New Legal Services Act in Force in Germany

On 1 July 2008, the Legal Services Act (Rechtsberatungsgesetz - RDG) came into force in the framework of a fundamental reform. This new law replaced the Law on Legal Counseling (RBerG), and, on the basis of a new act on reform of legal counseling, the Law on Legal Counseling ceased to have effect on that same day. The declared goal of the Legal Services Act is to protect those seeking legal recourse whilst encouraging civic engagement in the field of legal counseling through liberalization.