Q&A

Yes. A big one. Lawyer is the designation of a person who has graduated from law school. It is a generic designation for a law school graduate, similar to the way "doctor" is a designation for a medical school graduate. An advocate is a lawyer who is registered in the roll of advocates and is authorised to provide legal services independently for a fee. In Slovakia, this is the Slovak Bar Association.  An advocate is a person who has fulfilled the conditions for entry in the list of advocates, namely, that he or she has graduated from the second cycle of the law faculty, has completed at least three years of practice, the content of which he or she has demonstrated in the practice report, has passed the advocate's examination, has taken out insurance against liability for damage caused by the practice of advocacy, is of good character and reliable, and has taken an oath.

None. Any attorney may have himself/herself enrolled in the list of ex-officio advocates. In certain statutory cases, the accused must have counsel. If the accused fails to choose a defence counsel within a certain time, the court shall appoint a defence counsel for him from the list of ex-offo defence counsel. However, this does not aically mean that the accused does not have to pay for the defence counsel.

Yes. In criminal proceedings, it is common for a family member, for example, to choose a defence counsel for the accused. This is most often the case when the accused is detained and has no opportunity to meet with a lawyer. A legal representative, a relative in the direct line of descent, a sibling, an adoptive parent, an adoptee, a spouse, a companion or an interested person may also choose a defence counsel for the accused.

Yes. Everyone is free to choose one or more attorneys at the same time.

Yes. Anyone can choose any attorney from the list of attorneys from the entire territory of the Slovak Republic.

No. The LL.M. degree is just an academic degree, it is not an abbreviation for some kind of international lawyer. Only a lawyer registered with the bar association abroad can fully represent clients abroad. Within the European Union and the EEC, it can also be practised to a limited extent by Eurolawyers who are registered with a different bar association from the one in which they are registered.

The vast majority of attorneys focus their practice on a particular area of law, in which they then dominate. This does not mean, an attorney who focuses on business law cannot also handle matters in other areas of law. If someone is dealing with e.g. criminal law, he should definitely be able to handle representation in divorce proceedings, as well as to draw up a contract or to establish a commercial company, because this is a general agenda. However, it is up to each individual attorney to evaluate whether he or she can safely accept a client's request for representation, or whether he or she would rather refer the client to another attorney who is more competent at handling the matter. There is no division of attorneys into branches, and therefore there is no such thing as a "divorce attorney" or "criminal attorney"; rather, it merely evokes the attorney's dominant area of specialization.

Every lawyer is obliged to be insured against liability for damage caused to a client in the course of practising law. This means that the client's damages in the event of the lawyer's misconduct are compensated by the insurance company where the lawyer is insured.

Yes. The lawyer is not obliged to accept legal representation and is entitled to refuse to provide legal services if he has not been appointed by the court. It is therefore up to each lawyer whether or not to take over the legal representation of a client. However, there are cases where a lawyer is not legally permitted, i.e. obliged, to refuse to accept legal representation. These grounds are listed in Section 21 of Act on Advocacy (Act No. 586/2003 Coll.).

If the subject of the legal representation is a proceeding, e.g. court proceedings, administrative proceedings, the representation lasts from the moment the legal representation is accepted until the proceedings are legally terminated. This means that the representation lasts also during the proceedings at second instance (i.e. at the appellate instance). Of course, this only applies if the legal representation between the client and the lawyer is not terminated earlier, e.g. by termination or agreement. However, the lawyer is obliged to take all urgent actions within 15 days of the receipt of the client's notice of withdrawal from the contract for legal services in the represented case, unless the client takes other measures. This does not apply if the client notifies the lawyer that he does not insist on compliance with this obligation.

