Bayan Emrooz Law Firm Introduction
According to “Regulations of Establishing and Managing Law Firms”, law firm is a legal entity. Law firms, unlike small law offices, render specialized legal services in a more scientific and structured way and its distinction with a law office is its proficiency.
Iranian law firms consist of at least two attorneys with no criminal record and no moral corruption. One of the attorneys should at least have 10 years of experience in practicing law.
Law firms are non-commercial institutions which provide these services:
- Advocacy and legal consolatory in all fields of criminal law and civil law;
- Concluding agreements to appoint attorney/s for cases referred;
- Arbitration and mediation;
- Concluding agreements with legal and natural persons in public and private sectors including banks and credit financial institutions;
- Researching in various legal fields.
According to art.1 of Amendatory Regulations of Registration of Non-profit Organizations and Institutions (1958), non-profit organizations and institutions as described in Art.584 of commercial code are organizations and institutions established for non-commercial purposes such as scientific, literary or charitable affairs and the like whether the founders intended to make profits or not. These organizations and institutions can adopt titles such as association, center, enterprise, and the like but adopting titles dedicated to government and state organizations is not permitted. The law firm in Iran is accredited when registered in the companies’ registry office. In the Iranian legal system, the law firm as a non-commercial firm, is founded when all cash capital is paid and the non-cash share of the company is also calendared and submitted. Shareholders have joint liability against third parties.
1. Law firm members
Law sector:
Law firms depending on the jurisdiction in which the firm practices and the size need diverse human resources.
Law firms may be composed of an attorney, a paralegal and a secretary or more people as described in the next section.
Law firm partners:
Partners are usually founders of a law firm, members of the board of directors, and legal operators of the law firm. Partners often appoint one person as managing partner and delegate authority to him/her for the supervision of the affairs of the law firm.
Relationships between partners in a law firm are in accordance with the statute of the law firm. The law firm statute asserts the most important issues that a law firm needs during its actions. Areas of practice are indicated in the statute. Financial relations of partners, profits and losses sharing, dissolution formalities of the firm, competencies, and authorities of the legal director are described in detail in the statute. The statute of a law firm is its identity card.
Legal Administrator
Legal administrator is responsible for overseeing the business. Some legal administrators studied law but most of them have studied MBA. Legal administrator’ssalary depends on the reputation, size, and geographical location of a law firm. The legal administrators has the following differences with the office manager:
- Office manager works under the supervision of the legal administratorand has no monitoring power over the legal administer;
- Legal administratorinvite all partners and arranges board meetings but they don’t have a right to vote;
- Legal administratorhas the authority of employment, dismissal of employees, and wage raise, thus, the office manager has no authority over it;
- The legal director is under the direct supervision of the board of directors or partners of the firm.
Areas of management and supervision of the legal manager in the law firm include monitoring on the financial sector, human resources, technical and computer equipment and services, Information Technology Department and public relations.
Attorneys
Law firm attorneys divide in two groups, Law firm partners, also called shareholders, who are joint owners and operators of the firm and non-shareholder attorneys who are not joint owners. The first group has an ownership stake in the firm and they share in its profits, the second group is subject to the contractual agreements made between them and the law firm and they don’t have an ownership or share in profits. The expertise and experience level of a law firm is the most notable factor in this category.
Senior associates are lawyers who have a long history in a law firm and enjoy special privileges. In sum, they have the right to enjoy all the profits without deduction of a percentage as good performance of services. Junior associates are typically younger attorneys that have few privileges but they use the reputation of senior associates.
Trainee Attorney
The trainee attorney is a law graduate who recently received a bar association license to practice law. Trainee lawyers usually work as a part-time associate in a law firm to gain practical experience while spending their 18 months internship at the Iranian Bar Association. They collaborate with their supervising attorney on less complex cases. They often receive compensation, not a fixed salary. They often work temporarily at the law firm but their collaboration can turn into employment as an associate later.
