About Us

In June 2022, a UIA Board of Governors meeting took place in Warsaw, Poland. At this meeting, among others, there were two local topics discussed, the Rule of Law in Poland and the War in Ukraine. The situation of the Ukrainian lawyers, the legal assistance needed for refugees, and the efforts underway to collect and deliver humanitarian aid from lawyers to lawyers were presented by Joanna Wsolek from the Ukraine Aid Committee of the Krakow Bar Association, and Pablo Lutsyuk, a senior Ukrainian lawyer. At this meeting, UIA lawyers brought medical supplies for Pablo to deliver in Ukraine.

Following the Board Meeting, a long and insightful discussion gave Barbara Gislason, who served on the UIA Board, the idea that American lawyers could make a difference. Back in her home state of Minnesota, Gislason organized a series of international Zoom meetings, connecting lawyers of goodwill. Among other lawyer meetings, a meeting was held between the President of the Minnesota State Bar Association and the President of the Kyiv Region Bar Association, meetings with medical doctors and clinicians from around Europe and the United States, and specialists working with injuries and trauma in Ukraine.

In September 2022, Barbara Gislason traveled to Ukraine to gather a first-hand assessment of the needs and situation on the ground. On her way, she met with the President of the Krakow Bar Association, who explained how Krakow became a hub for delivering humanitarian aid funded by European lawyers to places in need in Ukraine, where this aid is distributed by local lawyers and bar associations. 

Next, Gislason visited the Kyiv Region Bar Association, where she spoke with lawyers personally in the path of invading forces from places including Bucha, Irpin, and Borodyanka. Her last stop was to meet with the hospitallers, a brave civil battalion providing medical aid to the front line. Gislason later reported that she would carry the hospitallers in her heart the rest of her days.

As a result of the Krakow and Ukraine meetings, Gislason, who was already working closely with Julie Flaherty, decided to start an organization of distinguished lawyers with extraordinary skillsets and talent able to respond to Ukrainian appeals for help. The lawyers recruited readily joined the American team.

Our mission statement reveals ambitious plans for our first project, and we know there is plenty of need for assistance in the world out there. Ukraine is only the first country we want to and can help. We will work with local partners and lawyers who know the situation on the ground and who can help ensure the funds we raise will be utilized efficiently and transparently. Our target consists of two groups, the obvious first one being humanitarian aid to Ukrainians in need, and the not so obvious and often overlooked second one, utilization of Ukrainian lawyers in honorary and fiduciary roles so that those in need receive resources to recover their health and way of life.

When creating a new organization, it helps to have a network of extraordinary lawyers who have earned leadership accolades in the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA). Through these contacts, other lawyers with proven ability were recruited and all are using their collective know how, in concert with trusted lawyers from Eastern Europe, to advance humanitarian aid in the Ukraine. We are working on three major projects that will be announced soon.