Preliminary note

In Estonia, members of the Bar Association are subject to a duty of professional secrecy. An attorney's obligation to maintain secrecy is regulated in the Bar Association Act and the Code of Conduct. In the provision of legal services, an attorney should be independent and should act pursuant to the laws, legal acts and resolutions adopted by the bodies of the Bar Association; the requirements for the professional ethics of attorneys; good morals; and conscience (S. 43 Bar Association Act).

Attorneys-at-law, senior assistants of the attorney-at-law and assistants of the attorney-at-law are the members of the Bar Association (hereinafter the term ‘attorney’ refers to a member of the Bar (advokaat) (S. 22 Bar Association Act)). Lawyers who work for a company (in-house counsel) or for state or public organisations are not members of the Bar Association, and the Bar Association Act and the Code of Conduct do not apply to lawyers who are not members of the Bar Association.