In this office we have received numerous clients who asked us why they had received a bill from a lawyer when the lawyer they had was ex officio. In Spain, due to ignorance or lack of information, we tend to confuse the two terms and people have the misconception that the public defender is paid by the state.
In this post we are going to explain each term and the differences so that you can differentiate correctly.
Public defender. When a person or company has to face a judicial process in which the use of a lawyer is mandatory, it must be indicated who will be the lawyer who will represent them (a lawyer hired by this person). If you do not know any lawyer or for any reason none is appointed, the law establishes that one be assigned ex officio, that is, that a lawyer on duty will be the one who handles your case. But to this lawyer We will have to pay you fees the same as if we had hired you.
Free Justice. When a person or company has to face a judicial process in which the use of a lawyer is mandatory and cannot afford to pay for one, they can request what is known as legal aid, whereby if this person meets certain requirements (Income level, size of the family unit, properties in your name...) the State will take care of the attorney's fees in the judicial process.
The request for free justice does not exclude that you can have a public defender or vice versa, you can have a public defender and we pay the fees or the state pays them if we meet the requirements for free justice as well as You can also obtain free justice and have a lawyer hired by us.
