Without orders but for the benefit

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recognized the recoverability of legal costs for the advocate with whom the contract is signed by the attorney in the client's interests without direct reference to it.

Alexander Bolomatov, partner of YUST Law Firm, discussed the topic with the “Novaya advokatskaya gazeta” and characterized this Supreme Court’s ruling as a timely and positive one, as well as being oriented to change the formalistic approach, which is often present in courts when considering claims for the recovery of costs for services of representatives. As the expert noted, the courts often ignore the actual circumstances, which directly show that legal assistance was provided in a specific case, and they find formal grounds to deny recovery of costs.

"The position of the Supreme Court is an accurate signal to lower courts that when deciding one should pay attention to the presence of the real facts of legal assistance," – emphasized Alexander Bolomatov.