During the war, paralegals create conditions for Ukrainians to resolve legal issues – even in remote communities and cities.
They work like first aid:
- inform people on the spot about their rights and freedoms,
- redirect people to the appropriate government agencies or free legal aid centers.
Five coordinating paralegal managers in the regions are already forming powerful teams of paralegals to advise people and refer them to free legal aid centers or local governments.
For convenience, they will use the Paralegals app.
Let us tell you more about each of them.
Yana Tokar – Eastern Region
Legal adviser at the Legal Clinic of Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University.
— In these difficult times for our country, we realize the importance of assistance on the legal front. The society needs fast and high-quality legal advice. I work at the Legal Clinic of the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University and have been helping people protect their rights for many years. My undoubted motivation is the desire to make people’s lives easier, to familiarize them with the rights guaranteed by law and to help them resolve legal issues, and, if necessary, to refer them to free legal aid.
Daria Shynkarenko – Northern region
Acting Head of the Department of Legal Education and Study of Legal Needs of Citizens of the Coordination Center for Legal Aid Provision
— The war in Ukraine is ongoing. Each of us chooses a personal front, some of us are engaged in medicine, some of us deliver humanitarian aid. Ours is the legal front. Paralegals are people who can help community members get access to free legal aid and understand legal issues that seem overwhelming. Millions of our compatriots need this now, so I think it is simply impossible to stay away.
Yulia Korneeva – Central region
legal consultant at the Kropyvnytskyi Regional Center for Social and Psychological Assistance, database specialist at the charitable foundation Caritas. Kropyvnytskyi”.
— In a state governed by the rule of law, access to legal aid is as important as access to healthcare, education, social protection, etc. It is important to me to help people who are in often difficult life situations, so I have been working on this topic for a long time, including as a paralegal. Paralegals are not a substitute for professional legal assistance, but should help people figure out which institution to contact to resolve their legal issues. From my own practice, I see that cooperation between lawyers and paralegals allows citizens to overcome legal barriers faster and more efficiently, and that is why I want to systematically spread this practice in my region.
Artem Kryvtsov – Southern region
freelance adviser to the mayor of Mykolaiv, head of the NGO “Youth Center for Scientific Activity”
— I am convinced that paralegals are the primary psychological and legal support for citizens in need of emergency legal aid! Under martial law, paralegals have become a powerful tool of trust in the free legal aid system and access to first-class lawyers who provide free secondary legal aid. During the war, I created an entire volunteer group to visit citizens to provide humanitarian aid and address their legal needs. Now we are working with requests for assistance to socially vulnerable groups of the population, registration of IDP status, and compensation for destroyed housing.
Hanna Mykolayishyn – Western region
Head of the Drohobych NGO “Union of Ukrainian Youth”, public advisor
— I believe that citizens primarily turn to those who are closest to people, competent, open and accessible for information and legal advice. Most often, these people are public activists – paralegals. I want to systematize the activities of paralegals in the Western region of Ukraine, who help citizens who are unaware of their rights or need legal protection of their rights, integrating the activities of paralegals into the system of legal aid in Ukraine.
The project is implemented by the Ukrainian Legal Aid Foundation and the Coordination Center for Free Legal Aid Provision with the support of the Mott Foundation.
