I do not speak Polish, but my grandfather, who was an attorney in Warsaw before World War II, once told me a story in which, during the war, he ended up as a refugee in Uzbekistan, with no money and not knowing anyone. He was standing on the street corner and made a motion to a passerby asking if he could spare a cigarette. The passerby approached him, stared at him, and then addressed him by a respectful term of address used when addressing an attorney. It turned out the passerby was one of his law clerks. (My grandfather had been in a Siberian labor camp and lost a lot of weight, which is why the law clerk didn't recognize him immediately.) I used to know what that respectful term of address was, but I have forgotten it. I have a feeling if someone said it, I might recognize it. Any suggestions?

 

There is no general term of addressing any attorney in Polish. The terms vary with the function.
Public prosecutor (prokurator): "Panie prokuratorze"
Counsel of The defence (adwokat): "Panie mecenasie"
Judge ( sędzia):" Panie sędzio", in the court: "wysoki sądzie" ( Your honour)

 

Thank you, Ben. Any idea how a law clerk might address an attorney?

 

Also possible are "Panie radco" to a solicitor, "panie sędzio" to a notary, and perhaps some others I'm not aware of.

It might have been "panie mecenasie", which probably is used most often and may be used with barristers and solicitors. But as Ben pointed out, there are many possible terms depending on the specific profession of your grandfather, so it's only a guess.