Lawyer in the Arbitration Court

The process of conducting commercial and entrepreneurial activities is inevitably linked with the risk of conflict situations threatening the stability of business. Each organization or individual entrepreneur either way face with disputes and conflicts with counterparts, partners, and clients. That’s why qualified assistance from a lawyer in an arbitration court is required eventually.

Disagreements arise regarding on the matters of non-compliance with contractual obligations, loss of documentation or disclosure of confidential information, unfair competition, etc.

Bankruptcy proceedings, economic and corporate disputes, as well as other disputes between legal entities, according to Russian law, are resolved in the arbitration court. In these cases, representatives of the parties in the trial are lawyers conducting cases in the arbitration court.

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A special difference in the consideration of cases in arbitration courts is the evidence base, that is, the information that the parties submit to confirm their arguments. In an arbitration case, when making a decision, the judge will rely on documented facts (contracts, invoices, settlement accounts, checks, agreements, etc.). Of course, the court will also take into account witness testimony, but most likely the judge will ask for documents that could confirm the truthfulness of the witness’ words.

The order of work of a lawyer when conducting a case in an arbitration court

Consultation
At the very first stage, the lawyer will conduct a preliminary consultation, during which he will listen carefully to the client, examine the documents currently available to the client, and then tell him what actions and steps can be taken to resolve the dispute in the most favorable direction for the client.

It is important to understand that no competent lawyer, especially at the consultation stage, can guarantee the client’s victory in an arbitration dispute. He can provide advice in accordance with established judicial practice and current legislation.
Search for information, monitoring of judicial practice and current legislation
After a preliminary consultation, the client submits all documents related to the dispute to the lawyer. If necessary, the missing information is requested. The lawyer carefully studies these documents, studies judicial practice in order to understand what position the court takes in similar disputes, on what evidence it is based when making a decision. It is important not to hide anything from a lawyer, not to conceal or try to mislead, because without having all the information, a lawyer will not be able to form the most profitable strategy for his client.

After studying all the data, the desired result and real solutions to the problem are discussed with the client, as well as strategies are developed that can lead to the result desired by the client.
Pre-trial settlement of the conflict
If the client applied before the trial, it is possible to avoid litigation by sending a claim to the counterparty. In addition, the Agro-industrial Complex of the Russian Federation provides for compliance with the claim code before filing a claim with the court.
Preparation of documents
When the claim procedure did not help, and the second party does not want to go to reconciliation, then it remains only to go to court. The lawyer prepares a draft procedural document (statement of claim, review, counterclaim, etc.), and also collects the necessary package of documents. It is very important that the documents are submitted to the court in the proper form, within the prescribed time, otherwise the court may either leave the application without consideration or return the documents back, for example, in the case when the claim procedure was not followed, or there are no documents confirming the notification of the defendant.
Participation of a lawyer in court
After the court has accepted the documents for consideration, the lawyer takes part in court sessions. In the Arbitration Court, as a rule, cases can be considered for a long time, and more than one visit to the court is required. Also, if necessary, the lawyer prepares additional procedural documents, such as petitions, can search for missing information if they can affect the final decision.
Stages of appeal
This stage does not have to be. If the decision of the first instance satisfies the interests of the client, then it is enough to wait for the decision to enter into force, and apply to the bailiffs to implement enforcement proceedings. But if the court has made an illegal and unjustified decision, the rights and interests of the client are violated by such a court decision, then the lawyer will appeal it to a higher instance before the decision enters into force – to the appellate arbitration court, then to the court of cassation, and then to the supervisory authority, if necessary.

However, even when the court has satisfied the client’s claims, a lawyer may need help in an arbitration case in higher instances of the arbitration court, since the defendant may also disagree with the decision and try to appeal them.

The cost of a lawyer’s services in an arbitration court depends on several factors.

first of all, at what stage the client turned to a lawyer. Of course, for a lawyer, the best option is the initial stage – the stage of pre-trial proceedings, in which case there is an opportunity to prepare as much as possible for the upcoming case, as well as to develop a single strong strategy. Unfortunately, citizens often apply already in the middle of the process, where an unqualified lawyer, to whom they applied earlier, has already managed to complicate the process
how long and complex the process will be, the number of court sessions and prepared procedural decisions
how many participants in the trial, for example, there may be many defendants, co-plaintiffs or third parties who may complicate the court case
is there a need for the production of expertise, the involvement of specialists, etc.

Payment for the services of a lawyer in the arbitration court in Moscow can be made in several ways.

