Legal Profession in Spain: Attorney’s Role, Requirements, Rights
The Attorney’s Technical Defense Role in Spain
An attorney alone cannot validly take a procedural step. The personal involvement or signature of the Advocate, who holds the technical and procedural direction of the defense, is also required in legal writings.
According to the Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil (LEC – Civil Procedure Law), “the trial will be conducted by qualified lawyers authorized to practice in the court hearing the case; no application may be provided that does not bear the signature of the attorney.”
Lawyers are professionals who, registered with a Spanish Bar Association as practicing members and meeting the necessary requirements, are professionally engaged in advising, mediating, and safeguarding the legal interests of others, both public and private. The title “Lawyer” (Abogado) denotes a professional with a Law Degree dedicated to the management and defense of parties in all types of legal processes, as well as providing legal counseling and advice.
Requirements to Practice Law as an Attorney
To practice as a lawyer in Spain, one must:
- Be a Spanish or EU citizen.
- Be of legal age and not legally incapacitated.
- Hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Law (or an equivalent qualification).
- Register as a practicing member with a Bar Association.
Lawyers may practice their profession throughout Spain and in other EU Member States. They are subject to prohibitions and incompatibilities designed to ensure the independence and dignity of the Bar. For instance, the role of an attorney is incompatible with certain public offices or employment (e.g., State Attorney, Attorney to the Supreme Court or Constitutional Court) and with auditing activities.
Lawyers are subject to specific advertising regulations, are prohibited from engaging in unfair competition, and must accept defense cases freely. Furthermore, partners in a firm cannot assume the defense of a client from another lawyer’s portfolio without the original advocate’s “permission.”
Lawyers can practice their profession both individually (as self-employed professionals or interns in law firms) or collectively through personal companies or groups of lawyers, which can adopt various forms of business entities.
Rights and Duties of Lawyers in Spain
Lawyers have several key obligations:
- To assist in the proper administration of justice.
- To act with integrity, accuracy, and procedural loyalty.
- To maintain strict confidentiality.
- To demonstrate zeal and diligence in the defense entrusted to them.
- To meet their Bar Association fees.
- To provide advisory and public defense services to those who lack the resources to litigate.
- To maintain professional liability insurance.
Breach of their professional obligations subjects them to the disciplinary responsibility of the Bar Association.
Lawyers are also entitled to important rights:
- To exercise a free and independent defense with full respect for their function.
- To exercise their social rights within the Bar Association.
- To wear a gown and sit in the courtroom at the same level as the Court, facing the public, and on par with the Public Prosecutor (MF) and the State Attorney.
- To receive payment for their fees, which can be freely set or subject to minimum standards and guidelines from the Bar Associations, with a ban on pure contingency fees (fees based exclusively on results). In case of client default, they can initiate the sworn account procedure for collection.
Unlike the contract between the attorney and their principal, which the LEC qualifies as an “office” relationship, there is no specific rule defining the legal relationship between an attorney and their client. Consequently, several theories have emerged on this subject, primarily two: the lease of work (locatio operum) and the lease of services (locatio operarum), with the latter being the dominant view.