In the New Year, the PASO Qualification Commission resumed its work

On January 19, 2023, for the first time since the establishment of the Chamber of Lawyers of the Samara Region, the first meeting of the Qualification Commission of the Chamber of Lawyers of the Samara Region in 2023 was held in person and in absentia (via Zoom videoconference).

The agenda of the meeting determined fourteen disciplinary proceedings for consideration, one of which was initiated by the court, four - by the proposal of the PASO Vice-President, nine - by complaints of principals.

Twelve proceedings were considered on the merits, two were adjourned due to the provision of additional materials by the parties, in one case the Commission concluded that it was necessary to terminate the disciplinary proceedings due to the absence of violations in the actions of lawyers, three proceedings were terminated due to the reconciliation of the parties, in eight cases, violations were found in the actions of lawyers.

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From the appeal of the judge of the Krasnoyarsk District Court of the Samara Region, it follows that the court is proceeding with a criminal case against I., the representative of the victim S. is lawyer G. he was repeatedly reprimanded, interrupts the judge, obviously ignores the remarks about his behavior, makes a request to reflect in the minutes of the court session the circumstances that did not take place in the process, in particular, containing a false report about the inappropriate behavior of the judge, which is contrary to the requirements of Art. 12 of the Lawyer's Code of Professional Ethics.

These circumstances are confirmed by the copies of the minutes of court sessions presented by the court, to which the lawyer did not bring comments in the prescribed manner, as well as copies of the lawyer’s petition and court decisions.

Having unanimously considered the existence of a disciplinary offense in the actions of a lawyer, the Commission pointed out the inadmissibility of such actions on the part of lawyers, since they undermine respect for the activities of a lawyer and the bar as a whole, discredit a lawyer as a participant in legal proceedings, and cause significant harm to the authority of the bar as an institution of civil society. 

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On the basis of an appeal by an investigator from the Otradnoy Otradnoy Department of the RF OMVD, the PASO Vice-President submitted a motion to initiate disciplinary proceedings against lawyer M., from which it follows that the lawyer took part in the criminal case at the investigation stage and defended citizen I. in the manner prescribed by Art. Art. 50.51 Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation. The composition of the defendant act charged with guilt was the theft of two car water heaters worth 20,000 rubles.

On 11/11/2022, lawyer M. received an application for a lawyer’s fee in the amount of 36,000 rubles, indicating, among other things, that certain types of legal assistance were provided on weekends and were payable at an increased rate.

The main types of assistance are the same type of petitions for the attachment of various certificates, characteristics, and the lawyer, after satisfying the petition, delivered each document separately and took into account this “work” as independent court days.

The commission established the presence of a disciplinary offense in the actions of the lawyer, since the validity of the statement on different days of the same type of petitions for the inclusion of information characterizing the accused in the materials of the criminal case is doubtful. The Commission points to the inadmissibility of the abuse of the right to pay a lawyer at the expense of the budget, which in turn violates the principle of legality established by the provisions of paragraph 2 of Art. 3 of the Federal Law "On advocacy and advocacy in the Russian Federation" and Art. Art. 2 and 4 of the Lawyer's Code of Professional Ethics, such actions are contrary to the requirements of paragraph 1 of part 1 of Art. 9 of the Lawyer's Code of Professional Ethics.

Filing an application, including a request for unjustified payments, guided by considerations of one's own benefit, undermines respect for the activities of a lawyer and the bar as a whole, discredits a lawyer as a participant in legal proceedings.

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The disciplinary proceedings initiated on the basis of the client's complaint, in which the lawyer, having concluded agreements with two clients, acted out of personal mercenary motives in order to obtain 50,000,000 rubles, were subjected to a separate thorough discussion. Referring to her alleged permission, the lawyer testified in the case as a witness. Consent to testify was not submitted to the Qualification Commission, which gave the Commission reason to conclude that the lawyer did not have such permission. The content of the testimony was reduced to substantiating the defendant's guilt, substantiating and proving the non-involvement of the defender himself in building the scheme of the crime. The most egregious moment of the behavior of the "defender" was the lawyer's petition, filed in the name of the investigator, to change the preventive measure of the principal from house arrest to detention.

The Qualification Commission noted a violation of the fundamental principles of advocacy, which are incompatible with the status of a lawyer.

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No less detailed proceedings were held in relation to a lawyer who entered the case without legal grounds, incorrectly formalized financial relations with the principal, missed court hearings to extend the detention period, which led to the appointment of a defense lawyer through the SYP PASO Center. All complaints against decisions to extend the guard were filed by the principal independently. The lawyer did not have any receipts that exempted the lawyer from the need to appeal.

The defender also could not refute other claims of the principal on the actions of the lawyer, since she neglected the recommendations on the need to draw up the Questionnaire during the first visit.

The Commission repeatedly pointed out to lawyers that a correctly and timely drawn up Questionnaire is a guarantee of security against unfounded claims of principals.

Those who start compiling a dossier with this document are firmly protected.

The conclusions of the qualification commission will be considered at a meeting of the PASO Council, which will be held on January 26, 2023.

PASO Press Center