Citizens, and especially companies, in certain situations may require legal assistance. It consists in representation at court hearings, accompaniment in the presence of disputes or the execution of a transaction. In this regard, there is a need to find a suitable specialist. We will talk about who can provide legal services in this article.
Private practitioner or law firm?
The choice of a lawyer is determined by the problem. Therefore, they are looking for a specialist who is engaged in a specific branch of law. There is no universal way to do this. There is always a human factor, and focus on the professionalism of a lawyer, as well as responsibility.
To get professional help, you need to contact someone who can provide legal services. This is a specialist in private practice or a company providing relevant services. In this case, you need to understand the difference in legal support of these entities and the nuances of concluding agreements with them.
The main difference between a company and a private lawyer is the issue of the contractor. In the latter case, it is precisely the specialist with whom negotiations were conducted that will deal with the problem. No one other than him is entitled to provide services if the relevant conditions are not provided for by the contract. In the case of companies providing legal services, the contractor can also be appointed with the client. However, later it can be replaced by another employee.
Therefore, there is no guarantee that interests will be protected by a certain specialist. At the same time, the client will receive legal assistance without fail, even if the specialist, for good reason, cannot, for example, appear in court. In addition, you can specify in the contract a clause that interests represented by a particular lawyer.
Tax component
When making your choice, you must take into account the tax component. When contacting a lawyer or company, as a rule, a contract for the provision of services is paid. If it is decided to get help from a private person, it is better if he is registered as an individual entrepreneur. It is unlikely that this moment will somehow affect the quality of the services provided. However, in this case, the obligation to pay taxes is important. If an individual entrepreneur provides services to a legal entity, he pays for himself all the contributions on his own.
If a private person is not an individual entrepreneur, then this burden falls on the client. Then you will have to transfer personal income tax to the budget, as well as pay the necessary contributions to the funds. This is stated in paragraph 1 of Article 7 of the Law "On Insurance Contributions to the PFR, FSS of the Russian Federation, FFOMS" No. 212-FZ. Private attorneys also pay all necessary expenses to the state on their own. To do this, they do not need to register as an individual entrepreneur.
Additional permissive documentation: is it necessary or not?
You need to know that neither single lawyers nor organizations providing legal services need to receive a separate permit document for the implementation of the relevant activities. The provision of legal services is not licensed. The exception is lawyers who, in order to obtain their status, must have certain work experience, as well as successfully pass the exam.
The layer's services
In accordance with paragraph 1 of Art.2 of the Law "On advocacy and advocacy in the Russian Federation" No. 63-FZ, an advocate is one who can provide legal services while engaging in advocacy. This is an independent professional, legal adviser. In Art. 20 of the law says that this specialist has the right to work independently through the establishment of a law office or to be a member of a college of lawyers, a bureau or consultation. However, this does not mean that he is an employee of the relevant organization. In carrying out activities, a lawyer must follow the provisions of the Code of Professional Ethics.
Features of the contract with a lawyer
These specialists today are not obliged to insure the risks of their liability, since the relevant provisions of Law No. 63-ФЗ were suspended until the Law on Compulsory Insurance of Attorney Liability came into force. At the same time, the specialist has the right to conclude an insurance contract on a voluntary basis.
The documentation of the services of a lawyer has certain features. The contract is concluded in simple writing, is civil law. An agreement that is signed with a private lawyer or company is governed by Ch. 39 of the Civil Code. This agreement is drawn up taking into account the conditions provided for in Law No. 63-FZ, and also contains additional requirements.
According to paragraph 4 of Art. 25 of Law No. 63-FZ, the essential terms of this agreement include the following:
- information about the lawyer who accepted the order as an attorney, and his affiliation with the corresponding status;
- thing;
- conditions and amount of payment by the principal of a certain fee for the assistance provided or an indication of the provision of free assistance;
- lawyer liability.
I must say that the law, No. 63-FZ does not establish the grounds, types of legal services provided and the degree of responsibility for the improper performance of obligations. Therefore, the parties must provide for them in the contract on their own.
