Law on Lawyers · 01.12.2024

Attorneys in Vietnam

An attorney in Vietnam is not a job title you can adopt. It is a regulated status with two conditions, a defined scope of work, a compulsory written engagement and four permitted ways of charging. This page sets out each of them with the article number, and ends with the one rule…

Lawyer UnilawReading time: 13 min

By Lawyer Nguyen Nhu Hai – UniLaw LLC

UniLaw is a Vietnamese law firm with offices in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang. This page explains how the profession is regulated and how to engage counsel. What we do and who we are is on our firm profile.

The translations below are UniLaw’s working translations. They are given so you can find the provision; the Vietnamese text governs.

A decided case that shows why the date matters

Judgment No. 01/2025/HNGD-PT of 29 August 2025 — Court of Appeal of the Supreme People’s Court, dispute over property after divorce.

One party appeared under both a Vietnamese and a foreign form of name. The Court of Appeal discontinued the defendant’s appeal, rejected the claimant’s appeal and upheld the first-instance judgment of the Ho Chi Minh City court. What repays reading is the list of provisions applied: Articles 27, 29 and 95 of the Law on Marriage and Family in force from 1 January 2001, and Articles 33, 40 and 59 of the Law in force from 1 January 2015, together with Joint Circular No. 01/1997.

Two things to take from it. Vietnamese courts apply the statute in force when the relationship arose, not the one in force at trial — which is why the first question counsel asks is a date, not a fact. And a matter that runs across two statutes and a foreign-element party needs someone who can be on the record here: under Article 76 of the Law on Lawyers a foreign lawyer cannot appear before a Vietnamese court.

Decided cases are published on case.unilaw.vn.

The legal basis on this page

Law on Lawyers, Law No. 65/2006/QH11, amended by Law No. 20/2012/QH13 — Article 2, Article 11 (certificate plus Bar membership), Articles 12 and 14, Article 21, Article 22, Article 23, Article 25, Article 26 (the written engagement), Article 32, Article 55 (the four fee methods), Article 74, Article 76.
Decrees No. 123/2013/ND-CP and No. 137/2018/ND-CP, amended by Decree No. 112/2025/ND-CP of 29 May 2025; Circular No. 05/2021/TT-BTP.
Civil Procedure Code, consolidated as No. 21/VBHN-VPQH of 12 February 2026, and the Law on Commercial Arbitration, consolidated as No. 60/VBHN-VPQH of 15 August 2025.

What “attorney in Vietnam” means in law

Article 2 of the Law on Lawyers, Law No. 65/2006/QH11, defines a lawyer as a person who satisfies the standards and conditions for practice under that Law and who provides legal services at the request of individuals, agencies and organisations — collectively, clients.

Two things follow. The status is conferred, not claimed. And the relationship is a service relationship, which is why the engagement document matters as much as the credential.

The two conditions to practise

Article 11 is short and absolute: a person meeting the standards in Article 10 who wishes to practise must hold a Lawyer’s Practising Certificate and must join a Bar Association.

Both, not either. When you check an attorney in Vietnam, you are checking two facts: the certificate issued by the Ministry of Justice, and current membership of a provincial Bar. Either can be asked for and shown.

How someone becomes an attorney in Vietnam

Article 10 sets the standards: a Vietnamese citizen loyal to the country, observing the Constitution and law, of good moral character, holding a bachelor of laws degree, having completed lawyer training, having completed the probationary period, and in health sufficient to practise.

Article 12 sets the training at twelve months. Article 14 sets the probationary period at twelve months, counted from registration of probation with the Bar Association, under a supervising lawyer who must have at least three years of practice and must not be serving a disciplinary sanction.

So the shortest lawful route from a law degree to independent practice is two years of training and supervision, before the certificate is issued at all.

What an attorney in Vietnam is allowed to do

Article 22 lists the scope of practice in five limbs:

appearing in criminal proceedings as defence counsel for a person held in custody, an accused or a defendant, or as protector of the rights of a victim, civil plaintiff, civil defendant or person with related rights and obligations;
appearing as representative or protector of the lawful rights and interests of a plaintiff, defendant or person with related rights and obligations in civil, marriage and family, business, commercial, labour and administrative cases, and in civil, marriage and family, business, commercial and labour petitions and other matters provided by law;
providing legal advice;
acting as out-of-court representative for clients in matters related to law;
providing other legal services under that Law.

