Arrangement of services for a private person

The operator of the information system “The Kremlin House of Justice” arranges, for a natural person — a prospective principal — the receipt of an enquiry, its qualification by subject and territory, its direction to suitable advocates, and primary communication with the chosen specialist. Organisational services that are not advocacy may be requested in the same contour.

The contour does not replace an advocates’ formation (collegium, bureau or cabinet) and does not create the impression that all listed advocates are employees of the operator or render assistance “on behalf of” a single organisation. Advocacy is rendered by an advocate who holds status under the law, on the basis of an agreement with the principal.

Organisations, in-house legal departments and the digital contour of legal work of legal entities are served by a separate contour — “IT Legal”. The two contours must not be mixed on the public site: a private person and an organisation pursue different objects and conclude different contracts.

Directing an enquiry to an advocate does not mean the mandate has been accepted. Until an agreement on legal assistance is concluded, neither the operator nor the advocate is obliged to conduct the case, attend on the principal or give a position on the merits.

Publication of particulars about an advocate, assessment and reviews are not a guarantee of outcome, a court forecast, or a substitute for the register of the chamber of advocates of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation.

Organisational accompaniment (the concierge line), paid listings of third parties, and steps relating to institutions of the penal system are not legal assistance within the meaning of the Advocacy Law and are not automatically covered by advocate’s secrecy — secrecy arises for the advocate in connection with a mandate, not for the operator of the system as such.

A private person submits an enquiry through the site form, telephone, instant-messaging channels or the personal cabinet. It is advisable to state: the substance of the question, the region, urgency (detention, search, a procedural time-limit), the desired advocate’s profile, and consent to transfer of particulars to the selected specialists.

Qualification of an enquiry is the matching of the information given with specialisations, region of work and availability of advocates. Qualification is not legal advice on the merits and does not create an agreement.

An enquiry may be directed to one or several suitable advocates. The principal retains the right to choose a specialist independently from the card: specialisation, length of practice, region, assessment, reviews, availability.

The operator does not “sell” the principal and does not make acceptance of a mandate dependent on payment by the advocate to the operator for a particular enquiry. The advocate’s remuneration is determined solely by the agreement with the principal.

The advocate independently decides whether to take the enquiry for consideration, to request clarification, or to decline. A refusal need not be published on the site; the principal is informed that the specialist is unavailable and is offered another suitable advocate or an independent choice.

If several advocates are willing to hold a first conversation, the final choice remains with the principal. The operator may not impose a particular specialist.

On the public site and in the cabinet the principal sees the particulars needed for a choice: specialisation, length of advocacy, region(s) of work, availability, assessment, and reviews of persons who consented to publication.

Assessment is formed under the rules of the information system on the basis of completed enquiries, observance of time-limits for primary contact and other openly described criteria. It is not a chamber ranking, a court ranking, and it does not use names of third-party commercial rankings.

A review is published only with the author’s consent and without disclosure of information constituting advocate’s secrecy or personal data of third parties. The operator may refuse publication of a review containing defamation, promises of outcome or advertising prohibited by law.

Before an agreement is concluded, the parties may exchange information sufficient to decide whether to accept the mandate: the advocate’s qualifications, a preliminary scope of work, the manner of meeting, an indication of remuneration. This is not yet the conduct of the case.

Correspondence in the cabinet after conclusion of an agreement is conducted in the interests of performing the mandate. Advocate’s secrecy is ensured by the advocate; the operator of the information system must take organisational measures to protect information, but does not become the principal’s advocate.

Legal assistance within the meaning of the Advocacy Law begins upon conclusion of an agreement on the provision of legal assistance or, in cases provided by law, upon appointment of defence counsel. Submission of an enquiry, a first conversation and selection of an advocate’s card do not themselves constitute an agreement.

Remuneration, scope of the mandate and the manner of payment are fixed in the agreement between the principal and the advocate. The operator does not set the advocate’s fee “for all” by a public price list.

The distinctive feature of The Kremlin House of Justice is the ability to request not only access to an advocate, but also organisational accompaniment of private life and household matters, and particulars of third parties listed for consideration.

Contact with institutions of the penal system (queues, parcels, notices) is provided within the rules of the institution and the communications operator. None of these steps dispenses with the need for an advocate where the matter is criminal defence.