Face of Advocacy
Oleg Malinevskiy, Attorney, Partner at EQUITY, Chairman of the UAA Judicial Practice Committee, took part in the "Face of Advocacy" project of the Ukrainian Attorney Association.
"WHEN SETTING YOUR GOALS – STRIVE FOR THE IMPOSSIBLE"
How do you understand "attorney" profession?
To the best of my belief, to truly understand the meaning of attorney profession one should not regard it through a narrow legal framework. An attorney is a way of thinking and a lifestyle guided by justice, adherence to principles, independence and service to those close to you. Attorney profession provides for great responsibility, since just like a doctor, whom patients trust their own health, our clients' fates often depend on us.
What does exactly determine your professional choice?
My professional path is in complete harmony with my understanding of the attorney profession given above. Personally, for me, to practice law is to get endless opportunities for self-fulfilment, creative manifestation and non-standard thinking, the most efficient use of theoretical knowledge and practical experience. I have deep respect for other legal professions, including judges, prosecutors, notaries, counsels, etc. However, for me none of them will provide the level of professional and financial independence, diversity of choosing practices, jurisdictions, case topics, and the range of clients, as the advocacy will. In fact, actions of an attorney are restricted only by the requirements of law, rules of attorney’s conduct, interests of a client and his/her own universal human principles. Personally, I am particularly enthusiastic about complex cases and pro bono activity. Complex cases are a real professional challenge and a trigger maximising the mobilisation of all available knowledge and practical skills, forcing your brain to actively work searching for the most efficient and sometimes the only possible option. A strong opponent in process only adds to the thrill, multiplying the emotional effect of the result. Clients in complex cases are usually quite interesting personalities, and acquaintance and further communication with such people greatly expands your view of life. Pro bono cases, on the other hand, are an inalienable essence of the entire advocacy, expression of attorney’s internal protest against social injustice and travesty, a direct way to restore faith in justice.
What in your opinion is a key to becoming successful in this profession?
This is a rather philosophical question, the answer to which is simultaneously influenced by a number of factors. While sharing the views of the Ukrainian sage Hryhorii Skovoroda about the importance of the work you choose being inborn, I am sure that the foundation for success is being "emotionally in love" with the profession when any economic activity, possibility of earning money or self-fulfilment recede into the background in comparison with the type of work chosen. This kind of perception ensures the maximum focus on cases, promptly improves your performance, facilitates the fullest and fastest professional growth. It is as much important for success to clearly set your goals and tirelessly work on achieving them every day. When setting your goals – strive for the impossible. This is the only way you can get the most of it. Speaking about professional growth, the most important thing is stepping up your game, being better than you were yesterday, keeping track of market trends, legislation and practice, while keeping in mind developing professional perks that will become a competitive advantage over your colleagues. Despite the seeming cliche, professional luck is crucial to the overall success, being mainly the people whom we happen to meet on our professional path. With our company EQUITY being a case in point, I cannot but admit that it is a great pleasure to have like-minded partners and a generally reliable legal team that can side by side handle the most ambitious tasks in the most complex cases. And finally, clients are, perhaps, the most objective measure of professional success and at the same time an incentive for further growth and improvement. Although I could draw a line under the factors listed, since, as a rule, them being present already guarantees a significant level of professional success; I would like to focus on a feature that, in almost 100% of cases, is only typical for truly successful firms and professionals. It is responsible leadership, which is manifested through the ability to take care of the development and future of the entire attorney profession. Support for legal youth, launch of efficient educational projects, creation of independent discussion platforms, active participation in bar self-government bodies and independent attorneys’ organisations, legislative work, as well as many other pro bono things are only common for genuine market leaders. I am proud that EQUITY does not sit idle from these processes and is an active participant therein. It is a great honour for us to share our knowledge and experience, to invest our time and resources to set the best standards for attorney profession.
What do attorneys need to build a democratic self-government organisation?
