Legal ethics and the status of the legal profession
Status of the attorney
Act No. 85/1996 Sb. (zákon o advokacii) and the Czech Bar Association’s professional rules govern the profession. An attorney (advokát) is independent, provides legal services for a fee, must be registered, insured and bound by confidentiality. The attorney must act in the client’s interest, comply with law and the client’s instructions, and inform the client about risks and costs.
Core duties
- Confidentiality is indefinite and covers all information learned in connection with the practice; it survives termination.
- Conflict of interest: the attorney must refuse a matter if the interests of another client are adverse, or if a former client’s confidence could be used. Representing both parties is prohibited.
- The attorney must not act as a witness in the same matter or use information improperly.
- Advertising must be truthful, discreet and not misleading; solicitation is prohibited.
- Fees are agreed in writing; the statutory tariff (vyhláška č. 177/1996 Sb.) applies where no agreement exists.
Discipline and legal aid
The Bar Association supervises attorneys. Disciplinary proceedings may result in a reprimand, fine, suspension or disbarment. Courts may appoint counsel ex officio; the Bar Association provides legal aid in specified cases.
Worked example
Attorney X represented company A in a contract dispute. Company B now asks X to sue A on a related matter. X must decline: the matters are related, and X holds confidential information about A that could be used against it. Even if X did not personally work on the file, the firm’s knowledge is imputed. Consent from A would not cure the conflict if the information is material.
Traps
Treating confidentiality as ending with the retainer; accepting a matter despite a former client conflict; using a success fee in criminal defence (not permitted); and forgetting that the statutory tariff is subsidiary to a written fee agreement.