Experience as an arbitration administrator will count toward eligibility for the bar exam

Effective immediately, work experience as an arbitration administrator with a full higher legal education may be counted toward the required work experience in the legal field for the purpose of being admitted to take the qualifying examination to obtain the right to practice law.

The Bar Council of Ukraine introduced amendments to the Procedure for Admission to the Qualification Exam during its meeting on May 1–2, held in the Khmelnytskyi region.

The National Association of Arbitration Administrators of Ukraine (NAAAU) submitted the relevant proposal to the BCU.

As a reminder, pursuant to Article 6 of the Law «On the advocacy and the practice of law», an advocate may be a natural person who has a full higher legal education, is proficient in the state language, has at least two years of work experience in the field of law, has passed the qualifying exam, completed an internship, taken the oath of an advocate of Ukraine, and received a certificate of the right to practice law.

The list of positions whose work experience should be counted toward the required legal practice experience is defined in paragraph 6 of Section 2 of the Procedure for access to the qualification exam, approved by Decision No. 270 of the BCU dated December 17, 2013.

The NAAAU requested that this provision be expanded to include arbitration administrators with a full higher legal education who carry out activities in accordance with the Code of Bankruptcy Procedures. The appeal noted that, in practice, certain Qualification and Disciplinary Commissions (QDCs) refused to count the period of serving as an arbitration administrator toward legal practice experience. The reason was the absence of a direct reference to such activities in the current Procedure.

At the same time, the NAAAU noted that an arbitration manager in bankruptcy proceedings actually performs a range of legal functions. In particular, they apply substantive and procedural law, participate in court hearings, prepare legally significant documents, conduct legal analysis of the debtor’s financial and economic activities, take measures to collect receivables, and exercise other powers directly related to the application of legislation in bankruptcy proceedings.

Following the discussion, the Bar Council of Ukraine clarified the rules for admission to the legal profession for specialists in the field of bankruptcy, recognizing that the activities of an arbitration manager with a full higher legal education may, in substance, correspond to work in the legal field.