The legal profession in Poland is divided into two roles: advocates and legal advisers. The distinction between these two roles is now practically historic as the traditional difference between advocates and legal advisers was repealed on 1 July 2015. Advocates and legal advisers now have equal standing and both can provide a full range of legal services, including in criminal proceedings. Both advocates and legal advisers are under a statutory obligation of confidentiality (attorney-client privilege).

Pursuant to the Act of 26 May 1982 on advocates, advocates must not disclose any communication made to them in the course of providing professional legal advice. This obligation of confidentiality cannot be limited in time and, as a rule, advocates cannot be exempted from the obligation of confidentiality as to facts that they learned in the course of providing professional legal advice or in the course of leading a case. The same obligation of confidentiality is provided for by the Act of 6 July 1982 on legal advisers.

Both roles are exempt from the obligation of confidentiality with respect to information disclosed under the Act of 16 November 2000 on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. The Act implements the provisions of Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2005 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Where circumstances indicate that transactions may be in connection with money laundering or terrorist financing activities, advocates, legal advisers and foreign lawyers are obliged to record such transactions in addition to promptly notifying the General Inspector of Financial Information, who may subsequently relay this information to the competent prosecuting authorities. However, the above obligations will only apply to advocates, legal advisers and foreign lawyers if they participate in transactions by providing legal services to their client that assist in the planning or execution of transactions concerning the following:

• The buying and selling of real property or enterprises
• The managing of client money, securities or other assets
• The opening or management of accounts
• The organization of contributions necessary for the creation, operation or management of companies
• The creation, operation or management of enterprises in other organizational structures

The obligation of confidentiality is also embodied in the Advocate's Code of Ethics and in the Legal Adviser's Code of Ethics. The Advocate's Code of Ethics and the Legal Adviser's Code of Ethics expressly stipulate that the obligation of confidentiality is not limited in time. In the case of legal advisers, the Code of Ethics provides that the obligation of confidentiality continues to apply even after the legal relationship under which the legal adviser provided legal services is terminated.

The Advocate's Code of Ethics provides as follows:

• All materials located in the advocate's files are covered by attorney-client privilege.
• All messages, communications, notes and documents concerning the case that were received from the client or other people, regardless of where they are located, are also covered by attorney-client privilege.
• An advocate is required to oblige their co-workers and staff and all the people employed by them within the course of performing their profession to observe the duty of professional privilege.
• Any transfer of information covered by the duty of professional privilege by electronic and other similar means of communication must be done with special care and subject to prior notice to the client of the risk connected with the preservation of the confidentiality of information transferred by such means of communication.
• An advocate is not allowed to submit as evidence any testimony taken from a witness who is an advocate or legal adviser for the purpose of disclosing information obtained by that witness in connection with the practice of a legal profession.

Similar rules are set out in the Legal Adviser's Code of Ethics.

Poland has not developed solutions that allow refusal to disclose a document on the grounds that it has been produced in the course of providing legal assistance by lawyers, or has been produced in connection with or for the purpose of litigation (similar to the common law concept of attorney work product).