Lawyers in Poland - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

In Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

any person holding a Magister's degree in law is called "jurist" or "lawyer" . The licensed legal professions are as follows:

judge ;
public attorney , legal representative of the State, with the exception of trials involving the Treasury, their primary duties include prosecution, supervision over police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...

investigation
Criminal procedure
Criminal procedure refers to the legal process for adjudicating claims that someone has violated criminal law.-Basic rights:Currently, in many countries with a democratic system and the rule of law, criminal procedure puts the burden of proof on the prosecution – that is, it is up to the...

s and acting on behalf of public interest
Public interest
The public interest refers to the "common well-being" or "general welfare." The public interest is central to policy debates, politics, democracy and the nature of government itself...

in all trials;
attorney of the Treasury , legal representative of the Treasury where significant State property is at stake, their representation is also mandatory in all trials involving the Treasury at central courts,
advocate , whose main function is to provide legal assistance, prepare legal opinion
Legal opinion
In law, an opinion is usually a written explanation by a judge or group of judges that accompanies an order or ruling in a case, laying out the rationale and legal principles for the ruling....

s and drafts of legislative act
Legislative act
A legislative act is a formal written enactment produced by a legislature or by a legislative process. It may be contrasted with a non-legislative act which is adopted by an executive or administrative body under the authority of a legislative act or for implementing a legislative act....

s, and represent persons before court in civil, administrative and criminal trials;
legal advisor , whose main function is to provide legal assistance, prepare legal opinion
Legal opinion
In law, an opinion is usually a written explanation by a judge or group of judges that accompanies an order or ruling in a case, laying out the rationale and legal principles for the ruling....

s and drafts of legislative act
Legislative act
A legislative act is a formal written enactment produced by a legislature or by a legislative process. It may be contrasted with a non-legislative act which is adopted by an executive or administrative body under the authority of a legislative act or for implementing a legislative act....

s, and represent persons before courts in civil, administrative and - in a limited scope - criminal trials;
notary , whose job consists of mixture of civil law notary
Civil law notary
Civil-law notaries, or Latin notaries, are lawyers of noncontentious private civil law who draft, take, and record legal instruments for private parties, provide legal advice and give attendance in person, and are vested as public officers with the authentication power of the State...

and notary public duties;
bailiff , a public officer (but not an official) whose main function is to execute court's decisions concerning civil claims.

Some legal professions may also be performed by graduates in other specific disciplines, such as economy or engineering. They require an appropriate admission examination to be passed, as such jurists are authorised to represent persons before courts in matters related to their profession. Such occupations include inter alia:

tax advisor , whose main function is to advise persons in tax matters, represent them before courts and State authorities in tax matters and perform other activities related to tax law
Tax law
Tax law is the codified system of laws that describes government levies on economic transactions, commonly called taxes.-Major issues:Primary taxation issues facing the governments world over include;* taxes on income and wealth...

;
patent attorney , whose job consists of rendering legal assistance in industrial property matters.

The distinction between advocates and legal advisors

The division adwokat / radca prawny was created by a 1959 law which forbade advocates from advising socialised economy units (primarily state enterprises, and cooperative

Cooperative

A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...

s, which were the dominant form of economic activity in the People's Republic of Poland

People's Republic of Poland

The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...

), and introduced the new profession of radca prawny for that purpose.

1. Advocates and legal advisors have their own independent bar association

Bar association

A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...

s (both are members of CCBE - The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe); membership is obligatory in order to practice the respective profession:

Advocates: The Polish Bar Council (ca 7,600 members);
Legal advisors: National Chamber of Legal Advisors (ca 20,200 members).

Currently, admission to the Polish Bar Council is completely open to the members of the National Chamber of Legal Advisors, and vice versa. Lawyers can be members of both bar associations at the same time, however they cannot practice both professions concurrently.

2. Legal regulations regarding the two professions slightly differ:

Legal advisors are not authorised to defend persons charged in criminal trials; they can however represent other parties in a criminal trial, including corporate entities liable for the damage resulting from a criminal offense, as well as defend persons charged with misdemeanors;
Advocates cannot enter into any employment contract
Employment contract
A contract of employment is a category of contract used in labour law to attribute right and responsibilities between parties to a bargain.On the one end stands an "employee" who is "employed" by an "employer". It has arisen out of the old master-servant law, used before the 20th century...

while practicing their profession (this includes being hired as an in-house lawyer or as an associate attorney
Associate attorney
An associate attorney is a lower-level employee of a traditional law firm who does not hold an ownership interest as a partner.-Attorneys:An associate may be a junior or senior associate, but normally does not yet hold an ownership interest in the firm even if they have been associated with the...

or salaried partner at a law firm, although it is commonly evaded through self-employment
Self-employment
Self-employment is working for one's self.Self-employed people can also be referred to as a person who works for himself/herself instead of an employer, but drawing income from a trade or business that they operate personally....

);

3. The two bar associations have their own deontology and ethical code

Ethical code

An ethical code is adopted by an organization in an attempt to assist those in the organization called upon to make a decision understand the difference between 'right' and 'wrong' and to apply this understanding to their decision...

s according to which:

legal advisors are allowed to inform about their services (advertisement being forbidden); advocates' rules in this matter are much more harsh;
advocates are very limited as to business activities they perform; the following actions are forbidden by the Advocates' Code of Ethics as colliding with the advocate's profession, while being fully allowed to be performed by legal advisors:

- holding the manager's position in another person's business entity;

- holding the position of a member of the management board or proxy in commercial partnerships and companies, with the exception of law firms;

- acting as a regular commercial agent;

- running the same office with a person rendering other services, it they collide with advocates' ethical rules.

