“Develop among the best” – contest for selecting participants of “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” programme was announced in Ukraine – Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine Project

On November 10, a lawyer professional growth programme “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” started in Ukraine and a competition for the selection of its participants was announced.

The programme was presented at a press-conference in LigaBusinessInform information agency press center with the participation of the President of the Ukrainian Bar Association Denys Buhai, Head of “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” programme Andrii Vyshnevskyi, Project Manager of the Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine Oksana Kikot, Chairman of the Board of the NGO “All-Ukrainian Association of Lawyers Providing Free Legal Aid” Viktoriia Mitko.

“Tomorrow’s Lawyer” programme is the first all-Ukrainian programme for professional growth of lawyers, designed to support a community of like-minded professionals striving to improve the quality of legal services, efficiently implement justice reforms, and develop the professional community.

The programme consists of 4 learning modules:

Working with a client
Cooperation with colleagues — procedural opponents in court
Communication within the legal community
Public Relations and Media

According to press-conference speakers, four three-day sessions are in store for the participants in the course of 2017. Learning modules will take place in Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, and Odesa. It is planned to select 100 lawyers from across Ukraine for the programme. Participants will be selected in December 2016. The training will start in February 2017 and the participation in it will be free for selected 100 participants, as this programme is supported by the Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine Project, funded by the Government of Canada and implemented by the Canadian Bureau for International Education in partnership with the Coordination Center for Legal Aid Provision.

In order to participate in “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” selection procedure, prospective participants need to:

fill in the application form by 9 December 2016;

come to an interview in the period from December 19 to December 23, 2016 (additional round of selection).

You can fill in the application form on the programme website at www.tomorrowslawyer.org. Here, you may also find out more about terms of participation in the programme and obtain more information on training modules.

“This is a unique educational platform for lawyers who want continuous development, want to introduce high ethical standards in their work and implementation of leadership”, said Denys Buhai, President of the Bar Association. According to him, programme co-organizers expect that its participants will be lawyers with at least 2-year experience in practising law who are continuously working on the development of their professional level, have leadership skills, and are willing to improve the legal system, as well as respect and observe ethical standards of the profession.

“This programme differs from other educational products in that it will not contain information either on substantive or procedural law — nothing that lawyers are usually taught at a university. Instead, lawyers will be able to master so-called “soft skills” required to be successful and effective representatives of the profession, leaders in the legal community”, said programme Head Andrii Vyshnevskyi. According to him, “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” programme is an answer to new requirements that modern Ukrainian society puts forward to the representatives of the profession. “Today, a lawyer must not only be an efficient provider of legal services, but also formulate his/her position with regard to reforms taking place in the legal field, and know how to communicate their view efficiently”, he noted.

“Here, in the Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine Project, funded by the Government of Canada, we believe that quality of legal aid in Ukraine depends not only on legal knowledge of lawyers but also on their competences, ability to join their colleagues and cooperate with them, share experience, and promote practice of human rights protection”, said Oksana Kikot, the Manager, with regard to the goal of “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” programme support.

“All members of the judiciary are colleagues and serve the law. Lawyers who understand that being a lawyer is, above all, about honour, dignity, and respect, will be selected for the programme. I believe, this programme will help proactive lawyers, who want constant development, in their desire to establish mutual respect between them and their clients, between them and procedural partners, the media, and the public”, said Chairman of the Board of the NGO “All-Ukrainian Association of Lawyers Providing Free Legal Aid” Viktoriia Mitko. “I encourage all of my colleagues to take part in the selection process!” she noted.

To recap, “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” programme is based on the results of the Canadian Bar Association mission, which took place in Kyiv, Lviv, and Odesa in spring this year. This mission was supported by the Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine Project, implemented by the Canadian Bureau for International Education and supported by the Government of Canada in partnership with the Coordination Center for Legal Aid Provision.

View video of the press conference from “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” programme presentation.