Bar council finds Matjošaitytė advised party without a contract

Lithuania’s Bar Council found that Central Electoral Commission member Laura Matjošaitytė provided legal services to the Nemuno Aušra party without a written agreement, but ended its inquiry because the deadline for disciplinary action had expired, LRT reported.

The council said the one-year limitation period had passed, meaning Matjošaitytė cannot be disciplined over the matter. It recommended that she follow professional and ethical rules and avoid creating doubts about lawyers’ professionalism and responsibility. Matjošaitytė may appeal the decision.

The Lithuanian Bar Association gathered evidence that Matjošaitytė provided legal services to the party in August 2024 without a written legal services contract. Bar Council chair Mindaugas Kukaitis previously told BNS that providing services without such an agreement breaches the Law on the Bar.

The Bar Association said it has no authority to supervise or oversee the Central Electoral Commission. It therefore cannot assess Matjošaitytė’s decisions as a commission member, including whether she should have recused herself or how she voted on matters involving the party.

Several institutions began inquiries after it emerged that a legal document the party sent to the commission in 2024, titled “On the sources of political party funding,” had been prepared by Matjošaitytė. Neither the party nor Matjošaitytė had declared their former professional relationship. She first declined to say whether she had been paid, then said she had received no money. She has declined to discuss details, citing lawyer-client confidentiality.

The Central Electoral Commission has opened its own inquiry into the cooperation, while the Chief Official Ethics Commission is examining a possible conflict of interest. Matjošaitytė chaired the Central Electoral Commission from 2017 to 2021 and returned as a member in 2025 after her nomination by then Justice Minister Rimantas Mockus, who was delegated by Nemuno Aušra.