Legal education in Norway

Legal education in Norway refers to a graduate professional degree that qualifies the holder for the legal profession, that includes advocates (barristers/attorneys-at-law), judges and other professions that lawyers have a legal monopoly on. Norway has a united and regulated legal profession where all lawyers hold the same professional degree obtained after an integrated and comprehensive 5-year (formerly 6-year) university programme with highly competitive admission requirements, that gives the right to use the legally protected title lawyer (Norwegian: jurist) and in itself qualifies for entry-level legal practice, i.e. the entry-level positions in the legal profession such as associate advocate (Norwegian: advokatfullmektig), deputy judge (Norwegian: dommerfullmektig) or junior prosecutor (Norwegian: politifullmektig). Norwegian lawyers are organized in the trade union Norges Juristforbund (Norwegian Association of Lawyers).

Norway's legal system and education share many similarities with those of Denmark due to the countries' common history. The traditional purpose of legal education is to educate advocates, judges, prosecutors as well as senior civil servants and diplomats; however many lawyers go on to work in other professions, including the corporate sector. The only universities permitted to offer a professional legal degree are the University of Oslo, the University of Bergen and the University of Tromsø, and the program is one of the most competitive university programmes at any Norwegian university, and particularly at the University of Oslo. Those admitted to the law programme at the University of Oslo have the highest grade in all subjects from high school and are usually the best in their class at high school level.^[1] Due to the University of Oslo's status as Norway's only ancient university, lawyers educated at the University of Oslo have higher prestige than those educated at new universities.

A professional legal degree is a generalist education that offers a broad introduction to different legal fields, such as contract law, torts, family law, constitutional law, administrative law, procedural law, criminal law, European law, human rights and international law. Currently the degree requires four years of mostly mandatory subjects, and a final year consisting of a master's thesis or a master's thesis and elective courses. Prior to 2004–2007, students were awarded a Candidate of Law (cand.jur.) degree; the name of the degree was then changed to Master of Laws (master i rettsvitenskap). Both degrees are often translated as JD, LL.M. in English, where the first four years are regarded as equivalent to an American JD while the final year(s) is considered to correspond to an LL.M. Those holding the professional law degree are considered fully qualified lawyers in Norway. Only about 25–30% of Norwegian lawyers are advocates, i.e. called to the bar, and admission is dependent on holding a specific entry-level position usually as an associate advocate for a fixed period of time. The Norwegian legal profession is less focused on the court system as the only career path, and many lawyers work in the civil service, the corporate sector, organizations, academia or other sectors of society without becoming advocates; all lawyers enjoy high societal prestige on account of their professional qualification. All lawyers in Norway have the right to offer legal advice to clients, and all lawyers may appear in court with permission from the court regardless of whether they are advocates. A 2022 reform aimed at promoting innovation in the legal industry envisions legal services increasingly being offered by lawyers who are not advocates, and in cooperation with allied professions (e.g. accountants) and the technology sector.