Legal Advisor
A legal advisor is a law expert who may have more experience and knowledge than associates. He/she may have a bar association license but do not participate in litigation or pursuing lawsuits in courts. Big law firms have specialized departments and they benefit from legal advisor services on more complicated cases. Legal advisors aren’t technically employees of the firm. They usually work on an independent contractor basis. Some legal advisors are less experienced legal experts who have not obtained a law practice license. They assist lawyers and coordinate client meetings.
Paralegal
A paralegal is a law graduate who is employed or retained by a lawyer or law firm and delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible. They have various tasks such as preparation for filing a case, gathering evidence and preparing draft bills, etc. they provide legal services that require knowledge of the law and legal procedures without the need to communicate directly with the clients. In big law firms, each lawyer may benefit from the help of one or more paralegal. Law firms train and instruct paralegals as future assets.
2. Execution Section
Office Manager
The office manager is responsible for all employees, staff, and clients’ needs. The office manager doesn’t manage staff in their professional work and they have no obligation to obey him/her. Nevertheless, he/she manages them in administrative tasks. The office manager in a law firm is responsible for coordinating departments and providing necessary reports to the legal administrators. The work scope of the office manager is determined and defined based on the law firm`s needs. Legal administer may delegate responsibilities to office manager in non-professional tasks.
Secretary
clients first encounter secretary in the office. Professional behavior helps them to perform their duties properly. The tasks which they are responsible for can range from more traditional secretarial jobs such as answering phones and taking messages, to introducing clients in the office.
The secretary works under the supervision of the manager. However, in general, the legal administer also supervises the duties of the secretary.
Financial Manager and Accountant
The most important task in this sector is determining financial relations of the law firm as an independent legal entity with partners, associates, clients, and other staff. Financial manager responsibilities include providing the best and most suitable liability insurance for employees and clients and paying taxes. The financial manager is invited to the board of directors meetings to decide on financial issues. Whatever the financial manager has a right to vote or not is up to the partners’ decision. The financial management is a powerful execution tool for running the ideas of the legal administer. He has a vital role in advancing executive policies of the law firm by rendering pieces of advice to the legal administer.
executive policies of the law firm by rendering pieces of advice to the legal administer.
3. Other related departments of a law firm, technical, computer, and executive services department
The above departments can be located inside or outside of the firm’s building depending on the firm’s needs. The office manager is responsible for the necessary coordination of departments.
Public relations and client’s services department
Considering the law firm fields of practice, client’s services have various areas. These services include case reports, responding to client’s requests to hire an attorney or legal advisor, and other non- legal issues such as sending special greeting cards, flowers, and chocolate packages to clients on their birthdays or New Year. Public relations and client’s services departments are monitored by the office manager.
Bayan Emrooz International Law Firm
Bayan Emrooz Law Firm is an accredited Iranian law firm that provides services at the domestic and international levels. Bayan Emrooz Law Firm provides legal advocacy and consultancy of the highest quality to the domestic and foreign clients in diverse areas such as E-Commerce and Startup Law, Intellectual Property Law, Corporate Law, and Contract Law. Some of the clients are among the top successful startups in Iran. Bayan Emrooz has three departments: Domestic Law, International Commercial Law, and Arbitration. Bayan Emrooz is equipped with specialized attorneys, trainee lawyers, legal advisors, and paralegals. In the execution section, the office manager is responsible for supervising the proper administration of the law firm. Bayan Emrooz benefits from outside experts in the fields of finance, accounting, and technical affairs.
Bayan Emrooz International Law Firm intends to become a top tier law firm in the country. Bayan Emrooz seeks to gain credibility and reputation among domestic and foreign clients by meeting their legal needs. By creating a suitable and worthy environment in order to attract and cooperate with attorneys and legal advisors with outstanding educational backgrounds and specialization in various legal fields and other professional staff, Bayan Emrooz Law Firm seeks to provide legal services beyond expectations by adding diverse approaches to their list.
