The First Module of the Tomorrow’s Lawyer Program Accomplished
Last weekend in Kyiv the first module of the “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” Program dedicated to building attorney-client relations has been successfully accomplishment. The program participants were trained by a certified business coach and facilitator Iryna Hluschenkova together with a team of experts Sergiy Goncharenko, Olga Zhukovska, Andriy Kostin, Dmitry Kukhnyuk, Julia Lisova, Volodymyr Sushchenko, Oleksandra Yanovska supported by Ivanna Ibragimova, expert of the Ukrainian-Canadian project “Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine”.
The topic of the first module, completed by each of four groups, covered the most important aspects of the relationship between lawyers and their clients. Within three days, the participants analysed various aspects of building effective communication with the client, complex ethical issues in the relationship with the client, professional responsibilities, in particular to avoid conflicts of interest, the role of lawyer in providing equal access to justice and so on.
In the course of training lawyers were practicing communication skills, interviewing and counselling clients and learned to manage expectations and establish two-way communication. Moreover, the module program covered the issues of building and strengthening emotional intelligence, the importance of managing emotions and empathy. Participants acknowledged that they had underestimated the significance of establishing contacts with the client to achieve a positive outcome in the case.
After the accomplishment of the first module, the lawyers willingly shared their impressions and feedback of the training. They noted that the program of the first module made them think about the importance of building relationships with clients through the prism of professional ethics. Due to the insights revealed while practicing different emotional states, lawyers elaborated new skills and practical tools to work with the client. Moreover, for several days they stepped away from day-to-day work and as a result obtained the possibility to rethink their professional communication with clients and to look at themselves and their work from the outside.
Besides acquiring practical knowledge and skills, the trainees pointedly expressed their excitement of getting familiar with the experts and trainers, as well as with each other. This is obvious, because the communication component of the Program is one of its major advantages, as it was designed to form an active community of professionals from all over the country.
Speaking about the work on the preparation and implementation of the first module, the Program Manager Andriy Vyshnevsky noted that the participants were captured by the raining process. “Total inclusion, emotional distress, unrestrained dynamics and continuous improvement. This list could go on and on. In short, we – organizers, participants, experts and trainers – were captured by the Program and had set high standards of quality for ourselves below which no longer can we afford to go during the next modules.
We are very inspired by the devotion of lawyers participating in the Program. There were for instance two episodes that illustrate this point of view. At the East Ukrainian Legal Forum organized by the Ukrainian Bar Association in Kharkiv, I was approached by a lawyer who proudly presented himself as a participant of Tomorrow’s Lawyer Program. Another participant at the opening of the Program in February was in the last month of pregnancy, and in April came to the training with her baby and husband, who had to take care of the kid and take for a walk while the mother was at the classes.
The most valuable of what lawyers have obtained as a result of participation in the Program is the practical willingness to support and promote a new quality of professional communication: with clients, stakeholders, colleagues, media and society. Another outcome of the training was the calibration of the scale of values. And the principal value of the “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” Program is supporting the highest standards of professional conduct, facilitation and supporting the changes required by the Ukrainian society, responsible leadership within legal community”, – said Mr. Vyshnevsky.
According to the manager of the Ukrainian-Canadian Project “Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine” Oksana Kikot, the first module helped lawyers develop communication skills when dealing with clients. “The first module of the Program “Working with Client” was intended to develop effective communication skills, client orientation, management of emotions, the practical application of the rules of legal ethics in the work with clients, values of the legal profession in relationships with clients, especially vulnerable groups of clients. The feedback received from the participants of all four groups shows that the training proved to be very useful and significantly influenced the ideas, attitudes and approaches of attorneys’ work with clients. An important result is the teamwork of all groups, allowing enrich the first module with practical examples and valuable lessons from the professional experience of participants. We are pleased to witness lawyers from different parts of Ukraine joining together to exchange best practices with colleagues and improve their work with clients today”.
Commenting on the completion of the first module, the Ukrainian Bar Association President Denys Bugay pointed out the positive trends related to lawyers’ training. “Processing all comments from the participants, including the smallest details, we are constantly working to improve the Program. Today I can say that the “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” is a gem that will qualitatively change the legal community in Ukraine in the near future. We recognize that much remains to be implemented in our country, and I will say frankly – we are happy that we have already got ta powerful team to implement these ambitious goals. Half of the success depends on the participants, as they unfold and manifest themselves in communication with colleagues, similar in spirit to the profession. How they are able to exchange experiences and share knowledge before the intellectual audience. For his part, all of us – organizers, experts, coaches and the team – will motivate lawyers to be active in their legal activities to help realize their ambitions. One of the objectives of the Program is to establish communication not only in the group but among all participants of our first “golden” hundred. Thus, the “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” will create horizontal communication between professionals from all over the country. ”
Speaking about the training Program the Director of the “Bar Association of Legal Aid Providers” Viktoriya Mitko said: “The first module showed that lawyers from different regions of Ukraine alike wish to improve themselves in the profession. Regardless of the age and the experience, they are open to obtain new knowledge, have similar issues and are constantly in search of answers. During the three-day training, lawyers practiced open communication skills, familiarized with the experience of experts and each other. Each participant had the opportunity to stand in client’s shoes, assess the work of colleagues and judge on the correctness and ethics in their communication with the client. The feature of the first module was a common talk about emotional intelligence, empathy and finding ways to avoid such situation, which is popularly called “burned out at work”. Nothing is perfect. And not all the questions were answered during the training course. At the same time, participation in the first module allowed to see and assess their legal strategies and tactics from the outside. Important in training is that it provided an opportunity to feel yourself a part of the professional community, which has its own values and common understanding of the lawyer’s role in society. I believe that the participants returned to their homes with confidence that they have colleagues in each region of Ukraine who are willing to support and will be happy to communicate”.
