Legal Ethics: to Find an Exit From the Maze
On October 26, 2018, the conference ” Legal Ethics: to Find an Exit From the Maze ” was held in Kyiv. The event was organized under the auspices of the “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” Program with the support of the United States Embassy in Ukraine.
“By observing the work of eight groups of participants, which we believe are the best lawyers of the country, because they were selected precisely according to the value-based criteria, we were saddened to notice that the legal ethics still remains for us a certain abstraction. It is not a daily working tool. Having this is mind, we can explain the crisis phenomena that are currently taking place in the legal profession. Not surprisingly, the community is fragmented, moving in different directions or even stagnating. Only common values, only ethics can be the backbone of any community” – said Andriy Vyshnevsky, leader of the “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” Program at the opening of the conference.
He also voiced the long-term goal of the event: “Our main ambition is to develop new rules of ethics for lawyers. Therefore, the task of our assembly is very practical: to draft proposals that will become the basis of new ethical standards of the legal profession of the future”.
In his welcoming speech Peter Yarosh, US Federal Attorney, Legal Adviser to the US Embassy in Ukraine, voices support to the activities and values of the “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” Program. “Despite the fact that as a prosecutor I appear to be on the other side of the barricade, however, I am the same lawyer as my colleagues. And we all work on one goal – the establishment of the rule of law”, – said Peter Yarosh. Also, he drew attention to the high professional level of Ukrainian lawyers.
In his inspirational speech, Myroslav Marynovych, vice rector for the mission and vision of the Ukrainian Catholic University, revealed the picture beyond the “professional shell”. In the past, a dissident, political prisoner convicted of anti-Soviet propaganda, Myroslav Marynovych has paid for his principles and beliefs a great price. That is why he urged to fair not to be in the minority – as changes are brought by the critical mass of people who refuse to live according to old rules.
“At the turn of the millennium, our values came into our lives – values are important. This is crucial, because it is the values that determine our future,” – he said. Myroslav Marynovych is convinced that the next great change after the Revolution of Dignity will be the revolution of values – peaceful and truly determinative for society.
The working part of the event started with the panel discussion. The first, international panel made presented the foreign outlook of the issues common to us.
Experts and guests shared their thoughts on a number of ethical issues: freedom of expression, principles of honesty and integrity, conflict of interests and priority of client’s interests.
Among the participants of discussion were: Dr. Claudia Seibel, vice president of the German Bar Association, head of the German delegation to the CCBE, John Staiger, lawyer at Howard & Howard PLLC, USA, Peter Yarosh, and Olga Zhukovska, vice president of the Union of Advocates of Ukraine, expert of the “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” Program. The discussion moderated Andriy Kostin, Deputy Chairman of the Bar Council of the Odessa Oblast, IBA Board Member, expert of the “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” Program.
Olena Kibenko, judge of the Supreme Court, Oleg Makarov, partner at Vasil Kisil & Partners, Dmytro Kuhniuk, associate professor at the Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University, expert of the “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” Program talked about the dynamics of changes and the new requirements of the legal ethics. Andriy Vyshnevsky acted as the moderator of the session.
After the lunch, the participants were divided into groups to elaborate proposals to improve the ethical rules for the legal profession of the future. Julia Lisova moderated the discussion designed in world café format. The lawyers searched for the answers to the issues of integrity of the lawyer, conflict of interest, the independence of the lawyer and even the rules of behaviour in social networks.
“Territory of Ethics” – this how Denys Bugay, ex-president of the Ukrainian Bar Association, co-initiator of the “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” program described the event. “I hope that the work of the groups will be reflected in the new edition of the Code of Ethics of Ukrainian lawyers,” – he said.
The organizers also took care about the event handouts and traditional event merchandize. All of this was made of eco materials hinting that ecologic behavior is a component of ethical profession. At the end of the day, each participant could write down his/her own understanding of legal ethics at a banner which will remain as a memory of this remarkable event.
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The opinions expressed in this article are the speakers’ own and do not reflect the view of the “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” Program, the Ukrainian Bar Association, the Bar Association of Legal Aid Providers, the Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine Project, the Canadian Bureau for International Education, or the Government of Canada and the Law Enforcement Section of the United States Embassy in Ukraine.
“Tomorrow’s Lawyer” is a powerful network of lawyers uniting opinion leaders in the legal profession, who provide legal assistance in accordance with the highest ethical standards, act as agents of change in society and leaders in the professional community.
The Program was developed during 2016-2017 with the support of The Quality and Accessible Legal Aid Project with an expert contribution from the Canadian Bar Association. In 2018, the “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” Program is being implemented by the Ukrainian Bar Association and the Bar Association of Legal Aid Providers, with the support of the United States Embassy and The Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine Project funded by the Government of Canada and implemented by the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE).
