Legislative changes are like waves — and a good lawyer is like an experienced surfer. The draft law of the Ministry of Justice on court representation has hit the legal community like a powerful tsunami. The proposed amendments would allow court representation exclusively for attorneys (advocates) and in-house corporate lawyers. In essence, such restrictions would significantly reshape the entire legal services market.
The explanatory note to the draft law, published on the Ministry of Justice website, emphasizes the importance of unifying rules and improving the qualification level of court representation. The focus is placed on protecting the rights of individuals and legal entities from unfair practices.
At first glance, this sounds reasonable. However, the draft law hardly withstands practical scrutiny, which is evident to any practicing lawyer. If adopted, tens of thousands of lawyers who currently represent clients in court will be required to urgently pass the qualification exam to obtain advocate status. The certification system itself raises concerns as a potential tool for monopolizing the legal services market, and with a massive influx of applicants, risks of administrative burden and reduced access to justice may arise.
In addition, the reform would significantly affect the structure of existing law firms. An attorney, with certain exceptions, cannot be employed under a standard employment contract, which would require separating litigation practices into independent bar associations. This would lead to additional financial costs, including membership fees to regional bar chambers (in some regions reaching up to 300,000 rubles), as well as the inability to apply simplified taxation regimes. All of this would inevitably increase the cost of legal services for clients.
The presence of attorney status itself does not guarantee high professional qualification or competence. Practice shows that there are highly skilled lawyers without advocate status, just as there are attorneys with limited professional expertise.
It is noteworthy that the issue of access to court representation has been raised repeatedly since the mid-1990s. During the early stages of Russia’s market economy, legal activity was subject to licensing. Later, bar associations actively lobbied to restrict court representation in commercial courts for non-attorney lawyers. Since October 2019, legislation has already introduced a requirement for higher legal education for representation in arbitration courts and certain levels of general jurisdiction courts. The Ministry of Justice considers the current draft a logical continuation of tightening regulation for court representatives. However, such initiatives have not yet received legislative approval.
Ilya Trofimov
Head of Legal Practice, Partner at TEAM
Published in “Vecherniy Petersburg”, October 24, 2025
The explanatory note to the draft law, published on the Ministry of Justice website, emphasizes the importance of unifying rules and improving the qualification level of court representation. The focus is placed on protecting the rights of individuals and legal entities from unfair practices.
At first glance, this sounds reasonable. However, the draft law hardly withstands practical scrutiny, which is evident to any practicing lawyer. If adopted, tens of thousands of lawyers who currently represent clients in court will be required to urgently pass the qualification exam to obtain advocate status. The certification system itself raises concerns as a potential tool for monopolizing the legal services market, and with a massive influx of applicants, risks of administrative burden and reduced access to justice may arise.
In addition, the reform would significantly affect the structure of existing law firms. An attorney, with certain exceptions, cannot be employed under a standard employment contract, which would require separating litigation practices into independent bar associations. This would lead to additional financial costs, including membership fees to regional bar chambers (in some regions reaching up to 300,000 rubles), as well as the inability to apply simplified taxation regimes. All of this would inevitably increase the cost of legal services for clients.
The presence of attorney status itself does not guarantee high professional qualification or competence. Practice shows that there are highly skilled lawyers without advocate status, just as there are attorneys with limited professional expertise.
It is noteworthy that the issue of access to court representation has been raised repeatedly since the mid-1990s. During the early stages of Russia’s market economy, legal activity was subject to licensing. Later, bar associations actively lobbied to restrict court representation in commercial courts for non-attorney lawyers. Since October 2019, legislation has already introduced a requirement for higher legal education for representation in arbitration courts and certain levels of general jurisdiction courts. The Ministry of Justice considers the current draft a logical continuation of tightening regulation for court representatives. However, such initiatives have not yet received legislative approval.
Ilya Trofimov
Head of Legal Practice, Partner at TEAM
Published in “Vecherniy Petersburg”, October 24, 2025