A scandal is unfolding in the Kiev region, which can have consequences not only for a separate court case, but also for the reputation of one of the main spiritual and cultural shrines of Ukraine-the National Reserve "Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra".
The focus is Ivan Prokopenko, a lawyer and the current head of the legal department of Lavra, who is accused of gross violation of lawyer ethics - in particular, that he has betrayed the interests of his client after receiving considerable material benefit.
The essence of the matter
It is about the proceedings No. 361/8358/24, which is considered in the Brovarsky City District Court of Kyiv region. The plaintiff is Mona condominium, the defendant Bagmut Roman, and the lawyer Prokopenko represents the side of the plaintiff.
Ivan Prokopenko represented the Brovarsky developer Roman Bagmut, who performed the defendant in the case for at least six years.
As it became known from the materials accessible to the side of defense, Prokopenko received an apartment in Brovary with an area of 104.6m² for his long -term legal assistance.
However, after Roman Bagmut went to the United States, Ivan Prokopenko, without delaying, took the opposite position - and already in the new case represents the interests of the party whose position directly contradicts the interests of his previous and probably the current client.
Conflict of interest and norms of ethics
The situation is a real conflict of interest, directly prohibited by Art. 8 of the Rules of Advocacy of Ukraine, which obliges the lawyer not to use the previously trusted information against the client and not act in related cases to the detriment of his interests.
This behavior of a lawyer is a frank betrayal. And what is indicative: this "betrayal" is carried out by an official, who is now responsible for the legal protection of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra-the National War and the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
A natural question arises: if a lawyer who should protect the interests of the state reserve, without reproach, gives his client after receiving a reward in the form of an apartment, which prevents him from acting in the future as well as the Lavra himself?
This fact should be immediately considered by the disciplinary bodies of the bar, as well as the management of the Ministry of Culture. It is not only about the offenses, but about the reputational risks for the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve.