The lawyer's fee is a matter of individual agreement with the client, but it must be in a reasonable amount. The attorney's fee is regulated by Decree of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 655/2004 Coll. on the fees and compensation of lawyers for the provision of legal services, which regulates only the tariff fee, as the fee according to which the lawyer proceeds, unless otherwise agreed with the client (and it is not a consumer), or if the lawyer is appointed to represent the client. The lawyer may agree with the client:

- an hourly fee based on the product of the attorney's hourly rate and the number of hours reasonably expended in handling the legal matter,

- a flat fee, as a fixed fee for the handling of the entire case, regardless of the number of hours spent on the case, or for a certain period of time for the provision of legal services,

- a share fee in the amount of a percentage of the value of the case,

- a fee for the number of legal acts performed by him in the case.

A lawyer is not a piece of stationery. The client does not pay for the paper, but for the content on the paper and for the fact that he is fully protected by the content expressed in e.g. a contract, or that the prepared solution will protect his property, for example. The value of the matter is always key when agreeing the attorney's fee with the client. Similarly, notaries or bailifs calculate their fees on the value of the inheritance or the debt to be recovered. It should not be forgotten that a lawyer is insured against liability for damages caused in the course of practising law.

If your financial circumstances do not allow you to choose a lawyer, you can apply for the appointment of a defence lawyer in criminal proceedings. However, this does not mean that you are free of charge for the services of a defence lawyer. The court will check your financial circumstances, which you will have to prove in detail, and only if your financial situation does not really allow you to reimburse what the state has paid to the defence lawyer for you, you will have to reimburse the costs, in whole or in part. In civil matters, you can turn to the Legal Aid Centre, which provides free legal services if you meet their conditions.

Yes. Lawyers have a strict duty of confidentiality imposed by law as well as by the Bar Rules. Attorney-client confidentiality is a universally recognised and respected value of the legal profession, similar to that of doctors. A lawyer may be relieved of the duty of confidentiality by the client only and, after the death or dissolution of the client, only by his successor in title. If the client has more than one successor in title, the consent of all the successors in title is required for the effective release of the lawyer from the obligation of confidentiality. The consent must be in writing. The lawyer shall be bound by the obligation of confidentiality even if the client or all his successors in title relieve him of that obligation if he considers that the relief from the obligation of confidentiality is detrimental to the client.

The obligation of confidentiality does not apply to a case covered by a legal obligation to prevent the commission of a criminal offence. These are hypothetical cases where the client would confide to the lawyer that he is preparing or committing a crime for which the Criminal Code provides for a maximum penalty of at least ten years' imprisonment, or one of the offences of corruption.

The internet does not know your specific situation. Each case is unique in its own way and cannot be filed under some sort of filled-in universal form. Unless you have a legal educational background, entering into some sort of contract whose contents have been downloaded from the internet is extremely dangerous and you are putting yourself at a really high risk of irreparable damage or very expensive legal services to rectify the damage. This applies not only to the drafting of contracts, but also to the conclusion of form contracts (insurance contracts, car rental contracts, etc.) without really understanding the content. Regardless of the credibility of the source from which you draw the template of the contract, you are always better off asking an attorney for advice, or having a contract drafted and written for your needs. It is important to remember that a contract is like a law, it is your expression of intent, and it is binding.

According to the Criminal Procedure Code, it is not mandatory to According to the Criminal Procedure Code, it is not mandatory to have a defense attorney, with certain exceptions. However, it is important to have one. A defense attorney is detached, knows the law, knows what to focus on for your sake in the case. If you don't have the means for a defense attorney, ask that one be appointed for you.

Everyone has the right to a defence. The role of the defense attorney is not to judge and evaluate the Client whether he is guilty or not. His duty is to provide him with a defence. In addition, there is a presumption of innocence, that is, the accused is viewed as innocent until the court has made a final determination of his or her guilt. Extremely often, the defence counsel is perceived negatively, as 'the one who is trying to help the bad guy', but this is just a complete misunderstanding of the principle of criminal procedure. If we want justice, we must ensure a fair trial. A key aspect of a fair trial is the opportunity to defend oneself by counsel. The state, through defence lawyers, fulfils the international obligations to which it is bound.