First of all, unity. Instead of internal confrontation, attorneys must consolidate their efforts in standing up for advocacy as an independent social institution. The existence of parallel regional advocacies, separation of attorneys into camps based on “friend-or-foe” principle, involvement of judicial and other state bodies in the confrontation, inappropriate appeal to the international community and various external experts and other manifestations of quarrel between attorneys must become history, once attorneys unite for the extension of attorneys’ professional rights and guarantees. Personally, I am convinced that due to certain legislative processes, the bar community has no other option but to take the internal peace making path. Attorneys would always unite in the face of any external threats or harassment, especially from law enforcement agencies. This is what we should do during this fateful time of judicial and legal reforms, when all it takes to decide the fate of the entire institute is just one law and which vector will be chosen depends on each of us. Sadly, most attorneys regard the discussion about the future of advocacy simply as superficially determining the names of executives of bar self-government bodies and possible financial or disciplinary influence on attorneys by them. It is my belief that not the form of advocacy organisation or specific names of its leaders, but the content, purpose and principles of activity must be a measure of democracy and independence of bar self-government. Self-government defended by attorneys for carrying out mainly the representative, protective and coordination functions must be the basis and a guide for each attorney, and under no circumstances become a "ministry of advocacy". But there is no need in breaking down the existing system to do it. All it takes is a few steps: to extend attorneys’ professional rights and guarantees; to restrict the grounds and regulate the procedure for bringing disciplinary action against an attorney, excluding the personal factor and political motives; to make the system of public finance in the bar more transparent.
What role do professional independent attorneys play in these processes?
Crucial, to say the least. Take for example the Ukrainian Attorney Association. When discussing the profession’s future, openness of the UAA to all attorneys and having no "power" status become an advantage over other organisations, including bar self-government bodies, as regards the objectivity, multi-issue nature and openness of discussions. It is these organisations that must form independent platforms for the development of a unified, well-balanced attorneys’ position on the future of advocacy and judicial system as a whole. This is what we expect from the I UAA Judicial Forum, as well as the recently established UAA Judicial Practice Committee. We are proud that it is EQUITY that not just became one of the ideological initiators of founding both the Forum and the Committee, but also supports them as the General Partner. Forums on judicial issues are no news on the legal market.
What is special about the UAA Judicial Forum to be held?
This is the first such event at the all-Ukrainian level to be held after 15 December 2017 – once the Supreme Court starts its operation and new codes of procedure become effective. Thus, it is basically harvesting of practice of the first procedural quarter. Surprisingly, this is the first all-Ukrainian forum organised by attorneys on such topics in the history of independent Ukraine. But "attorney" means not just for attorneys, since it is open to all judges, prosecutors, counsels and other concerned legal practitioners. "Attorney" means "practice-oriented", since this is what’s interesting for attorneys and their clients. Therefore, it being practice-oriented will be the main feature of the forum. Everything will be of a practical nature – topics, and discussion provoking formats, and the basis for discussion will mostly be real cases and extensive experience of speakers, including market leaders and authoritative practicing judges. We deliberately chose not to have public officials and censorship. The level of the event will be ensured by the best professionals who are consumed with practice and always stay up to date. Aiming at developing the UAA motto about the openness to all attorneys, we deliberately selected a convenient location – the Ukrainian House, which accommodates almost 500 participants and is as comfortable as possible for communication, exchange of experience, ideas, thoughts, and personal contacts.
What future do you see for Ukrainian attorneys?
The role and importance of advocacy in society will only grow further. And it's not just the introduction of the monopoly on representation in process. I am sure that attorneys will be a strong, independent legal pillar of support for all citizens and businesses. With broad attorneys’ professional rights and guarantees, strong, independent and, most importantly, "pro-attorney" self-government with as clear and transparent mechanisms of formation, financing and functioning as practically possible. However, in order to make this process as painless and quick as it can possibly be, the entire bar community must unite, forget the past grudges and reject personal ambitions, and independently, to the extent possible, and without intrusive instructions from state authorities and foreign institutions, agree upon a common vision of its own future. I believe that we are able to do it and we definitely will!