Introduction. In the presented work, the authors investigated the main aspects of the reform of the procedural legislation initiated by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation regarding the introduction of a new participant in the trial - the attorney. Purpose. The aim of the work is to identify the features of the legal status of such a participant in civil proceedings as an attorney within the framework of the institution of representation. Methodology. The work was performed on the basis of special methods of cognition, including historical and legal, logical, formally legal. Results. Based on the analysis of the results of the consideration of the draft Federal Law No. 383208-7 «On Amendments to the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, the Code of Administrative Procedure of the Russian Federation and certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation», the appropriateness of the initiative to introduce a new member into civil proceedings is assessed - attorney. The relationship of this short story with the proposed increase in the requirements for the representative’s professionalism was analyzed, and its main advantages and disadvantages were highlighted. It is concluded that the benefit of introducing such a participant in the civil process as an attorney is more theoretical than practical, since this is due to the fact that the actions that the considered procedural figure (attorney) is authorized to perform can be performed by an ordinary representative without extra costs. At its core, an attorney is a kind of assistant to the representative, not able to independently participate in the trial and is dependent on both the principal and the representative. Conclusion. The material contained in the work is of interest for further scientific research on the problematic issues of the institution of representation in civil proceedings. Some conclusions can be used during lectures and seminars on the subject of civil procedure law.