Identification of a lawyer with a client: ethical and practical aspects in the modern conditions

The study has established that the identification of a lawyer with a client is a difficult challenge for the Bar, civil society and the rule of law, despite the fact that a number of scientific works, developments and concepts are devoted to this issue. The obvious relevance of this problem is explained not only by the special role of the Bar in Ukraine, but also by the complex nature of public consciousness and numerous peculiarities of managing collective emotions. The development of a system to counteract the identification of a lawyer with a client is crucial for ensuring compliance with the guarantees of the practice of law and preserving the independence of a particular lawyer and the Bar as a whole. Such a system cannot be developed without a detailed analysis of the causes and preconditions for the emergence of such a phenomenon as the identification of a lawyer with a client. The issue of counteracting the identification of a lawyer with a client is particularly acute in the current conditions in which Ukraine is experiencing – a full-scale invasion of the russian federation into the territory of Ukraine, which has caused significant obstruction of the socio-economic, political and legal situation. As a result, there has been a significant increase in the number of criminal proceedings against persons involved in the invasion, as well as civil cases aimed at providing compensation to the victims. This has led to increased attention to the role of lawyers who defend and represent the interests of individuals in such cases. Sometimes society, and sometimes the state, reacts extremely negatively to the participation of a lawyer in such cases, consciously or unconsciously shifting the potential guilt of such a person to the lawyer. This phenomenon has multi-stage and multi-vector consequences, which are clearly negative for both the lawyer and the legal system as a whole. Counteracting the identification of a lawyer with a client in modern conditions and, as a result, ensuring, on the one hand, the independence of a lawyer and the Bar, and, on the other hand, public confidence in the justice system, requires a broad-based and comprehensive approach that can eliminate the causes and consequences of the identification of a lawyer with a client at all levels and using various methods and means.