Admission to practice law

There are no bar associations for judges and public prosecutors - the Ministry of Justice is in charge of administration of the professions (judges are appointed by the President). Advocates, legal advisors, notaries, bailiffs, patent attorneys, and tax advisors do have their bar associations.

There are several ways of admission to the bar. As to advocates and legal advisors, the following options are available:

Magister's degree in Law followed by bar training and bar exam;
Magister's degree in Law followed by 5 years of legal professional experience and bar exam;
Ph.D. in Law followed by either bar exam or 3 years of legal professional experience;
high academic qualification in legal sciences (habilitated
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...

doctor, professor).

Bar training (aplikacja)

An examination for admission to bar training for advocates and legal advisors is a written test, 100 out of 150 points guarantee admission. The examination covers: 1) criminal law

Criminal law

Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...

and criminal procedure

Criminal procedure

Criminal procedure refers to the legal process for adjudicating claims that someone has violated criminal law.-Basic rights:Currently, in many countries with a democratic system and the rule of law, criminal procedure puts the burden of proof on the prosecution – that is, it is up to the...

; 2) infraction law and infraction court proceedings; 3) financial criminal law

Financial crimes

Financial crimes are crime against property, involving the unlawful conversion of the ownership of property to one's own personal use and benefit...

and financial criminal proceedings; 4) civil law

Civil law (area)

Civil law in continental law is a branch of law which is the general part of private law.The basis for civil law lies in a civil code. Before enacting of codes, civil law could not be distinguished from private law...

and civil procedure

Civil procedure

Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits...

; 5) family law

Family law

Family law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues and domestic relations including:*the nature of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships;...

; 6) public business law; 7) commercial companies and partnerships law; 8) labour law

Labour law

Labour law is the body of laws, administrative rulings, and precedents which address the legal rights of, and restrictions on, working people and their organizations. As such, it mediates many aspects of the relationship between trade unions, employers and employees...

and social security

Social security

Social security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...

regulations; 9) administrative law

Administrative law

Administrative law is the body of law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of government. Government agency action can include rulemaking, adjudication, or the enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda. Administrative law is considered a branch of public law...

and administrative procedure; 10) administrative court

Administrative court

Greece, as a civil law country has administrative courts. The establishment of those courts can be found in article 94 of the Constitution of the Hellenic Republic 1975, as revised in 2001. The administrative courts are composed from districts Courts of First Instance, district Courts of Appeal and...

proceedings; 11) European Union law

European Union law

European Union law is a body of treaties and legislation, such as Regulations and Directives, which have direct effect or indirect effect on the laws of European Union member states. The three sources of European Union law are primary law, secondary law and supplementary law...

; 12) constitutional law

Constitutional law

Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....

; 13) organization of justice

Law of Poland

The Polish law, or legal system in Poland. has been developing since the first centuries of Polish history, over 1,000 years ago. The public and private laws of Poland are codified. The supreme law in Poland is the Constitution of Poland...

in Poland.

Bar training for advocates and legal advisors lasts for three years and consists of theoretical and practical classes. Each trainee has his/her individual tutor, which must be a practitioner from the respective bar. Bar examination

Bar examination

A bar examination is an examination conducted at regular intervals to determine whether a candidate is qualified to practice law in a given jurisdiction.-Brazil:...

is a written test, where theoretical questions are followed by cases.

Bar training for notaries is slightly shorter (2,5 years) and covers different areas of law.

Professional training for judges and public prosecutors

The body charged of training for future judges and public prosecutors is The National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution in Kraków

Kraków

Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...

. After one-year general training, the candidates proceed to a specialised training (judge/public prosecutor) for another 30 months. Then, trainee judges serve internships as law clerk

Law clerk

A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person who provides assistance to a judge in researching issues before the court and in writing opinions. Law clerks are not court clerks or courtroom deputies, who are administrative staff for the court. Most law clerks are recent law school graduates who...

s (12 months) and as referendaries . Similar internship is provided for public prosecutors.

Bar members

Once admitted to the bar association of one occupation, a jurist can move to another occupation with little hassle.

Only judges, public prosecutors, notaries, professors and habilitated doctors of laws can write certoriaris to the Constitutional Tribunal in cases in which they themselves are sides. All others must use the services of advocates or legal advisors. Certioraris to the Supreme Court must always be prepared by an advocate or a legal advisor.

Lawyers not members of any bar association

Many jurists do not practice law in the strict sense. They may work in public administration (which has its own highly legalized proceedings), the police (which prosecute small crimes), tax services and similar governmental agencies. Additionally, since a company can be represented in civil court by its own employees, some small and medium companies do not employ barristers or counselors, but instead rely on in-house lawyers not admitted to bar.

Because under Polish law an agent can act for any person therefore some lawyers do what in the UK is being done by solicitors. Thus, specialized persons write legal agreements, perform negotiations, or execute debts. Polish law specifically permits persons with Magister's degree in Law to give legal advice.

Sample law firms in Poland

There are numerous law firms localized in Poland - both: minor and huge affiliates of international law offices. Mostly, the said international law firms have their seats in Warsaw. Notwithstanding this division, there are lawyers who povide legal assistance within their individual practices.