XVIII Forum “Development of the Legal Services Market” Was Held with the Support of EU Project Pravo-Justice

On April 25, the XVIII Forum "Development of the Legal Services Market" took place. This is a platform for discussing the current state, latest trends, and prospects for the development of legal business in Ukraine.

The event was organized by the Ukrainian Bar Association with the support of EU Project Pravo-Justice. It brought together top managers of leading law firms; representatives of state institutions; academia; leading specialists in the field of jurisprudence and marketing to form strategies for the sustainable development of the legal sector in Ukraine.

In his welcoming speech, Virgilius Valancius, Support to EU Integration Process in the Justice Sector Component Lead, EU Project Pravo-Justice, drew the attention of those present on the need to reform legal education in Ukraine. According to him, in the context of European integration, there is also a need to intensively adapt national legislation to the EU acquis.

“All new member states faced some challenges in understanding, interpreting, and applying EU law. Given the previous experience of other candidates, Ukraine should get properly prepared. The more you invest in the legal education of students, as well as continuous legal education for lawyers in the field of EU law, the smoother it will all be in the future,” said Virgilius Valancius.

Andrii Boiko, professor of the Criminal and Criminal Procedural Law Department, National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, expert of EU Project Pravo-Justice, spoke at the Forum. In his presentation, Andrii Boiko highlighted the challenges and needs of reforming legal education.

According to him, in order to implement legal education reform, there is a need to amend the existing legislation, in particular in terms of strengthening licensing and accreditation conditions and banning the training of lawyers in HEIs with specific conditions of study. The influence of the professional community on defining the standards of legal education, as well as the implementation of EU recommendations in the field of legal education reform, is also of major importance.

“As lawyers, we should be mindful of our responsibility for the future of the legal profession and understand that high-quality legal education is a joint task for the State, the professional legal community, HEIs, and of course, those who pursue higher education,” summarized Andrii Boiko.