Comments of the “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” Program Experts
Olga Zhukovska, attorney, PhD, Honoured Lawyer of Ukraine, member of the Appeals Committee of UEFA, Vice-President of the Union of Advocates of Ukraine sincerely shared her positive impressions obtained during the three-day communication with Program participants. “It’s really a great feeling – to be in the company of like-minded professionals who have long established themselves as individuals and professionals, but retained the desire for self-improvement and professional development”, – says Olga.
She believes that the Program participants will be able not only to improve the current state of human rights protection, but also contribute to the improvement of the legal health of the whole society. “The deep respect and interest in the ethical principles of the profession demonstrated by the participants show that they can become agents of the best features of advocacy as a specific professional community that bears the best professional practices and serves the most important advocacy mission in Ukraine”, – emphasized the expert.
According to Volodymyr Sushchenko, Ph.D, Associate Professor of Law Faculty of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, the executive director of Research Center of the Rule of Law, Honoured Lawyer of Ukraine, he is confident that the Program participants as tomorrow’s lawyers will be the real agents of positive change in the country’s legal community, able to provide high-quality legal services and take professional responsibility for themselves and the recipients who receive legal assistance, according to the European standards of ethical advocacy. “After all, this Program is aimed precisely at emphasizing advocacy for the development of natural human centric concept of advocacy and legal system”, – said Volomymyr Sushchenko.
In turn, Andriy Kostin, Advocate, Deputy Chairman of the Bar Council of Odessa region, recommended arbitrator of the Maritime Arbitration Commission at the UCCI, Director of the Lawyer Company “Pravo”, showed that during the training the attorneys proved themselves as highly qualified specialists. “The purpose of this module of the Program was to enable lawyers to go beyond their everyday professional life and move away from the common stereotypes and the tools they use in their work. During the training, we managed to surprise the participants and they have obtained the new experience. I believe that returning back to work they will implement the ideas and solutions, which have been elaborated during the training. I believe that they will come back in the future”.
The Program Expert Sergiy Goncharenko, advocate, PhD, Professor, Head of Human Rights International and European Law Department at the Academy of Advocacy of Ukraine, Honoured Lawyer of Ukraine, ad hoc judge of the ECHR, who accompanied the first group, said that the training atmosphere was comfortable and it allowed participants to open up, to be themselves, and therefore it was easy to perceive information and not get tired, even working quite intensively.
“The Program participants from different regions of Ukraine, varying in age and sex with varying knowledge and experience who have completed various educational institutions and who practice in various fields of law, nevertheless, found a lot of common features, including: the desire to obtain new skills, search for any opportunity for self-improvement and professional development, willingness to invest time into their own future, the future of the legal profession and society. All participants were real professionals, vibrant personalities, self-sufficient leaders, with well-developed sense of humour. Three days of the first module made participants become a real team of like-minded people who demonstrated sincerity and openness in communication, ability to teamwork and focus on results, received many positive, interesting and useful information on effective communication with clients and memorable dialogue”, – commented Dmitry Kukhnyuk, advocate, PhD, associate professor at the Department of notary process and advocacy at the Kyiv National University after Taras Shevchenko, Managing Partner at Miller, Kukhnyuk & Partners.
“The first module of the Tomorrow’s Lawyer Program “left me with two impressive emotions: admiration and confidence. We cannot but feel astonished by true professionals, lawyers who understand the need for constant self-improvement and ready to make great efforts, while enjoying the communication with other colleagues and already like-minded people, too. As for confidence, I must admit that for the first time in recent years I have found belief in the possibility of change in the legal profession in our country. Those lawyers who participate in the Program, of course, can and will change not only the future of their own professional path, but able to implement the idea of a strong and independent legal profession in Ukraine “, – said Oleksandra Yanovska, Doctor of Law, Professor of the Department of Justice at the Kyiv National University after Taras Shevchenko, ad hoc judge of the ECHR.
Meanwhile, the experts and trainers of the Program are actively preparing the second module dedicated to building collateral relations with the court and other stakeholders.
Second module schedule:
Group 1 – 21.04. – 23.04.2017
Group 2 – 12.05. – 14.05.2017
Group 3 – 26.05 — 28.05.2017
Group 4 09.06 — 11.06.2017.
The second module will take place in Lviv.
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“Tomorrow’s Lawyer” Program is being implemented by the Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA) and the Bar Association of Legal Aid Providers (BALAP) supported by the “Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine” (QALA) Project funded by the Government of Canada, implemented by the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) in cooperation with the Coordination Centre for Legal Aid Provision.
“Tomorrow’s Lawyer” Program — the first All-Ukrainian professional development program for lawyers, intended to develop soft skills. The Program was developed by Canadian experts and adapted by Ukrainian experts.
111 lawyers selected from 707 applicants will attend four training modules in Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa and Kharkiv during the year of 2017.
The topics of the training modules are as follows: attorney-client relations, building collateral relations in the justice system, communication within the legal society, public relations and media.
