Andorra Bar Faces Lawyer Shortage, Eyes Roster Overhaul

Andorra's legal profession is grappling with a shortage of volunteer lawyers for duty and on-call rosters in both criminal and civil-administrative matters, prompting calls to overhaul the system at the upcoming general assembly of the bar association.

The assembly, the last under the leadership of Sònia Baixench, will debate several measures to ensure adequate legal representation where it is required. Sources indicate at least four key proposals aimed at reorganising the rosters.

One option is to reinstate mandatory participation for all members, a policy that existed in previous years. An alternative would limit this obligation to more recently qualified lawyers. However, current rules already require at least two years of bar membership to join, a threshold designed to guarantee minimum experience for clients.

A related proposal seeks to address the volunteer shortfall by lowering this experience requirement—for instance, to just one year—to expand the pool of eligible participants.

Another idea involves creating sub-rosters based on lawyers' specialisations in criminal or civil-administrative fields.

Debate will also centre on relaxing current caps on annual duty shifts. Lawyers typically handle around 35 shifts per year, with a maximum 50% above that—between 50 and 55 shifts. Last year, controversy erupted when the bar imposed sanctions on three lawyers for exceeding this limit. At least one appealed successfully to the disciplinary board, which overturned the decision, ruling that the bar itself approves shift substitutions and should monitor totals. Punishing lawyers after such approvals would contradict the bar's own actions.

Proposals include scrapping the cap entirely—reflecting arguments for free competition—or raising it to double the standard 35 shifts, pushing the maximum beyond 70. The assembly will vote on these changes to bolster coverage amid the ongoing shortage.