Identification of a Lawyer with Their Client. Why the President Should Not Sign Draft Law 12320 Despite Calls from Some Lawyers
Every Ukrainian could be held accountable simply for saying the phrase “Serdyuk was Viktor Yanukovych’s lawyer” or “Shevchuk was Illya Kiva’s lawyer.” This is foreseen by the legislative initiative that was supported by parliament last summer (12320, results of the roll-call vote). However, it has not yet been signed by the president.
Civil society organizations and media outlets conducted a flash mob, urging the president to continue not signing this document. International partners, in response to the appeal from the head of the Committee on Freedom of Speech, Oleksandr Yurchyshyn (“Holos”), noted that if signed, this law would have a “chilling effect” on freedom of speech.
It is entirely predictable that if administrative liability and fines are introduced for citizens simply stating facts, everyone will think twice about whether they want to end up in court and pay a fine for reporting a… fact.
Even a representative of the President’s Office, Viktor Dubovyk, who heads the Directorate for Legal Policy, understands the risks because the law is poorly drafted. Dubovyk emphasized that there must be a balance between protecting lawyers’ rights and freedom of speech:
Illya Kiva’s lawyer, Oleksiy Shevchuk, already calls himself the author of the draft law, which was submitted by the MP elected from the now-banned OPZZh party, Hryhoriy Mamka. Shevchuk is not just a lawyer. He is the spokesperson for the National Association of Lawyers of Ukraine, which is headed by Viktor Medvedchuk’s associate, Lidiya Izovitova. But that’s not all. Shevchuk ran for Kyiv City Council and promotes his posts on Facebook specifically to residents of Obolon.
In other words, Shevchuk is a politician, and this law attempts to prevent reminding Kyiv residents of facts from his biography that could negatively affect election results.
To understand, there is currently a Kyiv council member who was Medvedchuk’s lawyer – Ihor Kyrylenko (elected from the banned OPZZh party). In the next elections, he might run from a new project with an unknown name, as often happens before elections. Kyiv residents, who elect the city authorities, have the right to know who is running and who represents their interests. Draft law 12320, however, would make it impossible to report the fact that he was Medvedchuk’s lawyer without consequences.
When we talk about individuals like Shevchuk, we are not talking about their work in the courtroom. In this photo, you can see Shevchuk not as a lawyer representing Illya Kiva, but on air. Behind him, a viewer poll is taking place, which has nothing to do with Kiva’s court case: “Your attitude towards the poor.” This is nothing other than shaping an information field unrelated to client defense in court.
Illya Kiva and his lawyer Oleksiy Shevchuk are not in a courtroom
Of course, everyone has the right to defense. It is worth adding that lawyers choose their clients themselves. Rules of legal ethics allow this.
The law firm AVER LEX, which represented Yanukovych’s interests, positions itself as a legal boutique employing “communications specialists.” The fact is that Yanukovych’s lawyer Serdyuk helped construct an information field for Yanukovych as a politician. For instance, Yanukovych would bring peace to Donbas. This is clearly not courtroom work. This is what political technologists do.
Such positioning of the law firm demonstrates that clients can be provided “reputation laundering” services. Of course, this is an option that can be additionally and lucratively paid for in a “legal boutique.”
A collage from Google search showing how Aver Lex positions itself and a screenshot from Aver Lex’s “About Us” page
But draft law 12320 is not the only threat. Given that the number of clients from the Party of Regions era has significantly decreased, “communications specialists” invented a new business model. They recently established the National Association of Lobbyists of Ukraine. Shevchuk was appointed head, and there are lawyers from Aver Lex among them.
Given that Shevchuk, through an MP from OPZZh, has already lobbied the harmful draft law 12320, this newly formed association could promote similarly harmful legislative changes threatening our freedoms.
For example, during one public event, Shevchuk emphasized that journalists should have only professional education and lamented the absence of a single organization influencing the journalistic community. He figuratively called regional media “the Fields of Kryzhopil.”
In the National Association of Lawyers of Ukraine, where Shevchuk is the spokesperson, building such a monopoly in the sector existed during the time of Andriy Portnov, now deceased. A lawyer in Ukraine can practice only if they are a member of the association. This effectively turns lawyers into serfs, as they cannot rebel. Any rebellion against management could result in losing their certificate – which means losing the right to practice the profession.
Thus, for more than 12 years, the leadership of the legal profession, Medvedchuk’s associates, has controlled and influenced part of the justice system.
Therefore, the president should not sign the scandalous draft law 12320. The Verkhovna Rada must finally implement the recommendations that the European Commission issued in its report two years ago. The legal profession must be reformed – the monopoly established under Yanukovych, aimed at undermining statehood and the justice system (including the legal profession), must be dismantled. The responsible committee for this is the Committee on Legal Policy, chaired by Denys Maslov (“Servant of the People”).
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