Krasnodar, 23 May – Yug Times. Andrei Chekhov, President of the regional Bar Association, discourses on the development of the Russian legal system, parallels between the work of a lawyer and a physician, and lawyers’ gains.
Q.: How many lawyers in Krasnodar province have the status of a counsel? Has the interest to the profession risen or fallen in the recent years?
A.: The interest to the lawyer’s profession remains at a rather high level, and their number constantly grows. Now, there are about 4,000 counsels working the region. As for the number of inhabitants per lawyer, Kuban is in the top list nationwide. But if we would compare this number with that in Europe or the US, we would be lagging behind.
The current legal system in Russia is quite young. Our people tend to reason that it is no use to go to a lawyer and pay him money, if they themselves can file a claim against, say, their neighbour or employer to the governmental authorities that must help them. So they read a dozen recommendations on the Internet and decide that they know everything – and they go to court. By then, it may have become an extremely blighted situation, so that the attorney should start from horrible positions.
Q.: Movies and scandalous gossip columns often feature megabuck fees paid to attorneys. How much realistic are these figures?
A.: Movies feature megabuck fees, because one would not watch a movie where a lawyer earns two thousand roubles. In reality, the fee depends upon lots of factors – there are no precise tariffs, all depends on the case, the lawyer’s personality and of course who the movent is. Say, counsels that defend corporations with billions-worth turnovers at Courts of Arbitration get more than their counterparts that defend some civil case between neighbours or a tenant and a housing cooperative. Speaking about some hyped lawyer, much spoken about in national media, his information advice may cost several million roubles. As for a beginner, they are only gaining in experience and practice, so that their fees are very low. To compare – until recently, the fee of an appointed counsel whose services are covered by state instead of the suspects or accused who do not have a defender of their own, started from 550 roubles a day; now the minimum tariff is 900 roubles a day.
Q.: The professional society is now discussing scandalising the court – it’s when the defence team, often unfairly, attacks the judiciary.
A.: I am confident that a counsel must use all legally available means to help their principal. But law does exist, so that a counsel – who is a person with legal education and practice - must not even try to offend it.
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