Services for Private Individuals

According to Item 4, Article 2 of the Federal Law “On the Bar and bar activities in the Russian Federation”, attorneys have the right to provide services and consultations for private individuals on legal issues, to represent their interests in government bodies and other organizations of the Russian Federation, in courts of general jurisdiction on civil, criminal and administrative cases in defense of their clients and trustees.

There is a growing trend towards the use of long-term legal assistance agreements which best serve interests of private individuals. These agreements (or assignments) may include a highly diversified list of legal services provided for one or several clients and/or members of their families. In most European countries agreements such as this allow for an individual or a group of individuals to hire a “personal advocate” or “family advocate”.

Many people, as far as their activities and mentality are concerned, feel the need in professional defense of their interests and on-going legal consultations. This area of legal profession includes composing applications, appeals and other legal documents, carrying out specific assignments on behalf of a client, representing client’s interests in various government agencies, such as the Agency of Internal Affairs, Department of Internal Affairs, Passport Agency, Housing Agency (DEZ), house-management offices, “Rosenergo” Electric Company, courts, and other organizations.

The long-term legal assistance agreement was just recently introduced to ordinary people. For some people it is not even known yet, the others cannot afford it. However, I am confident that, as time goes by, this type of service will be greatly acknowledged by those who lacked it for many years.