Meeting of the PASO Qualification Commission

On April 14, 2022, a regular meeting of the Qualification Commission of the Chamber of Advocates of the Samara Region was held.

Six disciplinary proceedings were considered, one of which was initiated at the request of the court, two - on the proposal of the Vice President, three - on the complaints of principals.

According to the results of consideration by the Commission:

- two disciplinary proceedings were terminated due to the absence in the actions of lawyers of violation of the norms of the legislation on advocacy and advocacy and the Code of professional ethics of a lawyer;

- in one case, a disciplinary offense was seen in the lawyer's actions;

- three disciplinary proceedings were postponed in order to provide additional evidence and demand copies of the materials of the criminal case.

According to the disciplinary proceedings, which ended with the issuance of a Conclusion on the existence of a disciplinary offense, the Commission found that on January 10, 2018, the lawyer entered into an agreement to provide legal assistance to the applicant at the stage of preliminary investigation and trial on the grounds of a crime under Part 4 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The fee determined by the agreement is paid by the lawyer to the current account of the lawyer's education. No claims were made by the client regarding the quality of work.

From the text of the complaint, it is seen that on 05/07/2018, under an interest-free loan agreement, the lawyer received from the principal funds in the amount of 1,300,000 rubles with a maturity date of 06/30/2018.

On April 5, 2021, the client sent a claim to the lawyer demanding the return of the debt, to which the lawyer replied that he did not intend to return the debt. In September 2021, the lawyer transferred 100,000 rubles to pay off the debt, for which a corresponding receipt was drawn up. The lawyer did not respond to all subsequent reminders.

On February 10, 2022, the lawyer was notified of the complaint received via the Internet P@CO system and he was asked to take measures to reconcile with the principal by returning the borrowed funds.

In the explanations, the lawyer did not dispute the arguments of the complaint, admitted that he received the money contrary to the prohibition established by paragraph 4 of article 10 of the Lawyer's Code of Professional Ethics, thereby making himself indebted to the principal.

By the time the disciplinary proceedings were considered by the PASO Qualification Commission, the debt in the amount of 1,200,000 had not been repaid.

All circumstances are documented.

In the actions of the lawyer, the Commission found violations of the law on the legal profession and the Code of Professional Ethics of the Lawyer, namely, paragraph 4 of Art. 10 of the Lawyer's Code of Professional Ethics.

The cynicism of the lawyer's actions and the meager repayment of the amount of the debt for almost four years from the moment when the obligation must be fulfilled, the failure to take measures to repay after notifying the PASO and initiating disciplinary proceedings calls into question the very intention to return the funds received.

The protection under the concluded agreement was carried out by the lawyer in the framework of the criminal prosecution in the case of fraud, therefore the arguments of the complaint about the “dishonesty of the defender as a person and a lawyer” deserve attention, and possibly even more severe legal formulations.

Will the lawyer retain his status?

This issue will be the subject of consideration by the PASO Council at its April 28 meeting.

In the meantime, a colleague still has a chance and two weeks of time to try to improve the situation and pay off the loan agreement.

PASO Press Center