What is the practice in legal services?

excerpts from the Attorney Act no. 85/1996 Coll. and the Rules of Proffesional Conduct of the Chamber of Attorneys no. 1/1997.

Basic rules

• The attorney acts honestly and dutifully and he protects and asserts rights and legitimate interests of the client in the most financially effective way.
• The attorney shall inform the client about his possible right for a free legal assistence.

Rejection of an instruction of the client

• The attorney shall reject an instruction of the client that would breach the law or the professional rules.

Obligatory termination of the contract

• The attorney shall terminate the contract with the client
  1. if he has already provided a legal service to the adverse party,
  2. if he possesses a discriminating information about another client,
  3. if he or his close took personal part in the affair,
  4. for a conflict of interest of his or of his close.

Client's right to terminate the contract

• The client can terminate the contract anytime.

Duty of Confidentiality

• The attorney shall maintain confidentiality. Only the client or his successors can waive rights to confidentiality.
• The confidentiality does not concern the announcement duty imposed by Act no. 253/2008 Coll. against money laundering and terrorist financing, and the general duty to thwart a perpetration of a crime.

Liability of the attorney

• The attorney shall be liable for any harm he has caused to the client in relation with the legal service. The liability is covered by an insurance.

Substitution

• The attorney can be always substituted by another attorney or by an attorney-trainee.

Alternative dispute resolution

• In case of a dispute between the Attorney and the Client that could not have been settled amicably, the Client may request the Czech Bar Association, Národní tř. 16, 110 00 Praha 1, www.cak.cz to resolve the dispute out-of-court on the basis of the Consumer Protection Act No. 634/1992 Coll.. The procedure is free of charge.