The Article refers to the problem of the counsel’s ineffectiveness in the American criminal procedure. The Author begins with the conditions of the infringement of VI Amendment based on the ineffective assistance of the counsel. Under Strickland v. Washington a convicted defendant’s claim that counsel’s assistance was so defective as to require reversal of a judgement requires that the defendant show, first, that counsel’s performance was deficient and, second, that the deficient performance prejudiced the defence so as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial. The Author sketches the practical application of this standard in the case of plea bargaining procedure, in particular the modifications of this standard depending on the specific procedural context.