1. Do I need a lawyer?
2. When is it time to see a lawyer?
3. Can I say anything to my lawyer?
4. What are the lawyer’s duties?
5. How much will an lawyer cost me and can I afford to have one?
6. What if the lawyer makes a mistake?
1. Do I need a lawyer?
A lawyer, being an independent professional whom the law requires to protect and enforce the rights and interests of his clients while following their instructions and acting with professional care and maintaining confidentiality, provides useful assistance when it comes to exercising the individual’s constitutional right of defence and protection of other rights and interests of clients in accordance with the Slovak Constitution, laws of constitutional force, laws and other generally binding statutory regulations.
By his knowledge and service a lawyer can help you both in contentious and non-contentious cases. Additionally, clients may feel they need a lawyer when, facing an important decision, they are unsure of their position at law. The lawyer can provide legal services to address such matters, in particular, to represent clients before the courts, public authorities and other legal entities, to defend clients in criminal proceedings, to provide legal advice in court and out-of-court dispute resolution and settlements, to draw-up legal documents, to afford other forms of legal counselling and guidance or to give legal aid, to manage the clients’ assets, and to prepare legal analyses of cases.
You can read more about the services at this website in the SERVICES section.
Last but not least, the advantage of having a lawyer is professional and disciplinary liability for proper legal service protecting the client against any risk of damage through mandatory professional liability insurance.
2. When is it time to see a lawyer?
It is difficult to say when exactly a lawyer should be seen and sought to give advice and provide legal service. As a rule, however, the sooner you address a lawyer, the more likely your rights and lawful interests will be successfully exercised. Quite paradoxically, an early consultation and/or representation may reduce your final legal costs also through alternative dispute resolution which may not necessarily be applicable at a later stage of the proceedings.
As the first meeting with our clients introducing the issue is free of charge, we wish to advise the clients not to be reluctant to address us in the office without undue delay with any problem or at any time when in doubt about how to proceed with a matter. This way, we can often manage to pre-empt possible problems altogether or at least avoid the problems arising from the statute of limitations or the statute of repose.
3. Can I say anything to my lawyer?
The client-lawyer relationship is based on mutual trust. Under Act No. 586/2003 Z.z. (Legal Profession Act) as amended, the lawyer must keep confidential any matter of which he may learn in the course of his practicing law, and not to disclose any personal information protected by special law. This confidentiality rule binding the lawyer and all persons involved in the services provided by the lawyer continues also after the representation has terminated. Acting in breach of this confidentiality rule would constitute the lawyer’s violation of law, with his liability for any damage caused by such breach, and also liability to disciplinary action arising.
Thus, it can be said that you can entrust your lawyer with any circumstance of your case; in fact, this can ultimately prove crucial for his proper assessment of the issues concerned.
4. What are the lawyer’s duties?
Under Act No. 586/2003 Z.z. as amended, a practicing lawyer must protect and enforce the rights and interests of his client while following the client’s instructions, unless such instructions are inconsistent with the generally binding statutory legal regulations, of which the client must be adequately instructed.
In practicing law, the lawyer must also act with professional care, i.e. to act honestly, conscientiously and in an adequate manner, consistently using and applying all the legal remedies he believes may be beneficial to his client’s interests; and in doing so he should provide meaningful and cost-efficient services.
The lawyer-client relationship is based on mutual trust. Under Act 586/2003 Z.z. (Legal Profession Act) as amended, the lawyer is obligated to keep confidential any matters of which he may learn in the course of legal practicing, as well as any personal information protected under special law. This confidentiality rule binding on the lawyer and all d persons involved in legal services continues to apply even after the representation has terminated.
5. How much will an lawyer cost me and can I afford to have one?
Legal services are provided by charging the fee, and the lawyer is entitled to ask for a reasonable advance payment. Additionally, the lawyer is entitled to compensation of cash expenses and the loss of time. Cash expenses mean the money demonstrably proven to have been reasonably spent in relation to legal services, including, in particular, the court fees and other fees, travelling and telecommunication expenses, costs of expert opinions, translations, copies or abstracts from public registers.
The lawyer’s fee is determined by agreement between him and the client; where no agreed is reached, a tariff fee will be paid.
You can read more about the way how the fee is determined on this website in the FEE section.
6. What if the lawyer makes a mistake?
Every lawyer is liable to the client for any damage suffered as a result of legal malpractice; and any mistake of law will almost invariably cause harm to the lawyer’s reputation. Under Act No. 586/2003 Z.z. as amended, any lawyer must have a professional liability insurance policy against damage resulting from legal malpractice, therefore JUDr. Juraj BILICKÝ, maintains a liability insurance coverage of up to EUR 100,000.
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