The article substantiates that after emergence of human culture in the early steps of development and passage through various phases of development, the institution of legal assistance has reached its full development, primarily in the leading states of Western Europe. Its primary form is the family one, which we find in history of development of legal assistance in Ancient Greece and Rome. Gradually, in semi-civilized states, the provision of legal assistance passes to unauthorized persons and turns into a profession. This transition began in Greece, then in Rome, and subsequently in all the civilized countries of Europe. Having become a profession, the provision of legal assistance for a long time remains an unorganized area of activity accessible to all comers. During the Middle Ages, the legal assistance institute underwent significant changes. The main ones are the separation of legal intercession from judicial representation, the relative freedom of the profession, close ties with the judiciary and disciplinary dependence from the latter one. A review of the lawyer`s activities in Ukraine in Soviet Union times suggests that its activities were largely ideologized and did not always focus on the interests of the client, preferring the political authorities` interests. This significantly reduced the level of real legal protection of citizens. This was especially true of the so-called “political affairs”, in which the defense turned into a formal procedure.

The historical and legal analysis made it possible to conclude that the human right to protection is one of the oldest independent social institutions during the development of which the lawyer itself arose as a separate legal advocacy organization, whose task is to provide legal assistance to citizens.

Key words: lawyer, legal assistance, defense, protection of rights in legal proceedings, assistance to citizens, advocacy, legal intercession.

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