Article 21(1)(d), as amended by Law No. 20/2012/QH13, gives the right to practise throughout the territory of Vietnam. A firm registered in Hanoi is not confined to Hanoi, which is why the city in a firm’s address tells you where it files, not where it can act.

The two ways an attorney in Vietnam may practise

Article 23 allows practice within a law-practising organisation — by founding one, joining in founding one, or working under contract for one — or practice in an individual capacity. The lawyer chooses one of the two.

Article 32 gives law-practising organisations two forms only: the law office and the law company. Under the original Article 32(3), a lawyer may establish or join in establishing only one law-practising organisation, in the locality of the Bar Association of which the lawyer is a member; where lawyers from different Bars found a law company together, they may register in the locality of any one of those Bars.

The engagement must be in writing

Article 26 is the provision most foreign clients skip. A lawyer performs legal services under a legal service contract, except where appearing at the request of a proceeding-conducting agency, or practising individually under an employment contract with an agency or organisation.

The contract must be in writing and must contain, as a minimum:

the name and address of the client or the client’s representative, and of the law-practising organisation or the individually practising lawyer;
the content of the services and the time limit for performance;
the rights and obligations of the parties;
the method of calculation and the specific level of the fee, and any costs;
liability for breach of the contract;
the method of dispute resolution.

An engagement recorded only in an exchange of emails does not meet this. Ask for the contract before the work starts, and check that the fee method and the scope are actually written into it.

How an attorney in Vietnam may charge

Article 55 sets three bases for the fee: the content and nature of the legal services; the time and effort the lawyer uses to perform them; and the lawyer’s experience and reputation.

It then gives four methods, and only four:

by the lawyer’s working hour;
by the matter, at a lump-sum fee;
by the matter, at a percentage of the value in dispute or the value of the contract or project;
by long-term contract at a fixed fee.

A percentage fee is therefore lawful in Vietnam for civil and commercial work, which surprises common-law clients. What is not lawful is anything outside the contract: Article 9(1)(đ) prohibits a lawyer from receiving or demanding any sum or benefit from the client beyond the fee and costs agreed in the legal service contract.

Conflicts of interest

Article 9(1)(a) prohibits providing legal services to clients with opposing interests in the same criminal case, civil case, administrative case, civil petition or other matter.

The test is the matter, not the client list. Ask the question in writing at the first meeting; the answer belongs on the file.

Confidentiality

Article 25 states it in three limbs. A lawyer must not disclose information about the matter or the client learned while practising, unless the client consents in writing or the law provides otherwise. A lawyer must not use such information to harm the interests of the State, public interests, or the lawful rights and interests of agencies, organisations and individuals. And the law-practising organisation is responsible for ensuring that its staff do not disclose it either.

The written-consent requirement is worth noting. Verbal permission to mention your matter is not the standard the Law sets.

What is prohibited outright

Article 9, as amended by Law No. 20/2012/QH13, prohibits a lawyer from, among other things: deliberately supplying false or fabricated documents or evidence; inciting a person in custody, an accused, a defendant or a litigant to give false statements, or inciting a client to complain, denounce or litigate unlawfully; harassing or deceiving the client; and colluding with proceeding-conducting persons, participants in proceedings, officials or public employees to act contrary to law.

These are not aspirational standards. They sit alongside the disciplinary regime in the same Law.

The duties that come with the certificate

Article 21(2), as amended, obliges a lawyer to observe the principles of practice in Article 5; to comply strictly with the internal rules of, and to co-operate with and respect, proceeding-conducting persons; to participate fully and promptly in cases where a proceeding-conducting agency so requests; to provide legal aid; and to undertake compulsory professional training.

Pro bono work and continuing education are statutory duties in Vietnam, not voluntary commitments.

The rule that matters most to foreign clients

Article 76, as amended by Law No. 20/2012/QH13, defines the scope of practice of a foreign lawyer in Vietnam. A foreign lawyer practising here may advise on foreign law and international law, may perform other legal services relating to foreign law, and may advise on Vietnamese law only where they hold a Vietnamese bachelor of laws degree and satisfy all the same requirements as a Vietnamese lawyer. And then the limb that decides the question:

A foreign lawyer may not take part in proceedings as representative, as defence counsel, or as protector of the lawful rights and interests of a litigant before a Vietnamese court.

