Report: Lawyers rarely use opportunities to change professions

Polish lawyers rarely move between the country’s legal professions, even though legislation allows them to do so, according to a new report by the Civic Network Watchdog Polska. The study examines transitions among advocates, legal advisers, notaries, prosecutors and judges between 2020 and 2025.

Researchers used data from the National Court Register, the Justice Ministry, the National Public Prosecutor’s Office and professional associations. They also interviewed people who changed careers within the legal professions.

“The judiciary turned out to be relatively open, because, apart from judicial assessors, prosecutors, legal advisers and advocates also enter it, while the prosecution service turned out to be probably the most closed,” Marzena Błaszczyk, a report co-author, told Rzeczpospolita.

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The judiciary turned out to be relatively open, because, apart from judicial assessors, prosecutors, legal advisers and advocates also enter it, while the prosecution service turned out to be probably the most closed.

The report identified 1,068 people appointed as judges during the period for whom researchers could establish a direct previous profession or status. Of these, 714 were judicial assessors, 209 advocates, 103 legal advisers, 32 prosecutors and six notaries. The authors say the large number of assessors does not show that judging is closed, because judicial assessment is the standard route to becoming a judge.

Separate data from the National Council of the Judiciary showed that candidates from other legal professions had a relatively larger role among people recommended for appointment between 2020 and 2023. In 2022, the recorded group included 69 assessors, 58 advocates, 38 legal advisers and seven prosecutors. In 2025, the figures were 147 assessors, 19 advocates, 15 legal advisers and four prosecutors.

The report says the changes may reflect not only shifts in the number of lawyers entering the judiciary, but also a change in the professional profile of candidates put forward for appointment. Professor Piotr Girdwoyń, director of Poland’s National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution, attributed weak movement between legal professions mainly to the country’s traditional training system, in which graduates choose one professional track and train within it.

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We wanted to see to what extent lawyers actually move between professions and which professions are more open in this respect.