Contract for representation in the arbitration court

Contents:

• Why power of attorney is necessary in order to represent someone in court
• How to arrange representation 
• Requirements to arbitration lawyers
• Drafting a contract for representation in the arbitration court

Arbitration courts consider cases that relate to entrepreneurial and economic activities. Accordingly, the parties to the arbitration process in most cases are commercial companies, entrepreneurs, business leaders and responsible specialists.

Why power of attorney is necessary in order to represent someone in court

Most Russian companies do not have a full-time lawyer. On the one hand, this increases the chances of being sued, because there is no expert who would point out the risks or questionable clauses of the contract. On the other hand, when a conflict situation arises, it is necessary to involve lawyers “from outside”. And to do this, the company has to enter into a civil contract with them.

A power of attorney or a contract is a document that confirms the authority of a lawyer or law firm. It indicates that they can represent the interests of a business or non-profit organization in court proceedings. The document must be issued in accordance with requirements of law, otherwise it will be declared invalid.

How to arrange representation 

The law provides for two ways of delegating the duty of protecting someone’s interests during the trial to lawyers. The first of them is issuance of power of attorney in the name of the attorney. The second method is conclusion of a contract for representation in an arbitration court.

It should be noted that it is not possible to entrust the case concerned with economic activities to anyone. The law explicitly stipulates that only lawyers or other persons who have received higher legal education can represent the interests of the company in court. The ban on representation in arbitration courts deserves special consideration.

Thus, the company’s interests cannot be represented by the following people:

• judges, their assistants, employees of judicial apparatus, even if they do not conduct this particular case;
• prosecutors, investigators and other persons involved in investigative activities;
• people who do not have legal capacity for any reason and need guardianship.

Requirements to arbitration lawyers

Before entering into a contract, it would not hurt to check whether the chosen specialist or company meets legal requirements. It is necessary to make sure that the lawyer can present a diploma of higher legal education, as well as a document certifying his authority issued in accordance with all legal requirements.

Companies’ interests in arbitration court are often represented by attorneys on the basis of power of attorney issued by the client.

After a power of attorney or a contract is signed, legal representative can perform a wide range of procedural actions on behalf of his client. However, many powers should be specified separately in the text of the contract or power of attorney. These actions include:

• receiving money or property awarded as a result of the consideration of the case;
• signing of the claim, revocation, application for securing the claim, appeal of judicial act;
• application for review of judicial acts on the basis of new circumstances;
• waiver of claims and recognition of claim, in whole or in part;
• transfer of representative powers to other persons;
• conclusion of settlement agreement with opponents;
• making changes to the subject matter and grounds of the claim;
• transfer of the case to the court of arbitration.

Drafting a contract for representation in the arbitration court

Conclusion of representation contract shall meet the same legal requirements as any other civil law contract. Thus, the contract for representation must contain all essential terms and conditions, as well as meet the requirements of contract’s validity.

It should be mentioned that it is not necessary to conclude a contract for representation in order to be able to represent the company’s interests in the arbitration court. For example, you can conclude a contract for provision of legal services, fixing in the text of the contract an obligation of a specialist to represent the company’s interests in the arbitration court.

However, the most convenient document confirming the authority of a person to act as a representative is a power of attorney. This does not mean that the contract for representation in the arbitration court is an insufficient or defective document. We are talking about the fact that a much larger number of requirements are imposed on the conclusion of a contract than on the issuance of a power of attorney. That is why in most cases, individuals resort to the registration of a power of attorney, and not to the conclusion of a civil contract.

After applying for the help of a representative and proper registration of his powers, he has the full right to take the entire judicial process into his own hands. This means that the company will not have to worry about defending its interests in the arbitration court, as these functions will be performed directly by the representative. What are the advantages of contacting a representative for help?

As a rule, the representative is an experienced specialist in the field of law, who will help professionally defend the interests of the company in the arbitration court. It will be his responsibility to prepare and submit all procedural documents, to comply with procedural deadlines, to be present at the court session, and so on. This means that the management of the client company does not need to worry about how to defend their case in the arbitration process – the representative will do everything for them and report on the results. This approach helps to remove a significant part of the burden from the company, because the trial process requires enormous attention.