Wykonywanie zawodu radcy prawnego w urzędzie państwowym
Practicing the profession of legal adviser in government offices

Summary/Abstract: Owing to the large number of regulations and the degree of complexity they present, many cases require professional legal aid. Such services are provided by legal advisers and advocates, and – in the area of tax law – likewise by legal consultants. Of the three, only the profession of legal adviser may be practiced within the framework of an employment relationship. One of the basic tenets of said profession – tied to its status as a profession of public trust – is independence in its performance. The exercise of this independence benefits the client acting as an employer, as well. Independence is guaranteed under the provisions of the Act of 6 July 1982 on Legal Advisers, which constitute lex specialis in relation to the regulations of the Act of 21 November 2008 on Civil Service. In particular, the Act on Legal Advisers provides that direct supervisory powers over a legal adviser employed in a government office may only be vested in the head of the office, while the position of legal adviser should be identified as a separate component of the organizational structure of the office. A legal adviser employed in a government office may report to a director of an organizational unit of the office and the legal adviser’s position may be a part of that unit, only when legal aid is provided to that one organizational unit alone. If the office employs several legal advisers, one of them should be tasked with coordinating legal aid. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the remaining legal advisers do not report to the coordinator. What is more, due to the principle of professional independence of legal advisers and the nature of the profession, which is to render legal aid and, thereby, provide legal protection for the clients’ interests (in this instance, a government office), legal advisers may not practice their profession as employees of a government office and, simultaneously, fulfill the function of the head of the office.

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