In November last year, a minor change to the Law on Lawyers on the scope of operation of foreign law firms in Vietnam has raised major concerns to many foreign law firms in Vietnam. After nearly a year, the Government finally provides some further guidance on the issue in question under Decree 123/2013. In particular, Decree 123/2013 provides that:

• A foreign law firm must operate within the scope provided in Article 70 of the Law on Lawyers and must not perform the legal services that are reserved for local law firms under Vietnamese law. This provision seems to confirm that a foreign law firm is not allowed to provide “legal documentation services” (dịch vụ giấy tờ pháp lý) relating to Vietnamese law as provided in Article 70 of the Law on Lawyers and in the WTO Commitments. Under CPC classification, legal documentation services could cover, among other things, drafting of commercial contracts and business charters; and

• A qualified Vietnamese lawyer in a foreign law firm in Vietnam is also not allowed to perform the legal services that such foreign law firm is not allowed to perform. There has been an argument that a qualified Vietnamese lawyer in a foreign law firm could provide drafting services to his/her clients because under the Law on Lawyers a Vietnamese lawyer is entitled to provide legal consultancy services including drafting of documents. The new provision could invalidate such an argument if the authorities apply CPC classification and take the view that legal documentation services include contract drafting.