On May 9, 2023, significant changes were announced in the Official Gazette regarding the Regulation on Legal Internship.
Previously, legal interns were only allowed to have internship opportunities in law firms. However, with the recent amendments, they are now also permitted to do their internships alongside lawyers working in legal consultancy departments of public and private institutions and organizations.
While not explicitly stated in the previous regulation, in practice, intern lawyers were occasionally allowed to attend hearings at criminal courts at the discretion of the judge. With the recent changes, intern lawyers will now be able to participate in hearings at criminal courts, limited to trials involving crimes punishable by up to two years of imprisonment.
For a comparative version of the regulation, you can click here (in Turkish).