PASO Council meeting

On September 29, a regular meeting of the PASO Council took place. It began with summing up the results of the Volga region forum of young lawyers that took place on August 23-26. The President of PASO presented the Council with a cost estimate for the event, which was unanimously approved. The forum brought together lawyers from all over the country and left vivid impressions for all participants.

The solemn part of the meeting of the Council was devoted to taking the oath of allegiance to the lawyer's duty. The Chamber of Advocates of the Samara Region has replenished with 25 lawyers who have successfully passed the qualification exam. PASO President T.D. Butovchenko wished them to be successful in their new profession, not to forget that the main condition for this success is strict observance of the law. For a lawyer who violates the law, every minute risks losing not only his reputation, but also the very opportunity to work, and in the worst case, freedom.

The Council recognized three lawyers who showed the highest level of knowledge during the qualifying examination.

The Council then proceeded to work on the agenda. The status of seven lawyers was suspended, one was renewed, and three more were terminated. Twenty lawyers applied to be included in the subsidized legal aid system. The lawyers notified the Council of the establishment of six new cabinets and one bureau. The Council granted the applications of six lawyers for crediting professional development hours. Based on the statements of the principals, gratitude was announced to five lawyers.

The PASO Council decided to conduct an audit of the provision of subsidized legal assistance by lawyers as a defender in criminal proceedings on the appointment of bodies of inquiry, investigation and court in accordance with Art. 50-51 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation and as a representative in civil proceedings on the appointment of a court in accordance with Art. 50 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. The audit will be carried out for the period from 01/01/2022 to 03/31/2022. The dossier will have to be submitted by lawyers operating in the Zheleznodorozhny and Industrial districts of Samara, in Chapaevsk, Volzhsky and Stavropol districts of the Samara region.

Member of the Council Neklyudova Yu.V. reported to the Council on the participation of PASO lawyers in legal education of schoolchildren and students. Together with the Samara Youth House MBOU, a number of master classes by PASO lawyers were organized for students of secondary vocational educational institutions. The Council approved a program of joint activities until the end of 2022.

The Council considered the appeal of the lawyer Konyaev N.V. on the question of the admissibility of concluding agreements by exchanging signed scanned copies by e-mail. The lawyer also asked to clarify whether the payment of the fee by the Principal can be considered an acceptance of the agreement sent by the lawyer, in which the direction of a signed scanned copy is not required. The Council approved the response to the appeal, according to which the conclusion of an agreement by exchanging signed scanned copies via e-mail or messenger is acceptable. However, at the same time, it is advisable to include the corresponding condition in the text of the agreement and ask the principal for a scanned copy of his passport. The fact that the principal transferred the fee cannot be considered evidence of his consent to all the terms of the agreement proposed by the lawyer. In this regard, in order to avoid claims from the principal in the future, it is necessary to send them a response scanned copy of the agreement with a signature. The Council recommended that lawyers make greater use of enhanced electronic signatures when signing agreements.

The Council considered eight disciplinary proceedings.

The first was initiated on the proposal of the Vice-President of the PASO on the complaint of a lawyer who joined the criminal case at the stage of filing a cassation complaint. Having familiarized himself with the case materials, he saw that one of the evidence of the guilt of his client S. is the protocol of the investigative action - an examination of the object, carried out in the absence of the suspect, but with the participation of his lawyer by appointment. During this inspection, the investigator studied the video recording from the surveillance camera installed at the place of the theft. It was a man in a black mask. It followed from the protocol of the examination that the lawyer recognized him as his client and put his signature on the first sheet as a specialist, on the second sheet as a witness, and on the third sheet as another person involved. Thus, the lawyer not only took part in the case on the side of the prosecution, but also assisted the investigator in creating illegal evidence, which then became the basis of the prosecution. After participating in this investigative action, the lawyer continued to protect the client. He did not tell the defendant himself about this, he did not file a motion to recognize this investigative action as inadmissible evidence. The case was sent to the court, and already the court returned to the prosecutor in connection with the violation of the defendant's right to defense and sent for additional investigation. Even after that, the lawyer continued to participate in the case. The SYP Center did not notify the lawyer of the existence of circumstances preventing his participation in the case. After the verdict was passed, he did not file an appeal, despite the fact that the client pleaded not guilty and did not agree with the verdict.

During the meeting of the Council, the lawyer could not explain the reason for his actions and only referred to the fact that they did not cause serious harm to the client - after all, the courts of the first and cassation instances acquitted him of almost all sane compositions.

The PASO Qualification Commission in its conclusion noted "the exceptional cynicism and immorality shown by the lawyer who cooperated with the investigation to create evidence of the principal's guilt, while formally remaining his defender."

The PASO Council unanimously voted to terminate his status with the right to be admitted to the qualifying examination after three years.

The second proceedings were initiated on the complaint of the principal, who was detained and taken to the investigative department. Lawyer T. came to him, with whom he confessed. The next day, a new lawyer joined the case, after consulting with whom the defendant's position changed. No agreement was concluded with lawyer T. The request against him was not sent to the SF Center. It follows from this that lawyer T. appeared at the investigative department before the investigator needed a lawyer by appointment.

At the meeting of the Council, the lawyer explained that he went to defend the principal on the call of his acquaintances in the expectation that the agreement would be concluded the next day, however, during this time they found another lawyer. No evidence of this was presented.

The positions of the members of the Council on this production were divided. Of the nine members attending the meeting, four voted in favor of the termination warning. By a majority of only one vote, the lawyer was given a measure of responsibility in the form of a remark.

Three more proceedings were terminated due to the absence of violations in the actions of the lawyer, established by the Qualification Commission.

Two other disciplinary proceedings were initiated against lawyers who were partners in the same bureau. They repeatedly received complaints from clients, in agreements with which lawyers used the same template. According to its text, the agreement was concluded not with the bureau, but personally with the lawyer. In addition, the lawyer was given the right to conclude agreements with persons whose interests conflict with the interests of the principal. Both conditions are inherently void, since they directly violate the provisions of the Federal Law “On the Bar and Lawyer Activities in the Russian Federation”. At the meeting of the Council, the lawyers submitted amended agreements in which these clauses were absent. In their explanations, they indicated that henceforth they would be guided only by the new version of the agreements. Under these conditions, the PASO Council considered it possible to terminate the disciplinary proceedings due to the insignificance of the offense committed by the lawyers.

The last proceeding was considered by the Council on the complaint of the principal, who turned to a lawyer for drawing up a contract for the sale of an apartment. She was not satisfied with the quality of the draft contract prepared by the lawyer. She also pointed out that no agreement had been concluded with her and the attorney's fee paid in advance in the amount of 3,000 rubles had not been returned. Evidence of payment of funds was not presented, the lawyer denied the fact of receiving money. Indeed, he did not conclude an agreement, although he began to fulfill the order. The Council announced a reprimand to the lawyer.

PASO Press Center