Meeting of the Qualification Commission

On June 5, 2025, the Qualification Commission of the Samara Region Bar Association held a regular meeting.

The meeting's agenda included six disciplinary proceedings, one of which was initiated by a court notice, one by the Vice President of the Samara Region Bar Association, and four following client complaints.

Five of the proceedings were reviewed on the merits. In one case, the Commission concluded that the disciplinary proceedings should be terminated due to the absence of violations in the lawyer's actions. One was postponed for reasons deemed valid by the Commission. In the remaining cases, violations were found in the lawyers' actions.

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A statement from the Novokuibyshevsk City Court of the Samara Region indicates that it is handling a criminal case against three defendants, two of whom are minors. Attorney R. is the legal counsel for minor K. by agreement. A court hearing schedule has been established for the criminal case, of which all parties have been notified. Attorney R., duly notified of the date, time, and place of the hearings, failed to appear at the court hearings on September 20, 2024, October 1, 2024, and March 21, 2025. He did not notify the court in advance of his impossibility of appearing or of the existence of valid reasons. The court notes that the attorney's failure to appear at a court hearing without valid reasons, taking into account the agreed-upon dates, constitutes disrespect for the court and other parties to the proceedings and contributes to the unreasonable delay of the criminal proceedings.

Attorney R. submitted explanations to the Commission that support the arguments presented in the court's appeal. The attorney points out that "respect for the court and the parties to the proceedings is one of the fundamental principles" to which he "absolutely adheres." The circumstances described above in no way reflect disrespect, but are merely a consequence of work-related and unforeseen circumstances."

The Commission unanimously found the lawyer's actions to constitute a disciplinary offense, manifested in his failure to appear at court hearings, the date and time of which had been prearranged by all parties to the proceedings, without prior notice from the lawyer. The Commission, concluding that the lawyer violated Article 14 of the Code of Legal Proceedings, pointed out that such actions by lawyers are unacceptable, as they undermine respect for the lawyer's activities and the legal profession as a whole, discredit the lawyer as a participant in legal proceedings, and cause significant harm to the authority of the legal profession as an institution of civil society.

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B.'s complaint against lawyer G. indicates that on February 14, 2024, the lawyer accepted an assignment to represent B., a defendant in a civil proceeding. Attorney G. executed a legal assistance agreement, and, according to the applicant, received a fee of 50,000 rubles without a receipt. Due to attorney G.'s repeated failure to appear at court hearings, the court issued a default judgment. The attorney filed a motion to overturn the default judgment, but he also failed to appear in court for the hearing and did not review the case file. The applicant learned from bailiffs that on June 25, 2024, the Oktyabrsky District Court of Samara issued a default judgment, upholding the applicant's claims for the recovery of funds. Upon review of the civil case file, the applicant discovered that the attorney had not appealed the default judgment. Attorney G. had not contacted the applicant for a long time and was not responding to calls or messages. The applicant states that the attorney did not provide qualified legal assistance.

Attorney G. did not submit an explanation or his legal file to the Commission.

The Commission concluded that the attorney's actions constituted a disciplinary offense, stating that the attorney failed to fulfill his contractual obligations, thereby violating the provisions of the Federal Law "On Advocacy and the Bar in the Russian Federation" and the Code of Professional Activity of Attorneys.

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R.'s complaint against attorney F. indicates that the attorney, who represented the applicant in the criminal proceedings, received a fee of 95,000 rubles but failed to take any legally significant actions in the client's interests. The applicant points out that attorney F. did not include the character references and medical documents received from R.'s wife in the case file, acting in the interests of the investigation. The applicant requests that attorney F. be disciplined for inaction and deception.

Attorney F. did not submit an explanation or his legal file to the Commission.

The commission found violations of the legislation on advocacy and the legal profession in the actions of attorney F., as well as the Standard for the Defense of Attorneys in Criminal Proceedings, adopted by the VIII All-Russian Congress of Advocates.

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M.'s complaint against attorney Sh. indicates that the applicant and the attorney entered into a legal assistance agreement, under which the attorney was paid a total of 150,000 rubles into the attorney's personal account. Attorney Sh. accepted the assignment to represent M. in a case involving a traffic violation and vehicle operation violation. The applicant states that the attorney failed to fulfill her obligations, repeatedly failed to appear for procedural actions, did not share her client's position when completing explanations regarding the accident, and insisted on a partial admission of guilt in the absence of a technical examination report and the identification of the party at fault in the accident. Since February 2025, contact with attorney Sh. has been lost, and the attorney has not responded to phone calls or messages.

Attorney Sh. has not submitted an explanation or attorney's file to the Commission.

The commission concluded that the lawyer's actions constituted a disciplinary offense, stating that the lawyer had violated financial discipline (failure to record fees) and failed to fulfill his contractual obligations, thereby violating the provisions of the Federal Law "On Advocacy and the Bar in the Russian Federation" and the Code of Professional Activity of Advocates.

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The complaint filed by the general director of OOO "N" indicates that attorney T., who accepted an assignment to represent OOO "N" in arbitration proceedings on December 21, 2023, did not execute the legal assistance agreement until March 5, 2025, and did not issue a receipt for the funds to the client. The complaint also states that attorney T. failed to file a claim for reimbursement of legal costs, and contact with the attorney has been lost. The attorney's inaction resulted in the applicant missing the procedural deadline for filing a claim for recovery of legal costs. The complainant believes that attorney T. provided unqualified legal assistance.

The attorney submitted a legal case and explanations to the Commission, in which he points out the absence of any violations in his actions, consistently and reasonably refuting the arguments set out in the complaint.

The Commission concluded that the disciplinary proceedings should be terminated due to the absence of violations in the attorney's actions, but noted, however, the attorney's conduct was improper.

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The Commission's findings are included in the agenda of the meeting of the Council of the Chamber of Advocates of the Samara Region, which will be held on June 26, 2025.

PASO Press Center