If you live or do business in Vietnam, sooner or later you will need a lawyer: for a contract, a dispute, a property purchase, a company set-up, a divorce or a problem with the police. Finding one is easy. Finding the right one, and knowing they are allowed to do the work, takes a little more care, because the rules are different from what most foreigners are used to at home.
This guide explains who counts as a lawyer in Vietnam, how to check a lawyer and a law firm, what an international law firm can and cannot do for you, how fees and contracts work, and what is changing in 2026 and 2027.
Do you need a lawyer, or someone else?
Several kinds of professional give legal help in Vietnam, and they are not interchangeable. The main difference is who can advise you on Vietnamese law and who can stand up for you in a Vietnamese court.
| Professional | What they do | Can they represent you in a Vietnamese court? |
|---|
| Lawyer (luật sư) | Advises on Vietnamese law, drafts and negotiates, represents and defends clients | Yes |
| Foreign lawyer at an international firm | Advises on foreign and international law only, unless they also hold a Vietnamese law degree and meet the same standards as a Vietnamese lawyer | No |
| Notary (công chứng viên) | Notarizes contracts, transactions and copies under the Law on Notarization 2024 | No |
| Legal consultancy center | Non-profit advice run by social or professional organizations; only its employed lawyers may litigate | Only through its lawyers |
| Visa agent or business consultant | Handles paperwork and applications | No, and they may not present themselves as lawyers |
For a court case, criminal defense, or advice you will rely on for a large decision, you want a licensed Vietnamese lawyer. For paperwork such as a visa application or a routine company filing, a specialist service provider may be enough, but it cannot give you the protections that come with a lawyer.
What makes someone a lawyer in Vietnam
Under the Law on Lawyers 2006, as amended in 2012, a lawyer is a Vietnamese citizen who holds a bachelor of law, has completed 12 months of lawyer training and a 12-month apprenticeship, has passed the apprenticeship test and holds a practicing certificate (Articles 10 to 17). To practice, a lawyer must also be a member of one provincial bar association (Đoàn luật sư) and carries a lawyer's card issued by the national body.
That national body is the Vietnam Bar Federation (Liên đoàn Luật sư Việt Nam). It is sometimes called the "Vietnam Bar Association" in English, and it is easily confused with the Vietnam Lawyers' Association (Hội Luật gia), a separate association of jurists that does not license lawyers.
Since 1 July 2025, practicing certificates have been issued, revoked and reissued by the chairman of the provincial People's Committee rather than the Minister of Justice, under Decree 121/2025/ND-CP, which applies until 1 March 2027. Apprentices cannot appear in court or sign legal opinions, so check who will actually do your work.
How to check a lawyer and a law firm
There is no single national online register of lawyers yet. A lawyer database with legal effect is part of the new Law on Lawyers that is still being drafted. Until then, use these checks:
- Ask to see the lawyer's card (Thẻ luật sư). It shows the lawyer's name, photo, card number and bar association. A genuine lawyer will not mind being asked.
- Search the provincial bar or Department of Justice. The Hanoi Bar Association's lookup covers both lawyers and law firms registered in Hanoi. The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Justice publishes lists of law firms and lawyers, although they are not always recent. Other provincial Departments of Justice publish similar lists.
- Ask for the firm's registration certificate. A law office (văn phòng luật sư) or law company (công ty luật) registers with the provincial Department of Justice and receives a registration certificate (Article 35). A business registration certificate from the business registration office is not the same thing.
- Check the name on the contract. The contract should be with the law firm, and the lawyer handling your matter should be a named member of it.
Practicing as a lawyer without a practicing certificate is an administrative offense that carries a fine under Decree 82/2020/ND-CP, so a missing card is a serious warning sign.
A Vietnamese lawyer or an international law firm?
International law firms operate in Vietnam through a branch, a wholly foreign-owned law company, a joint venture with a Vietnamese firm or a partnership with one (Article 69). Their foreign lawyers hold a license from the Ministry of Justice and are valuable when your matter involves the law of your home country, cross-border deals or international arbitration.
There are limits, though:
- Foreign lawyers may advise on foreign and international law. They may advise on Vietnamese law only if they hold a Vietnamese bachelor of law and meet the standards that apply to Vietnamese lawyers (Article 76).
- Foreign lawyers may not appear in a Vietnamese court as your representative, defense counsel or protector of your rights.
- Foreign law firms may not send any of their lawyers, foreign or Vietnamese, to litigate in Vietnamese courts (Article 70). Their Vietnamese lawyers can still advise you on Vietnamese law.
If there is any chance your matter ends up in court, you will need a Vietnamese law firm to handle that part, even if an international firm advises you on the rest.
Where to look
- Your embassy. The US Embassy and the UK government publish lists of English-speaking lawyers in Vietnam. They are starting points, not recommendations: the embassies state that they take no responsibility for the listed firms.
- Legal directories. Legal 500 and Chambers Asia-Pacific rank the larger firms, mostly for corporate and commercial work.
- Referrals. Colleagues, your chamber of commerce and other foreigners who have faced the same problem are often the best source, but still run the checks above.
- Easytiger. You can browse legal professionals on Easytiger or tell us what you need and our team will match you with suitable professionals. Easytiger confirms each listed professional's identity and business registration before they appear in the directory.
