Ukrainian lawyer Vitalii Diakov still has one case to finish. The Russian war has massively delayed progress in a criminal tax case which began in 2015, and it was already complicated enough without the fog of war. The case comes to court again in November, but that may not be the end of it. Missile strikes and bombardment mean the courts struggle to function, particularly in the east of Ukraine.

Vitalii worked in a small firm with a staff of around 10, dealing with divorce, property, commercial, criminal cases, fraud and misuse of public funds. He describes himself as a litigation lawyer. “Most of my time I spent in courts drafting claims, participating in hearings and enforcing judgements.” But war makes life difficult and dangerous for anyone who works in government buildings, including courtrooms.

“In February 2022 I attended a court in Mykolaiv, 130 kilometres from my home city in Odesa. Just about ten days later, a bomb hit the building and it was completely destroyed. It was early morning, so maybe all of the staff were not there, but definitely many people suffered and died.”

In fact, 37 people were killed and 34 were injured in the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration’s HQ which contained the region’s commercial court and much else. The court records were destroyed and the court had to relocate.

As young lawyers with a family to think about, Vitalii and his partner Hanna Dushkova decided to seek safety in western Europe, reaching Spain where they did not speak the language and had no obvious way to support themselves. Friends of friends told them accommodation and work was available in Scotland.

After a marathon drive from Spain the family arrived at a Welcome Hub in Edinburgh where they were given a stark choice – stay on a cruise ship in Leith or move to Dundee. Vitalii had never heard of Dundee, but did some research and found reasons to move to the City of Discovery.

The presence of two universities was a big attraction. So was the surprising fact that the Grand Theft Auto series, Vitalii’s favourite game, was designed in the city. The family made their way to Dundee’s Queens Hotel and started building a new, temporary, life.

Vitalii and Hanna got in touch with the law faculty at Dundee University to find out how they might adapt their legal training to find employment in Scotland. It didn’t take long to work out that their Ukrainian qualifications would not let them practise their profession here.

“We realised it would be a very long journey, doing a bachelor’s degree, a diploma and a traineeship. It would take at least four years to qualify in Scots law and at that time I thought we might only be here for six months, or maybe a year.”

On advice from Dundee City Council’s employability team, they contacted local law firms, and Vitalii found a ready reception at Thorntons, who invited him to work in a paralegal role. “Thornton’s were very welcoming, but in the end I decided to focus on helping Hanna with a project we started in 2022, working with Ukrainian refugees.”

This project was called Ukrainians Together, which aimed to build the resilience of Ukrainians uprooted from their homes and thrown together in ships, hotels and local people’s houses. The project morphed into a successful social enterprise called Bring Together Ltd, which now works with agencies such as Police Scotland, local schools, NCR Atleos, Aberdeen City Council, Stirling City Council and Scottish Refugee Council. There are three staff.

“We had the idea of helping refugees who live in hotels to deal with their emotions, and with communication issues with local communities. Hanna is a trained mediator, and we started to run educational events to promote emotional awareness, find common ground and basically prevent conflicts from happening.”

The Bring Together website lists the organisation’s four central concepts as Emotional Intelligence, Conflict Resolution, Peaceful Communication and Cultural Intelligence. The work of American psychologist Marshall Rosenberg on nonviolent communication has been influential. Forging links with Scotland’s communities, and sharing cultural knowledge, is another area of activity.

Vitalii is still very much a lawyer and, as noted earlier, he has one case continuing in his homeland. In Scotland he has trained as a mediator, volunteering with Citizens Advice Scotland and working on cases which might otherwise be settled in the adversarial realm of Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

Mediation as we understand it has been growing in Ukraine since around 2015, but the idea is not completely foreign to the Ukrainian system. Traditionally there is a process in Ukraine where at a certain stage of a case, judges will ask the parties if they want to find a ‘peaceful agreement’ before going to a hearing.

“Usually the lawyers say ‘no’ because we have a fixed mindset about the litigation process. It’s very hard to stop it. Each side is entrenched and there is very low trust.

“In Ukraine I observed that the legal profession is mostly focused on taking care of facts, and procedures. But even a simple legal case can go on for years and cause a lot of anxiety, frustration and mental health issues, not just for clients but for the lawyers too.  

“I saw then that mediation is a better way to address the challenges of dispute resolution, and collaborate on creating better outcomes for people who need support.”

Will he and Hanna go back to Ukraine? It’s an unfair question about a difficult personal decision faced by every Ukrainian refugee. Those who have stayed also face the dilemma of whether to risk living in a war zone, or seek refuge for their families somewhere safe. So, best not to ask.