The Order of Attorneys of Portugal ( pt, Ordem dos Advogados), also known as the Portuguese Bar Association, is the public association to which all attorneys-at-law belong in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

, founded in 1926. Its early origins are found on a private association founded in 1838 by a group of lawyers from

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

. Graduates in law from university who wish to act on behalf of clients before a court of law must register at the Portuguese Bar Association. Only those who are duly registered can provide legal consultation and appear before the court. Other graduates in law may choose other jobs, which do not demand registration at the bar association. Being a public association, it is independent from the government, but it has some public powers, which include disciplinary action over its members. Its decisions are subject to judicial impeachment. In

Portuguese law The Law of Portugal is the legal system that applies to Portugal. It is part of the family of the civil law legal systems, based on Roman law. As such, it has many common features with the legal systems found in most of the countries in Contin ...

, an attorney-at-law is known as ''advogado''. His job equals that of both

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

s and

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

s (although Portugal also has a separate profession of solicitor, or ''solicitador''). The internship for a Portuguese recently graduated Lawyer to become full member of the Bar, includes a complex week-long exam at first, three day long pre-exams on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday, then a usually unpaid, though sometimes paid, internship of eighteen months and finally, a last exam for a whole day. However, after this exam, the intern is also subject to an oral exam which is again, mandatory.

References

External links

''Legal profession - Portugal'', European Commission

''Portugal: Legal description'', The American Bar website, Forster-Long, Inc.

Ordem dos Advogados official website
{{Authority control Professional associations based in Portugal Law of Portugal Bar associations of Europe Organizations established in 1926 1926 establishments in Portugal