The CCBE is working to ease the transition for lawyers in the accession states

Various bodies have worked tirelessly to help bring the accession states' social, economic and legal status to the standing required for accession to occur, writes Lucy Hickman.

A key group for lawyers in those countries is the Council of the Bars and Law Societies of the European Union (CCBE).

Its secretary-general, English solicitor Jonathan Goldsmith, says that despite the hard work put into preparing the new EU states, accession will still come as a shock to them.

'We have worked very hard letting them know of the importance of directives relating to lawyers, as their governments will have to adopt them by 1 May.

'I don't think it has properly hit them yet.'

There is already substantial legislative provision for the cross-border movement of lawyers in the EU, most notably the Rights of Establishment Directive.

Mr Goldsmith adds that a wave of new legislative measures, set to affect lawyers, will also have to be absorbed.

These include the draft Framework Services Directive, which will dictate how services should be offered within the EU, as well as an ongoing case set to decide whether in-house lawyers should be entitled to professional privilege in Europe.

Another recent case also guarantees the free movement of legal trainees within the EU states.

Mr Goldsmith says: 'If you are a law graduate, you can now go anywhere in Europe and be a trainee.

They can't require you to take a law degree in their country.

'Wherever you look, there is material that affects the regulatory state of the profession.

I assume it is a shock to join the EU.

It requires lawyers to take account of not just national laws but of EU laws too.

We are trying to ensure accession bars realise that they need to be observing this.

This is our role.'

Last year, the CCBE also received a 1 million grant to train, in the main, central and eastern European lawyers in defence work before the International Criminal Court.

Mr Goldsmith says: 'Bars from seven of the ten accession states have already achieved CCBE membership, with applications from Malta and Lithuania received and from Latvia pending.

'We have had a big debate with the CCBE - rather similar to the EU's own debate - about voting rights and subscriptions.

Basically the constitution says they should get the votes to which the are entitled to under the Council of Europe's own statutes.'

In terms of subscriptions, he says, there is going to be a catch-up period during which, because of their economic standing, they will not yet have to pay the same level as existing member states.