Yermak enters the game: how Izovitova manages to avoid reform of the Bar

Andriy Yermak — former head of the Office of the President, and recently also the head of a committee within the Ukrainian National Bar Association (UNBA).

An article published by Ukrainska Pravda examines the crisis in Ukraine’s legal profession, the influence of figures linked to pro-Russian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, and how Andriy Yermak fits into this picture.

For 14 years, Ukraine’s bar has been continuously led by Lidiya Izovitova — a protégé of Viktor Medvedchuk. Her management style bears clear features of the so-called “Medvedchuk approach”: shielding lawyers who sided with the enemy, concentrating power, and using Bar self-governance bodies as instruments of control and pressure.

A new factor in this story is Andriy Yermak, who has taken the lead of one of the UNBA committees. This appointment suggests a further strengthening of Izovitova’s position and that of her allies, as they have gained a new influential partner. Reform of the Bar is one of the key requirements on Ukraine’s path toward European Union membership. Izovitova and the bodies she controls have been resisting the development of a new law on the bar by all possible means. Under Yermak’s influence, changes may occur in the composition of the working group responsible for preparing the reform. More individuals loyal to Izovitova could be brought into the group to oppose genuine changes. This would be yet another signal that the reform process has been placed under the control of those interested in derailing it.

For more details on Yermak’s role in blocking bar reform, see the Ukrainska Pravda article.