Vietnam now has approximately 450 lawyers specialized in international trade, an impressive figure if bearing in mind that the country had just around 20 international trade attorneys in 2010.
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| Vietnam now has approximately 450 lawyers specialized in international trade__Photo: Internet |
This is one of important achievements gained after five years’ implementing the Scheme on development of a contingent of lawyers to serve international economic integration during 2010-20, said Do Hoang Yen, Director of the Ministry of Justice’s Judicial Support Department, in a talk with Phap Luat Viet Nam (Vietnamese Law) newspaper.
The number of law firms specialized in international trade and business has reached 28, some of which have managed to affirm their position in the legal service market and become capable of competing with foreign rivals. Vilaf Hong Duc, YKVN, can be cited as typical examples.
Domestic lawyers have been more involved in the settlement of international disputes, effectively supporting the Government and businesses in dealing with foreign countries’ application of safeguarding measures against Vietnamese exports under the WTO dispute settlement mechanism. Vietnamese lawyers have also joined hands with their foreign colleagues in the settlement of disputes between Vietnamese authorities and foreign investors such as Saigon Metropolitan, Trinh Vinh Binh, Dialasie and South Fork cases, Yen said.
However, Vietnamese lawyers still fail to meet domestic businesses’ increasing demand for legal services, especially in the field of international trade and services, which results from the recent rise in the number of international disputes. In many cases, domestic agencies, organizations and enterprises had to hire foreign law firms to support them in international disputes at a very high cost, Yen said.
To address this problem, in the coming time, the Ministry of Justice will cooperate more closely with related ministries, sectors and localities and the Vietnam Bar Federation in devising specific policies creating conditions for lawyers who are trained abroad under the Scheme or with other funding sources to participate in great projects, join international negotiation delegations and involve in the making of policies and law on international integration. The ministry will also seek solutions to support the Vietnam Bar Federation in launching the Lawyer Club for Integration so as to promote internal capacity and resources of lawyers to develop themselves in the context of integration.- (VLLF)
