The independent legal profession was established pursuant to Act No. 132/1990 Coll. on Advocacy that became effective on July 1, 1990. Nowadays Act No. 586/2003 Coll. dated 4 December 2003 on the Legal Profession as amended, which implemented also the EU lawyers´ sectoral directives, is valid and in effect. The Slovak Bar Association is an independent self-administrative professional organisation, currently associating cca 5600 lawyers and 2500 trainee lawyers. The legal profession helps to exercise the individual´s constitutional right to defence and to protect any other individual´s and legal entity´s rights and interests in accordance with the Slovak Constitution and the laws. The duties and obligations of the legal profession are fulfilled by lawyers, particularly by representing clients before courts of law, governmental authorities and other entities, acting for and defending individuals in criminal proceedings, legal consultancy, writing instruments about legal acts, making legal analyses and administration of clients´ property. Lawyer is a person who has met all the legal requirements stipulated in the latter Act and has been duly admitted to the Slovak Bar Association. The Bar Association Council maintains these rolls: the roll of lawyers, European lawyers, foreign registered lawyers and international legal practitioners, list of partnerships of lawyers, limited liability partnerships, general non-commercial partnerships, limited liability companies, list of international law corporations and trainee lawyers. The Bar Association Council, one of the governing bodies of the Bar, maintains these lists in the alphabetical order and also with reference to the registered offices and language skills. The lists are at your disposal at the web-site of the Bar: www.sak.sk.