Legal Counsel: professional standard, job responsibilities, requirements, categories

Jurisprudence refers to a very common area of ​​activity where a lot of specialists of various fields are required. Employers sometimes found it difficult to hire a candidate, because they did not know what parameters to choose. This problem is relevant for all areas. But since mid-2016, the situation has changed somewhat. From this period, special provisions have been introduced for various professions, including lawyers. In particular, for forensic investigators. There are no professional standards for legal advisers yet. But discussions on this topic are actively ongoing. About how the lawyer differs from the legal adviser, what requirements are contained in the job description, the Unified Qualification Manual, in the draft professional standards and about other points in detail in the article.

Value

Any professional standards streamline job requirements. If they are available, it becomes much easier to formulate instructions for different positions, make decisions about the staffing list, certification and training of employees. And directly in relation to legal advisers, a professional standard is useful in the following aspects:

1. Easier to find highly qualified employees.
2. You can decide which position you can hold with a bachelor’s degree, and which one with a master’s degree.

Previously, a lawyer with a bachelor’s diploma had considerable difficulty in finding employment. In general, employers preferred to hire masters even when the appropriate training was not for the position that the applicant was applying for. Unfortunately, there was a stereotype that "a bachelor is not a real specialist." However, the adopted professional standard for a legal consultant who is a professional in his activity with a bachelor's degree will help in determining what kind of education is required for which position.

Profession difference

There are a lot of professions in jurisprudence. These are considered to be consultants in the company, and judges, and investigators. Each of them is considered a lawyer, but performs completely different duties. Therefore, they must be regulated accordingly.

The Ministry of Labor of the country to date has developed codes for 814 professions, covering more than three dozen areas. But for the legal adviser there is no professional standard yet. In general, among this specialty, the only code for a criminal investigator has been developed.

Nevertheless, the Ministry of Justice discusses and plans to adopt professional standards for the following professions:

1. Legal Counsel.
2. Notary public.
3. Judges.
4. Lawyer.
5. The prosecutor.
6. Corporate Lawyer.
7. Lawyer in prisons.

When is a professional standard needed?

Since 2016, the following categories of legal advisers will require professional standards:

1. If the corresponding need is directly dictated by law (as mentioned, at the moment this is required only by the forensic investigator).
2. If the state provides for employees performing legal functions, benefits and compensation at work, or, conversely, restrictions. The main thing is that restrictions or relaxation should have a direct connection with the profession.

If neither the first nor the second case applies to the activities of a specialist, then the use of a professional standard can only be recommended to employers. However, if labor laws change, the requirements for legal counsel will become appropriate.

What will be the professional standard?

It is difficult to speak in advance about the content of this standard. But the following sections must be included in it:

1. Introduction It indicates data on the profession as a whole, definitions and classification, according to the directories of OKVED and OKZ.
2. Map of labor functions with a description of functional legal duties. For example, in the professional standard developed for forensic investigators (see below), such generalized functions include the need to carry out forensic actions in order to conduct a preliminary investigation.
3. Characterization of functions with their generalization, a list of necessary professional knowledge and skills. This section describes in detail the tasks assigned to the applicant.
4. A source with information about the organization that has developed a professional standard for a legal adviser.

Example. Codex for the criminal lawyer

The only standard adopted in March 2015 for criminologists has the following structure:

1. The official name of the investigator’s area of ​​work, which is the forensic support of the crime investigation.
2. The main function of the employee is to organize procedural measures, mainly criminalistic procedures, in the investigation of crimes.
3. The appropriate level of qualification is 7. For this you need to have professional knowledge and skills, in particular:
4. To be able to qualify acts according to the letter of the law.
5. To conduct a physical examination of the crime scene and the body of the victim.
6. Keep documentation.
7. Perform other professional tasks.

A detailed list of the actions that the investigator must carry out while working, starting with the initiation of a criminal case and ending with its transfer to the prosecutor, is also provided.

Professional standard cannot be replaced by job description. The last employer is himself taking into account the characteristics of the organization and relying on the text of the professional standard. Moreover, it is allowed to combine the provisions of even several professional standards.

Discussion of legal professional standard

It is extremely difficult to develop a single professional standard for lawyers, since there are no minimum requirements for the simplest positions. Therefore, the relevant bills were introduced, but so far have not been brought to a result.

Any professional-oriented organization can become the author of a professional standard. But the project must fully comply with the scheme adopted by the Ministry, which was mentioned above.

