Advocate's dossier and lobbyist's dossier: how to distinguish between them?

The combination of advocacy and lobbying activities is possible only if there is a clear distinction between legal regimes. Attorney-client privilege cannot be restricted by the introduction of lobbying, as it is a fundamental guarantee of the independence of the advocacy profession and trust in the profession.

This was discussed on February 6 during a meeting of the Lobbying Committee of the Ukrainian National Bar Association, chaired by Oleksiy Shevchuk.

The key topic was the distinction between an advocate's file and a lobbyist's file. The participants of the meeting emphasized that a clear separation of these legal regimes is of fundamental importance for maintaining the standards of attorney-client privilege, professional guarantees, and trust in the legal profession. It was emphasized that the introduction of the institution of lobbying cannot create risks for the confidentiality of lawyers' activities, nor should it replace or blur the special legal regime for the protection of lawyer-client privilege.

In this context, the idea of holding a working meeting in the near future with representatives of the National Agency for Corruption Prevention, which ensures state supervision of compliance with the requirements of the legislation on lobbying, was voiced. The aim is to conduct explanatory work and organize a specialized round table to develop a common approach to protecting attorney-client privilege for advocates who engage in lobbying activities.

Separately, they discussed practical issues of applying the new regulations, in particular the taxation of the activities of lobbyist advocates, the potential risks of conflicts of interest in the event of a combination of relevant statuses, as well as the technical possibility of obtaining extracts from the Transparency Register through the Diia application.

Participants were also informed about educational initiatives: in the near future, the UNBA Higher School of Advocacy plans to launch a specialized course entitled «Advocates in the field of lobbying: legal and ethical aspects». Its purpose is to provide practical training for advocates to work under the new legislative regulations, as well as to establish uniform professional standards for lobbying activities by advocates.

The Lobbying Committee of the UNBA invited colleagues to join the work and send draft proposals for changes to the legislation necessary for the effective and safe activities of advocate-lobbyists.