Members of the Bar (hereinafter attorneys) include attorneys-at-law and assistant attorneys-at-law.
In Estonia, legal services under the professional name of an attorney may be provided solely by members of the Estonian Bar Association, unless otherwise provided in this Act.
In order to be eligible for admission to the Bar, the person must:
1) have active legal capacity;
2) have a place of residence in Estonia or be a citizen of Estonia, another Member State of the European Union, a member state of the European Economic Area or Switzerland;
3) meet the education requirements applicable to a judge in accordance with clause 1 of subsection 1 of § 47 of the Courts Act or their foreign professional qualifications must have been recognised in accordance with § 65 of this Act;
4) speak and write in Estonian fluently;
5) be honest and ethical and have the abilities and personal characteristics required for the attorney practice.
Assistant attorney-at-law
A person who has passed the assistant attorney-at-law examination may be admitted to the Bar as an assistant attorney-at-law. An assistant attorney-at-law acts under the supervision of a patron.
Awarding the professional title of an attorney-at-law
A member of the Bar who has practised as an assistant attorney-at-law for at least three years and passed the attorney-at-law examination can become an attorney-at-law on the basis of a written application.
Where a person has, immediately before admission to the Bar, held for no less than two years an office or position the holding of which calls for a publicly recognised master’s degree in law or equivalent qualifications for the purposes of subsection 22 of § 28 of the Republic of Estonia Education Act or equivalent foreign qualifications, the Board of the Bar may allow the person to take the attorney-at-law examination, provided that the person has practised as an assistant attorney-at-law for no less than one year in a row.