Fédération des barreaux d’Europe
New member Bars - Deutscher Anwaltverein (DAV)
- Wolfgang Ewer
The German Bar Association (Deutscher Anwaltverein – DAV) was founded in August 1871 on the first German Lawyers Day in Bamberg. According to its statutes, the aim is protecting, cultivating and supporting all professional and economic interests of the advocacy including the solicitor-notary. The association supports the judicature and legislature, provides education and training and maintains the advocacy’s common academic spirit.
The German Bar Association is the umbrella organisation of 250 local member lawyers associations. Whereas the membership to the German Federal Bar (Bundesrechtsanwaltskammer – BRAK) is obligatory, the membership in the local lawyers associations and with that in the DAV is voluntary. Currently about 66.000 lawyers in Germany are members of the DAV. The free choice of joining the DAV together with the democratic forming of opinion and structure make the DAV a democratically legitimated innovative society of the freely associated advocacy.
The DAV has 32 legislative committees whose members develop position papers concerning the most important federal and state legislative projects and introduce them effectively to the legislative process. The DAV’s professional position papers and lobbying activities therefore exceed the legislative projects about the legal practice by far. Due to its active participation, the DAV rather promotes the further development of the existing legal system with the objective for a viable and realistic legal system.
The DAV’s 27 working groups consist of about 40.000 members. They are market places in knowledge transfer, staging area of communication, core of professionalization. Expert’s meetings, crash courses and publications give answers to all important questions in the respective fields and their impact on professional regulations.
Since 1995 the DAV maintains an office in Brussels. In a time where the legislature of the countries of the European Union is more and more regulated by Brussels, a successful Law Policy implies well established contacts to Brussels. The voice of the DAV today can be heard clearly and effectively in Brussels. Together with the bar associations of France (Délégation des Barreaux de France), Spain (Consejo de la Abogacía Española) and Italy (Consiglio Nazionale Forense) the DAV pursues a successful special interest policy with his office in the capital of the European Union. The liaison office also reports through his weekly newsletter “Europa im Überblick” (European Overview) on all important European developments from the German lawyers perspective. The DAV also influences the legislature within the European Union via its membership and close collaboration with the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE).
For more information about the activities of our working groups or the DAV, please visit our website www.anwaltverein.de.
The President