Digitization of advocacy

On the basis of Article 55 of the Law of Ukraine "On Advocacy and Advocacy", the Regulations on the Bar Council of Ukraine, the Regulations of the Bar Council of Ukraine, the Charter of the non-state non-commercial professional organization "National Association of Bars of Ukraine" and in the conditions of global digitalization of social processes, the issue of digitalization is extremely relevant today of the Bar of Ukraine and the National Association of Bars of Ukraine, as a national body of bar self-government.

The main arguments for the relevance of digitization of the legal profession and NAAU

• Ensuring effective coordination and communication

The Bar Council of Ukraine coordinates the activities of the bar councils of the regions and supervises the maintenance of the Unified Register of Bar Associations of Ukraine. Digitalization can simplify these processes, increasing the speed of information exchange and ensuring transparency of operations.

• Effective implementation of the decisions of the Congress of Bar Associations of Ukraine

To ensure fast and efficient implementation of congress decisions, it is important to have access to modern digital tools. This may include the development of specialized task and project management software.

• Support of lawyers and citizens through digital services

The Bar Council of Ukraine contributes to ensuring guarantees of advocacy and protection of professional and social rights of advocates. The development of online platforms and electronic services can help in the implementation of these tasks, providing lawyers with access to the necessary resources and information.

• Improvement of representation and protection of interests of lawyers

Digital technologies can help NAAU to interact more effectively with government bodies, international organizations and the public, ensuring wider coverage and availability of information, as well as serving as powerful tools for attracting attention to advocacy issues and protecting the professional rights of advocates.

• Ensuring a high professional level of lawyers

Digital learning platforms, online seminars and webinars allow lawyers to improve their qualifications by providing easy access to educational materials and the opportunity to share experiences without the limitations associated with physical presence.

• Optimization of data entry processes in the Unified Register of Advocates

The use of digital tools can simplify the process of entering and updating information in the Unified Register of Advocates of Ukraine, reducing the risk of errors and ensuring the relevance of data.

• Increasing the availability of legal services

The development of digital platforms and services for the provision of legal services can increase the accessibility of these services to citizens, particularly in remote and rural areas, by allowing them to receive advice online.

• Improvement of financial management and control

Digitization of the processes related to setting the size and order of payment of lawyers' annual fees will allow to optimize the management of funds and ensure the transparency of financial flows.

• Facilitating lawyer mobility and access to resources

Mobile applications and cloud services allow lawyers to have access to the necessary documents and resources from any place and at any time, ensuring high mobility and flexibility in work.

• Providing an effective communication channel

The creation of the official website of NAAU and its active presence on the Internet allows to provide an effective channel of communication with the public, clients and between the lawyers themselves.

Digitization of the legal profession thus plays a key role in ensuring the efficiency, accessibility and transparency of legal services, as well as in supporting the professional development and protection of the rights of lawyers, and therefore we propose to create in the NAAU structure the Committee on Digitalization of the Legal Profession of the NAAU.

The activity of such a committee should develop in two directions - internal and external.

The internal digitization of the National Association of Lawyers of Ukraine (NAAU) is the improvement of the internal processes of the association and digitization of the procedure for access to the profession, its regulation, organization of activities and termination.

Internal digitization may include a number of initiatives and technological solutions aimed at optimizing its internal processes and improving management efficiency.

Such initiatives include:

• Document management systems

Implementation of electronic document management systems to automate the processes of creation, storage, search and exchange of documentation within the organization.

• Information systems for membership management

Development and implementation of databases and management systems for effective record keeping of NAAU members, including information on licenses, specialization, participation in educational programs, etc.

• Platforms for internal communication

Using tools for internal communication, such as corporate social networks, messengers and video conference systems to support communication between NAAU employees and its regional divisions.

• Electronic voting and survey systems

Implementation of electronic systems for organization of voting and surveys among NAAU members, which allows to collect feedback and make decisions more efficiently.

• Project and task management systems

The use of project and task management software, which facilitates better organization of team work, project planning and task control.

• Digital platforms for training and development

Development of electronic training courses and platforms for improving the qualifications of lawyers, which allows NAAU members access to continuous professional development.

• Integration with the Unified Register of Advocates of Ukraine

Automation of the processes of entering and updating information in the Unified Register of Advocates to ensure the relevance and availability of data on advocates.

• Financial planning and reporting

Implementation of electronic accounting and management accounting systems for optimization of financial planning, budget control and preparation of financial statements.

These initiatives allow NAAU to increase the efficiency of internal processes, ensure a high level of organizational culture and improve the quality of services to its members.

The external activity of the National Association of Advocates of Ukraine (NAAU) regarding the digitalization of advocacy is the general digitalization of advocacy as a legal profession. Monitoring of the latest digital tools used by lawyers, organization of activities aimed at research, study and implementation of the latest tools of advocacy.

Today, Ukraine is one of the most digitally developed countries in the world. This is primarily related to the implementation of Action and digitalization of many social processes. At the same time, digitization is also taking place in advocacy and other legal professions. In particular, the following services are active today:

• Search for legislation and court practice
• Monitoring of court cases
• Digital platforms for document circulation and electronic signature
• Tools for conducting online consultations
• Legal chatbots and artificial intelligence
• Online platforms for learning
• Internet resources for publishing articles, video content, conducting webinars, etc
• Resources that research rankings in the bar
• Services for finding customers
• Work organization and case management services

For all these services, the main user is a lawyer. That is why it is extremely important for NAAU, as a national body of bar self-governance, to research, analyze and coordinate the digitization of the bar. That is why I propose the following initiatives, which should be implemented by the NAAU Advocacy Digitalization Committee:

• Monitoring and analysis of digital tools

Regularly conduct research on digital tools of Ukraine and the world, and highlight these studies on the information resources of NAAU. Thanks to this, NAAU will demonstrate the progress and modernity of advocacy.

• Development and support of the online register of digital services for lawyers

Implement a register of services for lawyers on the NAAU website on a commercial basis. website of the National Bar Association of Ukraine.)

• Creation of a system of ratings and reviews of digital resources

Lawyers can leave feedback and ratings on digital services, which will be used to form a transparent rating of the quality of the tools.

• Conducting forums and conferences

Organize regular events for the discussion and analysis of digital tools, reward the best services, discuss possible ways to improve the digitization of the legal profession, propose to the leadership of NAAU the introduction of new digital tools aimed at improving the legal profession and the role of NAAU in this process.