Young IMA Public Talk in Yekaterinburg with Roman Khodykin

On 3 October 2018, Young IMA held a Public Talk in Yekaterinburg with Roman Khodykin, Partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner in London, Solicitor of England and Wales, PhD, Visiting Professor at Queen Mary University, and Evgenia Chervets, Co-Chair of Young IMA, Counsel at RegionService, Master in Private Law, Consultant at the Alexeyev Private Law Research Center.

The goal of the Young IMA is to develop and support a professional community of young lawyers interested in arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution methods. The Russian Institute of Modern Arbitration regularly organises meetings, lectures and mutually beneficial forums. Co-chairs and members are divided into committees, supervising different fields: corporate arbitration, sports arbitration, mediation etc., which helps young lawyers choose the field they are most interested in.

The event in Yekaterinburg was organized as part of Young IMA's Regional Arbitration Development Committee, headed by Evgenia Chervets.

The meeting was attended by students from the Urals State Law University and the Urals Branch of the S.S. Alekseev Private Law Research Center, as well as arbitration specialists - over 40 people in total.

Evgenia Chervets told the audience about the idea behind the creation of Young IMA and the opportunities for young lawyers to get involved in social and academic activities in arbitration.

Roman Khodykin pointed out the successful functioning of young lawyers' communities in arbitration in the UK. Such communities regularly meet and discuss arbitration-related problems and seek ways to resolve them. The expert shared his personal experience of studying and teaching at Queen Mary University, described what, in his view, are the necessary skills for a successful lawyer in arbitration, and also explained the peculiarities and specifics of legal activity in a completely different legal system.

The attentive listener was able to derive a lot of useful tips related to the legal profession in general, such as the rules of pleading in court, procedure for arguing one's case, preparing for the court hearing, etc.

Roman Khodykin and Evgenia Chervets drew the audience's attention to the need to participate in Russian and international student arbitration competitions. Such competitions are an excellent opportunity to gain skills in drafting procedural documents as well as litigator skills in a professional process with highly skilled arbitrators.

The panel also devoted time to a discussion of the need for foreign language skills as one of the most important criteria for lawyers wishing to link their career with arbitration.