Important decisions

On April 24, 2025, a regular meeting of the Council of the Chamber of Advocates of the Samara Region was held.

The Council heard a report on the XII Congress of Advocates of the Russian Federation held in Moscow.

The agenda for the Twenty-fifth (Regular) Annual Conference of Advocates was approved as follows:

Approval of the reports of the Council of the Chamber of Advocates of the Samara Region, including the implementation of the income and expense budget for the maintenance of the Chamber of Advocates for the period from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024.
Approval of the report of the Audit Commission of the Chamber of Advocates of the Samara Region on the results of the audit of the financial and economic activities of the Chamber of Advocates for the period from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024.
Election of a member of the Audit Commission of the Chamber of Advocates of the Samara Region.
Approval of the income and expenditure budget of the Chamber of Advocates of the Samara Region for the period from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025.
Determination of the amount of mandatory deductions for the general needs of the Chamber of Advocates of the Samara Region***.

***No changes are planned to the amount of mandatory deductions for the general needs of the Chamber of Advocates of the Samara Region.

The PASO Council approved the Rules of the Chamber of Advocates of the Samara Region for the implementation of the Procedure for the Appointment of Advocates as Defense Attorneys in Criminal Proceedings, approved by the decision of the Council of the Federal Chamber of Advocates of the Russian Federation dated March 15, 2019.

We inform lawyers and all interested parties that, starting June 1, 2025, assignments will be distributed automatically through the ARPN KIS AR subsystem (automated distribution of assignments to lawyers for appointed defense of the Integrated Information System of the Russian Bar Association).

Due to the transition to the new system, all lawyers participating in appointed cases must register in the KIS AR and complete and submit to PASO a new application form for inclusion in the subsidized legal aid system. The deadline for registration is April 30, 2025.

To receive an initial login and password, please send a request to osipova@paso.ru. Please include your full name and lawyer registry number. (For example: I, lawyer Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich, registry number 63/7654, request an initial login and password for registration in the KIS AR).

Before registering, please read the User Guide!

When completing the application, please note that the selection of subsidized legal aid regions for each lawyer is limited to one base region, and that there is now a variability in the selection of the time period for work.

Lawyers already participating in the subsidized legal aid system who have not submitted a new application within the specified deadline will be included in the ARPN KIS AR system based on previously submitted applications with the default system settings.

We accept applications by courier to the following address: 1A Morisa Torez Street, Samara, or by email from your personal InternetP@SO email address.

To date, 617 lawyers have registered and have "active" user status, with 70 new users currently in the process.

The Samara Region Bar Association encourages all lawyers to actively participate in the process of mastering the KIS AR subsystem for automated assignment distribution among lawyers.

Only 5 days remain until April 30, 2025!

On May 6, 2025, a PASO webinar will be held for subsystem users on the topic of working with the ARPN KIS AR subsystem.

Returning to the agenda items, I would like to highlight a solemn moment: two attorneys took the oath of allegiance to the legal profession.

The PASO Council adopted decisions on matters of membership and the status of attorneys.

Two attorneys were accepted as members of the Chamber of Advocates of the Samara Region: one from the Tambov Region and one from the Perm Krai. An attorney's application for a change of PASO membership due to his transfer to the legal community of the Udmurt Republic was approved, pursuant to Clause 5 of Article 15 of the Federal Law "On Advocacy and the Bar in the Russian Federation."

Two lawyers have been suspended: one due to inability to perform professional duties for more than six months, and the other due to personal circumstances.

The two lawyers who had previously suspended their activities have had their statuses reinstated in accordance with Part 5 of Article 16 of the Federal Law "On Advocacy and the Bar in the Russian Federation."

The PASO Council denied attorney Sh.'s application for the early removal of a disciplinary sanction and, accordingly, for his inclusion in the List of Participants in Cases Appointed by Inquiry, Investigative, and Court Authorities. The basis for the denial was the consistent failure to submit their lawyer files for review. For this, the attorney was reprimanded by the PASO Council on January 31, 2025.

Sixteen lawyers have been approved for inclusion in the List of Subsidized Legal Aid (SLA).

Information on the establishment of three law offices and one bureau has been added to the register of bar associations.

The Council approved information regarding the implementation of the Professional Training Standard for four lawyers.

The Council provided clarifications in response to requests from three lawyers.

A decision was made to provide financial assistance to veterans of the legal profession for Russian Bar Day.

Disciplinary Proceedings.

Disciplinary proceedings against lawyer U. were terminated due to the insignificance of the violation, which involved failing to enter into a written agreement with the client, who transferred the fee for the case to the lawyer's personal card. The Council took into account that the funds were deposited by the lawyer into the bank account of the legal association.

Disciplinary proceedings against lawyer S. were terminated based on the conclusion of the qualification commission, which determined that his failure to appear at the court hearing was due to the scheduling of cases for the same day. The lawyer promptly notified the court of his inability to appear, submitting the relevant documents. In another disciplinary proceeding, attorney M. was given a warning about the termination of his status for systematically failing to appear in court, filing motions to postpone the case on the day of the hearing, citing a certificate of incapacity. These motions were not supported by documentation.

Disciplinary proceedings against attorney F. nearly resulted in the termination of his status.

F. was charged with disciplinary action for entering into an agreement with an individual whose interests were contrary to those of a person in custody, issuing a warrant and making two visits to a pretrial detention facility. The agreement did not specify the nature of the assignment, and during the hearing, the attorney stated that he was unaware of the offense, its classification, and the stage of the criminal proceedings. During the hearing, the attorney acknowledged the violations committed and deeply regretted the incident. His status as a colleague was retained by a slight majority of the Council members.

However, during the vote on the disciplinary proceedings against attorney D., the opinion was unanimous—the case should be terminated due to the proper performance of his professional duties.

S.'s complaint revealed that attorney D., whose participation was secured by the investigator at her request, joined the case and reviewed its materials despite the applicant having a lawyer appointed by contract. The lawyer strictly adhered to the Standard for the Defense of a Lawyer in Criminal Proceedings and the approved Rules for the Provision of Subsidized Legal Aid, according to which a lawyer appointed by an inquiry body, preliminary investigation body, or court is required to ascertain the participation of a lawyer appointed by contract. Upon receiving such information, the appointed lawyer is required to promptly notify the lawyer appointed by contract of his or her participation in the case and, if legally justified, file a motion to rectify violations of the law and the inadmissibility of evidence obtained in violation of the law.

The lawyer's file contains a petition from attorney D., which reads: "I request that you disqualify me from participating in criminal case No. 1 regarding the protection of S.'s interests (order No. 1 dated, issued upon request), as he has entered into a legal assistance agreement with attorney FULL NAME. I request that the planned investigative actions in the criminal case involving defendant S. be postponed until attorney FULL NAME appears, as defendant S. refuses my defense. I also believe that my participation in this criminal case is unlawful, as the file contains no information indicating that attorney FULL NAME was notified of the planned investigative actions. If my participation in the criminal case continues, it will constitute a fundamental violation of my right to defense."

PASO Press Center