A few years ago, the Law Faculty of Moscow State University named after Lomonosov made an attempt to develop the standard "Corporate Lawyer". The authors summarized the functions of this specialist and identified the following activities:

1. The practice of legal advisers is corporate, consisting of registration of legal entities, making corrections to the constituent documents of the company, maintaining a list of shareholders for different institutions.
2. Maintenance of economic activity. At the same time, the necessary acts were selected and drawn up, projects were coordinated, legal support was provided for the functioning of the company, issues with permits and legal documents were resolved.
3. Activities with company management, in which the general legal nuances related to what the employer wanted to include in the job description were decided.
4. In order to correspond to the position of a corporate lawyer, it is supposed to have a qualification level of 7. At the same time, education must be graduated higher, and work experience at least 3-4 years in the corresponding position.

Draft professional standard for legal counsel

Another attempt was made in 2019 by the trade union of Russian lawyers and the Aktion-ICFER Media Group. They developed a professional standard “lawyer”, consisting of the following sections:

1. General information.
2. Description of labor functions.
3. Their characteristic.

If the standard is approved, then lawyers will be able to pass an exam and pass a qualification assessment. This procedure (carried out on a voluntary basis) will significantly increase the chances of a job seeker in the labor market. The presence of the appropriate certificate will show the employer a high level of qualification of a particular specialist, his ability to solve complex problems, as well as defend the interests of the company.

Labor functions according to CEN

Since the professional standard has not yet been approved, the employer will be able to predict the future activities of the legal adviser (applicant for the relevant position) based on the data of the Unified Qualification Handbook. This document was approved by the Decree of the Ministry of Labor on 08.21.98 under number 37. In accordance with Clause 2 of Section 1 of the CEN, the following are the duties of a legal adviser:

1. Development of regulatory documentation.
2. Providing legal assistance to company branches.
3. Preparation of various legal acts, participation in the preparation of responses to requests from supervisory authorities.
4. Preparation of documentation on shortage, marriage and other issues for submission to the investigative or judicial authorities.
5. Storage and record keeping of cases considered during court hearings, on which a decision was made.
6. Participation in activities aimed at improving employee discipline and preserving company finances.
7. Preparation of documentation on bringing to liability.
8. Taking part in the conclusion of contracts, assisting in the consideration of issues regarding accounts receivable or credit debt.
9. Control over the timely issuance of certificates, providing explanations for claims.
10. Participation in the preparation of opinions on the business activities of the company.
11. Notification to employees and management about changes in legislation that affect the work of the company.
12. Advising employees on legal issues, assisting in the preparation of documentation that relates to the property of the company.
13. Fulfillment of other duties.

In addition, in accordance with the CEN, an employment contract with a legal adviser can be concluded subject to the following conditions:

1. A specialist who does not have the necessary category must have a specialized higher education without experience or, conversely, have at least 5 years of experience with secondary specialized education.
2. If you want to get the 2nd category, you need to have a higher education, as well as 3-year work experience as a legal adviser.
3. Higher education, as well as 3 years of work experience in the studied position of the 2nd category, will be required and with the intention of getting the 1st category.

How to introduce a professional standard in a company?

If the company needs to introduce a professional standard for a lawyer, this will be carried out in stages in the form of the following actions:

1. Checking the company's staff schedule. If a mandatory professional standard is established for a particular profession, the appropriate name must be indicated. If necessary, personnel documents are corrected (employment contract, personal cards and so on).
2. Check job descriptions. It should contain a clause on qualification requirements. It is put into effect together with the professional standard. If necessary, the data in the instructions are corrected and brought into accordance with the current professional standard.
3. Checking the employee for compliance with the position. If he is fully qualified by education and work experience, excellent. But if a discrepancy is detected, a commission should be convened and an extraordinary certification should be carried out.
4. If the certification shows full compliance of the employee with the position, he can calmly continue to work. Otherwise, the employer directs him to additional training. For example, if a higher legal education is required, but the employee has only a special secondary education, he is sent to study. This can be realized by concluding an appropriate application. It is attached to the employment contract with a legal adviser. The document defines the conditions, payment procedure and other features that are associated with the employee's performance of his duties.
5. After graduation, personnel documents are amended.
6. Upon subsequent employment in the personnel service, candidates must be checked for compliance with the current professional standard.

It should be understood that the dismissal of an employee on the basis that he does not meet the professional standard is not allowed. In this regard, the law is not retroactive. Therefore, if the legal adviser was already working at the time of the introduction of the professional standard, he will be able to continue working under the conditions of successful certification. At the same time, the employer not only has the right to refuse a new candidate with too low qualifications, but is also obliged to do so, because otherwise, he will break the law.

Conclusion

Until professional standards are adopted, the employer may be guided by the Unified Qualification Guide. But after adoption, the document will become mandatory, as is the case with other specialties. In addition, lawyers who are looking for work can take exams on a voluntary basis. After receiving appropriate advice, they will initially be allocated by the employer among other job seekers and thereby are more likely to find work.