A forum exposition in the MSAL: "Legal Career Day"

The forum exposition “Legal Career Day” was held in the Oleg Kutafin Moscow State University of Law (MSAL) on April 4 of 2014. The Lawyers’ Association of Russia, the Association of Legal Education and the Jurisprudence Finances and HR Group of Companies were the official partners of the event. Professor Viktor Blazheev, Honorary Lawyer of the Russian Federation, Rector of the MSAL, welcomed the members of the forum.

Within the framework of the round table “Interaction of employers with universities and faculties of law”, the experts discussed such questions as:

· professional public accreditation as an element of evaluation of the university level and the quality of preparation of the graduates by employers;

· problems of preparation and implementation of practice courses;

· employers’ additional education programs;

· advanced training of young specialists.

Managing Partner of the Law Firm "YUST" Evgeny Zhilin, Partner Alexander Bolomatov and Head of the Bankruptcy Group of the Law Firm "YUST" Vasily Raudin represented the Firm and presented to the round table participants a critical study of the forms of the employees’ interaction with universities.

The advocates told:

· why young specialists need to take part in scientific and practical as well as in customer-oriented events,

· how useful is the experience of the students’ participation in law clinics in the future, and

· how the mechanisms of practice and training enable forming of the student’s loyalty to the firm of their choice.

Within the framework of the exposition, which was held in the format of a vacancy fair, Tatiana Samarina, Senior Associate, Doctor-at-Law, Anna Popova, Associate, and Kristina Abramova, Assistant Associate, answered the questions of the MSAL students:

– if there is a possibility to take part in international projects of the firm or in the cases of a certain practice (for example, dispute settlement, criminal proceedings, or M&A) during a training course, depending on the chosen specialization or preferences of the student;

– how much time can training take and which time period will be optimal to evaluate the labor conditions;

– how often “associate” and “assistant associate” positions are opened in the firm;

– how job interviews are done and how important the level of a foreign language is for the choice of a young specialist etc.

Anna Popova and Kristina Abramova shared with the students and graduates of the MSAL their personal experience of training and subsequent employment at the Law Firm "YUST". They pointed out that recommendations are given to rookie lawyers after training, which enable him to evaluate his abilities, skills and knowledge as well as perspective of professional and career advancement in the firm and in the legal services market in general.