the training and supervision of Denmark's 1,100 associate lawyers.

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The Association of Danish Law Firms The Association of Danish Law Firms was established in January 2008 as a business organisation for law firms. As with other trade associations, membership is voluntary. Today, the Association of Danish Law Firms represents law firms employing close to 4,000 lawyers and associate lawyers, or 2/3 of the lawyers and associate lawyers employed with law firms. The Association of Danish Law Firms is a democratic member organisation headed by a nine-member board. Day-to-day activities are undertaken by a secretariat of 23 staff. Lars Svenning Andersen holds the position of chairman, and Paul Mollerup the position of managing director.

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The two main duties of the Association of Danish Law Firms The Association of Danish Law Firms has two principal duties: 1. Safeguarding the members' industrial policy interests vis-à-vis politicians, public officials and other decision-makers influencing the conditions that regulate the right to practice law in Denmark, and in relation to other industries 2. Developing the profession of lawyer in cooperation with the member firms in order for the industry to maintain and expand its position as the centre of legal expertise. In addition, the Association is charged with identifying new and innovative ways of developing the business foundation in order to ensure a healthy basis for Danish law firms in the future as well.

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The political work of the Association of Danish Law Firms •

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The many specialist committees established by the Association of Danish Law Firms are key to the specialist, industrial and judicial policy activities. As regards the majority of the legal specialities, the Association of Danish Law Firms has established specialist committees contributing to the political work undertaken by the Association of Danish Law Firms in individual areas Moreover, the Association of Danish Law Firms is also in charge of the management of the majority of the special associations within the legal profession. This means that the members of the special association boards and the specialist committees of the Association of Danish Law Firms are more or less identical within the same area Finally, the Association of Danish Law Firms works to enhance the rule of law by participating in the judicial policy debate and the drafting of legislation The wide support and voluntary membership mean that when the Association of Danish Law Firms speaks on behalf of the law firms, general support has been ensured.

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The promotional work of the Association of Danish Law Firms • • • • • •

Ongoing training of lawyers, members and non-members alike, in a number of areas Training of administrative staff from basic training – the Legal Secretary School – to highly skilled secretaries Member services – such as access to Advojob, insurance, IT support and discounts on products and services Methodical business development – in terms of operating a law firm and the general development of the legal profession Analyses and key figures for the benefit of member firms and clarification of the socio-economic importance of the legal profession General communication on the legal profession to draw attention to the strengths of the profession and to provide improved insight into the work of law firms

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Division of labour The Danish model for the regulation and organisation of the legal profession differs from the models in most other countries, and in Denmark there are two complementary lawyers’ organisations.

The Association of Danish Law Firms

The Danish Bar and Law Society

Sector policy Industrial policy safeguarding of interests

Supervision Disciplinary functions

Ethics

Rule of law Develop the profession Ongoing training, consultancy and services 05-03-2010

Basic training

Work for the benefit of Danish society in general 10