Before you hire: questions to ask
A license tells you a lawyer is allowed to do the work. It does not tell you whether they are the right lawyer for your matter. Before you sign, ask:
- Have you handled cases like mine? Ask how many, and how they turned out. A firm can list every service on its website without real depth in each, and a court dispute takes different skills from routine contract work.
- Who will actually do the work? Ask whether the lawyer you met will handle your matter or pass it to a junior colleague. Either can work well, but you should know which one you are paying for.
- Who is my point of contact, and how fast will they reply? Slow replies and unclear ownership of a case are common complaints. Agree on a named contact and a response time for urgent questions, and put it in writing with the scope and the fee.
- Can we talk it through on a call first? Speak to the person who will handle your matter, in the language you will work in. A firm's marketing English says little about the English of the lawyer doing your work, and you need someone who can explain what the Vietnamese rules mean for you, not just translate them.
A large firm or a smaller specialist?
Large full-service firms, including the international ones, have the capacity for complex, urgent or cross-border work, but they carry more overhead, and much of your matter may be handled by junior lawyers. Smaller firms that specialize in one area are often cheaper and give you direct access to a senior lawyer, but may have less capacity if a matter grows. Ask what kind of clients make up most of their work, and whether that matches the size of your matter and your budget.
Checking a consultant or visa agent
Visa agents and business consultants are not law firms, so they register as ordinary companies. You can search them by name or tax code for free on the National Business Registration Portal, which shows the company's legal name, registered address, legal representative and date of incorporation. Law firms and law offices may not appear there, because they register with the provincial Department of Justice instead.
For more on comparing providers of every kind, including accountants, auditors and translators, see our guide on how to choose a legal and professional services provider in Vietnam.
Fees and the engagement contract
Lawyers' fees in Vietnam are agreed between you and the lawyer, based on the nature of the work, the time it takes and the lawyer's experience (Law on Lawyers, Articles 55 and 56). The law allows four ways of charging:
- by the hour
- a fixed fee for the case or task
- a percentage of the value of the claim, contract or project
- a fixed retainer for ongoing work
Criminal cases are the exception. A Government decree (Decree 123/2013/ND-CP) caps the fee a lawyer may charge a client in a criminal case at 0.3 times the base salary per hour, which is about VND 759,000 per hour since the base salary rose to VND 2,530,000 on 1 July 2026.
Whatever the method, a written legal services contract is mandatory (Article 26). Before you sign, check that it states:
- the names of both parties
- the scope of the work and how long it will take
- the rights and obligations of each side
- how the fee is calculated, the amount, and any other costs you will pay
- responsibility if either side breaks the contract
- how disputes will be resolved
A lawyer may not ask for money beyond the fee and costs in the contract (Article 9), and the lawyers' Code of Ethics forbids promising or guaranteeing an outcome that is outside the lawyer's control. Treat a guaranteed result as a warning sign.
Your rights as a client
- Confidentiality. Your lawyer must keep your information confidential, and the duty continues after the engagement ends (Article 25).
- No conflicts of interest. A lawyer may not act for two clients with opposing interests in the same matter (Article 9).
- Complaints. A dispute with your lawyer about the service or the fee can be taken to the provincial bar association, which can mediate (Article 88). Disciplinary matters are decided by the bar association's governing board (Article 85).
Practical points for foreigners
- Language. Vietnamese is the language of the courts, but you have the right to speak your own language through an interpreter in civil and criminal proceedings.
- Documents from abroad. Foreign documents used in a Vietnamese court need to be legalized or apostilled, then translated into Vietnamese with the translator's signature certified (chứng thực chữ ký người dịch) by a commune-level People's Committee or a notary office. Since 11 September 2026, an apostille replaces consular legalization for documents from most countries under Decree 293/2026/ND-CP. Legalization is still needed for documents from Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic, and from countries outside the Apostille Convention.
- Instructing a lawyer from abroad. You can usually appoint a lawyer by power of attorney without traveling, but a divorce cannot be handled through a representative, so plan to attend in person.
- Legal aid. State legal aid is currently very limited for foreigners. From 1 January 2027, the amended Law on Legal Aid (Law 05/2026/QH16) extends it to foreigners where a treaty Vietnam has joined provides for it. Separately, anyone charged with a crime carrying up to 20 years, life imprisonment or death, and anyone under 18 or with a disability, must have a defense lawyer, and one is appointed if they do not choose their own.
What is changing
A new Law on Lawyers is being drafted. The National Assembly Standing Committee reviewed the draft on 27 August 2026, and it has not been passed. Among the proposals are a shorter route to becoming a lawyer ending in a national exam for the practicing certificate, a lawyer database with legal effect, legal services contracts that may be made electronically or orally, an explicit ban on impersonating a lawyer, and a rule that a foreign law firm needs only one foreign lawyer. Until the new law is passed and takes effect, the 2006 law as amended in 2012 continues to apply.
Separately, from 15 April 2026 to 28 February 2027, a Government resolution removed the requirement for a lawyer to have practiced for two years before founding a law firm. A newly registered firm is therefore not unusual in 2026, which makes checking the individual lawyer's experience more important.
Research checked on 18 September 2026. This article is general information, not legal advice. Rules on lawyers are expected to change when the new Law on Lawyers is passed.
Sources
Legal & Visa
Legal & Visa
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