Professional profile and employment opportunities for graduates
Professional profile: Lawyer
Function in a professional context and competences:
Lawyers represent and protect their clients’ interests (whether they are an individual, a business, or an organisation, etc.) in legal matters and at the various levels of civil, criminal and administrative proceedings; they draft contracts and legal documents; they provide legal advice and legal assistance and act as arbitrators in out-of-court proceedings.
Competencies associated to the function:
- Knowledge of sources and of case-law and practice orientations, abilities to categorise and classify specific cases, supported by continuous updating as well as by:
- Abilities to draft legal opinions and documents
- Interpersonal skills
- IT skills
- Management skills
- Abilities to use knowledge of the principles and practices of economics and accounting within legal practice as well
- Command of legal terminology in one or more foreign languages is useful.
Employment opportunities
Law graduates begin their activity by undertaking a traineeship at a law firm; alternatively, they may attend a Specialisation school for the legal professions.
After passing the state exam qualifying them to practise as a lawyer, Lawyers may practise independently or as an employee of law firms or public or private entities.
Lawyers may also be appointed as an honorary judge and perform the role of justice of the peace or, as an honorary judge, serve as a magistrate within the ordinary jurisdiction (as an honorary deputy judge, honorary tribunal judge or honorary deputy public prosecutor).
Trainee lawyers and Lawyers can further their professional training by attending Specialisation Schools, or second-level Master’s programmes and advanced training courses.
Professional profile: Notary/Solicitor
Function in a professional context and competences:
Notaries receive and draft inter vivos legal deeds (sales, mortgages, gifts, etc.) and last will and testament acts; they confer public authority on such deeds and acts; they register them and enter them in public registers; they retain them; they authenticate them and issue copies, extracts and certificates. In addition, Notaries verify the intentions of contracting parties and transform them into legal language, guaranteeing the legality of the deed drawn up; they advise parties on the most suitable deed for achieving their set objectives; they check the legality of the contents of deeds and transactions; they verify the conformity of documents and carry out checks (for example, on mortgages and land registry records) and provide specialist fiscal, civil and tax advice, etc.
Competencies associated to the function:
- Knowledge of sources and of case-law and practice orientations, abilities to categorise and classify specific cases, supported by continuous updating as well as by:
- Abilities to draft legal opinions and documents
- Interpersonal skills
- IT skills
- Management skills
- Command of legal terminology in one or more foreign languages is useful.
Employment opportunities
Law graduates begin their activity by undertaking a traineeship at a firm of notaries/solicitors; alternatively, they may attend a Specialisation school for the legal professions.
After successfully taking part in the notarial competition, they are assigned a seat where they are required to set up a professional practice within three months.
Professional profile: Magistrate
Function in a professional context and competences:
Magistrates exercise judicial power, with judicial or investigative functions, in the various areas: ordinary criminal and civil courts, administrative, accounting, tax and military courts.
Competencies associated to the function:
- Knowledge of sources and of case-law and practice orientations, abilities to categorise and classify specific cases, supported by continuous updating as well as by:
- Abilities to draft legal opinions and documents
- Abilities to liaise with users and professionals (lawyers, parties, colleagues, judicial police, etc.)
- Abilities to apply investigative techniques
Employment opportunities
After successfully taking part in the national competition announced by the Ministry of Justice -which they can enter after attending a restricted-access specialisation programme at a Specialisation School for the legal professions (two-year duration) or after obtaining other qualifications provided for by law - Law graduates attend a compulsory six-month course unit at the Scuola Superiore della Magistratura and are then assigned to one of the possible functions related to their role.
Magistrate perform their functions, in some cases following a further competition or selection process, at the following institutions: Superior Council of the Judiciary, Council of the Military Judiciary, Constitutional Court, Court of Cassation, Court of Appeal, Ordinary Court, Assize Court, Assize Court of Appeal, Juvenile Court, Surveillance Court, Court of Auditors, State Attorney's Office, Regional Administrative Courts, Council of State.
Professional profile: Legal expert in business
Function in a professional context and competences:
The profession involves managing and coordinating the company’s legal department, as well as dealing with all legal aspects pertaining to business activities, monitoring and ensuring that such activities, procedures and deeds comply with legal standards; drafting national and international contracts and other legal documents; providing legal advice; preparing administrative deeds, files or measures; managing relations with external bodies or individuals (external legal counsel); managing and verifying the entity’s legal aspects; providing support to the administrative activity of other offices; handling debt recovery; and serving on institutional bodies (committees, advisory bodies, etc.).
Competencies associated to the function:
- Knowledge of sources and of case-law and practice orientations, abilities to categorise and classify specific cases, supported by continuous updating as well as by:
- Abilities to draft legal opinions and documents
- Abilities to follow activities related to business administration and management
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures
- Knowledge of the principles and practices of economics and accounting
- Abilities to manage staff and human resources
- IT skills
Employment opportunities
Legal experts in business perform their duties as employees or consultants in industrial and manufacturing companies, banking or insurance institutes, professional firms (of a legal, notarial, accountancy, technical or architectural nature, etc.).
Legal experts can further their training by attending Specialisation Schools, second-level Master’s programmes and advanced training courses.
Professional profile: Legal expert in public bodies
Function in a professional context and competences:
The profession involves managing and coordinating the legal department, as well as dealing with all legal aspects pertaining to activities of Public Administration organisations or bodies, monitoring and ensuring that such activities, procedures and deeds comply with legal standards; drafting national and international contracts and other legal documents; providing legal advice; preparing administrative deeds, files or measures; managing relations with external bodies or individuals (such as the State Attorney’s Office and jurisdictional bodies); managing and verifying the entity’s legal aspects; providing support to the administrative activity of other offices; and serving on institutional bodies (committees, advisory bodies, etc.).
Competencies associated to the function:
Knowledge of sources and of case-law and practice orientations, abilities to categorise and classify specific cases, supported by continuous updating as well as by:
- Abilities to draft legal opinions and documents
- Abilities for the administration and management of the entity
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures
- Knowledge of archive management techniques
- Management skills
- Knowledge of the principles and practices of economics and accounting
- Abilities to manage staff and human resources
- Abilities to interact with different professional profiles, with an understanding of the dynamics of internal work organisation
- IT skills
Employment opportunities
Legal experts in public bodies can practise their profession at a national, European and international level.
1) At a national level, following a competition announced by the Public Administration, they can enter careers in local government (Municipalities, Regioni, Provinces); in functional bodies (LHA, Chambers of Commerce, Universities, public companies); in national organisations (Government, Parliament); in the Tax Agency; and in Labour Inspectorates. They can also work as an Operator in the judicial administration (Clerk of the Court or Public Prosecutor’s office).
2) At a European level, through public competitions or selection procedures, they can assume roles of responsibility in European institutions and other European bodies
3) At an international level, following a competition, they can take up a diplomatic career and, through public competitions or selection procedures, take up positions of responsibility in international governmental and non-governmental organisations.
Legal experts can further their grounding by attending Specialisation Schools, or second-level Master’s programmes and advanced training courses.
