The Toolkit of Litigation Support
Support of court disputes rests on the activity defined by the Law on Advocacy. Advocacy covers the giving of legal advice to a client; the representation of the client in a constitutional dispute and in criminal, civil or administrative cases — before courts, arbitration, detention and investigation bodies; the preparation of legal documents addressed to third persons and the submission of any documentation in the client's name. Supporting a dispute is precisely a combination of these elements — advisory, representational and documentary work within a single process. The advocate's activity may be restricted only by law — a guarantee that for the client the scope of support is cut neither by contract beyond the law nor freely redrawn. Even legal assistance not connected with representation before third persons is part of advocacy — support thus begins before the court and continues after it.
The Advocate's Rights and Duties
The advocate has the right to represent and defend the client before the constitutional, supreme and common courts, in arbitration and before investigation bodies; for the purpose of protecting the client's interests, to request and receive the necessary documents, certificates and factual data; to meet without obstacle with a detained or arrested person and to correspond; and to enjoy other procedural rights. At the same time, the advocate must conscientiously perform professional functions, strictly observe the norms of professional ethics, not infringe the rights of the court and other participants, preserve professional secrecy, perform procedural duties and immediately notify the client of any conflict of interest.
The list of rights carries practical weight: the advocate may meet face to face, without hindrance, at any time and without control, in the manner established by criminal procedure legislation, a detained, arrested or otherwise confined person, and correspond with them; and, to protect the client's interests, demand and receive the documents, certificates and other factual data needed for the activity. The advocate's activity may be restricted only by law, and among the duties are strict observance of professional ethics, non-infringement of the rights of the court and other participants in the proceedings, and compliance with the continuing mandatory legal education programme.
Professional Secrecy
Confidentiality is one of the pillars of dispute support — without it the client's full cooperation is impossible: the advocate must preserve professional secrecy irrespective of elapsed time and must not disclose, without the client's consent, information received from the client in the course of the activity. Disclosure is possible only with the client's consent, where necessary for the client's interests in the course of representation, or for the advocate's defence against an accusation brought. Breach of professional secrecy entails the liability provided by law and the code of ethics.