Asters Partner Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi spoke at the first public discussion within the Ukrainian legal community on the support of LGBTQ+ rights. The on-line event was organized by the Dead Lawyers Society media portal.
The speakers' panel included representatives of Ukrainian law firms and human rights organizations. The discussion was moderated by Oksana Pokalchuk, Director at Amnesty International Ukraine, and Alyona Kazanska, a journalist and human rights activist. The audio recording of the event (in Ukrainian) is available at the link >>
"In 2020, Asters became one of the first leading Ukrainian law firms to publicly support the Global Pride Month," - comments Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi. "At Asters, we view the support the LGBTQ+ community in a broader context of adhering to the principles of equality and tolerance both within our firm and in Ukraine. The legal profession implies an obligation to protect basic human rights."
"Ensuring equal opportunities and non-discrimination is one of the most important principles engaged by Asters. We provide equal opportunities to all our employees regardless of age, gender, race, nationality or sexual orientation. Our hiring decisions are based solely on the criteria of professional capabilities," - says Serhii Sviriba, Asters Co-Managing Partner. "At Asters we have established the Diversity & Inclusion Committee that meets regularly to plan and implement initiatives in this area both within the firm and in our external communications."
Recently Asters has implemented a number of projects supporting diversity and inclusion. The firm supported "She is Science" project and jointly with the USUBC presented artist Inna Pantelemonova's solo "Senses" promoting gender equality in Ukraine. Also Asters has joined UNFPA's Declaration for Gender Equality and Prevention of Domestic Violence and participates in the WINS (Women Initiative to Network Success) project by Lex Mundi global network of leading independent law firms.
Asters is the largest law firm in Ukraine with offices in Kyiv, Washington D.C., Brussels and London. Chambers Europe 2021 recognizes 23 lawyers of Asters – the largest number of the renowned practitioners in a single Ukrainian law firm.
