ALCU May School: Strengthening Legal Clinics’ Capacity to Support Defenders, Veterans, and Internally Displaced Persons

From 14 to 16 May 2026, the May School for Legal Clinic Supervisors, “Legal Assistance for Defenders and Internally Displaced Persons,” took place in Lviv at the Ukrainian Catholic University. The School was organised as part of the Professional Development Programme of the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine (ALCU). Its aim was to strengthen the capacity of legal clinics to address the legal needs of military personnel, veterans, internally displaced persons, and their family members, while also supporting the professional development of legal clinic supervisors responsible for organising this work.

Over the course of three days, participants explored the organisation of specialised legal clinics, approaches to advising military personnel, veterans, and their families, mechanisms for compensation for war-related damage, and methods of working with clients experiencing crisis situations.

One of the School’s key topics was the specialisation of legal clinics. During a workshop dedicated to the experience of the UCU Legal Clinic, Khrystyna Kovtsun presented the clinic’s model, which has specialised in providing legal assistance to military personnel and veterans since 2017. Participants discussed approaches to organising specialised legal clinics, training student consultants, managing cases, and developing cross-sector partnerships. Particular attention was given to the practical challenges of working with military personnel, veterans, and their families, including building trust, ensuring effective communication, and handling emotionally demanding cases.

The practical component of the School focused on providing legal assistance to military personnel and their family members through the analysis of real case categories currently handled by legal clinics. Participants examined issues related to military service, military medical commissions and appeals against their decisions, social protection, benefits in cases of death or missing persons, and legal support for families of prisoners of war. Special attention was paid to document management procedures, common challenges arising in these cases, and the resources available to legal consultants.

An important part of the School consisted of workshops on communication and crisis counselling. Participants worked with the principles of a trauma-informed approach in legal clinics, discussing how to create a safe environment for clients, build trust, support individuals experiencing crisis situations, and maintain professional boundaries. Considerable attention was devoted to practical scenarios involving interactions with veterans, military personnel, and families of fallen service members, where legal counselling is closely intertwined with sensitive and empathetic communication.

Another thematic training block, delivered by Liudmyla Rudenko, focused on establishing facts of legal significance under martial law. During the workshop, participants examined court procedures for establishing facts of birth and death in temporarily occupied territories, confirming family relationships, dependency, cohabitation, and other legally significant facts that affect access to social benefits, inheritance rights, or one-time financial assistance. A substantial part of the session was devoted to analysing current court practice and procedural aspects of such cases.

The final day of the School focused on compensation for damaged and destroyed property, the eVidnovlennia (eRecovery) programme, and the Register of Damage for Ukraine. Participants examined compensation mechanisms established under Ukrainian legislation, procedures for assisting applicants, common obstacles in obtaining compensation, and possibilities for judicial protection of the rights of affected persons. Particular attention was paid to the role of legal clinics in advising citizens on documenting losses and using both national and international protection mechanisms.

The May School marked the completion of another stage of the professional development programme for legal clinic supervisors. Throughout the three days, participants addressed pressing issues related to providing legal assistance to military personnel, veterans, internally displaced persons, and their families, analysed practical cases, and exchanged professional experience.

The training enhanced participants’ knowledge of the most common categories of war-related cases, strengthened approaches to counselling clients in difficult life circumstances, and introduced new tools and mechanisms for protecting the rights of those affected by the war. The knowledge and practical insights gained during the School will help legal clinics respond more effectively to clients’ needs and further improve the quality of legal assistance provided within their communities.

The Professional Development Programme is implemented within the framework of the Human Rights Infrastructure for Ukraine (HRIU) Programme (2025–2027), funded by the Government of Sweden through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and implemented by the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, with the Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine serving as an implementing partner.