Administrative scrivener

Administrative Scrivener (行政書士, Gyōsei shoshi^?) is a legal profession in Japan which files government licenses and permits, drafts documents, and provides legal advice around such interactions. They are also known as Immigration Lawyers, Gyosei-shoshi Lawyers or Certified Administrative Procedures Legal Specialists.

Administrative Scriveners prepare legal documents such as filings with the national and local government. Administrative Scrivener are found in a variety of roles. Many specialize in immigration matters, wills, inheritances, motor vehicle registrations, Development approvals, articles of incorporation, company minutes, etc. Under the Administrative Scrivener Law, the types of documents that such professionals are authorised to prepare extends into the thousands, involving the aforementioned as well as attachments to administrative applications and contractual documents between corporate and private persons. The exception is when certain laws expressly designate a person in another capacity to prepare a legal document.

Administrative Scriveners may also give advice on the preparation of such documents, one of the few exceptions to the attorney at law's monopoly on giving "legal advice" for compensation.

The work of an Administrative Scriveners bears certain overlaps with that of Attorney at Law or Scrivener in American or Common Law jurisdictions. Beside barristers, prosecutors, justices and judicial scriveners, they form an important part of the legal landscape in Japan.

The 1997 amendment to the Administrative Scrivener Law has clarified the purpose of the qualification and monopoly.

1. This law determines the system of Administrative Scriveners. Such will allow greater precision in the work, (the scrivener) facilitates the smooth execution of administrative procedures. In all, the aim is to provide convenience to the citizenry.

Attorneys at law, certified public accountants, patent attorneys and tax attorneys are automatically qualified to register as administrative scriveners. Any person who has worked in an "administrative position" at a government agency for 20 years is also entitled to the qualification. Otherwise, one must take the national examinations held every year as mentioned below.

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Wikipedia