Working with a client” online course was devised within the project framework

On 18 April 2017, an online training course “Working with a client” was introduced into the system of legal aid in Ukraine. It was developed based on the practice of the LA provision and actual needs in education that were researched as a result of surveying local FSLA centre specialists. The course is designed primarily for employees of legal aid bureaus and departments for legal information and consultation of the local centres. At the same time, the training is also available to other employees of the LA system and to all specialists outside the system but working with people and/or interested in the matters of providing client-oriented services.

Practical handbook on working with clients — for the best service within the LA system

A three-day meeting of a working group comprising the “frontline” (representatives of departments on legal information and consultations of local FSLA centres) and specialists of the Coordination Center for Legal Aid Provision took place on 6-8 April in Kyiv with an aim of finalizing the handbook for specialists of FSLA centres working with clients, in order to ensure the best services to the latter. The event was held with the support of the Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine Project and the International Renaissance Foundation.

LA system specialists developed draft quality standards of free legal aid provision

On 3-4 April, a working group meeting of LA system specialists took place in Kyiv, with regard to elaborating quality standards of free secondary legal aid in civil and administrative proceedings (hereinafter referred to as FSLA CAP) and quality standards of free primary legal aid provision (hereinafter, FPLA). The event was held with the support of the Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine Project.

How efficient is the research of the legal needs of citizens?

On 3-4 April 2017, a session of the working group on piloting model programmes of legal aid in the regions took place in Kyiv. The event was organized by the Coordination Center for Legal Aid Provision with the support of the Quality and Accessible Legal Aid Project and the International Renaissance Foundation; it continues the joint work on searching possibilities to engage internal capacities of local budgets for legal empowerment of territorial communities.

Main areas of activities of interregional resource and communication platforms, a strategic discussion

What are interregional resource and communication platforms (hereinafter — IRCP), what are their main objectives and functions, what are the first steps to arrange IRCP activities and how to plan communication with partner networks and local stakeholders? — these and other initial steps for platform launch were discussed by specialists and partners of the legal aid in Ukraine during the two-day strategic session in Kyiv. The event was held with the support of the Ukrainian-Canadian Project Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine.

Lawyer in Ukraine can be an agent of legal changes

Who the lawyers of tomorrow are, what professional competences they need to have and what they should learn — these questions were discussed with Larissa Bezo and Oksana Kikot, Director and Manager of the Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine Project, which supports the implementation of the programme for lawyers professional growth, “Tomorrow’s Lawyer”.

“Tomorrow’s Lawyer” programme officially opened

On 17 February 2017, “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” programme was officially opened in the Government Reception House. It is the first all-Ukrainian programme for the professional development of lawyers. During the opening, the approach to implementation of the training programme and its basic components were presented. First one hundred of “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” participants had a chance to get acquainted with the curriculum developers, experts, and trainers, as well as hear about the experience of cooperation between legal communities of Ukraine and Canada in the field of professional development.

Larissa Bezo speaks on the results of the international conference “Legal Empowerment of Communities”

“We believe, the conference has reached its goal, that is to facilitate the dialogue between representatives of various groups successfully working on empowering communities both in Ukraine and abroad. During the two days of sharing experience and ideas, we saw a great number of innovative tools and approaches, as well as methods of cooperation within the community, which facilitate not just the legal capacities, but also the development of community economic and political capacities, which is very relevant for Ukraine, especially at the local level”, said Larissa Bezo, Director of the Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine Project, Vice-President of the Canadian Bureau for International Education, about the results of the international conference “Legal Empowerment of Communities” held on 20-21 October 2016 Kharkiv and organized jointly by the Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine Project, the Coordination Center for Legal Aid Provision, and the International Renaissance Foundation. This conference gathered practising experts from Ukraine and countries of the world to discuss the community experience in the field of protection of their rights.

Legal, psychological, and literary fight against violence: presentation of the collection “cONtra abUSe” (“PROty NASylstva”).

On December 16, a presentation of the collection  “cONtra abUSe” (“PROty NASylstva”) — a literary social project aimed at highlighting and combating the problem of domestic violence — took place in the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center. The collection is a part of the literary, media and human rights initiative, implemented by the Hromadske Radio with the support of the Canadian Government in the framework of the Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine Project.