Positive court decision and subject matter of the contract
A special contract for the provision of legal services by the Civil Code is not provided. Therefore, a general contract for the provision of services based on Article 779 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation is concluded with a client. The substantive part refers to its essential conditions, as described in paragraph 1 of Article 432 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
The subject is the execution of activities or activities that are paid by the client. The contract is considered concluded if it indicates the actions or activities that the contractor must carry out. The result, for the achievement of which an agreement is signed, cannot act as an object. You need to understand that he does not depend on the artist. For example, a court decision is made by none other than the court.
The subject may be:
- consultations
- analysis of laws and court practices,
- drafting of documents,
- judicial representation.
In the same paragraph, you can write about the presentation of the result of actions, which can be expressed in writing (if this is a consultation), clarifications (in the analysis of legislation), and so on.
Fee
Although the price is an insignificant condition of the agreement, in reality it is one of the most important indicators. The individual entrepreneur provided legal services or a company, the parties are free to choose the amount of remuneration, as well as calculation options. For example, the amount may have a fixed amount for the commission of certain actions.
Part of the amount goes to the drafting of the contract, another part - to representation in court. Sometimes payment is made for each hour of work, based on the established tariff rates. Large law firms can provide all-inclusive legal assistance.
Additional fee
There is a form of payment such as a fee of success.Currently, this is a controversial issue, regardless of whether legal services are provided by an individual or company. The success fee refers to the amount paid by the client in the event of a positive outcome in court. The Decision of the Constitutional Court No. 1 of January 23, 2007 clarifies that this approach does not meet the provisions of civil law, since in accordance with it the court’s decision cannot serve as an object of rights or the subject of an agreement.
After a statement by the Constitutional Court, lawyers began to take a more cautious approach to the issue of remuneration, all the more so in controversial situations, collecting a fee for success is not possible even when the relevant paragraphs are included in the text of the agreement. Nevertheless, in practice it continues to be used. Sometimes such a fee is indicated unknowingly. In other cases, clients do not want to quarrel with their lawyers in order to be able to continue to use their services or to avoid unnecessary court proceedings.
Indication of the success fee in the contract can also be problematic for the client. According to the law, the party that lost the court shall be charged legal expenses, which also include money paid to a lawyer to represent interests in court. If there are no problems with the funds for consultations and direct representation (although it is not always possible to return 100% of the payment), then the success fee is paid only by the customer. Courts do not take into account these amounts for recovery from the losing party. Real reimbursement is carried out only for those actions that are committed by a lawyer.
At the same time, in recent years, arbitration courts have begun to take a different approach to the fee for success. Thus, the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation No. 16291/10 considered that a fee of success can be recovered if it is set as a bonus to remuneration, taking into account the services provided by the lawyer in fact, as well as his participation in the formation of the strategy on the basis of which the defense was carried out customer, and other points.
Poor quality services
Clients turn to those persons who can provide legal services, counting on a solution to their problem. However, not all lawyers are qualified to help people. As a result, customers can incur serious expenses.
When providing low-quality legal services, the client can not only not pay, but also demand compensation for losses incurred. Services should be of the quality prescribed by the contract. If the corresponding clauses are not indicated in it, then the usual requirements for such work apply. The low quality of services can be proved, for example, by the fact that the lawyer did not appear in court or did not provide the necessary documents or an analysis of the court decision showed the incompetence of the specialist or his careless approach to the performance of his duties.
When can I get a refund?
If the client accepted the work, signed the act of the rendered legal services and did not present any claims in terms of quality and volume, then most likely the court will recognize them fulfilled in good faith. Nevertheless, the client has the right to demand compensation for the damage suffered. This possibility is indicated in paragraph 1 of Art. 393 Civil Code. But the client is obliged to prove that the losses occurred due to the unprofessional legal services provided. As a rule, the contract, in the section on liability, prescribes the clause that the compensation cannot be higher than the remuneration received from the client. In this case, getting a larger amount from a specialist will not work.
Conclusion
We learned from the article whether an individual entrepreneur can provide legal services, an individual or only organizations. If you used the services of private specialists or contacted the company and you have something to share, you can write about this in the comments to the article.