Criminal Advocate Services in Moscow

Advocates of the Zhiganov, Nikulenko and Partners Attorneys Bureau in Moscow provide the following legal aid to organizations and individuals:

1. Protecting the rights of individuals and companies when investigative operations are underway.
2. Legal assistance to witnesses.
3. Defense of rights of the suspect, accused, defendant and convicted under a criminal case.
4. Representation of interests of the victim in the criminal case.
5. Advocate investigation.
6. Personal Advocate program.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EACH CRIMINAL ADVOCATE SERVICE AND FEE CALCULATION GUIDANCE.

1. Protecting the rights of individuals and companies when investigative operations are underway.

• Arriving at the place of investigative operations, like room examination, attendance at the time of room examination, monitoring and recording of violations of rights;
• Submission of complaints against illegal actions of the police;
• Examination of documents and development of a position;
• Protection of rights when giving explanations.

2. Legal assistance to witnesses.

• Optimization of witness testimonies and preparation to questioning;
• Legal assistance and support during the witness questioning, face-to-face confrontation and other investigatory activities.

The fee for advocate services is calculated on the hourly basis and is specified after the initial free consultation.

3. Defense of rights of the suspect, accused, defendant and convicted in a criminal case:

3.1. Defending the rights of the suspected and accused at the preliminary investigation stage:

• Protection of rights of the suspect and the accused throughout the preliminary investigation: during questioning sessions, confrontations, investigative experiments etc.;
• Visiting the suspect and the accused during the whole period of pre-trial detention;
• Preparation and filing of requests and complaints;
• Appealing the imposed level of pre-trial restrictions;
• Development of the legal position and tactics of defense at the stage of preliminary investigation;
• Collecting evidence that support innocence;
• Familiarization with materials of the criminal case.

The price of criminal advocate services is determined on the basis of the complexity of the criminal case and can be specified after initial consultations, which are free of charge.

3.2. Defending the rights of the defendant in the court of the first instance:

• Defense of rights in the course of all court proceedings;
• Preparation and filing of different kinds of petitions;
• Development of the legal position and tactics of defense at the court trial stage;
• Visiting the defendant in the pre-trial detention center;
• Study of criminal case materials.

The price of the service is determined on the basis of gravity of the charges, complexity of the case, number of episodes of the crime and defense tactics agreed upon with the client.

3.3. Protection of rights of the convicted in the court of appeal or cassation instance:

• Study of criminal case materials;
• Preparation and filing of an appeal or cassation against the judgment of the first or second instance court;
• Participation in the hearing at the appeal or cassation instance.

3.4. Protecting the rights of the convicted in the court of supervisory instance:

• Study of the criminal case;
• Preparation and submission of a supervisory appeal.

3.5. Representation of interests in the process of parole:

• Preparation and submission of the petition to the court;
• Participation in the hearing on parole.

4. Representation of a victim in the criminal case:

• Represent the interests of the victim at the stage of preliminary investigation;
• Represent the interests of the victim in the court of any jurisdiction;
• Detailed studying of materials of the criminal case;
• Preparation and submission of requests and complaints;
• Preparation and filing of a civil action.

5. Advocate investigation:

• Collection of information required for the provision of legal assistance;
• Preparation and sending advocate’s requests for certificates and other documents from public authorities, local governments, non-governmental organizations and other organizations;
• Collection and provision of items and documents that could be considered as physical or other evidence;
• Conducting advocate interviews of witnesses;
• Cooperation with the private detective agencies.

6. The Personal Advocate program

This program assumes that an agreement is concluded with the client for the provision of legal aid for one year, and includes the following criminal advocacy services:

• 24|7 immediate arrival of the advocate in case of detention of the subscriber by local law enforcers.
• Providing telephone consultations on legal matters related to criminal law and procedure.
• Providing telephone advice on legal security and behavior in conflict situations.
• Providing telephone consultations on cooperation with law enforcement authorities.
• In cases of urgent need establishing communication over the phone, interacting in the name and on behalf of the subscriber with representatives of various public services.
• Preparation and submission of advocate requests, in accordance with the Federal Law “On Advocacy and Advocatory Activities”.
• Clients, who subscribed to the Personal Advocate program, are issued an annual personal certificate, which, if necessary, shall be presented to law enforcement officers and is a guarantee for bringing the attached advocate to the client’s location in Moscow.

The fee for the program starts from 20,000 rubles a year.