I have been writing in recent weeks about the radical changes affecting numerous European Union member states in the wake of the economic crisis. The item on our agenda at the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) called ‘important national developments’ grows longer at every meeting. And now along comes Spain.

The new Spanish Minister of Justice - following their national election at the end of last year - trailed radical changes last week. First, he announced the proposed cancellation of the law on access to the profession (‘Ley de Acceso a la Abogacía’). This was a hard-fought law, brought in with great difficulty five years ago, and with the support of the Spanish Bar. Until that time, Spain was the last EU member state not to have an official professional examination in order to enter the profession. All you needed was a law degree, and then you could go to the bar and apply to become a lawyer without further obstacle. The new law was brought in only after vigorous student protests. Even then, it was given a five-year implementation delay, to allow all students currently in the system to benefit from the older, easier system. Indeed, the new law only became effective for the student intake which went up to university last October.

In the single European market, the previous regime provided obvious distortions. Law students from other member states with more difficult entry requirements undertook a bit of forum shopping, went to Spain for some legal studies, and became lawyers there, with the opportunity of going back to their home member state afterwards under the lawyers’ directives, which provide for free movement. It even gave rise to the case of Robert Koller, (C-118/09), who did precisely that - went to Spain to become a lawyer, thereby avoiding the more burdensome route of becoming a lawyer in Austria. He won his case over the legal protests of the Austrian authorities. At the time, I wrote that this particular loop-hole was about to be closed - but I see now that I was wrong. I expect there to be more Robert Kollers in the future using the Spanish route.

I do not know the reasoning behind the cancellation of the law, but I can only assume that its economic basis is to reduce obstacles to entry to the profession. Yet Spain suffers from a glut of lawyers, many of whom cannot support themselves as lawyers, and so the economic reasoning seems doubtful.

The second announcement by the Spanish Minister of Justice was more surprising still. Notaries in Spain have had a particularly hard time as a result of the spectacular property market crash, and so he is coming to their aid (to the disadvantage, I expect, of lawyers’ market share). He announced a law of mediation and voluntary jurisdiction (‘Ley de mediación y de jurisdicción voluntaria’), whereby marriages and divorces by mutual consent will be able to be carried out by a notary. Referring to divorces, he said that this would ease the logjam in the courts.

I know no more detail than that, but I expect that matrimonial lawyers will have a lot to say about whether divorces by mutual consent are not more complicated than the property purchases which usually pass through a notary’s office. What, for instance, will happen in relation to arrangements regarding any children? And will all notaries be required to obtain training before they undertake the wide array of legal knowledge and skills required for divorces? Questions are also being raised in Spain as to whether this new law would be in conformity with the Constitution, where Article 24 guarantees the right of effective protection by judges and courts when citizens exercise their rights or their legitimate interests are affected. Will divorcing people lose this constitutional right by having to appear before a notary?

The economic crisis is well and truly washing over the European legal profession. Greek and Italian lawyers have been on strike against the measures affecting them (the next Italian lawyers’ strike, in case this might affect you, will be on 9 and 10 March). In Ireland, a long-awaited meeting between representatives of the legal profession and the Irish Minister of Justice brought some hope of amendments to their Legal Services Regulation Bill. I need not mention the cuts in the UK which will be familiar to Gazette readers. Now it is Spain’s turn. It is tempting to wonder what will be the state of the European legal profession once this long drawn-out crisis is finally over.

Jonathan Goldsmith is secretary general of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe, which represents about one million European lawyers through its member bars and law societies. He blogs weekly for the Gazette on European affairs