11.02.2025 Business of Occupiers

How Lidia Izovitova and her partners earn millions on the “educational business” of lawyers

A new “educational” standard for attorneys is being launched in Ukraine: why is it beneficial for only one player on the market?

The Declaration of “European Standards” introduced by the Bar Council of Ukraine may at first glance look like a step towards modern standards of professional development of attorneys. However, this novelty hides the preservation of a monopoly on a huge market of educational services – the Higher School of Advocacy, which is controlled by a group of people headed by Lidiya Izovitova.

In December 2024, the SRAU adopted the Procedure for raising the professional level of lawyers, increasing the number of hours per year for advanced training from 10 to 15. It would seem that this should contribute to the professionalization of the industry. However, the real result is that advocates will be forced to pay even more for the services of the USC, in particular, by increasing the institution’s revenues.

According to estimates, a 50% increase in the number of hours of advanced training for lawyers may mean a proportional increase in the Higher School of Advocacy’s revenues to UAH 60 million per year. However, these figures remain uncertain, as the exact financial data of the Higher School of Advocacy is not published, and all reporting is controlled by the UNBA’s leaders.

Reasons for changing the Procedure

The amendments to the Procedure resulted from the decision of the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal, which recognized the old version of the Procedure as discriminatory. The court abolished the requirement for a difference in the number of hours for young and experienced attorneys. However, instead of taking into account the court’s position, the UNBA quickly reacted by introducing a new version of the Procedure, which includes increased requirements. In particular, advocates now have to complete 15 hours of training per year, which means that they will have to pay even more for training courses conducted by the USC, the only institution that provides these services legally.

Why doesn’t the RAU introduce more alternatives? Because it obviously loses money for key players in the market: Izovitova and its partners.

No other training organization can compete with this monopoly because of the high barriers to accreditation. The cost of accreditation of third-party training operators for lawyers in 2024 is UAH 355 thousand per year.

HSA – “without a license, but with a monopoly”

Another problem is the status of the Higher School of Advocacy as an organization that does not require accreditation. This means that even scientific articles for lawyers must be reviewed by the Academic Council of the HSA, and this council remains completely opaque to the public.

By the way, the Higher School of Advocacy does not have an educational license.

Thus, the new Procedure undoubtedly has nothing to do with real European standards. Instead, it continues to fuel the corruption mafia that Izovitova’s group has created by controlling the Higher School of Advocacy.

What is known about Izovitova?

Lidiya Izovitova is a figure who raises a lot of questions and controversy in the Ukrainian legal community. She has been the head of the UNBA for more than a decade, despite the fact that her official term in office ended in 2022. She has been repeatedly linked to Viktor Medvedchuk in the media.

In 2023, Izovitova actively opposed a bill that proposed to introduce criminal liability for lawyers working in the occupied territories who recognized the legitimacy of the occupiers’ authorities. She condemned the initiative and repeatedly emphasized that since the beginning of the Russian aggression in 2014, the UNBA has not expressed any official condemnation of Russia’s actions and has not initiated punishment for collaboration among the bar.

In addition, Izovitova puts pressure on lawyers in the interests of Medvedchuk’s OPFL and his associate Stolar. For example, due to the UNBA head’s lobbying, the lawyer’s license of Kyrylo Yakovets, the head of the NGO Non-Stop, was temporarily suspended despite the violation of the deadlines and the lack of grounds.

This decision appeared to be politically motivated. Yakovets has repeatedly spoken out against abuses at the highest levels of government and exposed corruption schemes related to Medvedchuk and Stolar’s businesses. In view of this, it became obvious that Izovitova and the bar system as a whole were trying to block political and legal initiatives that could harm the interests of their “partners” by any means.

Now, instead of supporting lawyers who are fighting for justice, the bar system is working in the interests of pro-Russian oligarchs, avoiding investigations and concealing their crimes.

In view of the above, we sent an appeal to the High Council of Justice, the National Academy of Advocates of Ukraine, the Bar Council of Ukraine, and the High Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of the Bar. However, Izovitova continues to hold her position and lobby for the interests of traitors in law enforcement, judicial and legal circles.

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