On January, 23 the International Section of the New York State Bar Association bestowed its highest honor today, the Distinction in International Law Award, to the co-chair of its chapter in Ukraine, the president of Ukrainian Bar Association, the managing partner of LCF Law Group, Anna Ogrenchuk, during a virtual program as part of the association’s Annual Meeting.
“It’s a true honor for me to receive this award today,” Anna Ogrenchuk said. “Our work in strengthening Ukraine takes place in very unfortunate circumstances. For almost a year, Russian missiles have continued destroying our civil infrastructure and hitting residential buildings in Kiev and many other cities. Ukraine has become the center between the rule of law and lawlessness, between democracy and autocracy, and in general between good and evil.”
In December 2021, the New York State Bar Association signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ukrainian Bar Association that forged a strong alliance. Less than two months later, lawyers in the United States, Ukraine and Poland joined together in a Ukraine Task Force under the auspices of the New York State Bar Association. The task force has played a role in helping refugees fleeing the violence, collecting evidence of war crimes and arguing for an international tribunal to investigate Russian aggression.
Anna Ogrenchuk has helped marshal an international coalition of law groups to pressure the United Nations to investigate Russia for alleged war crimes.
“In almost one year of the war together we have managed to build a strong network of lawyers who urged their governments to increase economics sanctions against the aggressed state. NYSBA was the first international legal agency that urged the U.S. General Assembly to establish a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. We do hope other organizations will join and support NYSBA’s message showing the true role of the legal community,” said Anna Ogrenchuk.
Honoring attorneys who render extraordinary service to the public and the profession is part of NYSBA’s Annual Meeting tradition.
Article on NYSBA’s site: https://bit.ly/3j1OWoz
