A law degree provides broad and comprehensive education, enabling employment in almost all areas of social, economic and public life. A graduate lawyer acquires fundamental knowledge of law, legal systems and legal practice, which opens up a wide range of professional opportunities. A lawyer’s career path can be highly diverse, depending on personal interests, further education and professional experience. Law opens the door to numerous professions in both the public and private sectors.
After completing a university law programme, graduates, i.e. Masters of Law, may choose to work in the judiciary or pursue a legal profession in public administration, including state administration bodies and local and regional self-government units. They may also choose careers in the private and corporate sectors, in international organisations, or pursue an academic path.
Within the judiciary, a law graduate may opt to become a judicial trainee, state attorney trainee, attorney trainee or notary trainee. After completing the required traineeship, they may take the bar exam. Passing the bar exam enables them to work as a judicial advisor, senior judicial advisor, senior judicial advisor-specialist, state attorney advisor, senior state attorney advisor, state attorney advisor-specialist, notary advisor, deputy notary, attorney-at-law, notary public, or judge. These are professions for which a law degree is a prerequisite.
In state administration (ministries, agencies, institutes) and in local and regional self-government units (municipalities and cities), there are also professions that require a completed law degree. All ministries and local government units have legal departments responsible for human resources and legal affairs, representation before courts, legal counselling and drafting legal acts, as well as departments responsible for property rights and property management, for which a university law degree is required. However, within state and local administration there are also positions for which a law degree is not mandatory. For example, within the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs there are various positions that do not formally require legal education, but lawyers are highly desirable. Similarly, in local government units, officials in city departments dealing with construction, municipal services, spatial planning, healthcare and similar areas may benefit from legal expertise. Although a law degree is not always a formal prerequisite for such roles, lawyers are often highly valued in these positions.
A completed law degree is also a prerequisite for a number of positions in international organisations such as the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, and the institutions of the European Union (the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Commission, the European Parliament, etc.).
In addition to the above-mentioned professions, graduates of law may choose an academic and research career at a university, progressing through positions such as teaching assistant, senior teaching assistant, assistant professor, associate professor, full professor, and tenured full professor.
- LEGAL PROFESSIONS
- Judicial Branch
Judge – requires a law degree, a passed bar exam, and completion of the State Judicial School. A judge decides on the rights and obligations of citizens and legal entities. Judges work at municipal courts, county courts, administrative courts, commercial courts, misdemeanor courts, the High Administrative Court, the High Commercial Court, the High Misdemeanor Court, the High Criminal Court, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia, and the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia.
Senior Judicial Advisor–Specialist – requires a completed graduate university degree in law and a passed bar exam, along with at least four years of experience as a judicial or state attorney’s advisor, or at least eight years of work in other legal positions after passing the bar exam.
Senior Judicial Advisor – requires a completed graduate university degree in law and a passed bar exam, along with at least two years of experience as a judicial or state attorney’s advisor.
Judicial Advisor – requires a completed graduate university degree in law and a passed bar exam.
Judicial advisors, senior judicial advisors, and senior judicial advisor–specialists participate in adjudication and are authorized to independently conduct certain judicial proceedings, evaluate evidence, and establish facts.
Judicial Trainee – requires a completed law degree. The traineeship lasts two years, and the aim of this professional training is to meet the requirements for taking the bar exam.
- Attorneys
Attorney (Lawyer) – requires a completed law degree and a passed bar exam, with the additional condition that after completing their studies the person has worked for at least three years in a law office as a judicial or legal trainee, or for at least four years in other legal positions. An attorney provides legal assistance, represents clients before courts and other authorities, drafts legal documents, and is entered in the Register of Attorneys.
Legal Trainee (Attorney Trainee) – requires a completed law degree and a passed bar exam. The trainee gains practical experience in a law office by working on various tasks of the legal profession entrusted to them.
- State Attorney’s Office
State Attorney – requires a completed law degree and a passed bar exam. The State Attorney is the head of a state attorney’s office (municipal, county, or the State Attorney’s Office of the Republic of Croatia – DORH).
Deputy State Attorney – requires a completed law degree and a passed bar exam. A person may serve as a Deputy Municipal State Attorney, Deputy County State Attorney, or Deputy Chief State Attorney.
