On December 20, one of the last working days of 2023, the Council of Ministers submitted to the National Assembly for consideration a Bill for an Act amending and supplementing the Bar Act (“The Bill”). With the envisioned amendments the ban on attorneys-at-law to advertise their business and to use intermediaries is lifted, thus synchronising the Bulgarian regulatory framework with the requirements established by EU law.
The Bill is part of the Action plan for 2023, containing the measures arising from the membership of the Republic of Bulgaria in the European Union. Its development was carried out after the European Commission, within the scope of an initiated violation procedure against Bulgaria, determined that the provisions of the Bar Act which prohibit attorneys-at-law form promoting their business activities and from soliciting clients through the use of intermediaries (Articles 41 and 42 of the Act), are not compatible with EU law. The relevant provisions were found to be in contradiction with Directive 2006/123/EC of the European parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on services in the internal market (The Services Directive), that envisions the removal of all general prohibitions on business communications for members of regulated professions, such as that of attorneys-at-law.
With regards to the improvement of the quality of services, provided by attorneys-at-law, and to the achievement of better consumer awareness, the Bill provides for lifting the general prohibition on promoting the attorneys-at-law’s business and on using an intermediary for soliciting potential clients, that is present in the current regulation. In its place it is proposed to introduce the following regime:
Intermediaries
Attorneys-at-wall would be allowed to solicit potential clients through the use of intermediaries under the requirements of the Bar Act and The Ethical Code of the Lawyer. The Bill envisions the following requirements:
- The intermediary should not be allowed to interfere in the relationship between the attorney-at-law and the client and to acquire confidential information about the client, and his interests should not be in conflict with those of the client.
- The attorney-at-law should use services of the information society, that guarantee rigorous compliance with the data protection legislation in respect of the client’s data; and enabling the possibility of direct contact between the attorney-at-law and the client.
The Bill envisions that when the intermediary is entitled to a fee, it should be calculated separately from that due to the attorney-at-law.
Advertise of the attorney-at-law’s business
Attorneys-at-law, as well as firms and associations of lawyers, would be able to advertise their business activity under the requirements of the Bar Act and The Ethical Code of the Lawyer. The advertisement messages used by them should contain information, that identifies the attorney-at-law, or the firm or association, and that presents its activities in a faithful and objective manner. The Bill provides for a prohibition in carrying out the promotion activity to:
- Use false or misleading information;
- Make unwarranted and potentially misleading comparisons with other attorneys-at-law;
- Disclose any information about past or present clients without their explicit written consent;
- Raise unreasonable expectations for achieving a result;
- Address advertisements to individuals in vulnerable circumstances or their relatives.
The proposed amendments to the legal framework aim to guarantee the rights and legal interest of the attorneys-at-law, allowing also to improve the services, provided by them. The Bill is yet to be voted by the National Assembly, and during the course of the review, its text may undergo changes, which we will follow up further.
