In recent days, candidates who have passed the subjective examination of the 2023 law examination are submitting materials to the judicial bureaus in various places to apply for the granting of legal professional qualifications. In the near future, after obtaining the qualification, I will officially become a lawyer.
In the preparation stage, the goal is very clear, that is, to pass the law exam;After passing the exam, what kind of development goals should I set?Many people are confused.
The usual career choice is to become a lawyer, or to take the exam as a judge or prosecutor. However, for middle-aged and quasi-middle-aged people who already have a job, it is difficult to make this decision if it is not for the unsatisfactory work and the gloomy future, to smash the job in their hands and start from scratch like a recent college graduate.
But you can't silently press the legal professional qualification certificate at the bottom of the box and still return to the previous work and life situation, as if you have never taken the law exam, right?
The reality does seem to be helpless. At present, in many places, employers do not really pay attention to internal legal talents, and they are more willing to spend money to find professional lawyers in case of legal disputes. This is very similar to the attitude of many people towards health, they are unwilling to invest in daily health care and disease prevention, and once they get sick, they rush to the hospital and find experts and famous doctors through various relationships.
However, legal people need not be too pessimistic, and should see that the situation is undergoing positive changes. Taking state-owned units as an example, with the gradual deepening of the concept of the rule of law, the state has required that first-class organs at all levels and state-owned enterprises must be equipped with public lawyers and corporate lawyers, and the status of legal talents in the unit will be improved and there will be more places to use.
Moreover, those who have legal professional qualifications are expected to have more opportunities for job advancement in the future, such as the head of the legal department, and higher positions. Next, let's talk about the position of general counsel in state-owned enterprises.
When you see the name legal counsel, many people think of law firms. Many units will sign a service contract with a law firm in the society and hire them to serve as the "perennial legal counsel" of their unit. However, the general counsel we are talking about does not refer to the director of a law firm or a top lawyer, but to the senior executives in charge of legal affairs, compliance, risk control, etc.
According to the Measures for the Administration of Legal Counsel of State-Owned Enterprises, the general counsel of an enterprise refers to "a senior management person who has the qualification to practice as a legal counsel of an enterprise, is hired by the enterprise, and is fully responsible for the legal affairs of the enterprise".
The term general counsel may seem relatively unfamiliar, but in fact, the title of the position appeared in official documents as early as 20 years ago. The above-mentioned "Measures for the Administration of Legal Counsel of State-owned Enterprises" was issued by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the People's Republic of China in 2004, which stipulates that large enterprises must set up general counsel of enterprises. In the same year, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) also issued the Notice on Accelerating the Construction of the General Counsel System for Enterprises in Key State-owned Enterprises to make arrangements for the establishment of the general counsel system for enterprises.
In 2016, the Office of the Central Committee of the People's Republic of China and the Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on the Implementation of the Legal Counsel System and the Public Lawyer Company Lawyer System", proposing: "Large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises can set up general counsel to give full play to the role of general counsel in the legal review and gatekeeping of business management activities, and promote the legal operation and compliance management of enterprises." Although this document only says that "the general counsel can be established" and is not a mandatory requirement, it should be noted that it is a document jointly issued by the General Office of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the Communist Party of China, representing the opinions of the general counsel, indicating that the establishment of the general counsel has been valued by the highest level of the state.
Since then, with the continuous deepening of the rule of law, the construction of state-owned enterprises under the rule of law has become a key task in the reform of state-owned enterprises. Before and after the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of ** and various provinces successively issued documents requiring comprehensive promotion of the construction of state-owned enterprises under the rule of law, one of which is to set up a general counsel. In 2020, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) issued the Administrative Measures for the Formulation of the Articles of Association of State-Owned Enterprises, which requires that the establishment of general counsel be written into the articles of association of state-owned companies, and clarifies that the general counsel is the senior management of the company.
In 2023, in accordance with the first deployment, state-owned enterprises across the country will begin to implement a new round of reform deepening and upgrading actions. Some provinces have clearly stated in their action plans that provincial state-owned enterprises should achieve full coverage of general counsel by 2024, and encourage qualified enterprises at other levels to also set up general counsel positions. Yes, in the next few years, most state-owned enterprises will set up legal departments, and there will be the position of general counsel in the leadership, which may not necessarily be set up specifically, but this will undoubtedly open up a relatively exclusive development path for people with legal professional qualifications.
One might think that I am overly optimistic in saying this. You don't see, in some units, the leaders in charge of finance are not from financial backgrounds, and those who hold senior accountant and certified public accountant certificates can finally become the director of the finance department. Therefore, there is a high probability that those who have legal professional qualifications will also be squeezed out of the upward path by those who are on the sidelines.
In fact, there is a certain difference between the two. Indeed, there is no system stipulating that the enterprise leader in charge of finance must be a senior meeting and a senior meetingHowever, there are clear terms of appointment for the General Counsel. According to the Measures for the Administration of Legal Counsel of State-Owned Enterprises, the general counsel of an enterprise shall meet the following conditions at the same time:4) Have the qualifications to practice as an enterprise legal counsel, and have served as the main responsible person in the management department at or above the middle level of the enterprise for at least 3 years;or have been hired as the first-level legal counsel of the enterprise and have served as the person in charge of the enterprise's legal affairs body. ”
In 2014, this practice qualification license was cancelled, and after the reform of the legal examination in 2018, it was replaced by a unified national legal professional qualification certificate. In other words, in order to serve as the general counsel of the enterprise in the future, obtaining a legal professional qualification certificate is a necessary condition. Therefore, it can be said that the general counsel of an enterprise is a senior management position reserved for legal personnel in state-owned enterprises.
Of course, not all state-owned enterprises will have a general counsel, and private companies are not required to have this position. Legalists who work in these businesses don't have to be frustrated. Even if there is no special legal department or position in the unit, as long as you actively use the legal knowledge you have learned to contribute to the unit, there will still be many opportunities to stand out, just like gold will definitely shine.