Lawyers in Poland

[1][2] Polish lawyers may work in licensed legal professions, public administration, law enforcement, tax services and governmental agencies.

Since a legal entity can be represented in a court of law by its employees, companies do not employ advocates or attorneys-at-law but instead rely on in-house lawyers, counsellors or associates not admitted to the bar.

SK 22/02), the view was expressed for the first time that the provisions in force in Poland allow persons holding a Magister's degree in law to carry out legal counselling on their own account.

They require an appropriate admission examination to be passed; as such, lawyers are authorised to represent persons before courts in matters related to their profession.

The division between adwokat and radca prawny was created by a 1959 law that forbade advocates from advising socialised economy units (primarily state enterprises and cooperatives, which were the dominant form of economic activity in the People's Republic of Poland) and introduced the new profession of radca prawny for that purpose.

Since 2015, the position and rights of advocates and attorneys at law are identical in almost all matters, leading to public discussion on the unification of the two professions.