The Second Group Opens the Fourth Training Module In Odesa
On November 20 – 22, 2017, the second group of the “Tomorrows Lawyer” program passed the fourth module devoted to the topics of communication with the public and media, as well as the role of advocacy, as one of the cross-cutting themes of the Program is support for reforms and changes. It is important to learn skills that will allow lawyers to become agents of change.
During the module, participants discussed the topics of cooperation with journalists, having read the results of a survey of journalists and lawyers, which was held earlier by the organizers of the Program. In addition, attorneys practically worked out the ability to work in front of the camera, interviewing skills and working out the common position of the legal team on communication strategies in individual cases. In group work format, the participants developed advocacy programs for some important and relevant initiatives, using the theoretical knowledge gained in the module.
The opening of the module was visited by the Chairman of the Bar Council of Odessa region, Joseph Bronze, who stated in his speech: “I hope the Tomorrows Lawyer Program will become an island on which the revival of the advocacy tradition will begin. And where the lawyers, who will become unsurpassed examples of the art of practicing law will be born and set an excellent example for younger colleagues. You should form around you centers of young colleagues and this will allow to revive the valuable tradition of mentoring in the advocacy. Change the bar, make improvements! I wish all of you to fit the words “Lawyer – it sounds proud!“.
Also the training was visited by the manager of the Ukrainian-Canadian Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine Project, Oksana Kikot, Head of the Program Andriy Vyshnevsky and ex-President of the Ukrainian Bar Association Denis Bugay.
During the training the participants worked with coaches Tetyana Troshchinska, Larisa Denisenko and Yaroslav Yurchyshyn. The experts of the Program were accompanied by Olga Zhukovska, Volodymyr Sushchenko, Andriy Kostin and Yulia Lisova.
The topics of the three-day training covered the following issues:
- Communicating the rule of law principles and promoting equal access to justice and reforms.
- Effective verbal and written communication with media.
- Managing public opinion.
- Professionalism and publicity.
- Working with mass media on matters of public interest.
- Use of social media.
The theme of communication with the public and the media did not leave anyone indifferent: “After the module, I looked at journalists quite differently. I was particularly impressed by the results of the survey. Realizing the importance of cooperation with journalists for lawyers, I will now establish such cooperation in the light of the knowledge and skills acquired. I have a lot of improvements to make. Especially in terms of balance between professional vocabulary and accessibility“- participant shared his impressions.
“The module unexpectedly impressed me. Feature of the module is that it has a lot of collective work as well as individual. The versatility of the module and at the same time, its targeted orientation has made it effective and we will go into our professional future with extant media skills and with an understanding of what it is worth to start and how to conduct real law firms, ” – said another program member after the end of the training. .
The photo tour of the training can be found by the link.
“Tomorrow’s Lawyer” is the first all-Ukrainian professional development program for lawyers aimed at strengthening soft skills. It was prepared by Canadian lawyers and adapted by Ukrainian experts. 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).