So your usual counsel abroad can structure the deal, advise on their own law, and sit beside you. They cannot appear for you in a Vietnamese court. Nor can they advise on Vietnamese law, unless they hold a Vietnamese law degree and have met the Vietnamese requirements in full. That is why cross-border matters are run as a pair: your firm on your law, a Vietnamese firm on ours and on the record.

How a foreign lawyer gets licensed here

Article 74 sets three conditions for a foreign lawyer to be granted a licence to practise in Vietnam: holding a currently valid practising certificate issued by a competent foreign authority; respecting the Constitution and laws of Vietnam; and being assigned by a foreign law-practising organisation to practise in Vietnam, or being accepted for employment by a foreign branch or law company in Vietnam or by a Vietnamese law-practising organisation.

Filing has been electronic since 2025

Decree No. 112/2025/ND-CP of 29 May 2025, amending several decrees in the judicial support sector, inserts a new Article 5a into Decree No. 123/2013/ND-CP — itself already amended by Decree No. 137/2018/ND-CP — providing for submission of administrative procedure files in the electronic environment, with electronic forms and declarations filed through the online public service system.

Detailed implementation of the Law on Lawyers and Decree No. 123/2013/ND-CP is in Circular No. 05/2021/TT-BTP of 24 June 2021.

Who can represent you in court and in arbitration

Representation before the courts is governed by the Civil Procedure Code, Code No. 92/2015/QH13, in the consolidated text No. 21/VBHN-VPQH of 12 February 2026, alongside Article 22 of the Law on Lawyers. Representation in arbitration is a different regime: the Law on Commercial Arbitration, Law No. 54/2010/QH12, consolidated as No. 60/VBHN-VPQH of 15 August 2025, does not impose the court restriction, which is one practical reason parties with foreign counsel prefer an arbitration clause. Our note on drafting that clause is on the contract law pillar.

What to ask before you instruct an attorney in Vietnam

May I see the Practising Certificate and the current Bar membership? Both are required by Article 11.
Is there a conflict on this matter under Article 9(1)(a)?
Which of the four fee methods in Article 55 applies, and what is the specific figure?
Will the legal service contract contain all six items in Article 26(2)?
Who will actually appear, and are they on the record?
If foreign counsel is involved, what exactly are they doing, given Article 76?

Where a matter needs more than one practice

Most instructions cross practice lines. Ship and cargo matters go to our maritime lawyers; policy and claims work to our insurance lawyers; licensing and project structure to our investment lawyers; company formation, shares and governance to our corporate lawyers; brands, patents and licences to our intellectual property lawyers; software, model and data terms to our AI practice. Land and housing matters go to our real estate lawyers; deals and mergers to our M&A lawyers.

How UniLaw takes an instruction

We run the conflict check first, then issue the legal service contract with the scope, the fee method and the specific figure written in, as Article 26(2) requires. Where foreign counsel is already involved, we set out in that contract which questions are theirs and which are ours, so that Article 76 is handled at the start rather than at the courtroom door. Contact UniLaw with the matter and the counterparty and we will tell you the scope and the basis of charge before any work begins.

Questions clients ask an attorney in Vietnam

Is “attorney” different from “lawyer” in Vietnam?

Not in law. Vietnamese law uses one term, luật sư, defined in Article 2 of the Law on Lawyers. The English words attorney, lawyer, solicitor and counsel all translate that single status, and the two conditions in Article 11 apply whichever word is used.

Can my own lawyer from home represent me in a Vietnamese court?

No. Article 76, as amended by Law No. 20/2012/QH13, prohibits a foreign lawyer from acting as representative, defence counsel or protector of a litigant’s rights before a Vietnamese court. They can advise on foreign and international law and work alongside Vietnamese counsel.

Are contingency fees allowed?

A fee calculated as a percentage of the value in dispute, or of the contract or project value, is one of the four methods expressly permitted by Article 55(2). It must be written into the legal service contract with the specific level stated.

What if the firm asks for money outside the contract?

Article 9(1)(đ) prohibits a lawyer from receiving or demanding any sum or benefit from the client beyond the fee and costs agreed in the legal service contract. Anything outside the document is outside the Law.

Must the engagement be in writing?

Yes, under Article 26(2), with the six minimum contents listed there, except for the two situations in Article 26(1).

Can a firm registered in Hanoi act in Ho Chi Minh City?

Yes. Article 21(1)(d) gives the right to practise throughout Vietnamese territory. UniLaw keeps offices in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang for proximity, not for jurisdiction.