How a young advocate can navigate their first year in practice

The first year of legal practice often serves as a test not only of one’s knowledge but also of one’s readiness to deal with mistakes and personal fears. Representatives of the UNBA NextGen in the Mykolaiv region discussed how to navigate this stage without illusions and in a way that benefits professional growth during a panel discussion.

The cost of mistakes

Anna Zlatina shared her own professional experience and described how her path in the legal field took shape. She noted that at the start of her career, she chose to practice in government agencies, where she gained the support of experienced professionals whom she turned to early in her career. She also spoke candidly about the professional mistakes she made while working with her first clients: at times, she relied solely on the law, failing to take established real-world practice into account.

She paid special attention to the importance of her professional circle. In her view, it is crucial for young lawyers to work alongside experienced practitioners, learn from their mentors, and not be afraid to ask questions — this is precisely what helps them grow professionally faster and avoid many mistakes.

A.Zlatina also emphasized that modern legal practice requires not only legal knowledge but also proper work organization. She highlighted the importance of using CRM systems and keeping track of clients, finances, and time spent. According to her, process automation allows for the systematization of information and more effective collaboration with the team and clients.

The trap of independence

Iryna Tsybko shared her impressions of the start of her career, noting that one of the challenges she faced early on was the pressure from more experienced lawyers. While working as a legal advisor in the State Treasury Service, she had to explain errors in documents to advocates, even though at first she felt she «didn’t yet have the right» to advise them. According to her, this experience gave her an understanding of one of the fundamentals of the profession — finding a way out even when it seems there is none, and never giving up.

Separately, I. Tsybko spoke about the misconception that working «for oneself» provides more free time. In reality, she said, an advocate has to work harder: building client trust, proving their expertise, and at the same time not letting every client’s problem get to them. Among her own professional challenges, she cited excessive empathy, a reluctance to name a price for services, and the tendency to try to handle everything on her own. The speaker’s main takeaway was that she should have started working in a team earlier, rather than taking on all the processes herself.

It doesn’t work without a plan

Event moderator Dmytro Slobodyanyuk sharing his own experience, explained that after working for a long time as an in-house lawyer and experiencing professional burnout, he decided to change his career path but didn’t have a clear plan. According to him, obtaining a law license seemed like a logical step at the time, given the judicial reform and the introduction of the attorney monopoly; however, he called entering the profession without understanding what exactly to do next a mistake that should not be repeated.

Separately, D. Slobodyanyuk highlighted the importance of the professional environment. According to him, the best client referrals can come from colleagues, so a young advocate should expand their professional network and position themselves as a specialist in a specific niche. Speaking about fee policies, he noted that there is no single «correct» price, but it must be calculated taking into account the factors that influence it. If an advocate understands what the price is based on and can explain this to the client, any uncertainty about setting the fee disappears.