Valentyna Lytvynenko, Head of the “Adiutorium” Legal Clinic, PhD in Law, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Public and Private Law, attended the School organised by the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine

The March School for Legal Clinic Coordinators, “An Effective Legal Clinic in Wartime: Development and Management Programme”, took place at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv from 26 March 2026 to 28 March 2026. This was the first of three stages in the professional development programme. The school brought together representatives of legal clinics from various universities across Ukraine. Our legal clinic was represented by its director, Valentina Lytvynenko.

On the first day, moderated by Yuliia Matvieieva, director of the NAUKMA Legal Clinic and a member of the UALC Board, participants sought answers to the following questions: what the key function of a legal clinic is, how to develop it, how to overcome systemic challenges and those faced by legal clinics as a result of the war, and also discussed student motivation and the specialisation of legal clinics.

On the second day of the School, together with Liudmyla Rudenko, Head of the Legal Clinic at Sumy State University and a member of the UBA Board, they discussed interviewing and advising clients, taking into account the specific characteristics of different types of clients and student advisors, and with UBA expert Mariia Tsypiashchuk, they discussed various interactive methods, analysed the mechanics of specific formats, and shared their own experiences of applying these in their legal education work. In addition, on this day, representatives of the UCU Legal Clinic – UCU Law Students’ Association Board member Khrystyna Kovtsun and UCU Law Students’ Association expert Marta Tsymbala – shared insights on document management in a legal clinic and how it can be automated.

The March School concluded with presentations on building effective public communications for legal clinics by UCBA Communications Manager Nataliia Sheludiakova, and on the psychological aspects of legal clinic work by UCBA expert Mariia Tsypiashchuk.

The School is held as part of the “Human Rights Infrastructure for Ukraine” Programme (2025–2027), which is funded by the Swedish Government through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), and is implemented by the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law with the participation of the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine as the implementing partner.