The profession of an attorney at law in Poland

The profession of an attorney at law is a profession of public trust. The aim of the profession is to protect public interest. Attorneys at law provide legal services and legal assistance in individual and legal entities cases, in particular by providing legal advice, preparing legal opinions, drafting legislative proposals and representing clients before courts and public bodies. They can act as legal representatives or defense counsels, also before the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Tribunal, the Supreme Administrative Court, the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights.
Attorneys at law can practise: a) in a law office on the basis of a civil-law contract, b) in partnerships – a civil-law partnership, a general partnership, a limited liability partnership, a limited partnership and a limited joint-stock partnership, c) as well as under an employment contract. Partners of attorneys at law in such partnerships may be other attorneys at law, advocates, patent attorneys, tax advisors and foreign lawyers. The only purpose of such partnerships is to provide legal assistance.
Each attorney at law must be a member of a professional association. Attorneys at law are obliged to respect the rules of professional conduct adopted by the National Assembly of Attorneys at law and protect the core values of the profession, such as independence, protection of professional secrecy, avoidance of conflicts of interest, protection of the dignity of the profession in professional, public and private life, as well as loyalty to clients. The Code of Ethics of attorneys at law regulates many aspects of the profession, in particular: relationships with clients, courts, government agencies, local governments and colleagues. Failure to comply with ethical principles can bring attorneys at law and trainee attorneys at law before special disciplinary bodies of the bar.

How can a foreign lawyer become an attorney at law in Poland?

An attorney at law can be anyone who has completed a Master of Law degree in Poland or an equivalent foreign law degree recognized in Poland. Such a person should hold full public rights, have full capacity to act, be of impeccable character and have completed legal training in a local bar. A final exam is required.
Foreign lawyers from the European Union Member States may provide permanent legal assistance to the same extent and in the same ways as Polish attorneys at law, subject to their entry onto the list of foreign lawyers run by each Regional Bar Association. To perform the profession in Poland, the candidate should contact the authorities of the Bar Association.

Cracow Bar

There are 19 Regional Bar Associations in Poland. The Bars are responsible among others for representing professional interests of its members, supervising the practice of the profession by attorneys at law and trainees, running legal training and continuous education of attorneys at law, keeping the lists of attorneys at law, foreign lawyers and trainees.
The Cracow Bar Association is a professional association of attorneys at law in the Cracow Region. The Bar represents professional interests of attorneys at law and ensures the highest level of their legal services. The Cracow Bar Association maintains a roll of attorneys at law practicing in the Cracow Region which includes: Kraków, Nowy Sącz, Tarnów and other counties [powiat] within the region, which are shown in the map below.

The Cracow Bar is the second largest bar association in Poland with almost 3,000 members (data as of 2018).

Foundation and pro bono activities

Our members provide free legal aid in cooperation with local authorities in the Cracow Region. Cracow attorneys-at-law also appear on TV and Radio Kraków where they share their knowledge and experience with viewers and listeners.

SUBSIDIO VENIRE Foundation of Attorneys at Law

The purpose of the Foundation is to support the initiatives which ensure universal access to legal aid and protection of civic rights and freedoms, to run activity within the scope of social assistance and charity for attorneys at law, trainees and their families, to provide aid to orphans – children of the deceased attorneys at law, in particular to provide financial and educational support as well as to help them start their working lives. The Foundation is a public benefit organization.

Cracow Bar Association

Contact

Members of the Council

Regional Audit Committee

Disciplinary Spokesman

Regional Disciplinary Court

Regional Team of Inspectors

Commission for Legal Training

Commission for Practise of the Profession and Ethics

Commission for legal education

Commission for Promotion and Professional Development

Commission for Social Affairs

Commission for Organisation, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs

Commission for Culture, Sport and Recreation

OFFICE	PERSON	CONTACT
President:	Magdalena Szepczyńska	sport@oirp.krakow.pl
Members:	Tomasz Ciałowicz Dominik Cięszki Tomasz Korpusiński Piotr Mróz Krzysztof Przybyłowicz Magdalena Syposz Leszek Świerczek

Foreign Affairs Committee

Spokesman of the Senior’s Fund

The Bar representatives appointed to participate in the inspection in the attorney’s premises

The following persons were elected as delegates for the 11th National Convention of Attorneys at Law

Ms Danuta Koszyk-Ciałowicz was elected as a member of the National Bar Council of Attorneys at Law
Mr Łukasz Mucha was elected as a representative of trainees for the 11th National Convention of Attorneys at Law.

Centre for Mediation

The Centre for Mediation within the Cracow Bar Association of Attorneys at Law was set up under the resolution of the Cracow Bar Council of Attorneys at Law no. 333/X/2017 as of January 26, 2017.
The main purposes of the Centre are to organize mediation sessions, to develop and promote alternative methods of solving controversies, to run trainings, to organize and participate in events dedicated to mediation as well as to take up initiatives whose purpose is to modify the binding legislation towards the development of mediation proceedings.
The mediators within the Centre for Mediation are attorneys at law and trainees who completed the required training and hold experience within mediation proceedings.
The due professional preparation of our mediators guarantees that mediation proceedings will be held properly.
In the case of any questions or doubts, the following persons are willing to provide you with more detailed information:
- an attorney at law Tomasz Job – the Director of the Centre for Mediation - phone no.: 533-660-566, e-mail t.job@oirp.krakow.pl
- an attorney at law Katarzyna Bąbaś – the Director of the Centre for Mediation - phone no.:, e-mail: k.babas@oirp.krakow.pl

Foreign Affairs Committee

President: PhD Magdalena Frańczuk
Members - Joanna Bogdanowicz,
Justyna Dębska-Szuszkiewicz,
Paweł Gruszecki

The purposes of the Committee :

1) activity in the area of numerous foreign relations
2) to support international activities of the Cracow Bar Association
3) to establish contacts with foreign Bar Councils and law associations as well as foreign lawyers and international lawyers’ organizations,
4) to organize events with foreign lawyers
5) to organize lectures and trainings with an international aspect
6) exchange of lawyers

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