The lawyer as a representative in commercial litigation: Pepeliaev Group takes part in a discussion at the Russian Supreme Commercial Court

On 25 October 2012, Yulia Litovseva, the head of Pepeliaev Group’s dispute resolution and mediation practice, was one of the representatives of the legal community and of public bodies who took part in a meeting with managers, judges and staff of the Russian Supreme Commercial (‘Arbitration’) Court (SAC). 

The meeting, which was held in the SAC’s offices, featured a discussion of the prospects for making it compulsory to be represented by a lawyer in commercial litigation.

The SAC put forward for discussion its draft law that would introduce a limited monopoly for attorneys in that only attorneys and court-accredited representatives would be allowed to represent parties to litigation in the commercial courts from the appellate instance upwards. The SAC’s Deputy Chief Justice Tatiana Andreeva urged lawyers to play an active role in discussing the problem of professional legal representation. "All those involved in litigation understand that something needs to be done about the quality of court representation,” she said at the meeting in the SAC. According to Ms Andreeva, a constitutional right to qualified legal assistance is a prerequisite for professional legal representation to be introduced in the commercial courts. The Deputy Chief Justice noted that, for the right to professional   representation to be enshrined in legislation, it may be necessary to amend the financing scheme  to allow for the possibility of providing professional counsel to those who do cannot afford it. For the time being, this is possible only in criminal trials, she explained. 

“It could help to guarantee that high-quality legal assistance will be provided if legal representatives are accredited with the minimum of formalities, with a single accreditation sufficient in any of the courts, and responsibility underpinned by the possibility of the accreditation being suspended or terminated,” believes Yulia Litovtseva. She tales the view that the draft law is progressive in its nature:  “Without doubt, criteria should be introduced for a person to be permitted to act as a legal representative. For example, as a starting point, they must have higher legal education, as well as meeting other requirements that require further discussion”. 

Those taking part in the meeting agreed that there is a need to develop an institution of liability for legal representatives if the quality of justice is to be improved. "The legal community needs meetings like these," asserts Ms Litovtseva. "They enable us to devise common approaches to understanding the role and the great responsibility legal representatives have, to finding ways to provide high-quality legal services and to making justice as a whole more effective."