The State Attorney and the Deputy State Attorney are authorized and obliged to prosecute perpetrators of criminal offences and other punishable acts, undertake legal actions to protect the property of the Republic of Croatia, and submit legal remedies to safeguard the Constitution and the laws of the Republic of Croatia.
Senior State Attorney’s Advisor–Specialist – requires a completed law degree and a passed bar exam.
Senior State Attorney’s Advisor – requires a completed law degree and a passed bar exam.
State Attorney’s Advisor, Senior State Attorney’s Advisor, and Senior State Attorney’s Advisor–Specialist – assist the State Attorney or their deputy in their work, prepare drafts of decisions, record statements in official minutes, process reports, submissions, or statements from citizens, etc.
State Attorney’s Trainee – requires a completed university degree in law. The traineeship lasts two years, and the aim of this professional training is to meet the requirements for taking the bar exam.
- Notarial Service
Notary Public – requires a completed university degree in law and passed bar and notarial exams. A notary is appointed by the minister responsible for justice on the basis of a public competition. A notary exercises entrusted public authority, prepares legal documents, certifies signatures, and conducts probate proceedings.
Notarial Assessor – requires a completed university degree in law and passed bar and notarial exams, with the condition that the person is entered in the Register of Notarial Assessors maintained by the Chamber. A notarial assessor may perform all duties that a notary public is authorized to perform under the law.
Notarial Advisor – requires a completed university degree in law and passed bar and notarial exams, with the condition that the person is entered in the Register of Notarial Advisors maintained by the Chamber. In place of the notary for whom they work, a notarial advisor may perform all tasks that a notarial trainee is authorized to perform, as well as certify and authenticate documents entered in the register of certifications and authentications, except for solemnization, and perform other duties in accordance with special laws.
Notarial Trainee – requires a completed university degree in law and entry in the Register of Notarial Trainees maintained by the Chamber. A notarial trainee may draft legal documents and perform other duties on behalf of the notary public as prescribed by law.
- STATE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
- State Administration
Civil Servants (e.g., advisors, professional associates, inspectors, etc.) – work in state administration bodies and perform various administrative tasks related to public administration. A completed university degree in law is required. They draft and prepare regulations, maintain records, conduct administrative procedures, and decide on the rights of citizens.
- Local and Regional (Self-)Government Units
Local Government Officials – require a completed university degree in law (e.g., heads of sections and services, heads of departments, legal and administrative advisors, senior administrative advisors, assistant heads of departments, heads of departments). They manage and run municipal or city offices, conduct administrative procedures, prepare draft contracts, and perform general legal tasks.
- PRIVATE AND BUSINESS SECTOR
- State Administration
Corporate Lawyer – (e.g., compliance officer, legal advisor in a financial institution, lawyer in an intellectual property company, legal advisor in a consulting firm, legal advisor for labour relations, etc.) – requires a completed university degree in law. They work in legal departments within private companies and state-owned enterprises (such as state energy companies, railway companies, telecommunications), as well as in banks, insurance companies, and other institutions.
A corporate lawyer may deal with all legal matters related to the company’s business operations, including drafting and reviewing contracts, advising on legal regulations, resolving disputes, monitoring changes in legislation, ensuring regulatory compliance, and often advising management on strategic decisions.
- INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
In international organizations, there are numerous positions for which a law degree is a prerequisite, as well as many others where it is not strictly required but where law graduates are particularly well suited for such roles. Many positions at international courts are exclusively legal in nature (the European Court of Human Rights, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the International Criminal Court, and the Permanent Court of Arbitration).
Lawyers also play a key role in drafting European Union legislation and are therefore significantly represented in the institutions of the European Union, such as the European Parliament and the Council of Europe.
- ACADEMIC AND SCIENTIFIC CAREER
Assistant, Senior Assistant, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Full Professor, and Full Professor with Tenure at law faculties – a scientific and teaching career. It requires a completed university degree in law and the fulfilment of additional conditions prescribed by law. The description of duties is regulated by the Regulation on Job Classification or the Regulation on Internal Organization and Systematization of Positions of a particular university, in accordance with the University Statute and the Act on Higher Education and Scientific Activity.