The client pays only after the court has made a decision in his favor, or the achievement of the most favorable result for the client. The amount of the lawyer’s fee in arbitration will be a percentage of the amount won in the case.
Collect the cost of the lawyer’s services as procedural costs from the opponent. Thus, the client will not need to pay out of pocket. A competent lawyer will be able to recover the necessary amount through the court from the losing side.
Payment is made for each action, that is, for each prepared document and each participation in the court session.

Timely assistance of an experienced lawyer in an arbitration dispute can save a lot of time, money and nerves. Strictly adhering to the developed plan, you can avoid delaying the process and quickly come to the intended result.

F.A.Q.

What is necessary for representation in court during the arbitration process?

An important condition for a lawyer who represents the interests of his client, which is a legal entity, citizen, or entrepreneur, is the presence of a higher legal education or an academic degree, as well as a lawyer’s (attorney) certificate.

How many persons are allowed to participate in the arbitration process?

The participation of two parties is allowed in the arbitration process – the plaintiff and the defendant, and this applies only to cases of conflict resolution between the parties, where the claim sent by the plaintiff to the defendant. Similar cases are considered by the arbitration court.

Can a lawyer who does not have a higher legal education represent interests during the arbitration process?

As for the interests of entrepreneurs, starting from 2019, only persons with higher legal education can represent them in the arbitration court.

Can a person who is a judge or investigator represent interests in an arbitration court?

Persons working in the judicial apparatus may not be legal representatives of interests in the arbitration process, except in cases when they act as representatives of any body.

How do I find out when the court session in the arbitration court will take place?

If you are a member of the arbitration court, you will receive a notification (subpoena) by mail. It can also be a court summons, a phone call, or a fax.

Is it the duty of a lawyer acting as a representative to observe attorney-client privilege?

One of the main duties of a lawyer is non-disclosure of information during the provision of legal assistance, as well as during the arbitration process.

Representation of legal entities’ interests in the arbitration process

In case if the interested company intends to protect its rights by filing a claim, as well as in case if the company is a defendant, the list of obligations and services of an arbitration lawyer will include the following functions:

Preparation of the legal position, drafting the statement of claim;
Preparation of the necessary package of documents and annexes to the statement of claim;
Preparation of statements of defense, explanations and other procedural documents;
Representation of client’s interests during court hearings in courts of first instance, appeal courts and courts of cassation;
Drafting the appeals.

Moreover, the exhaustive level of authority and services of an arbitration lawyer is determined by the terms of the contract.

Arbitration lawyers’ activity in Russia

The sphere of arbitration lawyers’ activity includes all branches of law, either way affecting the aspects of financial relations and entrepreneurial activity, copyright and intellectual property, property and administrative legal relations, real estate and other areas.

It should be mentioned that according to new developments in Russian civil legislation, only attorneys at law and persons with law degree can represent the parties’ interests in courts from October 1, 2019. The exception will remain only for the cases considered by district courts or magistrates.

Supposedly, these amendments will create additional difficulties in the consideration of corporate disputes, as previously specialists without a legal education could protect the interests of business in courts. However, professional representation of arbitration lawyer allows to accelerate the trial and increase its efficiency, as insufficiently qualified persons frequently submit incorrect procedural documents increasing the courts’ workload.

At the same time, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter – the Civil Code) defines the category of cases in which the claim or other pre-trial procedure is obligatory for dispute resolving and its non-compliance may become the basis for leaving the claim without consideration. The most common categories of cases providing a pre-trial order include:

Disputes upon amendment and termination of contracts, incl. lease contracts;
Disputes on insolvency (bankruptcy);
Corporate disputes, etc.

After completion of pre-trial procedures, the parties proceed directly to judicial procedure of disputes’ resolving. In this case, the organization or individual entrepreneur needs to determine the person who will represent his interests during the trial. If the organization does not have its own legal department, it is necessary to seek legal advice from a law firm or hire an arbitration lawyer. During the consultation the selected specialist will:

Define a strategy of company’s interests protection;
Weigh the risks and likelihood of a successful conflict resolution in each particular case;
Inform client on the approximate timelines for resolving the dispute.

On the result of analysis, a service agreement between a company or an individual entrepreneur on the one hand, and an arbitration lawyer on the other hand, is concluded. This agreement defines the full powers and tasks of representative.

VALEN offers the services of arbitration lawyers in Moscow.

Our experts will analyze your case, provide an assistance in developing of dispute resolution strategy, draft a legal position, collect and submit the necessary set of documents to the court and implement the protection of the client’s rights in court.

Our company specializes in the settlement and resolution of economic, corporate, tax and other disputes, we support organizations and individual entrepreneurs in successful resolving of conflicts with contractors and clients in court.

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