Professional standards for advocates and legal assistants will be developed by the UNBA

At its first meeting, the Committee on professional standards for advocates endorsed the formation of a working group to develop professional standards for «Advocate» and «Legal Assistant».

The inaugural meeting took place on August 7 in Kyiv.

Committee chairman Andriy Yosypov explained that the Committee will advise the working group and, once the documents are approved, will work to communicate their provisions to advocates.

The plan is to include representatives of employers, the academic community, educational institutions, and labor unions in the working group. A. Yosypov clarified that the group will be broader in composition than the Committee, but advocacy should play a leading role in its work.

Advocate Oleksiy Shevchuk, who was elected secretary of the Committee during the meeting, noted that the standards should define the professional requirements, knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary for the work of an advocate and their assistant. «This is not about a restrictive framework, but about professional compliance and high-quality services, as required by law», - he remarked.

O. Shevchuk also reported that the development of the professional standard is expected to take up to one year. The draft must undergo the prescribed procedures for public hearings and discussions, during which proposals may be submitted.

Separately, meeting participants drew attention to digital competencies. The Committee chairman proposed including skills in working with electronic systems, artificial intelligence, and cloud storage, as well as aligning the use of digital tools with the requirements for maintaining attorney-client privilege. Furthermore, in his view, the standards should clearly distinguish between the technical work of a legal assistant and the advocate’s activities related to representation and defense.