kancelaria

Kancelaria is a Polish term designating an office or bureau that handles administrative and legal tasks. In everyday use it most often refers to a law office or firm of lawyers (kancelaria adwokacka) where clients obtain legal advice, draft documents, and pursue representation in court. The word also denotes other professional offices, such as a notary's office (kancelaria notarialna), or government chancellery units (kancelaria premiera, Sejmu, prezydenta). The etymology traces to Latin cancelleria, the office of a chancellor.

In private practice, a kancelaria provides legal consultation, contract drafting and review, dispute resolution, and filed submissions to courts or administrative bodies. Notarial offices perform acts such as authentication of signatures, execution of deeds, and certifying documents. Government kancelarias handle policy coordination, correspondence, archives, and liaison between officials and institutions.

Polish legal services are provided by licensed professionals—adwokaci and radcowie prawni (and notariusze)—regulated by professional bodies and subject to ethical rules, confidentiality, and client protection. Firms may be run as partnerships, limited liability companies, or sole practitioners, and often brand themselves with the word kancelaria.

In contemporary usage, the term also appears in names of government units (kancelaria Sejmu, kancelaria premiera) indicating a central administrative office rather than a private firm.